In case, you were wondering about the differences in image quality between a 17-55mm kit lens and a 50mm prime lens, this post examines those differences. I compared four lenses – two primes and two short zooms – Nikkor 50mm/1.8, Sigma 50mm/1.4, standard Nikkor kit lens 18-55/3.5-5.6G VR DX, and Nikkor 18-70/3.5-4.5G DX.
The experiment took place on a sunny day at the picturesque Gravenhurst Wharf, the shooting mode was set to Aperture Priority, and the aperture was set to F8. The testing was done on a 12MP D300 camera in RAW mode, camera mounted on a Manfrotto tripod. As you can see, each lens has a different sensitivity (or D300 metered slightly differently), there is a difference in colour rendering, and the calculated shutter speed varied between 1/1000s and 1/1600s. The pictures are not manipulated or sharpened in any way. To see enlarged images, click on the image you want to inspect in more detail.
In hindsight, I should have selected manual mode, and exposed all lenses in the same way, but it was interesting to observe that the camera metered differently with each lens.
The first set shows uncropped, scaled-down images. You can’t see the details, but you will notice slight differences in hue, contrast, and saturation.
1. Nikkor 18-55/3.5-5.6 – ISO 320, F8, 1/1250s
2. Nikkor 18-70/3.5-4.5 – ISO 320, F8, 1/1000s
3. Nikkor 50mm/1.8 – ISO 320, F8, 1/1600s
4. Sigma 50mm/1.4 – ISO 320, F8, 1/1000s
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The second set shows 100% crops of the center section.
1. Nikkor 18-55/3.5-5.6 – ISO 320, F8, 1/1250s
2. Nikkor 18-70/3.5-4.5 – ISO 320, F8, 1/1000s
3. Nikkor 50mm/1.8 – ISO 320, F8, 1/1600s
4. Sigma 50mm/1.4 – ISO 320, F8, 1/1000s
The two zooms performed very similarly, and at this aperture the inexpensive 18-55mm kit lens was even slightly better. This lens was newer than the tested 18-70mm zoom which may explain the difference in image quality. The 50mm/1.8 Nikkor was slightly sharper than the kit lens, and the contrast seems better. Sigma 50mm/1.4 is about as sharp as the Nikkor 50/1.8, but this lens metered 1/1000s as compared to 1/1250s, and consequently the exposure and the colours are slightly lighter.
CONCLUSION:
If the light is good and you can shoot at F8, even the inexpensive DX 18-55mm kit lens will perform very well.
The main advantage of the prime lenses is that they offer better colours and contrast, and you can use them also in low light. They are also more compact than the zooms.
In the Part II, we’ll look how these lenses perform at the extreme edges and different apertures.
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