The New Nikon AF-S 16-35mm F4 ED VR lens has arrived from ECS (European Camera Specialists). I only had the 17-35 for about 4 weeks when i returned the lens due to the AF screeching when focussing. On the D3, the lens suffered from some very mush corners even stopped down and this is not what we need when shooting large groups at weddings. For Automotive photography the corners isnt really a concern.
A couple of weeks ago, i had a quick opportunity (see a previous blog post) to test out the 16-35. I found the borders much better @ F4 on this new lens than my copy of the 17-35. Considering the D3's ISO Capabilities, the need for a fast F2.8 ultra wide angle lens is no longer a neccessity.
Yesterday i walked around the city for pretty much one reason.... to see if this Vibration Reduction (VR) works..... well in short, it does, to an extent. I'd say that there a 1-2 stop gain with VR, so you could shoot as low as 1/4th sec. i was even successful at 1/3rd Sec but i'd say that was a fluke as my hands aren't the steadiest and when i tried again straight after i couldnt achieve the same feat.
Sharpness? I cant really speak for sharpness right now as i was testing out VR and many shots were taken past F11 or F13, which is where diffraction starts to set in..... however i can say that at F4, its looking promising. Distortion wise i already knew that this would be an issue, however for these snaps i didnt really look at the distortion side of things. Vignetting, its clear you can see them in the excavator shot (shot @ F4)
These shots are just a general idea to see what this lens is about and where my limits are when hand holding. Once i know this i can put this into practise in my line of work. Landscape & Street Photography is not something that i specialise in.
I will be putting this lens through its paces at a car shoot soon... that way i can see if this is ideal, eg. weight, sharpness, flexability.
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