| Review

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Excellent Lens, Thursday, 18 February 2010


Overall rating (weighted)		5.0
Sharpness		5.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		5.0

Recently purchased this lens Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 ED AF Zoom. I must say this is a worthy investment. Im an avid photographer and if you appreciate beautiful pictures and would like to take them yourself occasionally then I recommend this lens. It is one sharp and fast lens at f/2.8 in low light condition and action photography. Im really happy to finally have the right equipment and experience producing good shots. A tank of a lens but I don't mind at all.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

I have feelings for this lens, is that wrong?, Tuesday, 16 February 2010


Overall rating (weighted)		4.0
Sharpness		5.0
Build Quality		4.0
AF Speed		4.0
Value for Money		3.0

If you are like me you read about all of the reviews out there before buying. I found that the majority opinion on this lens was very accurate. When you open your box the lens case is pretty cool, but then I just put it up on a shelf where I keep all my other Nikon boxes in case I need to sell it some day. When I took the lens out I admit my heart rate went up and it feels really good hefting this monster, I was grinning ear to ear. It is heavy and solid like everyone said. I immediately noticed the plastic ring for switching between manual and auto focus and it really does look out of place. I don't really care about the plastic threads for the filters, I treat my lenses better than I treat myself. But the plastic ring for manual/auto is just wierdly out of place, I wish they had made it out of the same metal the lens is made from. It's like asking Cindy Crawford to marry you with a tin foil ring. How do you say dumb in Japanese? Now that blunder aside, I was really nervous for my first shot as I had seen a few posts about "soft" focus on some rogue lenses out there. Mine was crisp and sharp and beautiful. Yes beautiful. I have since shot portraits, babies and stock photos with it and each time I am calling my wife over to the computer with the image zoomed at 100% "look at that honey, can you believe how sharp?!" Now, as to the weight, don't think for a minute that you can hand hold this in low light and get good results. Yeah yeah, if you crank your ISO into sandstorm mode maybe you can get the shot but it's not going to look pro. Or if you are an arteeest and want a little blur motion, then fine. But listen, I am 210lbs and can bench press you, but I was still a bit shaky after and hour of holing it up to my eye. You've got to tripod this baby. It's worth it though. My conclusion is that if you have a tripod and aren't going to be rough with the plastic ring, you should buy it, it has many applications. I give it 4 stars because it does hunt a little more than I like in low light and of course the stupid plastic ring, seriously, what were they thinking! Optics I give it 5 stars. In conclusion, if I could have my money back right now and walk away from it, I would not... I would buy it again. It's my new fav. Hope this helps you make your decision!

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Just great!, Tuesday, 09 February 2010


Overall rating (weighted)		4.5
Sharpness		5.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		4.0
Value for Money		4.0

I've got it on my D700 and it's a fantastic lens for this price. So don't hesitate - buy it!

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Review from an Amateur, Wednesday, 30 December 2009


Overall rating (weighted)		3.5
Sharpness		3.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		3.0
Value for Money		3.0

I am an amateur photographer,before I bought this I was using a 70-300. After getting this one I havent touched my 70-300 for last two months. As I have not used any other professional tele-zoom lens I cannot compare it. But the photos I took with it are sharp and clear. I am using it with D70s.
The only reason I am giving a four star to it is the speed of focusing. In low light sometimes it irritates when it hunts for locking focus and specially when I think about the grand I spent for it.
To be honest, I expected a heaven n hell difference between 70-300 and 80-200 before buying it, but I guess I have to spend $2300 and get a 70-200 to get that.
Bottomline, I am happy with this lens and I have started loving it. IMO it is sufficient to feed my amateurish photographic needs. If I go pro someday then definitely I will need an upgrade.
BTW,I bought a cheapo Quantaray 2x teleconverter for it, and it works fine with it. I was astonished to see AF works great, which I was not expecting.

