I'm returning my Nikon 70-300VR

M-M wrote:
At first I thought this lens was the best thing since automobile GPS
but I am extremely disappointed.

On a tripod with the VR turned off, nothing was sharp at full crop. I
took the same picture with a different lens, same focal length and the
image was sharp.

Sure, it can help with hand movement but I get the feeling there is so
much going on inside this lens that it's impossible to get the optics
right.

It's going back tomorrow.

So...you bought a VR lens so that you could turn it off on a tripod?

Perhaps your test should be handholding both lenses under the conditions
that lens was built for.

--
Images (Plus Snaps & Grabs) by Mark² at:
www.pbase.com/markuson

"Mark²" mjmorgan(lowest even number wrote in message
...
M-M wrote:
At first I thought this lens was the best thing since automobile GPS
but I am extremely disappointed.

On a tripod with the VR turned off, nothing was sharp at full crop. I
took the same picture with a different lens, same focal length and the
image was sharp.

Sure, it can help with hand movement but I get the feeling there is so
much going on inside this lens that it's impossible to get the optics
right.

It's going back tomorrow.

So...you bought a VR lens so that you could turn it off on a tripod?

Perhaps your test should be handholding both lenses under the conditions
that lens was built for.

--
Images (Plus Snaps & Grabs) by Mark² at:
www.pbase.com/markuson

If it is not sharp under ideal conditions I would be sending it back too.

Pete D wrote:
"Mark²" mjmorgan(lowest even number wrote in message
...
M-M wrote:
At first I thought this lens was the best thing since automobile GPS
but I am extremely disappointed.

On a tripod with the VR turned off, nothing was sharp at full crop.
I took the same picture with a different lens, same focal length
and the image was sharp.

Sure, it can help with hand movement but I get the feeling there is
so much going on inside this lens that it's impossible to get the
optics right.

It's going back tomorrow.

So...you bought a VR lens so that you could turn it off on a tripod?

Perhaps your test should be handholding both lenses under the
conditions that lens was built for.

--
Images (Plus Snaps & Grabs) by Mark² at:
www.pbase.com/markuson

If it is not sharp under ideal conditions I would be sending it back
too.

There are many lenses that are imperfect, yet they serve a special purpose.
The special purpose of VR lenses at the consumer level is primarily for
hand-held shooting. If that is the purpose, then I think the test should
involve that. I agree that basic sharpness is important, but in the case of
hand-holding, other blur-factors can become even more immportant. How does
the lens stack up against it's non-IS counterpart when hand held? It's
quite possible that results will still be better with that IS lens.
It all depends on the intended use.
Keep it...send it back...but at least remember what the lens was designed to
deal with.
If you want absolute sharpness, then pay for professional glass. The 70-300
isn't that.
--
Images (Plus Snaps & Grabs) by Mark² at:
www.pbase.com/markuson

Which is a pain in the butt, because I was thinking of buying one. :-(

--
Joan
http://www.flickr.com/photos/joan-in-manly

"Pete D" wrote in message
...
:
:
: If it is not sharp under ideal conditions I would be sending it back
too.
:
:

M-M writes:
It turns out much of the problem was mirror shake, which for some reason
this lens is more sensitive to. When I locked the mirror, the image was fine.

What Nikon DSLR has mirror lockup? Do you mean you used the self timer?

Paul Rubin wrote:
M-M writes:
It turns out much of the problem was mirror shake, which for some reason
this lens is more sensitive to. When I locked the mirror, the image was fine.

What Nikon DSLR has mirror lockup? Do you mean you used the self timer?

My D200 does.

M-M wrote:
Update from original poster:

It turns out much of the problem was mirror shake, which for some reason
this lens is more sensitive to. When I locked the mirror, the image was
fine.

I will keep the lens. The VR is worth it.

If the mirror made that big a difference I wonder about
your tripod setup and release method. I hang my gear
on the tripod and use a shutter release. I don't know why
a particular lens would be more sensitive at at given
focal length.

M-M wrote:
In article ,
Fletis Humplebacker wrote:

If the mirror made that big a difference I wonder about
your tripod setup and release method. I hang my gear
on the tripod and use a shutter release. I don't know why
a particular lens would be more sensitive at at given
focal length.


It's not the tripod or the technique. Other lenses do not do it at the
same focal length. I have the feeling the mirror shakes the lens
elements in addition to the camera body and no tripod can help that.

Does the VR being on in this test situation mitigate the mirror slap?

--
John McWilliams

"Pete D" wrote in message
...
:
:
: If it is not sharp under ideal conditions I would be sending it back
too.

"Joan" wrote in message ...
Which is a pain in the butt, because I was thinking of buying one. :-(

--
Joan
http://www.flickr.com/photos/joan-in-manly


As I have tried to point out repeatedly over the years, samples of
lenses do vary somewhat, and defective samples are not unknown.
Before giving up on this lens, exchange it for the same lens. BTW,
see my http://www.ferrario.com/ruether/slemn.html for more on this.
--
David Ruether


http://www.ferrario.com/ruether

Paul Rubin wrote:
M-M writes:
It turns out much of the problem was mirror shake, which for some reason
this lens is more sensitive to. When I locked the mirror, the image was fine.

What Nikon DSLR has mirror lockup? Do you mean you used the self timer?

The D200 certainly does (it also has a 0.4s delay if you prefer it, eg
if you don't have a remote release handy), and I think so do the D2H
and D2X [assuming you consider smaller than full-frame cameras worthy
of the name "DSLR" ]