Help me pick a 70-200 for my D800

Home · Register · Search · Software · Hosting · Software · Join Upload & Sell

FM Forum Rules
Nikon SLRs, primes, and zooms lenses reviews

FM Forums \| Nikon-mount SLRs \| Join Upload & Sell
1 2 end

CanonGolfGuy
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #1 · Help me pick a 70-200 for my D800

So I got permission from the misses to upgrade my 80-200 2.8 to a newer 70-200 version. I am perfectly happy with my 80-200, with the exception of AF speed. I occasionally shoot some outdoor sports, and it quite keep up with the action. I have used the 70-200 F4, and it is definitely a good lens, but I'm not too sure that it will be fast enough for indoors or low light situations. Any help/opinions are appreciated.

Mar 15, 2013 at 01:01 AM

Mataz426
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #2 · Help me pick a 70-200 for my D800

70-200 2.8 VRII
Good by and have a nice day.

Mar 15, 2013 at 01:28 AM

M635_Guy
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #3 · Help me pick a 70-200 for my D800

With the ISO capability of the D800 and VR, you should be able to keep your shutter speeds up enough to do just fine. If the extra $700+ doesn't make a difference, the only downside of the f/2.8 VRII is weight.

Weight was the main reason I upgraded from my 80-200, and I couldn't be happier with my f/4 (though I don't shoot sports).

Mar 15, 2013 at 01:40 AM

CanonGolfGuy
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #4 · Help me pick a 70-200 for my D800

Just to clarify, I'm looking at the VR I version of the F2.8. The VR II is more than I want to spend with a wedding to pay for next year.

Mar 15, 2013 at 01:43 AM

sb in ak
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #5 · Help me pick a 70-200 for my D800

What about the new Tamron 70-200 f/2.8 VC? Looking good so far from the Canon side and the Nikon version should be out soon.

Mar 15, 2013 at 01:50 AM

VinnieJ
Online
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #6 · Help me pick a 70-200 for my D800

Your own tendencies will answer the question better BUT answer why you want to upgrade from the 80-200 and you might find your answer.

Mar 15, 2013 at 01:56 AM

huddy
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #7 · Help me pick a 70-200 for my D800

Just curious if you thought about an 80-200 AF-S...

Mar 15, 2013 at 02:16 AM

M635_Guy
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #8 · Help me pick a 70-200 for my D800

VinnieJ wrote:
Your own tendencies will answer the question better BUT answer why you want to upgrade from the 80-200 and you might find your answer.

He stated in the first post it was AF speed. Any of the options he's got will have faster AF than the screw-drive 80-200, but I think there isn't one that is clearly faster to give him a reason to choose on that basis.

If the weight of the 80-200 hasn't bothered you, f/2.8 is nice to have for nighttime/indoor sports. If you want to save a full pound, I'm thinking you'd be surprised how well you can do with the f/4.

Mar 15, 2013 at 02:17 AM

CanonGolfGuy
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #9 · Help me pick a 70-200 for my D800

sb in ak, I hadn't reay considered the Tamron. I suppose I could look into it, but I would probably rather have either Nikon lens over the Tamron.

M635_Guy, the weight hasn't really bothered me, but at the same time a lighter lens wouldn't be a bad thing at all.

Mar 15, 2013 at 04:02 AM

RRRoger
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #10 · Help me pick a 70-200 for my D800

I have an AF-S 80-200 and an AF-S 70-200 VR, both f/2.8 Nikkors.
The earlier lens gives better image quality on a FullFrame DSLR.
On a DX the 70-200 is better. More comfortable grip, better sealing, more range, and VR.

Not sure about the f/4 version as I have not tried it.

Mar 15, 2013 at 04:19 AM

sb in ak
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #11 · Help me pick a 70-200 for my D800

CanonGolfGuy wrote:
sb in ak, I hadn't reay considered the Tamron. I suppose I could look into it, but I would probably rather have either Nikon lens over the Tamron.

M635_Guy, the weight hasn't really bothered me, but at the same time a lighter lens wouldn't be a bad thing at all.

