Nikon zo0OMMMM!!
Written: Mar 25 '01 (Updated Mar 26 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Sharp, vibrant high resolution pictures, from a zoom no less.
Cons: Autofocus is a little noisy. No Macro.
The Bottom Line: For professional quality photographs at an amateur price, you can't go wrong with this Nikon zoom. Outstanding value for money for those wanting to broaden their photograhic horizons.
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| watchdr_2000's Full Review: Nikon AF 75-240mm f/4.5-5.6D Zoom |
To better understand the hurdles that lens designers and manufacturers have to overcome, I want to talk a little bit about the main types of distortions that these guys have to overcome. Barrel Distortion is when parallel lines don't remain that way, but bow out when the image appears on the negative. Pin Cushion Distortion is the opposite of the latter and the lines bow inwards. Field Curvature is when the center of the image is in focus and the edges are not. When you bring the edges into focus, then the center goes out of focus. Chromatic Aberration (color fringing) is when the various colors don’t all focus on exactly the same plane. This is due to the fact that the different wavelengths of light are slowed down by different amounts as they travel through the lens. Hence the rainbow effect. This phenomenon is why you’ll see rainbows when the sun shines after the rain. It’s interesting to note that the eye, which has only one lens, doesn’t produce any of these distortions in a healthy young individual with perfect eyesight. Why? Because G-d in his infinite wisdom made the back of the eyeball (the retina) round. So as you can see, most of these distortions are a result of trying to focus the image onto a flat plane.
Why am I spending all this time talking about distortion instead of zoom lenses? Due to the fact that all lenses produce these distortions to a greater or lesser degree, but zoom lenses, because of their additional elements and complexity, produce quite a bit more than fixed focal length ones.
So what are the main differences between the super expensive professional zooms, and these incredibly affordable consumer ones? The pro lenses produce less distortion across the board. They also have a constant aperture (a necessity for accurate depth of field composition), internal focusing (the distance between the front element and the subject doesn’t change while focusing) and the front element doesn’t turn either while zooming or focusing (a requirement for polarizing and other types of filters). Besides the higher cost, these lenses are also larger and a lot ( and I really do mean a lot) heavier. Something most amateurs can do well without.
Now that we have a little background info on lenses, I can talk more specifically about the Nikon ‘D’ type zoom under review here. This is your standard Nikon bayonet mount. Right by the latter are the contacts to transmit the autofocus, diaphragm and ‘D’ distance information to the camera’s CPU. More about the latter later.
Manufacturers Specifications:
*Focal length 75 to 240mm
*Maximum aperture f4.5/f5.6
*Lenses 12 elements in 9 groups
*Focusing Autofocus with all Nikon autofocus cameras except the Nikon F3AF, and manually with the manual focusing ring
*Aperture scale f4.5 to f32
*Filter size, 52mm
*Dimensions Approximately 72mm diameter and 131mm long, and extends past the camera body about 122mm when attached to it
*Weight 410g
A few important notes; I’ve only mentioned the most important specs. Please note that this lens has no macro capability. Close focus is limited to 1.5m, and there is no distance scale. It comes with a one year Limited Warranty which covers both parts and labor.
Overall Impressions:
This is a small and light medium focal length (excellent for portraits) to telephoto zoom lens. The maximum focal length is about the highest magnification that most people can hold reasonably still for high speed shots on bright days. Higher magnification than this, e.g. 300mm and higher, will definitely require the use of a tripod if sharp pictures are desired.
The large rubber coated zoom ring turns smoothly and is just a little on the tight side. This ensures that it will stay put when released. The knurled hard plastic manual focusing ring just in front of it is easily distinguishable, both by its tactile feel, and due to its narrower width. The latter is about 10mm wide and the rubber coating on the former is about 50mm (about 2 inches) wide. The lens comes with a hard plastic shade which extends about 60mm past the end of it when attached. This reduces flare when shooting towards a bright light. It can be attached in reverse when not in use. This is handy as it saves storage space. Although it will have to be removed before shooting, as it interferes with access to both the zoom and manual focusing rings when stored in reverse. It is also supplied with front and rear element plastic caps in order to protect them.
Auto focusing is very fast and precise in bright light. It slows down as your available light diminishes. This is a camera dependant thing and is not a weakness of the lens. In low light conditions the auto focusing is just as fast as in the brightly lit scenario when using a flash. Don’t be too concerned if the image through the viewfinder is slightly out of focus when shooting under these circumstances, as the flash emits a few weak pulses of light just before the main shot. This is where the ‘D’ designation of the camera comes into its own. Subject distance information is transmitted from the lens to the camera's CPU to provide 3'D'Matrix Metering and 3'D' flash calculations for more accurate exposures. In the case of aforementioned low light scenario, this information is also used to focus the lens. When shooting under low light conditions and you do not want to use a flash, you’ll have to resort to manual focusing as the camera can’t do this under these circumstances.
