Anyone who doubts that zooms can't match one of the top "prime" lenses should definitely try one of these new models for an eye opener. In terms of sharpness, resolution of intricate detail, snappy contrast, freedom from flare and aberrations, both are outstanding performers. Although the Silent Wave Motor adds to the cost, it makes the lenses even more desirable. This technology will surely help photographers to increase their success ratio of sharply focused images, paying dividends that will justify the higher price. Hav
Professional photographers and discriminating photo enthusiasts who demand the very finest will definitely want these two AF-S lenses. They are a credit to the engineers and designers at Nikon, boasting the advanced optical, mechanical, and electronic technology. Because a fast telephoto zoom is the workhorse of many photographers, the AF-S 80-200m f/2.8D IF-ED especially should become a favourite with all types of photography
Why should you care what I think?
My relationship with this item: I used to own it Where did you buy this item?: N/A When did you buy this item?: N/A
Conclusions at a glance
Would you recommend this Item: Yes Pros: Sharp Cons: Not VR
Last updated: Tuesday, 27 November 2007
User Lens Reviews
Average user rating from: 14 user(s)
Overall rating (weighted)
4.6
Sharpness
4.6
Build Quality
4.8
AF Speed
4.6
Value for Money
4.6
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
Excellent lens, Wednesday, 27 August 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
Autofocus works with all digital bodies except the baby Nikon SLRs (D40-60). This is a very sharp, fast lens yielding detailed, accurate colorful images. I use it to take candid shots in parties, weddings and similar occasions. It is unmerciful to the vain, because it brings everything out. I could not shell out the additional $1000 or so to acquire the more current Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras. Rumors are that Nikon is going to discontinue this lens. I hope it is replaced with comparable product at a slightly lower price. It is a solid looking, impressive beauty of a professional lens. Many people find it to be heavy. Not me. Feels just right, but a solid tripod or monopod is necessary if shooting in low light or using the longer focal length. I just purchased this and then learned about the new D90. Should I have bought the Nikon D90 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) or this lens? The Nikon D300 DX 12.3MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only) is probably too much camera for me. The D90 appears to be a D300 slightly disabled in a D80 body, plenty good for me and this lens.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
My favorite lens - it does weight a ton (and a hal, Thursday, 14 February 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
5.0
Okay, if you got the dough to shelf out ~$1700 for the VR 70-200, go for it. Stabilization can really help with this kind of heavy lens. This sucker does weight close to 3 pounds by itself, and personally a beautiful lens to behold. It's very well constructed and takes great picture too.
I use this on a D80, typically shoot aperature priority. It's very sharp but does exhibit slight distortion at widest aperature. Dial it down to around f/4, it gets super sharp. The AF is fast on the D80, and switching to manual zone is a breeze.
If you're not a tripod/monopod person, you'll be looking for bracing a lot when shooting. Steady hands and a tree... Minimum focus distance is 5.5'
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
a must own, Tuesday, 13 November 2007
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
This lens is THE lens to own if you want to shoot indoor sports. The newspaper I work for has me out on a lot of volleyball, hockey and basketball beats, and this lens does not come off my camera. I have taken this lens out to soccer games and baseball games but use it mainly as back up. If you want to shoot these sports you'll want something up in the 300-400 range. Soccer especially.
The 2.8 aperture is a must for these low (and orange/brown) light situations. I was using a 200mm f4 but fell just short of being able to freeze the action perfectly without any Blur. The little Bit of extra light makes a world of difference.
I shoot with a D80 and find that I can keep my ISO down around 400 and be very comfortable with the results. In my situation (newsprint) I could go as high as 800 and be alright with it, but the glass in this lens lets me keep it low.
If you are in the fence, pick this lens up. For under 1000 bucks you can't beat it. It's ultra wide, and doesn't lose any sharpness at 2.8.
The only situation where you should not buy this lens is if you own a D40 or D40x. These bodies will not support the AF function of this lens, and seeing as how this is a great medium tele sports lens, not having AF would make this lens a bust.
They make a version with a built in motor that will communicate the D40 and D40x but it'll cost you close to 800 more.
As a side note this lens is heavy (as are most 2.8 tele lenses) There is a lot of big glass in this lens and after an hour or so of shooting hand held you will really want a mono pod. This lens has a great tripod shoe, so don't be afraid to throw it up on mono and go to town, your arms will appreciate the help
One final note. If you are undecided about this lens because it does not have any sort of optical stabilization or vibration reduction consider what you will be using this for. If you are shooting sports or action you wont need and it wont use it. If you are shooting from a tripod or good mono pod, you wont need and wont use it. The VR is only good in handheld situations when the object you are photographing is stationary.
This lens is a 5 star lens
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
Amazing lens well done NIKON, Saturday, 03 November 2007
Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I bought this Lens before one week , and i'm very happy to get like this lens it's amazing , clear , fast and very very sharp , because that I switched to NIKON
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0 of 7 people found the following review helpful
1999 technology... it's 2007!!!!, Saturday, 25 August 2007
Overall rating (weighted)
3.0
Sharpness
3.0
Build Quality
3.0
AF Speed
3.0
Value for Money
3.0
I just bought the 70-200 2.8 VR, what a f#@%ing lens! Don't bother with the 80-200 2.8, get the 70-200 2.8 VR, it's the real deal!