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Is there a better lens for the price?, Tuesday, 22 September 2009


Overall rating (weighted)		5.0
Sharpness		5.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		5.0

I don't think so. I have had the 70-200 VR and this is much more compact and lighter. Can't see any reason to pay the extra cash unless you are a sport photographer and that is for the VR I can't see the image being better. This is a great lens, bokah is nice, fairly compact, great color, quick focusing. I am really happy with this. If you want to save on the price look for a used one on B&H or Adorama. I saved $250 getting this used and it is like new.

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Is there a better lens for the price?, Tuesday, 22 September 2009


Overall rating (weighted)		5.0
Sharpness		5.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		5.0

2nd review. After having this lens and using it for a while I had to add a few important points here. It is still great quality and sharp but using it without a tripod turned out to be difficult especially at longer focal lengths. There is no VR and unless you are always using one for longer shots you might have issues. Actually I am selling this and checking out the Nikon 70-300 VR. I can't handle this with longer focal lengths unless its always on a tripod which keeps it in my bag more often than it should be. This is a great lens, bokah is nice, fairly compact, great color, quick focusing, it is a bit heavy after a while but not close to the weight of the 80-200 VR's. I am really happy with this but am heading over to the Nikon 70-300 to see if all the great reviews are deserved and if it will substitute for this 80-200 for now. If you want to save on the price of the 80-200 look for a used one on B&H or Adorama. I saved $250 getting this used and it is like new.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Worth the wait, and worth the price, Monday, 14 September 2009


Overall rating (weighted)		4.5
Sharpness		5.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		4.0
Value for Money		4.0

I shelled out $990 for this lens, and had to wait almost 3 months on backorder. And it was worth every dime.

After almost a year of having the 80-200mm on my D80, I can see why it's rated as one of the best (if not the best) lens that Nikkor has produced.

The image quality is great. No aberrations, no visible distortion, even at the extreme zoom settings. Reflection control is wonderful. So far I haven't seen a single flare in my photos. DOF is top notch.... you have NOT seen DOF control unless you've tried the 80-200.

Nitpicks? A bit on the heavy side. Slow to focus. Manual focus is a little touchy when you're near the upper zoom range.

But still, I wouldn't trade this lens in for the world. This one's a keeper. Buy it and don't let go.

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Awesome lens, Friday, 21 August 2009


Overall rating (weighted)		5.0
Sharpness		5.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		5.0

I have used this lens for about a year now. I freelance for newspapers and various other things. I have to agree that this lens is heavy but after shooting a basketball game I don't go running back to my car for a monopod. I don't have a big problem with the lens's weight. In reality it weighs almost as much as my D3. The reason I went for this lens was because I bought it when I was in college and couldn't afford the 70-200 VR. I haven't really had a need for the VR anyway. The only problem that I have encountered was the rubber ring by the front of the lens is falling off, but a little glue took care of the problem.

I would recommend this lens to anyone looking for a pro grade tele.

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A great lens but the m/af ring breaks., Sunday, 28 June 2009


Overall rating (weighted)		4.0
Sharpness		3.0
Build Quality		4.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		4.0

I love this lens and Nikon products in general, so I hate to be negative, but I think people should be aware of a potential problem with this lens. I take very good care of my gear, and although I'm a pro, I used this lens infrequently and very lightly. One day the M/AF ring button stopped working and the plastic ring that it sits in had a crack where there is a screw in it to hold things together. I sent it to Nikon and paid $200 to have it fixed. I would not have given it a second thought but... one day I went to use the lens after hardly using it at all - maybe 200 shots over the course of 2 years, and the new ring was cracked in the same place - leaving the lens again unusable. It's obviously a manufacturing defect in design or materials. This time I sent it to KEH and had it fixed for $125. They told me they had seen the problem many times. Hopefully this new ring is made of better materials that will last longer. Hopefully Nikon will not make expensive products with parts that easily break.