Manual focusing is accomplished by switching over on the camera body, and NOT on the lens. As an aside I highly recommend leaving the camera in the manual focusing mode whenever you are attaching or removing a lens. If you turn the manual focusing ring while it’s in the auto focusing mode, you could end up damaging either the lens, or the camera or both. The manual focusing ring turns smoothly and easily. In fact, a little too easily for my liking. I would have preferred it to be a little bit tighter so that it doesn’t shift accidentally when released.
The diaphragm is locked and unlocked by a small switch just above the f4.5 designation. Right next to it is an orange mark indicating its locked position. The f32 designation is in the same color. This is to remind you that correct auto diaphragm function requires that it be locked in its smallest aperture, which is f32 for this lens. When set to any other than the latter position, it won’t slide into the locked position. For manual or aperture priority photography, unlock the diaphragm by sliding the switch away from the camera body. In this position you can turn the aperture control ring to your desired setting as you would on any manual lens. It turns smoothly and slightly tightly with solid indentations to mark the various apertures. The ring clicks into the indentations solidly enough that it won’t be bumped out of its setting accidentally. Half ‘f’ stops are not marked, something that is desirable for more accurate depth of field control, but not critical.
Keep in mind that this is not a constant aperture lens. At 75mm focal length the maximum aperture is f4.5, and at the 240mm focal length it is reduced to f5.6. This is mainly a concern when using the camera in manual mode with an external light meter, and for critical depth of field pictures. Or when not using TTL (through the lens) flash exposure.
Finally, keep in mind that the front element rotates when focusing. So if you are going to use a polarizing filter (highly recommended for darkening blue skies, reducing haziness, and reducing glare when shooting through glass), you’ll need to get a circular one.
The Pictures:
This lens replaced a Vivitar Series One 70-210 f3.5 at the same time that I upgraded my camera from a Nikon FE to the Nikon N70. Over the years I found myself lugging the Vivitar around less and less due to its considerable weight. I was really pleasantly surprised to see that not only is the new one a lot lighter, but also produces considerably better pictures. I remember comparing pictures taken with the Vivitar against those taken with my fixed focal length Nikon 50mm. While almost as sharp as the latter, the colors were a little washed out by comparison. Thanks to huge advances in lens design and anti-reflective coatings, that is not so with this one. In fact, it has brighter and more vivid colors than my 20 year old Nikon was ever capable of producing. Not only are the colors bright, vivid and accurate, but the pictures are also very sharp with excellent resolution. Color saturation is also excellent, without being overdone. Distortion is so well controlled that you probably won’t notice any unless you blow up your pictures larger than 8X10 inches. This is a real tribute to both the designers and manufacturers that they managed to keep distortion to negligible levels. If you consistently enlarge your pictures larger than 8X10, then you really should be using a 4X5 camera and not a 35mm one.
Final Thoughts:
The lens elements are made in Japan (I’m not sure where the barrel is made) and it is assembled in China. I had an opportunity to compare an older demo on sale at Samy’s Camera, that was completely made in Japan, against this one. With the 5 minutes at my disposal, I couldn’t see any difference between the two. Having said that, I would not buy this or any lens by mail order. When I went to Bel Air camera to buy this lens, I looked through it to see if there was any dust or debris on the inside lenses. I noticed that there was a hair in between the lenses. While it probably wasn’t big enough to show up on the photos, still, it bothered me that it was there in the first place. Bel Air Camera didn’t hesitate to exchange it for another brand new one. So whether you buy from a brick and mortar store, or on the net, make sure that you only deal with stores that have an excellent reputation as far as exchanges are concerned. Both of the above stores are very good in this regard.
The instruction sheet won’t turn a neophyte photographer into a professional, but it is clear and complete enough for most users. The Japanese into English translations have improved considerably and it has six other languages besides the two already mentioned. They obviously know which side their bread is buttered on.
While I’m sorry that the barrel is not made out of metal (it appears to be made of injection molded plastic to me) I realize that not only would it have made the lens much more expensive, but also a lot heavier too.
All in all this lens delivers sharp, vibrant pictures with excellent contrast and resolution. It is also light enough to be carried on extended vacations. Outstanding value for money in my book. Now all I need is to be able to sneak into Kasparov’s hotel room and take a few secret pictures as he prepares for his next tournament. I’m sure that will help me improve my game of chess. Gary.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
watchdr_2000
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Member: Gary C.
Location: Los Angeles
Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 38 members
About Me:
Dad - Both the best job and hobby a guy could ever ask for!
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