Sharpness at 18mm

The sharpness tests for this review were carried out using a real-world subject rather than a test chart. The Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G VR lens was attached to a Nikon D7000 body, which in turn was mounted on a sturdy tripod. Slight tonal changes are due to slight changes in natural light during the session. The 100% crops represent about 1/400th of the total frame area.

The full frame at 18mm

Centre sharpness is good wide open at f/3.5, reaching excellent levels at f/5.6. Diffraction kicks in at around f11. The f16 setting is usable in a pinch, but f22 is best avoided.

The corners are soft and dark at the f/3.5 setting but sharpen up quite nicely upon stopping down. Some CA is visible in the raw files.

Aperture	Centre Crop	Edge Crop
f/3.5
f/5.6
f/8
f/11
f/16
f/22