It so happens that I picked up a rather inexpensive (supposedly in need of repair, but in reality didn't need any such thing) 100-300mm Nikon Nikkor f/5.6 AiS.
I've recently been impressed by the Nikon 75-150mm E-series (yes! it's true) and the Nikkor 80-200mm f/4.5 N Ai zoom lenses. None of the more modern Canon EOS zoom lenses were ever this close to being wonderfully razor sharp at the point of focus and creamy smooth in the out of focus regions. So when this 100-300mm AiS Nikkor came along for so little money, I had to have a look at it's performance.
Setup -
Comparison Results -
[If you click on the image it'll take you to the Flickr hosting site. Once there, look at the file at full resolution. In many cases the differences between lenses is small and likely can't be seen until you take a squint at the comparison at 100 percent.]
Comments -
Comparing the Nikon Nikkor 100-300mm f/5.6 AiS to a Nikon Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 Ai, I see that both the 105mm and 100-300mm lenses are both very sharp in the center of the frame. At the edges, the 100-300mm lens remains very sharp. It appears the 105mm f/2.5 Ai suffers from a bit of field curvature as the edges of the frame are clearly not as sharp as the zoom on this 2D subject.
Comparing the Nikon Nikkor 100-300mm f/5.6 AiS to a Nikon Nikkor 135mm f/3.5 Ai, I see that both the 135mm and 100-300mm lenses are very sharp in the center of the frame. At the edges, the 135mm lens remains very sharp, with the 100-300mm lens trailing ever so slightly in terms of absolute resolution.
Comparing the Nikon Nikkor 100-300mm f/5.6 AiS to a Super-Takumar 200mm f/4 M42 lens, I see that the 200mm is very slightly sharper than the 100-300mm lens in the center of the frame. At the edges, the 200mm lens is very slightly less sharp than the 100-300mm lens.
Comparing the Nikon Nikkor 100-300mm f/5.6 AiS to a Nikon Nikkor 300mm f/4.5 pre-Ai, I see that the 100-300mm lens is very sharp straight across the field. The fixed focal length 300mm f/4.5 lens is clearly behind the zoom in terms of resolution.
Overall, the Nikon Nikkor 100-300mm f/5.6 AiS lens is truly outstanding at f/5.6 (which is wide open with this optic) and f/8. In the center it can keep up with the fixed focal length lenses I compared this zoom to. The optic's field is surprisingly flat and exceeds three of the four fixed focal length lenses in terms of flat field resolution at the extreme edges of the frame.
So, how much did this super sharp wonder zoom set me back? 30Euros.
I've recently been impressed by the Nikon 75-150mm E-series (yes! it's true) and the Nikkor 80-200mm f/4.5 N Ai zoom lenses. None of the more modern Canon EOS zoom lenses were ever this close to being wonderfully razor sharp at the point of focus and creamy smooth in the out of focus regions. So when this 100-300mm AiS Nikkor came along for so little money, I had to have a look at it's performance.
Setup -
- Sony A6000, 100ISO, 2 second delay timer, RawTherapee conversion software
- Big Beefy Manfrotto tripod
- Lenses compared
- Nikon Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 Ai
- Nikon Nikkor 135mm f/3.5 Ai
- Super-Takumar 200mm f/4
- Nikon Nikkor 300mm f/4.5 pre-Ai
- Nikon Nikkor 100-300mm f/5.6 AiS
- compared at 100mm
- 135mm
- 200mm
- 300mm
- Lens Turbo II adapter with the Nikkors, but not the Takumar
Comparison Results -
[If you click on the image it'll take you to the Flickr hosting site. Once there, look at the file at full resolution. In many cases the differences between lenses is small and likely can't be seen until you take a squint at the comparison at 100 percent.]
Comments -
Comparing the Nikon Nikkor 100-300mm f/5.6 AiS to a Nikon Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 Ai, I see that both the 105mm and 100-300mm lenses are both very sharp in the center of the frame. At the edges, the 100-300mm lens remains very sharp. It appears the 105mm f/2.5 Ai suffers from a bit of field curvature as the edges of the frame are clearly not as sharp as the zoom on this 2D subject.
Comparing the Nikon Nikkor 100-300mm f/5.6 AiS to a Nikon Nikkor 135mm f/3.5 Ai, I see that both the 135mm and 100-300mm lenses are very sharp in the center of the frame. At the edges, the 135mm lens remains very sharp, with the 100-300mm lens trailing ever so slightly in terms of absolute resolution.
Comparing the Nikon Nikkor 100-300mm f/5.6 AiS to a Super-Takumar 200mm f/4 M42 lens, I see that the 200mm is very slightly sharper than the 100-300mm lens in the center of the frame. At the edges, the 200mm lens is very slightly less sharp than the 100-300mm lens.
Comparing the Nikon Nikkor 100-300mm f/5.6 AiS to a Nikon Nikkor 300mm f/4.5 pre-Ai, I see that the 100-300mm lens is very sharp straight across the field. The fixed focal length 300mm f/4.5 lens is clearly behind the zoom in terms of resolution.
Overall, the Nikon Nikkor 100-300mm f/5.6 AiS lens is truly outstanding at f/5.6 (which is wide open with this optic) and f/8. In the center it can keep up with the fixed focal length lenses I compared this zoom to. The optic's field is surprisingly flat and exceeds three of the four fixed focal length lenses in terms of flat field resolution at the extreme edges of the frame.
So, how much did this super sharp wonder zoom set me back? 30Euros.
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