Performance at ƒ/16 is fairly good up to 105mm, but at 200mm and 300mm it's mediocre at best. At 105mm it's not so bad, even offering better results stopped down to ƒ/8, but at 200mm and 300mm results for sharpness are only average, making us think that some design concessions have come in to play to offer the extra-long telephoto ability.ĭiffraction limiting sets in at ƒ/11 for this lens, meaning that any sharpness advantage obtained from stopping down is very limited, especially at the more telephoto end of the lens where the maximum aperture starts at ƒ/5.6. Even wide-open at ƒ/5.3 the results are almost tack-sharp in fact, stopping down does nothing to improve overall sharpness at this setting, it just gets very slightly worse as you do so.Īt the telephoto settings - 105mm and longer - we see a return of corner softness when used at the widest aperture settings (ƒ/5.6) with worse central sharpness as you zoom towards 300mm. Sharpness is excellent at the 50mm setting, with a very curious about-face compared to what we noted a few millimeters previously at 28mm. Stopping down at 28mm offers some slight improvements, but again, corner softness is never mitigated at this focal length. I would say if you wanted to isolate a subject in the center of the frame this is actually an effect you might like, but if you wanted everything to be in focus, avoid the 28mm setting. Zoom in to 28mm and you get much softer corners, while the center is about the same.

This improves very slightly at ƒ/5.6 - the central area gets somewhat sharper - but corners are never tack-sharp. Wide open at 18mm and ƒ/3.5, the lens offers decent results for sharpness, with a sharper center and very light corner softness. The Nikon 18-300mm ƒ/3.5-5.6 offers decent results for sharpness, but there are some curious results that are worth specific mention. The lens is available now for around $1,000. The lens takes 77mm filters, and ships with the HB-58 petal-shaped hood. The following table reflects the change in aperture with focal length: Focal Length The lens uses a variable aperture, in that as you increase the focal length, both the maximum and minimum aperture sizes decrease. The lens was designed to fit on camera bodies fitted with an APS-C sensor, and while it will mount on FX bodies, massive vignetting will result.

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