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Beg, Borrow or Steal but have this lens, Friday, 26 June 2009


Overall rating (weighted)		4.8
Sharpness		5.0
Build Quality		4.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		5.0

I got this lens more than a month back and got good opportunities to use it. I first used this in a b'day party in low light condition and what amazing performance i got. The results were stunning. I shot photos with other lenses also ( 35-70 mm/2.8 and 50 mm 1.8) but the photos which i got out of this was far superior from both of them. Mind it i rate 50 mm 1.8 d as one of the best lenses ever made for the value it brings at its cost.

Though its heavy and not a walk around lens still i carried it to a trip to New York and it performed excellent again.

Non availability of VR is not that big thing for me as i have been able to take sharp photos hand held in reasonable low light conditions.

The photos carry professional look to it. The bokeh is smooth across the zoom length.
though its expensive but i am happy for the quality it has added to my photos..

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Terrific Nikon Glass - Professional, Saturday, 18 April 2009


Overall rating (weighted)		4.5
Sharpness		4.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		4.0

Incredible professional lens. Quick focusing. Smooth zooming. Rugged. And worth it's weight.

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

Best value Nikon professional telephoto lens. Grea, Saturday, 18 April 2009


Overall rating (weighted)		4.8
Sharpness		4.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		5.0

Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF Zoom Nikkor Lens is a very good quality lens. It's fast (fixed f/2.8), solid (built like a tank), produce great quality image, and priced very reasonably for a professional grade telephoto lens.

Having said that, this lens is not perfect (as this lens is quite old and many new features/technology have come out since then). There are some things that would be nice to have for this lens (an image stabilization, more silent autofocus, and shorter minimum focus distance). Therefore, if budget is not an issue, then I would recommend the 70-200mm f/2.8 AF-S VR (the Vibration Reduction technology and faster and more silent focus are very useful) or the 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-S (which has faster and more silent focus).

There are several version of 80-200mm f/2.8 lens, and the latest (non AF-S model) one is the two ring model. The one ring push pull model is also good quality lens (solidly built and produce great image quality) buy autofocus is much slower. If budget is an issue, the older push pull model would still be a good choice too.

FYI: This lens will not autofocus with Nikon D40, D40x, D60 or D5000.

Pros
1. Great quality lens (very sharp pictures. 3 of the glasses made/coated with ED technology)
2. Very fast (fixed f/2.8 throughout the zoom range)
3. Very reasonably priced (compared to 70-200mm f/2.8 AF-S VR and 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-S)
4. Built to last. Very solid
5. Great for sport, action, wedding and low-light photography
6. Uses standard 77mm lens filter
7. Bokeh is very nice at f/2.8
8. Autofocus much faster than the older 80-200mm f/2.8 model (the push pull version)
9. The price is very stable (I bought mine several years ago and I could still sell it at the same price today)
10. With non full frame Nikon DSLR, the focal length becomes 120-300mm equivalent (nice reach). you can get Nikon 80-400mm for more reach but that lens is not fixed f/2.8).

Cons
1. Heavy at 2 lbs 14 oz or 1.3kg. (Good arm exercise :), or using tripod or monopod would be nice)
2. Autofocus not as fast and silence as the AF-S model (70-200mm f/2.8 AF-S and 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-S), but the autofocus limiter switch improves autofocus time
3. Tripod collar is too close to the zoom ring (you can remove or adjust the tripod collar though)
4. Thread for the filter can be better (it's made of plastic)
5. Lens hood is sold separately (highly recommended to reduce flare and internal reflection)
6. More expensive than Non-Nikon (sigma, tamron etc) brand alternative (some comparable price but they have faster and silence focus)
7. Lens could jump around a bit during autofocusing if you are not strong enough (due to the glass moving fast as the lens autofocus)
8. No Manual focus override mode on Autofocus mode
9. No Macro mode (can't be use for macro shot). closest focusing distance is quite far
10. No VR (Vibration Reduction), which will help a lot for this type of lens (heavy and telephoto)

In conculsion, if you are looking for a Nikon professional grade telephoto lens that is reasonably prices, you can't really beat this Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF Zoom Nikkor lens. This lens is really good choice for sport, action, wedding, low-light, indoor photography.

