I have an 80-200mm f2.8 two ring Nikon that is giving me a strange problem, I am hoping some of you may help figure out what it is. At f2.8 I am getting a softfocus like blur. I have done some tests and it is not my camera bodies, D1X, D2H. I shot some test images all tripod mounted and using flash. I tested the 80-200mm f2.8, the Nikon 200mm f4, and my 70-200mm f2.8. Both the 200f4 and the 70-200 are sharp.
Well, these shots aren’t much good for comparison shots. Different bodies, different shutter speeds and f stops. What you need to do is to mount one camera on a tripod, take a meter reading, (custom WB wouldn’t hurt, or use a Kelvin WB setting) set the camera in manual, and shoot the same object. Make sure you are not too close to the subject for the lenses you are taking the test shots with to make sure you are not too close for the lens to focus. Don’t crop, or process the images in any way, just resize for posting here. For me, these shots don’t work for comparing lenses.
I own the 80-200 f/2.8 D two ring, and have for years. After a certain distance to subject I’m shooting, I rarely get good focus. I recently discovered that I have a loose element in the lens. Drat. It will have to be sent to Nikon for adjustment. If you retest as I suggested, and you still get out of focus results, then you may have to send it off to Nikon for adjustment and cleaning.
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Gary
Will Fly for Food... and More Nikon Stuff
These shot are just to illustrate the soft blur like effect I am getting from this lens, on more than one body.
The others are just to show that my camera bodies are not the problem and are indeed capable of attaining focus with two other lens of the same focal length.
Perhaps I should of asked if anybody has seen this effect with their 80-200mm f2.8 and what they had to do to correct it.
The Nikkor AF 80-200/2,8D has a slightly soft performance near the MFD. Your pictures are a typical example of this problem. At far distances it's a very sharp lens. On the other hand the AF-S VR 70-200/2,8G has a better performance in this area but it's probably less good at far distances.
Dreamliner wrote:
The Nikkor AF 80-200/2,8D has a slightly soft performance near the MFD. Your pictures are a typical example of this problem. At far distances it's a very sharp lens. On the other hand the AF-S VR 70-200/2,8G has a better performance in this area but it's probably less good at far distances.
Huh?? I used to own this lens. Never saw anything like that. Those shots show a visible soft focus effect. Some kind of lens flare? Does the lens look fine? mounts properly? The effect is seen throughout the zoom range or is it more pronounced at a certain focal length
