AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II Lens now available- worth an upgrade?

Currently, I have the older classic 80-200mm f2.8 AF ED lens. This post shares my research into the decision whether an upgrade to the newer version.

The new AF-S-NIKKOR-70-200mm-f-2.8G-ED-VR-II lens

As background, I should start by saying that I am very happy with the 80-200mm f2.8 AF D. I use it on every shoot for weddings, portraits, and photojournalism. I don’t have any complaints on its performance at all. The 80-200 can produce essentially the same results as the newer 70-200 in good light. There are bigger differences in the extremes of low light, back light and fast moving subjects where the focus is rapidly changing.

Previous generation AF-Zoom-NIKKOR-80-200mm-f-2.8-ED lens

Back in July there was an announcement of the 70-200. I knew that the previous 2 versions of the 70-200 were not great performers on the FX or full frame cameras. Seeing as how I had upgraded to the FX, I was interested in what improvements were in store for the full frame format.

The great thing about the 80-200 is that it was designed in the film days- this means that on the full frame 35mm sized sensors, the old lenses work great. Since getting the full frame camera, I have had to upgrade my wide angle and standard lenses. I first bought the 14-24mm ultra wide angle lens. Followed by the 24-70mm standard lens. The normal progression would be to add the 70-200mm with matching optical technology.

Ken Rockwell, a prolific writer about Nikon gear, wrote a preview based on the specs- . He mentions the Nano-Cyrstal coating is a ‘marketing feature.’ I would agree that while it does sound like hype, the 14-24 and 24-70 are absolutely amazing performers- it may not all be because of the Nano, but whatever Nikon are doing with these new lenses is obviously working.

I was pleased to hear that the Image Doctors did a review of the lens on their podcast. Both Rick and Jason pre-ordered the lens, and gave an objective review of their first impressions using it. From what they said in the initial reports the big improvements are:

• Little or no “Ghosting” image flare when shooting into backlit or even full sun situations. I have noticed great results with the 14-24 & 24-70 so believe the 70-200 is equally good.
• Improved VR. I don’t have any lenses with Vibration Reduction, so was not that worried about it. Though I am sure if I had it, I would use it and get better results in low light.
• Improved Autofocus. The 80-200 has a very old version of AF, using the camera to power the mechanism. With pro-cameras, this has not been a big problem for me- again I would see a significant improvement in AF for action and low light shooting. I love the AF-S in my 14-24, 24-70 and older 17-55mm DX lenses. I am sure I would appreciate the speed improvements and ease of use of the newer AF system on board.

The final piece of research that I did was to look for reviews online- I found this good blog post by Cliff Muatner using a early release pre-production version. He indicates a huge improvement over the older 70-200’s. In some areas like performance and handling, there would be a bigger difference from the 80-200. However, I would expect to see less optical differences as the 80-200 is such a great lens optically, even today.

I have posted my 80-200 on eBay, along with the 17-55mm f2.8 DX lens that is not getting used any more since I got the new wide angles. If they both sell for reasonable amounts, I will place an order for a new Nikon 70-200 VR ii and make sure to post some pictures to see!

Summary- should you get the new lens.

If you dont have a lens in this focal range, the I for sure suggest considering any of the 80 or 70-200 lenses. They all work well on the DX format cameras. If you work as a professional and are using FX cameras, then the new lens is for you.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 13th, 2009 at 9:27 am and is filed under Gear and tagged with 70-200, 80-200, nikon. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.