Pro v Consumer Lenses Pt. 2

What is the difference between a consumer lens and an expensive professional lens? Will it make a difference where it matters - ­ in my images!

In part 1 we looked at physical differences between a Pro and consumer lens of the same focal length - now lets start taking and comparing some images.

I'm using my old 70-210 f5.6 zoom lens and 70-200 f2.8 ED Nikkor to take the same images with each. And we're starting with a clothes line.

All lenses perform at their worst at extreme apertures and focal lengths so I took this image with both lenses. First at the widest aperture and then the smallest and used full zoom on each. Then to check edge sharpness I shit them again from the side and did the same to see what difference there is between the two. Obviously the expensive f2.8 is slightly better but with a price tag over £1000 more than the consumer lens you'd expect it to be.

Have a look at the images for your self - download here.

In part 3 we'll take to the streets and see how they handle in a more real life situation.