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Conclusions
The Nikon AF Micro Nikkor 200mm f/4.0D IF-ED has some drawbacks, but image quality is very high both close up and at medium and far distances, and build quality is excellent (especially the robust tripod collar).
Will there be a “refresh” of this lens soon in 2010 or 2011? I suspect so, as a number of aspects are dated compared to Nikon’s current designs, and both the 60mm and 105mm designs have been refreshed. I expect that Nikon will use the same poorly designed tripod collar and lens foot approach found on its newer designs, a pity, but superior coatings and AF-S focusing would offer recompense. But excepting the lens coatings, it’s hard to see optical performance improving by much.
Sharpness
Excepting depth of field, there is little reason to stop down beyond f/5.6, with f/4 already providing very crisp results. Using f/11 shows a loss of contrast due to diffraction; optimal performance lies in the f/4 - f/8 range.
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Diglloyd DAP is DSLR-oriented, but also contains workflow and other topics. Much of the focus is on Canon and Nikon but also Pentax and Pentax medium format.
Special emphasis is placed on lens evaluation, focusing on Canon and Nikon and Sigma lenses, but with a few others like Rokinon/Samyang.
- Make better images by learning how to get the best results right away.
- Save money by choosing the right lens for your needs the first time, particularly some of the new Sigma Art lenses vs Nikon and Canon.
- Workflow discusses image organization, raw conversion and post processing. Many examples show processing parameters for direct insight into how the image was converted.
- Jaw-dropping image quality found nowhere else utilizing Retina-grade images up to full camera resolution, plus large crops [past 2 years or so].
- Real world examples with insights found nowhere else. Make sharper images just by understanding lens behavior you won’t read about elsewhere.
- Aperture series from wide open through stopped down, showing the full range of lens performance and bokeh.
- Optical quality analysis of field curvature, focus shift, sharpness, flare, distortion, and performance in the field.
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