Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200 mm f/2.8G IF-ED VR review - Vignetting

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Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200 mm f/2.8G IF-ED VR

19 January 2011

Arkadiusz Olech

8. Vignetting

In one of first chapters we expressed our concern about the small diameter of the tested Nikkor’s 70-200 VR inner tube. The moment of truth has come.

Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200 mm f/2.8G IF-ED VR - Vignetting

At 70 mm focal lengths there are no problems at all. Even at the maximum relative aperture the vignetting is imperceptible, amounting to just 9% (-0.26 EV).

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The situation deteriorates a bit at 130 mm where by f/2.8 the light fall-off in the frame corners amounts to 17% (-0.54 EV). This level is not high and additionally we must mention that on stopping down the lens to f/4.0 the problem disappears completely (4%).

Serious reservations you can start having about the 200 mm focal length. If on a small D200 sensor the brightness loss is 29% (-0.99 EV) what will happen on full frame? The fact that by f/4.0 the vignetting decreases to the level of 12% and by f/5.6 – to 4% can be considered a bit of consolation here.

After attaching the converter the situation improves a bit. By f/4.0 the light fall-off in the frame corners amounts to 20% (-0.64 EV) and the problem disappears completely by f/5.6 where the vignetting is only 3%.

You can express some reservations about the 200 mm performance. The EF 70-200 f/2.8 IS and the Sigma 70-200 f/2.8 lenses on a bit smaller Canon’s 20D sensor showed an identical value of 23%. Also the Nikkor 80-200 mm fared better here with the worst result reaching 21%.