Nikon 180 mm f/2.8D IF ED: A closer look

Sharpness on the Nikon D3 Below, you can see crops from images taken with the Nikon D3 full frame camera. The images have been taken with a cable release and mirror lock-up. The camera was on tripod. Focusing has been done with the aid of live-view (highest magnification, manual focusing). Full image with crop positions: Crops: At 180mm (long distance) Lens sharpness can vary over the whole image in a very strange manner and the crops sometimes just can't show this. Sharpness at left / right edge doesn't mean sharpness in the center or in the outermost corners. That's why I've included some full resolution images: Full resolution sample (at f/2.8) Full resolution sample (at f/4) Full resolution sample (at f/5.6) Full resolution sample (at f/8) Use a good monitor and open them in Photoshop or any other program with color managment. Open two pictures at the same time and zoom in to 100 %.

Vignetting on the Nikon D3 The following images show a part of the sky at different apertures (images taken on tripod, showing the same part of the sky). The images also demonstrate the effect of filters and lens hoods. Follow the link below to see the amount of vignetting: 180 mm & infinity setting