Nikkor 18-140 F3.5-5.6 vr

heartyfisher

Have had my 18-140 VR for a week now. Just wanted to share my thoughts on it, esp compared with my 18-200 vr.

Some user reviews on the net say its comparable to the 18-105 in terms of IQ .. That looks right to me, however I do not own a 18-105, though I have tested it in the shop a while back...

I got it as a possible replacement for my old 18-200.

My first impressions was .. not the best.. Its build quality seemed slightly lower than the 18-200. Weight wise it seems almost the same. Same with the size. So its not really a saving in size and weight.. just losing the 140-200 mm end of the zoom. Furthermore, there is no active VR mode just VR on and VR off. I am not sure what this means ie. is the VR on the 18-140 equivalent to both active and normal or is it just normal. It also didn't come with a lens hood which added to my bad mood .. :-)

Anyway after a few days my bad mood subsided and I took it for a walk around the streets. Usage performance wise it was similar to the 18-200 ie I didn't notice if it was faster to focus or not but I have not tested it on birds in flight. The zoom was much tighter and there is no zoom creep at all even with the lens pointed straight up or down.

Earlier today I did some IQ test shots side by side between the 2 lenses. The subject was a cheap plastic dusty chess board (about 5 feet away) back lit by the late afternoon sun. I also tested the new 18-140 with my Raynox DCR250 macro closeup adapter as it easily snaps on to the 67mm filter but not the 18-200's 72mm filter)

I have just looked at the images from my little street walk and the test shots, and I am pleasantly surprised! They are almost the same and if you don't look carefully you wont notice it. But, in almost every way the new 18-140 has an advantage. The biggest advantage would seem to me to be at the edges where the images seems nicer, probably due to the shape and rendering of the bokeh and the almost lack of CA. Overall its also a tiny bit sharper lens. It feels like its a very much sharper lens but I realized that its because at 200mm the 18-200 is really not sharp wide open and I tend to use it from 150-200 mm.

As I mentioned earlier the bokeh is really much better on the new 18-140. No where near the great cream lenses like the 85mm primes or F2.8 zooms but a lot better than the 18-200!

Will post some images and write more when I have a chance to evaluate it a bit more.. but it looks like the 18-140 is going to replace my 18-200.

shawnino

Thank you very much for posting the review. Looking forward to your test shots.

On the one hand I'm annoyed that Nikon R&D spends seemingly excess time fiddling with 18-xxx lenses when they could be working on other projects. On the other, if there ever comes a day when I want to buy 18-xxx, it's commentary like yours that will inform my decision. This type of analysis, and accompanying test shots, will save me a bucket of time and I appreciate it very much.

spraynpray

Good info hearty, thanks. Can't wait to see the images.

Having gone from the 18-105 to the 16-85 and not got a tangible improvement, I hope the 18-140 is going to improve things for DX shooters. Does it have a plastic or steel mount? Is it weather sealed?

Not on topic, but an f4 top quality lens would have been better received maybe.

PB_PM

I don't think the 18-140 VR is intended as a replacement for the 18-200mm VR, so the comparison seems a little odd. If anything it should be compared to the 18-135mm (no VR), that Nikon said it came in to replace. It is a kit lens. No super duper features or weather sealing. Metal mount.

What I have noticed in the last month is that the D7100 is no longer shipping kitted with the 18-105mm VR. What kit is shipping in its place? The 18-140mm VR. In fact, I cannot find any cameras kitted with the older 18-105mm VR through a major Canadian retailer (as of October 5). The 18-105mm VR is still listed to be purchased on it's own.

sevencrossing

Not on topic, but an f4 top quality lens would have been better received maybe.

Nikon make 3 top quality f 4 lenses 16 -35; 24-120; 70 -200 were is the gap?

spraynpray

I'm talking about DX sevencrossing, 24 is an awkward FL to have the crossover which is why the DX lenses crossover at 16-18 and go to 85. 105, 135 or even 200 or 300 if one is looking for an all in one solution. Most users of DX wouldn't use the 16-35 as it is too narrow a zoom range even though it is a high quality FX lens. I prefer to think of it as an alternative to the 14-24 rather than a wide angle DX lens.

heartyfisher

Apologies .. facebook sure messes up photos :-(

After playing around with the files and looking at the curve adjustments I noticed that the contrast is really good on the 18-140!

100% crop .. of that dusty chessboard..
Notice the darker dark and nicer circle highlights(bokeh). also the sharpness is quite a bit better vs the 18-200 @ 200mm and a touch better than the 18-200 @135mm. sorry that the Facebook rendition of the image does not show up the sharpness well.


18-140 F16 + DCR250 .. macro of cigarette butt.


18-140 F5.6 140mm flowers hanging in an alleyway.


{PS facebook lost all of my images .. switched to flickr .. totally lost faith in FB now.. }

spraynpray

As you said, the facebook images don't help us with the sharpness but it looks like the best DX 'kit' lens yet - maybe for the D400 8-|

I am always impressed with your DCR250 hearty.

I look forward to the DxO Mark test of that 18-140 lens.

heartyfisher

Yeah that DCR is fun .. and gets pretty close to a real macro lens :-)
I will sure keep an eye on the DXO report too..

Same image as above but uploaded to my shiny new flickr account ..

heartyfisher

DXO tests for this lens are out.. its the best super zoom for the D7100 ! happy that my impressions are mostly consistent with the review :-)

clskelton

DXO tests for this lens are out.. its the best super zoom for the D7100 ! happy that my impressions are mostly consistent with the review :-)

Does the 18-140 pump in and out when it zooms like the 18-200 does? I'm guessing it does but I never could find an answer.

Photobug

The question was asked: "What I have noticed in the last month is that the D7100 is no longer shipping kitted with the 18-105mm VR. What kit is shipping in its place? The 18-140mm VR. In fact, I cannot find any cameras kitted with the older 18-105mm VR through a major Canadian retailer (as of October 5). The 18-105mm VR is still listed to be purchased on it's own.

I was looking on B&H's site and noticed that the D7100 is being bundled with the 18-140mm instead of the 18-105mm.

NSXTypeR

DXO tests for this lens are out.. its the best super zoom for the D7100 ! happy that my impressions are mostly consistent with the review :-)

Does the 18-140 pump in and out when it zooms like the 18-200 does? I'm guessing it does but I never could find an answer.

It probably does. It looks like it's similar to the 18-105 and the 18-135. I own the 18-135 and that blows a lot of air through the viewfinder.

heartyfisher

DXO tests for this lens are out.. its the best super zoom for the D7100 ! happy that my impressions are mostly consistent with the review :-)

Does the 18-140 pump in and out when it zooms like the 18-200 does? I'm guessing it does but I never could find an answer.

It probably does. It looks like it's similar to the 18-105 and the 18-135. I own the 18-135 and that blows a lot of air through the viewfinder.

Yes its the same type of lense.

DaveyJ

The 18-140 looks very good to me as I have photographed with it. My 18-105 I use the least of my lenses.