GREAT OPTICS
VR IS INCREDIABLE

SOMETIMES SEARCHES FOR FOCUS

THIS LENS IS UNBELIVABLE, I WAS ABLE TO HAND HOLD A SHOT AT 400MM AT 1/30 SEC.EVEN AFTER CROPPING AND ENLARGLING TO 8X10 THE SHOT WAS SHARP. BUY THIS LENS YOU'LL LOVE IT.

Customer Service

NEEDED IT WITH MY F-100
MELVILLE CENTER IS GREAT

Similar Products Used:

NONE WITH VR

VR works GREAT
SHARP
Light weight

Slow auto focus
2.3 meters minimum focus

This lens works great with VR on, I tried it handheld at 400mm and 2.3 meters with 1/45 and the pics were great.
I didn't tried it slower because I didn't expect it would work so great at 1/45, I will do it latter.
When VR is off the best I can shot handheld is 1/125 at 400mm at short distance.
About focus speed I have meter it and that is what I've found:
It takes around 1.5 seconds to go from ~ to 2.3 meters.
My 80-200 2.8D tripod version - non AFS - takes around 0,6 seconds from ~ to 2.3 meters.
My 24-85 2.8-4D is almost instantaneous from ~ to 2.3 meters.
I used a screwdiver in the back of the lens to check the AF speed and found that the VR takes three turns to go from ~ to 10 meters and the 80-200 2.8D takes only one turns for the same distance.
Since the weight of both lens are about the same and 80-200 2.8D is not a realy IF then for me it is obvious that Nikon had the intention to make this lens with slow focus probably because the high end of the focal lenght where we need a fine tune.
Anyway, the speed is acceptable for almost any situation and is much faster than any manual focus lens.
Some people say that the VR doesn't work on moving subjects, but it must be clear that slow speeds cannot be used in moving subjects unless you want a blur image, with ANY lens.
This lens was made to make possible to be handheld at slower speeds than usual. It doesn't means you can change the principles of photography.
It is a GREAT GREAT lens and I loved to spend my money on that.

Customer Service

Never used

Similar Products Used:

No one with VR or IS

Sharpness, size, zoom range, VR

None

In short this is a remarkable lens! I did the following tests to see how sharp the lens is. In particular, I wish to learn how sharp it is when it is wide open throughout the entire focal length. The lens (with the VR turned off, see below) was mounted on a F100 on a tripod. I was shooting the New York City subway map from about 15 ft away. SB28 was used such that the shutter speed could be maintained constant at 1/60 sec. I tested three focal lengthes: 80, 200, and 400mm, the aperture settings were from 4.5 (for 80mm), 5.3 (for 200mm), 5.6, 8, 11, 16, and 22. The result is amazing. The lens is very sharp at all focal length and aperture tested. There is no discernible difference that I can tell on 4x6 prints or slides. In real life, it is, as tested, very sharp! I took a few pictures of monkey in the zoo. One can see the sparkle, the pupil, and the pigment in monkey’s eyes. One can see each hair of its whiskers and the dirt particles attached to them. The VR works too, as advertised, although one should use it with caution (see below).

We should all applaud Nikon for making a hand-heldable lens that is just over $1000. Yes, it would be nice if it is a faster lens, with AF-S, and made of metal. A f2.8 AFS 400mm lens is $7500 and weighs 14lb! It would be very difficult to carry this lens and hike in the woods to enjoy the great outdoors at the same time. Furthermore, a key advantage of a zoom lens is that you can crop the image depending on the size of your subjects and the distance between you and the subject, as frequently you have no control over where an animal will show up. I used the AF to tracking swimming seals in a pool and it works fine.

There is some compromises of using this lens, however. Despite the fact that VR can stop camera shake, it cannot freeze the movement of the subject. Because this is a slow lens, it is nearly impossible to shoot moving objects in low light using ISO100 films. A small yawn of the animal can easily blur the image. Furthermore, because of its speed, it is quite dark even when it is mounted and viewed through the viewfinder of a F100. At 400mm with camera shaking, it becomes quite a challenge for people with failing eyesight to manually focus. You can partly solve this problem by turn on the VR in the viewfinder, which consumes more battery power. If you only use 400mm occasionally, you may be better off with the 80-200mm f2.8 AF-S lens plus a teleconverter. Without the help of VR, however, you may want to bring a tripod if you need to shoot it at 400mm. In addition, I was told by many that 80-400 is shaper than 80-200+TC-20E.

Despite the fact that the VR works as advertised, it has some limitations, and it takes some time to get used to. VR, in my opinion, should be considered as a safety feature to prevent unexpected camera shake. It cannot save bad pictures. I have tried to push the limit of the VR by shooting hand-held at 400 mm at 1/30 sec and 1/15. In both cases, the pictures with the VR on are far better than those with the VR off. However, these pictures are not useable because they are still blurry. I can get very sharp picture at 1/100 sec, in which case, with or without VR the results are the same. One should always be aware that you must turn OFF VR if it is mounted on a tripod. When there is no camera movement at all, the VR can work in a unpredictable fashion to respond to things that it is not designed for. This problem is compounded further by the fact that the tripod collar is not as sturdy as one would wish and I have heard complains that it does not hold the camera steady enough even on a professional tripod. This may explain why some previous reviewers complained that the lens is not sharp or that the VR is not working. I don’t have any experience in using it on a monopod, although Nikon indicates that it is OK to do so in the manual (the people in the customer service refused to confirm this, however). In short, the VR is good but it will take some time for you to adjust to it. The optical quality and the versatility of this lens are the two major factors you should consider when buying this lens and the VR can be thrown in as a bonus.

Similar Products Used:

None

Sharp, sharp, sharp.
A whole camera bag of lenses in one lens.
Matched with D1X & D1h it's killer.
On an F5 & F100 it's great, too.

Moderately slow focusing (too bad it's not an AFS, but then it would cost >>> bucks).

Buy one now!

Customer Service

None ever used.

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 80-200/2.8 AFS
Nikkor 17-35/2.8 AF-S
Nikkor 28-70/2.8 AF-S