Happy Photographing!

Sidarta Tanu

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Best value Nikon professional telephoto lens. Grea, Saturday, 18 April 2009


Overall rating (weighted)		5.0
Sharpness		5.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		5.0

Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF Zoom Nikkor Lens is a very good quality lens. It's fast (fixed f/2.8), solid (built like a tank), produce great quality image, and priced very reasonably for a professional grade telephoto lens.

Having said that, this lens is quite old (but still very good hence Nikon is still making it as of 2009) and many useful new features/technology have come out since then. There are some things that would be nice to have for this lens (an image stabilization, more silent autofocus, and shorter minimum focus distance). Therefore, if budget is not an issue, then I would recommend the 70-200mm f/2.8 AF-S VR (the Vibration Reduction technology and faster and more silent focus are very useful) or the 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-S (which has faster and more silent focus).

There are several version of 80-200mm f/2.8 lens, and the latest (non AF-S model) one is the two ring model. The one ring push pull model is also good quality lens (solidly built and produce great image quality) buy autofocus is much slower. If budget is an issue, the older push pull model would still be a good choice too.

FYI: This lens will not autofocus with Nikon D40, D40x, D60 or D5000.

Pros
1. Great quality lens (very sharp pictures. 3 of the glasses made/coated with ED technology)
2. Very fast (fixed f/2.8 throughout the zoom range)
3. Very reasonably priced (compared to 70-200mm f/2.8 AF-S VR and 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-S)
4. Built to last. Very solid
5. Great for sport, action, wedding and low-light photography
6. Uses standard 77mm lens filter
7. Bokeh is very nice at f/2.8
8. Autofocus much faster than the older 80-200mm f/2.8 model (the push pull version)
9. The price is very stable (I bought mine several years ago and I could still sell it at the same price today)
10. With non full frame Nikon DSLR, the focal length becomes 120-300mm equivalent (nice reach). you can get Nikon 80-400mm for more reach but that lens is not fixed f/2.8).

Cons
1. Heavy at 2 lbs 14 oz or 1.3kg. (Good arm exercise :), or using tripod or monopod would be nice)
2. Autofocus not as fast and silence as the AF-S model (70-200mm f/2.8 AF-S and 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-S), but the autofocus limiter switch improves autofocus time
3. Tripod collar is too close to the zoom ring (you can remove or adjust the tripod collar though)
4. Thread for the filter can be better (it's made of plastic)
5. Lens hood is sold separately (highly recommended to reduce flare and internal reflection)
6. More expensive than Non-Nikon (sigma, tamron etc) brand alternative (some comparable price but they have faster and silence focus)
7. Lens could jump around a bit during autofocusing if you are not strong enough (due to the glass moving fast as the lens autofocus)
8. No Manual focus override mode on Autofocus mode
9. No Macro mode (can't be use for macro shot). closest focusing distance is quite far
10. No VR (Vibration Reduction), which will help a lot for this type of lens (heavy and telephoto)

In conculsion, if you are looking for a Nikon professional grade telephoto lens that is reasonably prices, you can't really beat this Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF Zoom Nikkor lens. This lens is really good choice for sport, action, wedding, low-light, indoor photography.

Happy Photographing!

Sidarta Tanu

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

Best value Nikon professional telephoto lens. Grea, Saturday, 18 April 2009


Overall rating (weighted)		4.8
Sharpness		5.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		4.0

Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF Zoom Nikkor Lens is a very good quality lens. It's fast (fixed f/2.8), solid (built like a tank), produce great quality image, and priced very reasonably for a professional grade telephoto lens.

