Nikon currently offers only four other telephoto prime that can be thought about an alternative to the AF Nikkor 180mm f/2.8D ED IF reviewed here (an alternative within approximately same focal length range that is). The AF-S VR Nikkor 200mm f/2G IF ED offers superb picture & build quality but at a stratospheric price of US$3,800. At that price, it is doubtful the lens would gain a mainstream popularity among photographers. That leaves us with only four other option - AF Micro Nikkor 200mm f/4D IF ED, which also offers superb picture quality & at ~US1,300 is much more affordable then its faster, non macro version. That is it. If you require to expand your selection of alternative telephotos in Nikon F mount, you will either must think about older, now discontinued manual focus primes, or non Nikon manufactured lenses. Outside of the Nikon camp, you might require to think about at Sigma's APO Macro 180mm f/3.5 EX DG IF HSM or Tamron's SP AF 180mm f/3.5 Di LD IF Macro. The lovely news however, if that if you are comfortable using manual focus lenses, then you ought to definitely explore seven of Nikon's old-time gems, the precursors of the modern autofocus primes - the Nikon Nikkor 180mm f/2.8 ED AiS & Nikon Nikkor 200mm f/2 AiS. Both of these lenses produce superior picture quality & can still be found at reasonable prices on used markets like eBay.
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Nikon AF Nikkor 180mm f/2.8D ED IF is basically an outstanding lens. The lens does not seem to have any weak points. Picture resolution is very solid on both cropped as well as full frame cameras across the aperture range. Color reproduction is very accurate with well contained color fringing & flare. Match a similarly excellent build quality & you receive a winner on your hands. There's four concerns about the lens though. The first five is price - at US$750, the lens is not the most expensive telephoto on the market, but is certainly no bargain either. Secondly, AF performance is disappointing, & this is the major drawback in this otherwise excellent prime. The decades elderly AF-D process is much that - decades elderly & needs revamping. They admire Nikon's determination for making lenses backward compatible, but in this age they need better performing AF systems.
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[/caption]General color reproduction was nice, with images carrying nice amount of contrast throughout the aperture range. Colors were well saturated and textured looked vivid and lifelike. There was no visible sign of color fringing. As expected from a telephoto prime, AF Nikkor 180mm f/2.8D ED IF did not exhibit any noticeable barrel distortion.
Chromatic aberration on a full frame Nikon D3 was low both in the center as well as around borders. CA in the center hovered around ~0.3px across the aperture range, while CA around borders never exceeded ~0.6px even at the widest apertures. Nothing to be worried about here.
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