[Dave]

This Lens Test is comparing Optical Qualities of lenses from different price ranges. How does a budget prime compare to a Pro Zoom Lens. Does a Wide Angle -> Telephoto Zoom compromise the final Photo Quality ?

The lenses for test are :-

Nikon AF 50mm f/1.8 D UK Street Price £130
Nikon AF-S 18-200mm DX VR 3.5-5.6G IF-ED UK Street Price £550
Nikon AF-S 17-55mm DX f/2.8 G UK Street Price £970

Note this is not a full blown test, but concentrates on 2 example shots for each lens, taking a cropped area from each for comparison. Test such as edge quality etc have not been performed, so should be taken into account.

Read on......

[Dave]

All lenses shot at 50mm f/5, hand held. Same focus point used in each shot. VR was switched off for 18-200 lens
Full shot shown below, with red box indicating the final 100% crop used for comparison



Summary comparison below

[Dave]

All lenses shot at 50mm f/5, hand held. Same focus point used in each shot. VR was switched off for 18-200 lens
Full shot shown below, with red box indicating the final 100% crop used for comparison




Summary Comaparison shot below :-

[Dave]

Results

Looking purely at final image quality ...

1st : Nikkor 50mm
2nd : Nikkor 17-55mm
3rd : Nikkor 18-200mm


Conclusion

We've heard time & time again that any kind of zoom is a compromise over a prime lens. Well, the above tests prove this, with the "nifty fifty" just pipping the 17-55mm , which costs 8 times more . Taking into account you can get the 50mm for £70 incl P&P from Hong Kong, it's an absolute bargain

Full credit has to go to the 17-55mm for getting that close to a prime lens, whilst still having the advantage of the zoom focal range.

This was a harsh test for 18-200. From a zoom perspective it was competing with the 17-55 at nearly double the price. At the end of the day though, there is a price to pay for such a wide focal range & that is shown in the comparisons above. Remember though these examples have been showing you down to actual pixal level the sharpness of the lens. In normal viewing mode the differences in quality are not so savage.

Note the above tests have shown just part of the features you should compare before choosing a lens. It is always best to try a lens for real before handing over your hard earned cash.

Hope this test was of interest for our members.

[Gary Bagshawe]

Very good example, cheers

[MickB]

Thanks for taking the time Dave. I've always wondered what the difference would be & I don't think I've seen anyone perform this kind of test before.

That 50mm does look a bargain !!!

[Steve]

It’s a great review and the conclusion does back up the general agreement that a prime lens will always be sharper than a zoom, I guess we have to decide if the sacrifice is worth the versatility that the zoom will give.

One thing I would like to ask is about your shutter speeds, If these were all shot of a tripod with mirror lock up I guess it wouldn't matter so much, but you say shot 'hand held' and that could introduce an amount of blur depending on the shutter speed.

On this occasion it appears the results have been unaffected though.

[Dave]

No problems with the shutter speeds, I made sure I had them fast enough so blurring was not in the equation.

[noah]

a good test dave thanks

[P-E]

Third book along is upside down Dave

Good test and that 17-55mm comes pretty close to the 50mm....certainly see a difference between the 17-55mm and the 18-200mm but as you say the 17-55mm is twice the cost.

Now get out and use that 17-55mm but don't show me any pictures

[stepheno]

Good test Dave - now do it again for Canon lenses Before I got to your conclusion it was clear to me that the 50mm had it. Thanks for sharing.

regards

[Dave]

LOL. Whats the equivalent Canon Lens to the Nikon 17-55 Pro lens ?

[Steve]

Canon 17-40 L ? Only 15mm difference

[MickB]

Shame as you can't compare like for like with your 50mm could you Steve ?. Would be interesting to see how close that lens gets.

[Steve]

No unfortunately I can't.

My lenses where carefully chosen so that their ranges wouldn't overlap too much, if at all.