Roger Cicala from Lens Rentals.com had a pretty favorable view of the Tammy.

I don't know if he's gotten his hands on the Nikon version yet though.

Mar 15, 2013 at 04:25 AM

Andre Labonte
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #12 · Help me pick a 70-200 for my D800

Save your money until you can afford the 70-200 VR-II

Mar 15, 2013 at 04:48 AM

CanonGolfGuy
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #13 · Help me pick a 70-200 for my D800

Andre Labonte wrote:
Save your money until you can afford the 70-200 VR-II

I can afford it now. It's a matter of need though. I don't shoot enough to spend the extra $700 on it.

Mar 15, 2013 at 05:14 AM

John Skinner
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #14 · Help me pick a 70-200 for my D800

I'm going to chime in just because....

I have the PRO DX bodies and the D3x FF PRO body. I use my 70-200 VRI on both with remarkable results. Prior to making my 14-24 purchase, I considered swapping out he VRI for the VRII with that money.

I borrowed the VRII from a friend for about 30 days and placed about 2000 images on it swapping out between the 2 for comparisons. It's my conclusion that this designed and optimized around the FF sensor for the VRII is SO overrated and yakked on about I could puke.

If you can only afford the VRI. Buy it and be really happy. You''re not loosing out on anything except the huge price tag. And although this part is just opinion, the build quality on the VRI is hands and feet over the build on the VRII.

I FedEx the VRII back to my friend and haven't looked back.

Take it for what it's worth.

Mar 15, 2013 at 06:48 AM

nick53097
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #15 · Help me pick a 70-200 for my D800

I had F/2.8 I, upgraded to II, for the last twoo weeks was playing with f/4.
Due to the minimal difference in the images F/4 will stay (so much lighter)

Mar 15, 2013 at 11:19 AM

RRRoger
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #16 · Help me pick a 70-200 for my D800

If you cannot tell the difference between the image quality of the 70-200 versions,
why not buy the cheapest/lightest one?

By the way, the vignetting of the 70-200 VR I is so slight that it bothers me not.
But the image quality of the new VR II is noticeable, especially with the TC-2.0 III

Mar 15, 2013 at 01:22 PM

James R
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #17 · Help me pick a 70-200 for my D800

Bill,

I agree with RRRoger's comment about these lenses in combination with the TC-2 III. Also, I found the VRII had a noticeable improvement with 1.4 and 1.7 TCs.

The VRI is soft at the edges and corner, which might not be a problem for you. The VRII is very good across the lens. The VRI doesn't breath down like the VRII. To me, this isn't a big issue since I don't shoot minimum focal distance at 200, so, the VRII doesn't bother me.

As to the $700 difference: This is $70 a year over the next 10 yrs, which is about how long I owned the VRI. You would assume a VRI purchased today will depreciate faster than a VRII moving forward.

I'd go with the VRII, it is the best buy going forward.

Mar 15, 2013 at 05:02 PM

krickett
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #18 · Help me pick a 70-200 for my D800

If money is a concern, get the VRI. If you are going to use TC's, get the VRII. If you care about weight, get the f/4. That's just about it.

I have the VRI with the D800. Under no circumstance have I ever looked at any pic out of the VRI and thought 'this picture would be noticeably better with the VRII'.

Most pictures I see out of the VRI are along the lines of "damn... that's sharp."

Mar 15, 2013 at 06:10 PM

CanonGolfGuy
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: On

p.1 #19 · Help me pick a 70-200 for my D800

Well I just snagged a 70-200 VR II off here, so I'm set. Thanks for the advice/opinions.

Mar 15, 2013 at 09:51 PM

Andre Labonte
Offline
• • • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.1 #20 · Help me pick a 70-200 for my D800

CanonGolfGuy wrote:
Well I just snagged a 70-200 VR II off here, so I'm set. Thanks for the advice/opinions.

Given the camera you have and the other lenses you have, you made the right choice.

Mar 15, 2013 at 09:59 PM

1 2 end
FM Forums \| Nikon-mount SLRs \| Join Upload & Sell 1 2 end