Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm 1:4-5.6 G ED Lens (f/4-5.6)

Overall Rating:

This very, very compact lens has a 35mm equivalent range of 83mm-300mm on the DX/APS-C sized sensor. It is 20 years old and made in Japan, which is rare these days. Its debut price was $250 (USD).

Performance

This 55-200mm lens is very sharp at f=200mm. Overall, the sharpness/optical performance is negligibly greater than the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 55-200mm 1:4-5.6 G ED VR DX IF G. This is especially true greater than f=55mm because at f=55mm the lens is a touch soft. Because the lens lacks VR, keep the shutter speed high or use a tripod. Features ED glass which does nothing for the pincushion distortion (0.7%) it has on the long end.

Diffraction sets up around f/8 so shoot above this stop for maximum performance. Maximum performance is greater than f/8, such as f/6.3.

Color fringing is well controlled with this lens. It's better than its newer siblings.

The performance of this lens is compared here (it never beats the AF-S 55-300mm ED VR in the center):

• at 50mm
• at 135mm
• at 200mm

Construction

This lens is all plastic, including the lens mount. It lacks a focus scale and depth of field scale and therefore no infrared focus index. These features are not found to save costs. It has to be refocused after zooming, and focus speed is not bad but not instant and is faster than the 55-300mm VR. There is an A/M switch on it that must be turned to M to enable manual focusing. Attempting to manually focus the lens when this switch is set to A will damage the lens. The front element does not turn while zooming or focusing making life with a polarizer easy.

This lens is smaller than the Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6 G VR.

Bokeh

The bokeh is semi-busy. It could be worse.

Infrared

Like most consumer grade lenses by Nikon, this one is good at infrared.

Comparison

Three obvious advantages this lens has over the 55-300mm VR version are the maximum aperture is wider at 55mm (f/4), its faster autofocus and its more compact size. It is so compact that it fits in the palm of the hand! If compactness has priority over reach then this should be the lens of choice.

Apertures

Pros and Cons

• Pros:
  • Very compact design; easy for travel
  • Good infrared performance
  • Doesn't flare easily
  • Has ED elements
  • Takes standard 52mm filters
  • The maximum aperture of f/4 at 55mm is decent
• Cons:
  • Doesn't have Vibration Reduction
  • It's a touch soft early and midway in the zoom
  • All plastic construction
  • No automatic manual-focus override

Specifications

• Focal length: 55-200mm
• Maximum aperture: f/4
• Minimum aperture: f/32
• ø52mm filter ring
• Lens construction: 13 elements in 9 groups. (Two ED glass elements).
• Picture angle: 29° at f=55mm and 8° at f=200mm
• Distance scale: 0.95m/3.12ft. to infinity
• 1:4.3 (0.23×) maximum reproduction ratio at 3.1 ft. f=200mm
• Price: $250 (USD) (2005)

Images

Related links:

• Nikon Nikkor Lens Reviews
• All Lens Reviews