overview / verdict and video tour

Nikkor DX 55-200mm VR

The Nikkor DX 55-200mm VR is a budget telephoto zoom for DX-format Nikon DSLRs. Launched alongside the Nikon D40x in March 2007, it’s designed to complement the standard DX 18-55mm kit lens and extend the maximum equivalent coverage from 83 to 300mm. This makes it ideal for portraits, wildlife and sports photography, while the shorter end remains practical for many day to day shots.

Unlike the earlier DX 55-200mm lens, the new model features Vibration Reduction, VR, technology which provides optical stabilisation, allowing you to handhold shots at shutter speeds three stops slower than normal. It’s also an AF-S model which means quick and quiet auto-focusing and compatibility with both the D40 and D40x, along with other DX-format Nikon DSLRs.

Nikkor DX 55-200mm VR design and build quality

Measuring 73mm in diameter and 100mm in length when zoomed-out, the DX 55-200mm VR is the same width as the DX 18-135mm kit lens and only 13mm longer in its shortest configuration. Zoom the DX 55-200mm VR into its longest focal length, and it extends with a single barrel by only 35mm.

The DX 55-200mm VR is a very light lens, weighing just 335g; this is actually lighter than the DX 18-135mm at 385g, and almost half the weight of the 70-300mm VR. The DX 55-200mm VR’s build quality is actually quite good for such a light, budget lens. It’s roughly to the same standard as the DX 18-55mm II and DX 18-135mm kit lenses, and like these models employs a plastic lens mount. In terms of accessories, the DX 55-200mm VR may be a budget model, but that doesn’t stop Nikon including both a lens hood and pouch.

The Nikkor DX 55-200mm VR has a maximum aperture of f4 when zoomed-out and f5.6 when zoomed-in. This actually makes it a whole stop brighter than the DX 18-55mm II when both are at 55mm, and it’s also around a third of a stop brighter than the 70-300mm VR when its zoomed-out.

In terms of focusing, the DX 55-200mm VR is equipped with one of Nikkor’s SWM Silent Wave Motors, built into the lens itself. This makes it an AF-S model, and as such will auto-focus on the D40 and D40x, along with every other Nikon DSLR. The lens takes just over one second to focus from one extreme to the other when fully-zoomed-in, which only makes it fractionally slower than the pricier 70-300mm VR.

Nikkor DX 55-200mm VR coverage

The Nikkor DX 55-200mm VR is designed to complement the range of the standard DX 18-55mm II kit lens. It literally starts where the other stops, giving you a total range of 18-200mm – or an equivalent of 27-300mm – in an affordable twin lens package.

Nikkor DX 55-200mm VR with D80		Nikkor DX 55-200mm VR with D80
55-200mm at 55mm, f8 (83mm equivalent)		55-200mm at 200mm, f8 (300mm equivalent)

Nikon claims up to three stops of compensation for the DX 55-200mm VR, so to put it to the test we took a series of photos of a distant house zoomed-into 200mm with and without VR enabled. Below are examples of shots taken with and without VR at just 1/15, reproduced here at 50%.

Nikkor DX 55-200mm VR without VR		Nikkor DX 55-200mm VR with VR
Nikkor DX 55-200mm at 200mm (300mm equivalent using D80), VR disabled. 50% crop, 100 ISO, 1/15th second		Nikkor DX 55-200mm at 200mm (300mm equivalent using D80), VR enabled. 50% crop, 100 ISO, 1/15th second

Without VR, we required a shutter speed between 1/125 and 1/250 for a perfectly steady result, whereas with VR we achieved the same result at a shutter speed of 1/15. This corresponds to between three and four stops of compensation, and closer to four if you compare it against the traditional photographic advice of requiring a shutter speed of one over the effective focal length.