In summary
Covering a focal length range equivalent to 27-270mm in 35mm format, this lens suits a wide range of shooting situations from moderate wide-angle to reasonably long telephoto ““ and everything in between. While it will certainly provide good facilities for shooting still images, its real fortø© is for shooting video, aided by near-silent autofocusing and zooming.
Its size and weight make it better suited to the V-series models in the Nikon 1 system than the smaller, lighter J-series. But at just over half a kilogram, it’s relatively large and heavy, which partially negates the reason for buying into the system.
Full review
Announced in September 2011, the 1 Nikkor VR 10-100mm f/4.0-5.6 PD-Zoom lens is was developed specifically for shooting movies and features three adjustable zoom speeds and a voice coil AF motor (VCM) that minimises potential noise caused by panning-in and panning-out.
Side view of the 1 Nikkor VR 10-100mm f/4.0-5.6 PD-Zoom lens. (Source: Nikon.)
The optical design (shown in the diagram below) comprises 21 elements in 14 groups and includes two aspherical elements, 3 ED (Extra-low-Dispersion) elements and one HRI (High Refractive Index) element. Nikon Super Integrated Coating is applied to minimise ghosting and flare.
The optical diagram for the lens, showing the position of the exotic elements. (Source: Nikon.)
This lens is one of two extended-range zoom lenses for the Nikon 1 system and was developed and released at the same time as the 1 Nikkor VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6. Nikon released a smaller, lighter and cheaper 10-100mm f/4.5-5.6 lens early in 2013. The table below compares the two lenses.
|
|
1 Nikkor VR 10-100mm f/4.5-5.6 PD-Zoom |
1 Nikkor VR 10-100mm f/4.0-5.6 |
|
Announced |
September 2011 |
January 2013 |
|
Lens construction |
21 elements in 14 groups |
19 elements in 12 groups |
|
Exotic elements |
2 aspherical, 3 ED and one HRI lens elements |
3 aspherical, 2 ED and one HRI lens elements |
|
Maximum apertures |
f/4.5-f/5.6 |
|
|
AF drive |
Stepping motor |
|
|
Stabilisation |
Lens shift VR using voice coil motors (VCMs) |
VR (unspecified technology) |
|
Minimum focus |
30 cm at 10mm, 85 cm at 100mm |
35 cm at 10mm, 65 cm at 100mm |
|
Filter thread |
72 mm |
55 mm |
|
Dimensions (Diameter x L) |
Approx. 77 x 95 mm |
Approx. 61 x 71 mm |
|
Weight |
Approx. 530 grams |
Approx. 298 grams |
|
Lens hood |
Included |
No |
|
Typical selling price |
AU$900-925 |
AU$550 |
The principal differences between these lenses are size related. The larger, heavier lens includes more glass and has a larger diameter front element that needs a larger filter.
The cheaper lens appears to have a less sophisticated stabilisation system. No lens hood is provided with this lens but it accepts the HB-N106 hood, which sells for around AU$30.
Who’s it For?
Covering a focal length range equivalent to 27-270mm in 35mm format, this lens suits a wide range of shooting situations from moderate wide-angle to reasonably long telephoto ““ and everything in between. While it will certainly provide good facilities for shooting still images, its real fortø© is for shooting video, aided by near-silent autofocusing and zooming.
Its size and weight make it better suited to the V-series models in the Nikon 1 system than the smaller, lighter J-series. But at just over half a kilogram, it’s relatively large and heavy, which partially negates the reason for buying into the system.
Build and Handling
Although it’s large and bulky, the build quality of the review lens was generally very good. It appeared to be tightly assembled with no detectable ‘play’ when its inner barrel was extended. A specially-designed hood is supplied, along with front and end caps.
There’s no focusing ring on the lens, which means manual focusing must be controlled from the monitor screen display. (The rubberised ring near the rear of the outer barrel has no other purpose than providing a grip.) A bar on the right hand side of the screen provides a distance scale from ‘macro’ position to infinity. Turning the Multi-selector wheel around the arrow pad lets you shift focus between them.
This lens operates differently from most other zoom lenses and requires power to operate. When you switch the camera on, its inner barrel extends by approximately 32 mm. It retracts again when power is switched off. Once extended, the length of the lens barrel doesn’t change because focusing and zooming are fully internal.
It takes a second or two for the lens to extend, which could result in missed shots. Nikon has addressed this problem by providing a lock switch that prevents the inner barrel from retracting when the camera is switched off. Its downsides are that the lens is longer and requires more bag space and it still takes time (though not quite as long) for it to wake from the standby position when the camera is switched on.
Zooming is driven by a rocker switch on the side of the barrel, which is pressure sensitive. Pressing the rocker hard increases the zoom speed in still image mode. In movie mode, zooming is slower than for shooting stills.
The maximum aperture decreases during zooming and, as far as we have been able to determine, it goes from f/4.5 to f/5 between 10mm and 14.4mm and from f/5 to f/5.6 between 31mm and 43.8mm. The minimum aperture is f/16 across the zoom range.