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
Great Sports Shots, Thursday, 12 July 2007
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
5.0
I use this lens mostly indoors to shoot my daughter's vollyball games. I was amazed at the clarity and quickness of focus this lens provides. The cost was more than i wanted to pay but after a month of shooting great action shots i see the value. Its not good for any macro photos also it is heavy (5lbs). Use a mono pole or tri pod and you'll see pro like shots.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
Good value for a great lens., Wednesday, 11 July 2007
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
4.0
This lens is super sharp and well built. Yes it is heavy but I expected that for an F2.8 lens. I have used it twice now for photographing motorsports and it produced sharp shots due to it's excellent optics and the ability to increase the shutter speed. I use it on a Nikon D200 and it focuses very quickly and accurately and balances well with the MB-D200 Battery pack attached. If it has a weakness it would be the switch for manual focus; not a deal breaker but an inconvenience. Overall I gave it top marks because of it's excellent image taking ability and durable design. I expect to have this lens for a long time.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
80-200mm, Wednesday, 06 June 2007
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I was very happy with the way the lense was packaged. They used airbag cushions protecting the lense. The lense is in excellent condition when I received. I have no complaint.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
Quick and clean, Sunday, 18 March 2007
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
The lens shown here is great. I just got mine the other day and right when I saw it i loved it. I was recommended to this product by a friend of mine. I really wanted a fast lens for sport and indoor photography and I didnt have over $1000 so this ruled out the nikon 70-200 f2.8 lens. I only tried it out on a handful of occasions but the results so far was amazing. The actual lens is very big and very heavy. I dont think the pictures here do the lens very much justice. I recommend this lens to anyone who shoots pictures in poor lighting or just wants that nice soft blurry background for portrait pics.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
Fast and Sharp, Wednesday, 07 March 2007
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
4.0
Pros: Crystal clear images. Large aperture is also a handy thing. The build seems as solid as anyone would need. The optical quality is a bit better than the ultra zooms in the same price range. Finally, with the designated hood, on a large DSLR, you'll get respect regardless of your skill level. It looks classy. Cons: Like everyone else has said for years, it's heavy, and with the lighter, newer lenses coming out, I imagine this one will be purchased less and less. Don't buy this lens for use of macro setting, it's not as close you may need.
Comments: Don't even think about buying a previous version of this lens without the tripod collar on it. That's your only prayer of getting sharp images, because of the weight of the lens. This is awesome, and more than worth the money. You may never need to upgrade unless you really find it necessary for the VR function on the new stuff.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
One of Nikon's Best Zoom lenses Optimized for Both, Sunday, 21 May 2006
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
5.0
Historically Nikon has been a leader in designing high quality zoom lenses for its 35mm SLR cameras, of which this 80mm-200mm f2.8 ED AF Zoom Nikkor is a shining example. It is extremely sharp and contrasty, even wide open, judging from pictures I've seen taken with this lens. Unfortunately it is extremely heavy, and should be used only when the lens is supported by a monopod - or better yet - tripod, which can be attached to it via its tripod mount collar. Much to my surprise, it has two focusing rings - instead of one - which set independently the focal length the photographer is interested in in the range from 80mm to 200mm (So you can't take any fascinating "zoom" photographs by pushing the zoom focusing ring back and forth along the length of the lens barrel, which was a fine feature of the classic 80-200mm f4.5 and 80-200mm f4 Zoom Nikkor lenses.) and the focusing distance between the photographer and the subject being photographed. Nikon's new Super Integrated Coating is designed to minimize flare for users of Nikon's digital SLRs, ensuring optimally high contrast and resolution for these camera's digital imaging sensors. Photographers who take a lot of hand-holdable action photography may regret the absence of an image stablizing feature in this lens, but others may find its excellent optical quality of more importance than an Image Stabilizer in deciding whether or not to acquire it.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
Sharp and fast, heavy and slow, Wednesday, 31 December 2003
Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
This is a top-notch lens, tack sharp and fast (f/2.8) across it's entire zoom range. The built-in tripod collar will save a lot of stress on your camera mount, you'll see why when you lift this sucker - it feels like a brick. On the downside, auto-focusing can be a little slow. If you have an older camera body with an underpowered auto-focus motor it may not be able to keep up with a fast moving target. My N90s can handle it pretty well, but I don't do many action shots. If you shoot sports or other fast action, you should consider the AF-S version. It's internal motor eases the load on the camera and improves focus speed, but make sure you're body can use AF-S lenses.
If you're a casual photographer who generally uses fast film, this lens is probably overkill. If you're very serious and shoot slow film, it will help you squeeze out every stop possible. The wide aperture is also great for minimizing Depth of field, very useful if you shoot through wire at the zoo and for isolating subjects against a busy background (think great portraits). If you do get it, do yourself a favor and get a good monopod, your arms will thank you! I can't stress enough that this thing is *HEAVY*!
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
The best Christmas present I ever received., Saturday, 18 January 2003
Overall rating (weighted)
4.5
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
4.0
This camera takes the most amazing photos. They are clear and crisp. No graininess when I enlarge to any size. I also have the Zoom lens Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6D with auto-focus. It is great!! I have taken the most amazing photos at concerts ( just make sure cameras are allowed) The photos came out like I was right up on stage!! I love this camera. It is easy to use, and once you feel comfortable with manual adjustments, they are easy as well. I obviously am not a professional and have never taken classes in photograpy and I am amazed at the beatiful photos I have been able to take. This is one camera you don't want to be without.
Just got back from a Bulls game: excellent close-ups of Pippen, you can even see a drop of sweat falling from his chin. So clear!!!
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
A pro oriented lens., Sunday, 17 November 2002
Overall rating (weighted)
4.5
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
5.0
I used 80~200mm AFD ED Nikkor lens for the past four years on my Nikon F5 and FM2.One of the best lenses Nikkor has made, and may be the best among other brands of its range.I can enlarge its photos up to 28X18.5 inch and may be larger with V-good to excellent results.Its ED(Extra Low Dispersion)element/?s is/?are working perfectly.The only drowback of this lens is its weight specially when used with a heavey wieghted camera body.
