Sharpness

Sharpness at 28mm

The sharpness tests for this review were carried out using a real-world subject rather than a test chart. The Nikon AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens was attached to a Nikon D700 body, which in turn was mounted on a sturdy tripod. Exposure delay mode was activated. Slight tonal changes are due to slight changes in natural light during the session. The 100% crops represent about 1/300th of the total frame area.

The full frame at 28mm

Centre sharpness is pretty even across the aperture range – there is a bit of softness wide open, but details sharpen up rapidly upon stopping down. If I had to choose an optimum aperture, it would be f/8.

Edge sharpness is best in the f/11-f/16 range.

Aperture	Centre Crop	Edge Crop
f/3.5
f/4
f/5.6
f/8
f/11
f/16
f/22