In summary
The focal length range of the lens makes it an ideal partner for a standard kit zoom lens, particularly for owners of DX camera bodies. Its size and weight will make it a good travelling companion and the effective stabilisation will be a real benefit for DX shooters when they photograph sports action or wildlife, both of which are ‘natural’ subjects for a lens of this type.
Sports and wildlife photographers (birders in particular) will welcome the effective VR stabilisation, which provides a generous amount of shake compensation. They will also find this lens quite comfortable to carry and use hand-held for long periods of time. But we feel the tripod collar should have been included with a lens at this price point.
DX shooters will find it an excellent partner to the AF-S DX Nikkor 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens, while for owners of FX bodies, the AF Zoom-Nikkor 24-85mm f/2.8-4D IF or AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED would be good companions.
The closest focusing distance is one metre, which provides adequate magnification at longer focal lengths for shooting close-ups of larger flowers and other subjects. But photographers who want a macro-capable lens will need to look elsewhere.
The AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/4G ED VR will be a welcome addition to Nikon’s line-up for serious photo enthusiasts. With its constant f/4 maximum aperture, it fills a gap in the Nikon range where Canon has had options for several years.
This lens is well built, comfortable to use and provides excellent imaging performance; what’s not to like? The asking price could be a hurdle for Australian buyers as it’s high compared with the US price. And it’s reasonable to expect a tripod collar to be included with a lens costing more than AU$1500.
Full review
When announced in October 2012, the AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/4G ED VR was a sought-after addition to Nikon’s range of f/4 zoom lenses. Designed primarily for FX-format cameras, it can also be used on Nikon’s DX camera bodies, where it covers a focal length range equivalent to 105-300mm. The constant f/4 maximum aperture is a highlight and the ‘third generation’ VR stabilisation claims shake reduction of up to five f-stops.
The AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/4G ED VR zoom lens, shown without the lens hood. (Source: Nikon.)
The optical design is relatively complex, with 20 elements in 14 groups. Included are three ED (extra low-dispersion) glass elements and one HRI (high refractive index) element. Nikon’s Nano-Crystal coatings are applied to some elements to minimise ghosting and flare.
The optical design of the AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/4G ED VR lens. (Source: Nikon.)
Being a G-type lens, this lens lacks an aperture ring, requiring aperture settings to be adjusted from the camera body. Supplied accessories include front and rear end caps, a cylindrical bayonet lens hood and a soft carrying pouch. An optional tripod collar (RT-1) is available for approximately AU$240 or US$224.
Who’s it For?
The focal length range of the lens makes it an ideal partner for a standard kit zoom lens, particularly for owners of DX camera bodies. Its size and weight will make it a good travelling companion and the effective stabilisation will be a real benefit for DX shooters when they photograph sports action or wildlife, both of which are ‘natural’ subjects for a lens of this type.
Sports and wildlife photographers (birders in particular) will welcome the effective VR stabilisation, which provides a generous amount of shake compensation. They will also find this lens quite comfortable to carry and use hand-held for long periods of time. But we feel the tripod collar should have been included with a lens at this price point.
DX shooters will find it an excellent partner to the AF-S DX Nikkor 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens, while for owners of FX bodies, the AF Zoom-Nikkor 24-85mm f/2.8-4D IF or AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED would be good companions.
The closest focusing distance is one metre, which provides adequate magnification at longer focal lengths for shooting close-ups of larger flowers and other subjects. But photographers who want a macro-capable lens will need to look elsewhere.
Build and Ergonomics
The build quality of the lens is in line with Nikon’s normally high standards. Although extensive use is made of polycarbonate plastics in the lens barrel, the mount is solid metal. The lens carries a ‘Made in Thailand’ label.
Like other consumer lenses, this lens has a thin rubber seal around the mounting plate to exclude dust and moisture. However, it is not weather-sealed.
Both focusing and zooming are internal, which means the length of the lens remains constant and the front element does not rotate when focal length and/or focus are adjusted. There appears to be little or no movement of the rear elements during zooming.
The front element is relatively flat and sits roughly one centimetre back from the front of the lens. The filter ring on its inner edge accepts 67 mm diameter attachments.
The focusing ring is located approximately 20 mm behind the front of the lens. It’s about 45 mm wide and carries a 32 mm wide grip band with a double row of wide but moderately shallow ridges.
Behind it is a fixed section of the lens where the main controls are located. There’s a small distance scale marked in metres and feet from the closest focus of 1 metre to infinity.
Around the lens barrel to the left are four slider switches. The first one switches between auto and manual focus (the former supporting manual over-ride). The second switch is a focus limiter with positions for Full and three metres to infinity. The ∞-3m setting can be used to minimise hunting if the AF system struggles to lock onto distant subjects.
The next switch controls the VR (Vibration Reduction) stabiliser but only provides two positions: on and off. Below it is a second slider, which sets the stabilisation mode and has two positions: Normal for general stabilisation and Active to compensate for the kinds of vibrations you would get when shooting from a moving vehicle.
