pburke wrote:
great discussion of the MF glass - comes at the right time, since I am shopping for more glass right now. Having sold my DX gear, I lost some zoom range with the DX AF glass that went to ebay, and now I am down to primes and the 24-85mm AF lens that came with the D600 kit.
I\'ve been looking at various zooms and the 180mm ED to fill the gap between 85mm and 300mm (yes, I have a 105mm, and I have a 135mm, but that leaves a gap from 135 to 300mm, plus I use my gear while hiking and skiing in the backcountry, so weight is an issue - I can\'t carry 5 lenses on those trips).
Soooo - 80-200mm f4.5 - how does it compare to the 180mm F2.8 ED MF lens? I don\'t care too much about the speed, just sharpness and contrast. And how do these two compare to the <shudders> 70-300mm AF lens? It fits my needs for weight and range, and a refurb can be found for a reasonable price.
Peter, the 80-200mm is every bit as sharp as the 180mm, IMO. It just doesn\'t have as pleasing of bokeh. You probably know this, but make sure you get the one with the rectangle plate on the mount end.