It’s almost impossible to choose a specific focal length while zooming and, unlike Sony cameras, the focal length isn’t displayed on the monitor screen so users have little idea of what has been selected. Zooming seems to take place in pre-determined steps (so you may have to shift position when precise framing is required). This accounts for the somewhat strange focal length settings shown in our test graphs.
The zoom rocker and lock switch are the only external controls provided. Everything else ““ aperture setting, focusing and stabilisation ““ is controlled from the camera. The menu of the Nikon 1 V3 camera we used for testing this lens provide two stabilisation options: optical and electronic.
The optical VR (Vibration Reduction) system offers two modes: Normal and Active. The former counteracts normal camera shake, while the latter provide greater correction and is used while walking or when shooting from moving vehicles. Both modes include panning detection.
Performance
We tested the lens on the Nikon 1 V3 camera, which is reviewed separately. Imatest showed the lens to be capable of meeting expectations for the camera’s sensor at the centre of the image frame, although it fell short around the periphery. The graph below shows the results of our tests across the range of focal lengths we were able to measure in our test set-up.
Lateral chromatic aberration ranged between negligible and low, as shown in the graph of our Imatest results below. The red line marks the boundary between negligible and low CA, while the green line separates low and moderate CA.
We found traces of coloured fringing in the corners of a few shots captured in contrasty conditions but otherwise this doesn’t seem to be a major issue for everyday shooting. No CA correction is provided in the camera’s menu, although some adjustments may be made to JPEGs by default.
Rectilinear distortion was visible at all focal lengths. In-camera correction is available for JPEGs but raw files are not corrected and the examples displayed below have been taken from uncorrected raw files. Distortion slips from barrelling at the widest angles of view to pincushioning from about mid-way along the zoom range to the 100mm setting.
Vignetting is also noticeable in raw files, particularly at the corners of the frame. The menu doesn’t list any in-camera correction but it appears to be applied to JPEGs by default.
Autofocusing was very quiet and relatively fast, thanks in part to the camera’s AF system. It took just under a second to change focus from the closest point (about 50 cm) to near infinity at a focal length mid-way along the zoom range.
The closest focus is 30 cm at 10mm, increasing to 85 cm at 100mm, neither of which is ideal for macro shooting, although they can be used for close-up shots of larger flowers and insects.
Backlit subjects were generally handled very well. We found no significant loss of contrast and only minor flare artefacts with strongly backlit scenes, regardless of the focal length setting. Even when a bright light source was inside the frame, shots retained much of the subject’s inherent contrast.
Bokeh at the widest apertures was as expected for the relatively small image sensor in the camera and the limited wide apertures available. This was largely expected and unavoidable.
SPECS
Picture angle: 77 degrees to 9 degrees 10 minutes
Minimum aperture: f/16
Lens construction: 21 elements in 14 groups (including 2 aspherical lens elements, 3 ED lens elements, and one HRI lens element)
Lens mounts: Nikon 1 mount (CX)
Diaphragm Blades: 7 (circular aperture)
Focus drive: Stepping motor
Stabilisation: Lens shift VR using voice coil motors (VCMs)
Minimum focus: 30 cm at 10mm, 85 cm at 100mm
Maximum magnification: 0.127x
Filter size: 72 mm
Dimensions (Diameter x L): Approx. 77 x 95 mm
Weight: Approx. 530 grams
Standard Accessories: Front and end caps, HB-N102 Lens Hood
TESTS
Based on JPEG files taken with the Nikon 1 V3 camera.
SAMPLES
Vignetting at 10mm (taken from NEF.RAW file).
Vignetting at 100mm (taken from NEF.RAW file).
Vignetting at 100mm – JPEG file.
Rectilinear distortion at 10mm (taken from NEF.RAW file).
Rectilinear distortion at 100mm (taken from NEF.RAW file).
Close-up at 100mm focal length, ISO 800, 1/60 second at f/6.3. Flash fill.
10mm focal length, ISO 400, 1/200 second at f/5.6.
100mm focal length, ISO 400, 1/200 second at f/5.6.
10mm focal length, ISO 400, 1/200 second at f/5.6.
100mm focal length, ISO 400, 1/200 second at f/5.6.
100mm focal length, ISO 400, 1/200 second at f/5.6.
Crop from the above image enlarged to 100% showing traces of coloured fringing.
Strong backlighting; 16mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/4000 second at f/4.8.
Flare; 10mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/1600 second at f/5.
Close-up at 58mm; ISO 500, 1/250 second at f/5.6.
64mm focal length, ISO 800, 1/60 second at f/5.6.
100mm focal length, ISO 800, 1/80 second at f/5.6.
64mm focal length, ISO 400, 1/250 second at f/5.6.
37mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/60 second at f/5.6.
100mm focal length, ISO 800, 1/500 second at f/5.6.
31mm focal length, ISO 160, 1/500 second at f/5.3.
Screen grabs from movies shot using the 10-100mm lens can be found with our review of the Nikon 1 V3 camera.
Rating
RRP: n/a; ARP: AU$925; US$750
- Build: 8.8
- Handling: 8.3
- Image quality: 8.8
- Versatility: 8.8