zandy_marantal
09-23-2006, 12:03 AM
As requested by the guys from Dave's thread, here are the details of the tests I've conducted...
Introduction
The measurebator in me have always wanted to do this but unfortunately, I just haven't had the time and also the weather hasn't been good the past several weeks. Thankfully, the stars were aligned last weekend and I finallly had a chance to get some test shots. Disclaimer: I just want to emphasize that this test is in no way scientific. It was just done to satisfy my curiosity. Also, the results only compared my copy of these lenes. Yours may perform better or worse. Anyway, so much for my babbling and on to the comparison.
Testing Methodology
The setup consisted of placing the camera on Kirk Bh-3 ballhead attached to a Gitzo 1325 tripod with G1321 leveling head. The camera exposure delay mode was turned on (option d5 on the D200) and the shutter was triggered by a 10 second timer. A couple of sets of tests were taken. One with VR enabled, and one with VR turned off. For each set, 2 shots were taken and the less sharper image was discarded(they were mostly identical). The camera was set in aperture mode (light was changing as the clouds come and go) and matrix metering was used.
Image Processing
The images were captured in RAW mode then converted to jpeg using Nikon Capture using the "excellent" jpeg conversion setting. The images were then scaled down to 72ppi using Photoshop CS2. Then after, 100% crops were taken and used for comparison.
VR
The result set for the 70-200 with VR on was discarded as enabling VR made the output worse almost to the point of being unusable. The VR setting on the 200mm however wasn't a factor as the lens was able to detect whether or not it was on a stable platform.
Optimum Aperture
The aperture where both lenses were at its sharpest was at f/5.6. (The image started to degrade past that)
The Lenses
There a lot of sites out there that gives plenty of information about each lens so I'm not going to discuss them here. What i'm going to show though is a couple of shots of the lenses side by side so you can get an idea of how they differ size-wise.
http://zandy.smugmug.com/photos/92758633-M.jpg
Without their respective hoods (the 200mm VR is actually shorter)
http://zandy.smugmug.com/photos/92758685-M.jpg
Image captured
Below is a sample of the full test image that was taken using both lenses. The red square is where the crop was taken from.
http://zandy.smugmug.com/photos/97108579-L.jpg
to be continued since the forum only allows up to 4 images per post...:)
Introduction
The measurebator in me have always wanted to do this but unfortunately, I just haven't had the time and also the weather hasn't been good the past several weeks. Thankfully, the stars were aligned last weekend and I finallly had a chance to get some test shots. Disclaimer: I just want to emphasize that this test is in no way scientific. It was just done to satisfy my curiosity. Also, the results only compared my copy of these lenes. Yours may perform better or worse. Anyway, so much for my babbling and on to the comparison.
Testing Methodology
The setup consisted of placing the camera on Kirk Bh-3 ballhead attached to a Gitzo 1325 tripod with G1321 leveling head. The camera exposure delay mode was turned on (option d5 on the D200) and the shutter was triggered by a 10 second timer. A couple of sets of tests were taken. One with VR enabled, and one with VR turned off. For each set, 2 shots were taken and the less sharper image was discarded(they were mostly identical). The camera was set in aperture mode (light was changing as the clouds come and go) and matrix metering was used.
Image Processing
The images were captured in RAW mode then converted to jpeg using Nikon Capture using the "excellent" jpeg conversion setting. The images were then scaled down to 72ppi using Photoshop CS2. Then after, 100% crops were taken and used for comparison.
VR
The result set for the 70-200 with VR on was discarded as enabling VR made the output worse almost to the point of being unusable. The VR setting on the 200mm however wasn't a factor as the lens was able to detect whether or not it was on a stable platform.
Optimum Aperture
The aperture where both lenses were at its sharpest was at f/5.6. (The image started to degrade past that)
The Lenses
There a lot of sites out there that gives plenty of information about each lens so I'm not going to discuss them here. What i'm going to show though is a couple of shots of the lenses side by side so you can get an idea of how they differ size-wise.
http://zandy.smugmug.com/photos/92758633-M.jpg
Without their respective hoods (the 200mm VR is actually shorter)
http://zandy.smugmug.com/photos/92758685-M.jpg
Image captured
Below is a sample of the full test image that was taken using both lenses. The red square is where the crop was taken from.
http://zandy.smugmug.com/photos/97108579-L.jpg
to be continued since the forum only allows up to 4 images per post...:)