Sharpness at 70mm

For this review, the sharpness test is carried out by photographing a real-world sample, rather than a test chart. The AF-P Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR was mounted on a Nikon D850, which was in-turn mounted on a sturdy tripod. Exposure delay was activated to prevent camera-shake. Any changes in tone you might see across the crops are due to natural light changes during the shooting session.

The full frame at 70mm

At 70mm, at the widest aperture of f/4.5, centre sharpness is very good. It becomes sharper at f/5.6, and slightly sharper at f/8. From f/11 softness starts to creep in again, becoming noticeably soft at f/22, and even more so at f/32. At the edges, sharpness is best between f/8 and f/16.

Aperture	Centre Crop	Edge Crop
f/4.5
f/5.6
f/8
f/11
f/16
f/22
f/32