Z 24-120 corner softness at 24 and 120mm?
1 month ago
Is this what others have found? Mine seems to be this way, and particularly at f/4 and f/5.6, and in some cases, f/8 in the corners especially at 100%. Center sharpness is always good, and I found that in the middle of the range (say 35 - 70mm) is very sharp. 120mm was sharp but only from f/8 to f/11 in the corners (center sharpness still good). 24mm was the worst and I'd say the sharpest of the bunch fo test shots was maybe f/16, even f/8 was a bit soft in the corners. I'd say out of the whole range, 24mm is the worst...
As for testing method (in case there are questions on methodology): on a tripod, IBIS off, used the 5 second self timer, silent/electronic shutter, ISO 200 (to keep shutter speed reasonable and under 5 seconds as I was shooting indoors at night in artificial light). Also always verified that the lens was at least at min focusing distance and that AF confirmed focus. Test chart is also a flat chart on a wall. I guess the somewhat "bothersome".
The perhaps more interesting thing is that it seems that even my 24-200 @ 200 or @150 was about the same as the 24-120 at 120.... which says a lot for the 24-200. There is some corner softness on the 24-200 but I'd almost say there's more on the 24-120 at 120 (at least in my copy). But again, center sharpness remained throughout all the tests, and I'd say even mid-frame sharpness was good. I know corners are usually the toughest part of most lenses and where sharpness tends to fall off, but this was a bit surprising to me. I will say the Z 24-120 is considerably better than the F mount version IMO.
Thoughts? I know the MTFs sort of probably tell the same story, but I was just checking if anyone had one that happened to be sharp at 24mm especially mid-frame or corners stepped down, and if I should consider swapping this one for another one? I have about another 2 weeks to decide. Then it would have to go to Nikon under warranty.
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