Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR
I'd get mine here, here or here INTRODUCTION Specs Performance Recommendations I love this lens. If you have $1,700 then this is most likely the best telephoto zoom ever made by Nikon at any price. Good news is Nikon USA often offers rebates. The only reason not to get this lens is the price, size and weight, all of which are to professional standards. This 70-200mm f/2.8 VR (or the 80-200mm AF - D) is one of the two lenses used by most professional photographers every day. The other lens is usually a wide zoom on a second body. This is Nikon's newest professional workhorse lens. Just remember the premium you're paying over other 80-200 f/2.8 Nikkors is for speed, ease of use, slightly smaller size and vibration (hand-shake) reduction; not sharpness or optical quality. If you're contemplating getting this lens, just get it. If you're more familiar with the plasticy $500 - 1,500 VR lenses like my beloved 18-200mm,the 24-120mm or the 80-400mm VR I also use then you've in for a pleasant surprise. The mechanical quality of the 70-200mm VR is completely metal, completely solid, and a pinnacle of professional durability, optical quality and precision. For half the price the Nikon 80-200mm AF-D offers the same great optical quality. DO NOT be tempted by used 80-200 lenses or the discount-brand lenses, since a brand new, latest model Nikon 80-200mm AF-D can be had for the same price as used lenses or junky non-Nikon brands. The 70-200 VR is a little lighter than my $1,500 80-200mm AF-S. It is the most expensive AF telephoto zoom ever from Nikon. (OK, the new 200-400mm announced in September 2003 is $8,000.) If you can live without VR, as we have for 30 years of these lenses, you can get the same optical quality in the 80-200mm AF-D. Here are all the versions of 80-200mm f/2.8 Nikon has made. For the sake of brevity unless otherwise noted all are ED, f/22 minimum, push-pull zoom, 5' (1.5m) minimum focus, no tripod collar, a one-position focus limit switch, slow autofocus speed and 77mm filter size: 1.) 1982-1988: AI-s manual focus. 15/11 elements, f/32 minimum, 8.2' (2.5m) close focus, huge 95mm filter, 1,900g (over 4 pounds!), 231mm long 2.) 1988-1992: AF, 16/11 elements,1,280g, 176mm long, f/32 minimum, 3 position focus limiter 3.) 1993-1997: AF-D,16/11 elements, 1,300g, 187mm long 4.) 1997-present: AF-D, 16/11 elements, 1,300g 188mm, two-ring, tripod collar, $920 US new, fast autofocus. 5.) 1999-2003: AF-S, 18/14 elements, 1,550g, 207mm, two-ring, tripod collar, $1,500 US new, fast autofocus. 6.) 2003-present 70-200mm VR, 21/15 elements, 1,430g, 215mm, two ring, collar, $1,700 US new, fast autofocus I'm discussing version #6 here. SPECIFICATIONS back to top Specs Performance Recommendations Name: Nikon calls this the Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF. Optics: An astounding (my use of the superlative) 21 elements in 15 groups. Diaphragm: 9-bladed. Autofocus Lock (hold) Button: YES! Close focus: of 5 feet (1.5 meters). Filter size: 77 mm. Filter thread seems possibly made of metal, not plastic as the other recent 80 - 200 lenses. Mechanics: Rubber environmental seal at the lens mount. Rubber bumper at the front. Size: 3.4 inches (87mm) around and 8.5" ( 215mm) long. Weight: 50 oz. or 1,430 g, a little lighter than the 80-200mm AF-S or a little heavier than the 80-200mm AF-D. Accessories: Comes with HB-29 hood and CL-M2 case. Nikon Product Number: 2139, in catalog as of spring 2008. More Information: See also the press release from February 2003 and Development Announcement from February 2002. See a great insider piece at Nikon's site here. PERFORMANCE back to top Specs Performance Recommendations Distortion Distortion is among the best I've ever measured for a zoom lens. These figures are valid on digital SLRs. Results on a film SLR will probably be worse. 70 mm: minor barrel. Needs only an adjustment of +1.5 in PhotoShop CS2's lens distortion to fix. 95 mm: none to slight barrel (less than +0.5 correction in PhotoShop CS2's lens distortion). 105 mm: none. 116 mm: none. 130 mm: none. 200mm: very minor pincushion, corrects with -0.50 in Photoshop. (Use these figures all you want for your own photography, but remember this is all copyrighted and registered, so you'll need to get permission before using them for any other purpose.) Ghosting There is one ghost opposite the center of the image if I deliberately point it into a bright light on a black background. I'm unsure if this will be visible in real sunset photos. Vibration Reduction (VR) Blur is a random thing. I made a series of shots and here's what I saw on my D1H. On film one would be much pickier. Remember that even with VR you sometimes get good results, sometimes blur at the same slow speeds. VR improves your averages. It does not fix everything all the time. More when I get a sample for an extended test. at 70mm: 1/125:
OK at 200mm: 1/125:
usually OK No, I have no idea why there is a sweet spot around 1/10 second but blur around 1/100 at 200mm. It may be chance or the design of the lens. I'll have to test it further when I can get a sample for a while. I did see these effects repeated a couple of times. Sharpness Of course it's sharp! It's sharper than I can appreciate on a digital camera. To really give this lens a workout you'd have to be shooting Velvia, which as of 2005 I really no longer do on 35 mm. Zoom Ring The zoom ring is well done. It's linear: equal rotation anyplace along the range gives equal percentage change in magnification. (Mathematicians actually call this logarithmic, not linear, but if I told you all it was the correct Log scale then I'd confuse you all.) The zoom ring is engraved metal with white paint filling in the engraving, jut as it ought to be. It's not simply painted on as with most other lenses today. Engraving doesn't wear off. It's a little more damped than I'd prefer. This prevents it from creeping. I suspect with continued daily professional use it would loosen up. Use with TC-20E and other teleconverters I haven't tried it. I'm not a fan of teleconverters with zoom lenses. See my Teleconverters page. RECOMMENDATIONS back to top Specs Performance Recommendations I like this lens for it's light weight (compared to other Nikon f/2.8 zooms) and ease of use. It costs a lot, too. If you want to afford it by all means go get one. You'll love it. If you want to save money, then forgo the VR feature and get the 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-D for half the price with the same optical quality. For digital cameras I find the $140 70-300 mm AF-G is almost as good, so long as your subjects are moving slowly enough for the slower autofocus to catch and you have enough light for a short exposure at the slower f/stops without VR. The advantages of the 70-200mm VR are subtle unless you're a full-time professional. Just pick up the two and you can feel the difference mechanically. Optically in good light the cheaper lenses are just about as good. The 70-200mm VR shines for pros who beat on it all day, every day, and need to shoot fast action in bad light. The 70-300mm G is probably fine for your children's soccer games if you want a lens for 10% of the price of the 70-200mm VR. Again, this 70-200mm f/2.8 VR (or the 80-200mm AF - D) is one of the two lenses used by every professional photographer every day. The other lens is usually a wide zoom on a second body. This is Nikon's latest professional workhorse lens. |