Having said that, there are some additional features that would be nice to have for this lens such as image stabilization, more silent autofocus (AF-S), and shorter minimum focus distance but those features will make this lens a lot more expensive (as those feature is included in the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 AF-S VR lens). If budget is not an issue, then I would recommend the 70-200mm f/2.8 AF-S VR (the Vibration Reduction technology and faster and more silent focus are very useful) or the 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-S (which has faster and more silent focus). If large aperture (fast lens)is not your main requirement, then you can get the 70-300mm VR (at a lower price)

There are several version of 80-200mm f/2.8 lens, and the latest one (non AF-S model and that Nikon still produce as of 2009) is the two ring model. The one ring push pull model is also good quality lens (solidly built and produce great image quality) but autofocus is much slower. If budget is an issue, the older push pull model would still be a good choice too.

If you are wondering whether you should get a fast lens or a lens with VR (Vibration Reduction), here's my take: In overall, VR does help a lot (as it will reduce camera shake) and will produce better/sharper picture than equivalent lens without VR (especially if the object is static). If the object is moving (sports/action) then VR feature alone might not help (depending on how fast the object is moving and how much light is available), and a fast lens often end up being a far better solution, even without VR feature as it will allow much faster shutter speed to freeze motion. Using tripod (and a remote) will substitute for the need of VR feature. In general I would recommend getting a fast lens with VR feature (and usually it is expensive) such as the 70-200 f/2.8 VR, but if one can only get for one or the other, then find out what do you want to use the lens for and then use the guideline mentioned here.

FYI: This lens will not autofocus with Nikon D40, D40x, D60 or D5000.

Pros
1. Great quality lens (very sharp pictures. 3 of the glasses made/coated with ED technology)
2. Very fast (fixed f/2.8 throughout the zoom range)
3. Very reasonably priced (compared to 70-200mm f/2.8 AF-S VR and 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-S)
4. Built to last. Very solid
5. Great for sport, action, wedding and low-light photography
6. Uses standard 77mm lens filter
7. Bokeh is very nice at f/2.8
8. Autofocus much faster than the older 80-200mm f/2.8 model (the push pull version)
9. The price is very stable (I bought mine several years ago and I could still sell it at the same price today)
10. With non full frame Nikon DSLR, the focal length becomes 120-300mm equivalent (nice reach). you can get Nikon 80-400mm for more reach but that lens is not fixed f/2.8).

Cons
1. Heavy at 2 lbs 14 oz or 1.3kg. (Good arm exercise :), or using tripod or monopod would be nice)
2. Autofocus not as fast and silence as the AF-S model (70-200mm f/2.8 AF-S and 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-S), but the autofocus limiter switch improves autofocus time
3. Tripod collar is too close to the zoom ring (you can remove or adjust the tripod collar though)
4. Thread for the filter can be better (it's made of plastic)
5. Lens hood is sold separately (highly recommended to reduce flare and internal reflection)
6. More expensive than Non-Nikon (sigma, tamron etc) brand alternative (some comparable price but they have faster and silence focus)
7. Lens could jump around a bit during autofocusing if you are not strong enough (due to the glass moving fast as the lens autofocus)
8. No Manual focus override mode on Autofocus mode
9. No Macro mode (can't be use for macro shot). closest focusing distance is quite far
10. No VR (Vibration Reduction), which will help a lot for this type of lens (heavy and telephoto)

In conculsion, if you are looking for a Nikon professional grade telephoto lens that is reasonably prices, you can't really beat this Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF Zoom Nikkor lens. This lens is really good choice for sport, action, wedding, low-light, indoor photography.

Happy Photographing!

Sidarta Tanu

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Great Nikkor, Monday, 13 April 2009


Overall rating (weighted)		4.8
Sharpness		5.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		4.0

I did not use much this lens on the field but, based on using it mainly indoor and little times out doors, I would say that this is really a work of art although it is old and heavy, it produces high quality images with great sharpness,

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