# DX vs VR lenses



## Beth81 (Jan 22, 2009)

Ok....I've seen DX and VR lenses...I know the VR means Vibration Reduction but what does the DX mean and which lens is the better lens? A few cameras I've seen the DX lens is the lens that comes with it. I think I prefer the VR but I need to make sure.


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## ANDS! (Jan 22, 2009)

All it means is that is was made for digital cropped sensor bodies on a Nikon camera.  Nothing more, nothing less.  It really is the last moniker you should be concerned with when searching for a lens.


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## Big Mike (Jan 22, 2009)

It's not an 'either-or' situation.

I beleive the DX is the designation for lenses that are designed for cameras with smaller sensors (sometimes called crop cameras or sensors).  This would include pretty much all Nikon DSLR cameras except for the top end cameras like the D700 & D3.

VR...as you know is Vibration Reduction and could be on any lens, DX or not.


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## Beth81 (Jan 22, 2009)

Ok so pretty much it doesn't matter if it has DX or VR at the end of the lens? Just wondering. I have been reading all the material I can find but it's just easier to learn everything from talking to someone who actually has experience instead of reading it. If that makes sense.


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## sabbath999 (Jan 22, 2009)

ANDS! said:


> All it means is that is was made for digital cropped sensor bodies on a Nikon camera.  Nothing more, nothing less.  It really is the last moniker you should be concerned with when searching for a lens.



Assuming, of course, you are not searching for a lens for a D700 or D3 series camera... then again, if you own one of those, you already know what DX means.


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## bigtwinky (Jan 22, 2009)

If you want image stabilization, then you need to look for a lens with VR. If you don't want it, then don't get one with VR.

If you have a full frame camera (the already mentionned D700 and D3), then getting a DX lens won't work.  If you have other Nikon cameras, the ones with smaller sensors, they can use the DX lenses.

So you can have lenses that are
DX
VR
DX and VR

They are two independant and different things.

Its like saying you want to buy a shirt that is blue or red.  It can be all blue, it can be all red, it can have a mix of the two.


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## ANDS! (Jan 22, 2009)

Of course DX lenses work on a full frame sensor.  The D3/D700 (and one would assume the D3x) has a mode to address this.  Will it work as well as a non-DX lens; well thats up to the user (it certainly does defeat the purpose of going full frame though).  However it WILL work.  Of course, those who are willing to spend the money on an FX body, aren't likely to balk at spending the cash for an FX compatible lens.


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## bigtwinky (Jan 22, 2009)

My bad for the incorrect info.  I was thinking that DX are like Canon EF-S lenses, where the EF-S is only usable on the crop sensors.


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## TamiyaGuy (Jan 22, 2009)

A DX lens means that it is optimised for use with Nikon's "crop body" (or DX) DSLRs. This is mainly to cut costs, as instead of having to optimise a lens to perform well on a 36 x 24mm sensor, you'll only have to do it for a 24 x 16mm sensor.

If you use a DX lens on a full-frame DSLR (D700, D3 and D3x at time of writing), then the camera will recognise the lens as being DX and swap it to a DX-crop mode, which means that it will only use the middle part of the sensor. The megapixels will be reduced, but other than that it's the same. If you use a DX lens on a film camera, however, you'll get severe vignetting at the edges of the photograph.


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## hossmaster (Jan 22, 2009)

dx lenses don't have aperture rings, no hyper focal information :thumbdown:


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## TUX424 (Jan 22, 2009)

hossmaster said:


> dx lenses don't have aperture rings, no hyper focal information :thumbdown:


That would not be true in a cases DX is explaned above

G Lens are lens that a gelded or with the aperture rings removed


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## hossmaster (Jan 22, 2009)

TUX424 said:


> That would not be true in a cases DX is explaned above
> 
> G Lens are lens that a gelded or with the aperture rings removed




true, all DX lenes are G lenses so they have no aperture rings


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## Beth81 (Jan 22, 2009)

Well thanks for all the input, although i don't understand half of it yet....LOL


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## tsaraleksi (Jan 22, 2009)

Every letter means something when appended to a lens name. One thing does not usually affect another, although there can be some cases where you can make assumptions based on that letter being there. 

For Nikon, the "G" designation means that the lens does not have an aperture ring, and will therefore not mount on older cameras that can't control the aperture from within the body. It doesn't mean anything else. 

"DX" means that the lens casts an imaging circle smaller than a piece of 35mm film, and therefore can only work on crop cameras or on full-frame cameras set in crop mode. 

"VR" means that the lens has components that compensate for your minor movements that may blur an image taken at a low shutter speed. 

"AF-S" means that the lens has a built in focus motor, rather than relying on the camera body to drive focus with a screw motor. 

Nikkor is what Nikon calls their lenses

Zoom is pretty straightforward-- you can change the focal length. 

IF-ED means that it uses special glass elements to reduce aberrations and improve image quality. 

So to make an example from left to right. The * AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-200 f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED* is:

a lens with a built in focus motor, made for a crop sensor, with image stabilization, with variable focal lengths, made by Nikon, with a range of 18-200mm, a max aperture range of 3.5-5.6, and it has special glass elements. 

Lens designators are like a whole different language, and they change from maker to maker, with varying levels of clarity. It's all a matter of reading about what they mean and then seeing them in action on your camera.


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## Phranquey (Jan 22, 2009)

Don't feel bad. I saw a photographer wearing a t-shirt at a race at Mid-Ohio that had this printed on the back.....

"NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G VR AF-S IF-ED......I speak Nikon."


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## Beth81 (Jan 23, 2009)

tsaraleksi said:


> Every letter means something when appended to a lens name. One thing does not usually affect another, although there can be some cases where you can make assumptions based on that letter being there.
> 
> For Nikon, the "G" designation means that the lens does not have an aperture ring, and will therefore not mount on older cameras that can't control the aperture from within the body. It doesn't mean anything else.
> 
> ...


 

Nice break down and thanks. I do tend to be shaky at times so I may need the VR lens after all. I was looking to get a camera that came with a lens already but every d80 I have found doesn't come with a VR lens and if it does it's the 18-55. I was looking to get a lens with more zoom.


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## ANDS! (Jan 23, 2009)

Be forewarned, while the VR is suprisingly effective in some areas, it is not a cureall and you will get blurry shots if you push it too far.  Also, it is not an automatic thing, so it is entirely possible for you to miss what it was you were trying to shoot, while you wait for the lens to compensate.


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## Beth81 (Jan 23, 2009)

ANDS! said:


> Be forewarned, while the VR is suprisingly effective in some areas, it is not a cureall and you will get blurry shots if you push it too far. Also, it is not an automatic thing, so it is entirely possible for you to miss what it was you were trying to shoot, while you wait for the lens to compensate.


 

Well gosh darn....I can never get a break...LOL Freak it I'll just buy the camera and whatever kit lens comes with it I suppose then. I don't mind having the 18-55 lens but I wanted a back up lens also for those far away shots. Oh and I didn't want the back up lens to be expensive but decent. ANDS what's your suggestions?


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## R00kAC0WGIRL (Jan 23, 2009)

I use the ones with the VR lens I have the 18/55 and the 18/200 Love them both


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## Beth81 (Jan 23, 2009)

R00kAC0WGIRL said:


> I use the ones with the VR lens I have the 18/55 and the 18/200 Love them both


 
I want the 18-200 but it's a little out of my budget right now. I'll have to deal with the 18-55 (kit lens) and just try to find another to cover the rest of it.


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