Sweet Spot: Nikon Lenses - Primes and Zooms

Definition: What is a Sweet Spot?
Technically speaking, the sweet spot of a lens is the f-stop, where chromatic aberrations and vignetting are at a minimum and sharpness (resolution) is at a maximum from the center to the edges. Non-technically speaking, the sweet spot of a lens is the aperture at which the lens gives you the best possible image quality. I think it’s quite clear why you should know this. So it’s even more surprising that manufacturers do not tell you these things. The sweet-spots for the following lenses are from my own experience with those lenses and technical data from sites such as DxOMark. Please note that the sweet spot may differ slightly between a crop-sensor and a full-frame sensor.

In the following, I will list several Nikon lenses and their respective sweet spot. Please note that this is the average sweet spot between center and edges. The center sweet spot is usually one stop below, while the border sweet spot is usually one stop above.

Writing and researching stuff like this takes a lot of time and effort. If you find this page helpful, please use my links to Amazon, Adorama, and B&H Photo. I have been using these stores for years for their great customer service, quality, and low prices. Using these links does not cost you anything, but it helps me keep this site running and updated.

While writing this article, I found that Adorama had the best prices on Nikon lenses. That may change with time, so it’s good to compare.

Nikon Prime Lenses:

Nikkor AF 14mm f/2.8 D ED: f/5.6 to f/8
Nikkor AF 20mm f/2.8 D: f/5.6
Nikkor AF 24mm f/2.8D: f/5.6
Nikkor AF 28mm f/1.4D: f/4 to f/5.6
Nikkor AF 35mm f/2D: f/5.6 to f/8
Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.4D: f/4 to f/5.6
Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.8 D: f/5.6
Nikkor AF 85mm f/1.4D: f/5.6
Nikkor AF 85mm f/1.8D: f/5.6
Micro-Nikkor AF-S 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED VR: f/5.6
Micro-Nikkor AF 105mm f/2.8 D: f/5.6 to f/8
Nikkor AF 105mm f/2 D DC: f/5.6
Nikkor AF 135mm f/2 D DC: f/4 to f/5.6
Nikkor AF 180mm f/2.8 IF-ED: f/5.6 to f/8
Nikkor AF-S 200mm f/2 G ED VR: f/5.6 to f/8
Nikkor AF 200mm f/4 D ED: f/8
Nikkor AF-S 300mm f/4D IF-ED: f/8

Nikon Zoom Lenses:

Nikkor AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8G ED N: f/4 to f/5.6
Nikkor AF-S 16-35mm f/4 G ED VR: f/5.6 to f/11
Nikkor AF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 G IF-ED DX: f/5.6
Nikkor 18mm – 55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX: f/11
Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G ED: f/4 to f/5.6
Nikkor AF 24-85mm f/2.8-4 D IF: f/4 to f/5.6
Nikkor AF-S 28-70mm f/2.8 D IF-ED: f/5.6
Nikkor AF-S 55-200mm f/4-5.6G IF-ED DX VR: f/8
Nikkor AF 70-210mm f/4: f/5.6 to f/8
Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 G IF-ED VR: f/4 to f/8
Nikkor AF 80-200mm f/2.8D ED: f/4 to f/5.6

What do these names mean?

ED = Extra Low Dispersion Glass. It’s a special kind of glass that prevents chromatic aberrations in the green and magenta color fringes.

VR = Vibration Reduction. It’s an image stabilizer built into the lens that prevents you from blurry images due to camera shake. On the downside, it does not help if your subject is moving and it drains your batteries faster.

IF = Internal Focusing. Instead of the entire lens moving in order focus, only some interior elements need to move. This makes the focusing faster and allows a shorter distance to the subject.

AF-S = Autofocus Silent Wave Motor. Focusing is rather quiet and all done by the electronics built into your camera.

FX = Full Frame Sensor.

DX = Crop Sensor with a 1.5x Magnification.