Review 2 of 39
Price Paid:
$1200.00
from used Summary: This is one of Nikon's better-built lenses in the last 10 years. It's heavy, focuses quickly, and offers a large 2.8 aperture. Images are generally sharp throughout the range, but contrast and sharpness do suffer at 200mm at the 2.8 setting. There is serious light falloff toward the corners at 2.8 that isn't gone until the lens is stopped down to f8 even on a reduced-frame DX digital body. Stopping down one stop to f4 is a big improvement in sharpness and contrast, though. Flare and ghosting is evident in major doses with this lens. So, shoot with the hood, and not directly into a light source.
Its performance is extremely close to the 70-200 VR G 2.8, which also loses a bit of contrast and sharpness wideopen. The VR version beats it, however, when it comes to light falloff in the corners. The two lenses have similar performance. However, this version lacks the VR which may or may not be important, depending upon your subject. I have found no advantage of one lens over the other, except for the VR function.
The lens is compatible with TC-14/17/20e teleconverters models I and II. Be advised that the lens must be stopped down or the results are less than steller. At 200mm with the TC-14e, the user must use a max aperture setting of f4 (resulting in a 5.6 actual aperture) or images lose sharpness and contrast. Stopping down is even more of a necessity with the tc-17/20e teleconverters. This lens cannot match the 300mm f4 AF-S sharpness/contrast when used with a teleconverter. So, don't think you will be able to replace your 300mm.
The tripod collar on the 80-200mm is garbage. It is too flexible for use in the 1/2-1/60 range. For use on a monopod while shooting sports, the tripod collar catches when switching from horizontal to vertical shots. This makes it a pain to move the camera smoothly in an action situation. Therefore, figure in the cost of a replacement collar from a third-party vender for smoother, vibration free operation. Strengths: Good build quality.
Extremely fast autofocus.
Silent autofocus.
Smooth operation of controls.
Image quality excellent at f5.6
Image quality good at f4
Image quality above average at f2.8 Weaknesses: Sharpness reduced at f2.8
Contrast reduced at f2.8
Serious light falloff at f2.8
Terrible tripod collar
>collar is vibration prone
>collar is not smooth when changing from horiz to vert Similar Products Used: 70-200 VR G 2.8 Customer Service: Nikon customer service....
>wait on hold for an hour
>wait a few weeks for a response
>open your mail and hope that your lens is fixed
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