The zoom ring is located just behind these controls. It’s 43 mm wide and has a 28 mm wide grip band made from a rubber-like material that has slightly thicker and deeper ridges than the focusing ring.
The trailing edge of the zoom carried indicators for the 70mm, 85mm, 105mm, 135mm and 200mm focal lengths, These are lined up against a white dot on the fixed section of the lens barrel, which steps down and then up a little before ending in the lens mount. A white reference dot is provided for mounting the lens on a camera.
Nikon claims AF is possible with this lens, even with 2x teleconverters when attached to f/8-compatible body. However, we were unable to test this claim.
Performance
The focusing and zoom rings operated very smoothly and were properly damped. Zooming was consistently smooth across the focal length range. Autofocusing was fast and almost silent, thanks to the ultrasonic Silent Wave Motor, which makes the lens a good choice for photographers who enjoy shooting movies with their DSLR.
The review lens felt comfortable on the D5300 body we used for our tests and would be equally at home on most Nikon bodies. We have some reservations about its possible balance on the lightest entry-level models, although without being able to try them out, we can’t express firm conclusions.
Imatest showed the review lens to be a superior performer. It actually delivered the highest resolution of the three lenses we tested with the D5300, which says a lot about its optical quality. Edge sharpness was also the best for the three lenses, as shown in the graph of our Imatest results below.
Lateral chromatic aberrations were well controlled and remained well within the negligible band at all aperture and focal length settings. In the graph of our Imatest results below, the red line marks the border between negligible and low CA.
Very slight vignetting could be seen at f/4 (the widest aperture) with the 70mm and 200mm focal lengths but not much in between. Slight barrel distortion was visible at 70mm with very slight pincushion distortion at 200mm. Neither of these aberrations would be of concern to most photographers as they can be corrected in-camera in the latest DSLRs and are easily remedied in post production.
The review lens delivered very smooth bokeh at all focal lengths with no obvious outlining or coloured halos. Backlit subjects were handled very well, although a slight reduction in image contrast suggests the use of the lens hood is advisable in most situations.
The built-in VR stabilisation enabled us to shoot with the lens hand-held at shutter speeds as slow as 1/10 second with the 70mm focal length and 1/20 second at 20mm get roughly half of the shots taken acceptably sharp. The normal stabilisation mode was used for these tests.
Conclusion
The AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/4G ED VR will be a welcome addition to Nikon’s line-up for serious photo enthusiasts. With its constant f/4 maximum aperture, it fills a gap in the Nikon range where Canon has had options for several years.
This lens is well built, comfortable to use and provides excellent imaging performance; what’s not to like? The asking price could be a hurdle for Australian buyers as it’s high compared with the US price. And it’s reasonable to expect a tripod collar to be included with a lens costing more than AU$1500.
SPECS
Picture angle: 34.3 to 12.3 degrees on FX bodies; 22.83 to 8 degrees on DX bodies
Minimum aperture: f/32
Lens construction: 20 elements in 14 groups (including 3 ED lens elements, one HRI lens element, and lens elements with Nano-Crystal coatings)
Lens mounts: Nikon F
Diaphragm Blades: 9 (circular aperture)
Focus drive: Nikon Internal Focusing (IF) System with autofocus controlled by Silent Wave Motor and separate focus ring for manual focus
Stabilisation: VR (Vibration Reduction) with up to 5 EV compensation
Minimum focus: 1 metre at all zoom positions
Maximum magnification: Approx. 0.274x
Filter size: 67 mm
Dimensions (Diameter x L): Approx. 78 x 178.5 mm (distance from camera lens mount flange)
Weight: Approx. 850 grams
TESTS
Based on JPEG files taken with the D5300 camera.
SAMPLES
Vignetting at 70mm.
Vignetting at 105mm.
Vignetting at 200mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 70mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 105mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 200mm.
70mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/400 second at f/10.
105mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/400 second at f/10.
200mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/640 second at f/6.3.
Close-up at 70mm; ISO 200, 1/800 second at f/4.
Close-up at 200mm; ISO 200, 1/800 second at f/4.
Backlit subject at 70mm focal length; ISO 100, 1/1000 second at f/8.
Backlit subject at 200mm focal length; ISO 100, 1/1600 second at f/5.
Stabilisation test; 70mm focal length, ISO 800, 1/15 second at f/5.6.
Stabilisation test; 200mm focal length, ISO 800, 1/20 second at f/5.6.
190mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/1600 second at f/5.
175mm focal length, ISO 400, 1/320 second at f/5.6.
70mm focal length, ISO 800, 1/640 second at f/8.
110mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/100 second at f/8.
150mm focal length, ISO 400, 1/125 second at f/5.6.
200mm focal length, ISO 800, 1/500 second at f/6.3.
Additional image samples can be found with our review of the Nikon D5300.
Rating
RRP: n/a ASP: AU$1680; US$1400
- Build: 8.8
- Handling: 8.8
- Image quality: 9.0
- Versatility: 8.8