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mosier
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Registered: Feb 1, 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 1706
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Review Date: Jun 16, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,729.99
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Image Quality, Built like a tank!!
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Cons:
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None
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Ridiculous image quality! Love the compression. This is my favorite lens in the bag. I use it on a D700 and I've made sure the vignetting feature is turned off. I'm a portrait photographer and I love this lens. To me it's worth more then I paid 
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 Jun 16, 2009
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spentomuch
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Registered: Oct 3, 2007
Location: United States
Posts: 514
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Review Date: Jun 10, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,799.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Great pics if u have dx body
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Cons:
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vignetting if u have fx body
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I read about the vignetting thing,,, but on fx (D700/d3)
The corners or way to soft.
I'll keep this lens for my DX bodys and get a 80-200-2.8 for my D700,or maybe nikon will come out with a new FX 70-200
(I'm holding breath)!
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Jun 10, 2009
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darman
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Registered: May 10, 2004
Location: Spain
Posts: 44
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Review Date: May 1, 2009
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Recommend? |
Price paid: Not Indicated
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Pros:
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the focus is correct. rapid approach.
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Cons:
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fx vignetting in the corners are soft and of quality.
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dx excellent lens. when I bought the nikon d3 disappointed me. is a low quality fx, dark corners (vignetting) and low quality, the center of the image is very good. 1700USD a lens should be perfect. I have also designed f/2.8dy nikon 180mm is better. I want to take an urgent new nikon nikon 70-200.
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May 1, 2009
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CSBAlexPowers
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Registered: Apr 13, 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 8
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Review Date: May 1, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharp and contrasty. Fast, sleek and quiet.
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Cons:
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Mechanized hood, needlessly intricate foot.
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The paper that I shoot for owns multiple copies. I used this lens affixed to a D2Hs covering sports and general news for the better part of a year and have virtually no complaints. It's a great choice for an all-around, go-to medium-length lens.
Image quality is impressive, even by Nikkor standards. Yields always are sharp and contrasty.
The build is tough — this lens can and does stand up to professional abuse and adverse shooting conditions. It also manages to be relatively sleek and light for 2.8 glass with an image stabilizer.
Focus is fast and accurate on a D2Hs — great for tracking — while full-time manual focus and AF-stop buttons improve the lens' versatility.
Nikon uses a locking mechanism with a push-button release on the lens hood, as opposed to a hood secured by good ol'-fashioned friction. For me, the button is too easy to bump and the design is a bit finicky.
The lens foot is a composite design that doesn't fare well with dust or dirt. At times, the latch must be washed with compressed air or water or it will freeze.
Despite these minor complaints, the lens fares well against competition. I've used the 70-200/2.8 L IS and the Sigma 70-200/2.8 EX APO, but the Nikon is just a shade better.
In fact, it easily is the greatest zoom lens that I've used. This lens is a pleasure to work with an a necessary part of any Nikon shooter's kit.
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May 1, 2009
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1953hogan
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Registered: Feb 15, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 575
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Review Date: Apr 5, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,500.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Very sharp throughout focal length even at 2.8. Fast focus. Heavy duty build quality.
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Cons:
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Vignetting on full frame D3 or D700. Hood can fall off when reversed.
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I have just recently moved to Nikon and this is my first Nikon zoom, and I have to say I'm very impressed with it. The lens is nice and sharp at every aperture and focal length. At least as good as the Canon 70-200 f/2.8L I used to own. I also like the natural colors it renders.
I will also say that I've used it mostly with the VR turned off and I am still getting nice, crisp shots.
However, if you are using a full frame body like the D3 or the D700, the vignetting at the corners is very noticeable, especially zoomed in. I shoot sports and most of my shots are cropped so this isn't a big deal for me, but in shots you don't crop you will definitely see it.
My only other complaint is a minor annoyance, and that is that the lens hood doesn't seem to hold tight when affixed in the "reverse" position. I've had it fall off on me a couple of times now and I've learned my lesson. I don't reverse it except for storage. If I'm going to be walking any distance with this lens on the body, I make sure the hood in in it's forward position, where it attaches nice and tight.
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Apr 5, 2009
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rk-d
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Registered: Feb 26, 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 109
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Review Date: Mar 3, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Exceptional sharpness, Beautifully saturated colors with natural contrast. Removable tripod mount.
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Cons:
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Necessarily huge, expensive, apparently optimized for DX.
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This review applies only to use on a DX body (which I owned when using this lens)
On a DX body, this lens had the deepest color saturation I've ever seen in any lens. Sharpness is as acute as I've seen in any lens. Bokeh is absolutely beautiful, beaten only by the 85mm 1.4 in my experience. VR is excellent and the lens handles very well, despite it's large size.
Build quality is as good as Nikons get. The gold badge is a nice touch.
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Mar 3, 2009
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Raphael T-M
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Registered: Jul 7, 2007
Location: Canada
Posts: 72
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Review Date: Dec 25, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
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Pros:
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Fast Autofocus, Sharp, Manual Override (some seem to suggest this is almost a given, but only one out of my other three lenses has this, and i quite enjoy it), VR both active and normal, detachable tripod foot, smooth zoom ring and focus ring.
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Cons:
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Distance scale could be better positioned and bigger. I don't like the way the lens hood locks into place. When using a battery grip to shoot vertically, the focus lock buttons don't align well with one's fingers (without the battery grip, they're perfect)
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I haven't had very long to use it yet, but have already fallen in love with this lens. Its sharpness, wide open, is equal to or better than any of my other lenses (85 f/1.8, 80-400 f/4.5-5.6, 18-70 f/3.5-4.5) and makes most women worry about even the slightest imperfections in their skin.
Contrarily to the previous reviewer, i expected this lens to be a bit bigger than it is. I expected its average diameter to be equal to that of the 80-400 VR, it is considerable thinner, though somewhat longer. In terms of length, this lens is comparable to the 80-400 at 400mm.
Its 3 most useful features in my opinion are the constant 2.8 aperture throughout the zoom range, the fast SWM autofocus and the wonderful detachable tripod foot.
Some might say it's heavy. Personally, i disagree. It may be heavier than some other lenses, but those other lenses are light. This shouldn't fatigue anyone who's even just reasonably fit/strong.
Overall, this lens is an absolute beauty and i would recommend it to anyone.
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Dec 25, 2008
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eeyore_dave
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Registered: Dec 22, 2008
Location: Australia
Posts: 6
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Review Date: Dec 25, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $2,600.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Build quality. Optical quality.
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Cons:
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Bulk/size. Cost. Drains battery quick. Closest focus is not that close.
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This is one monster of a lens. For me, it certainly looks a lot bigger in real life then in photos. I have only used a Canon 70-200/4L prior to this lens (in the telephoto zoom type), however, using this on a D700 has certainly been worth the pain of the cost (cost above in AUD) and carrying it around. This lens performs so well in practical use. The images it produces are stunning. Obviously part of that has to do with the focal length range, however, the combination of a f/2.8 aperture with VR makes this a wonderful lens for so many applications. The out of focus areas are very smooth and makes a very nice backdrop to portraits and/or pictorial shots. When stopped down, the lens is fantastic at capturing details.
Looking at 100% crops there are some, but minor CA/LCA. Some softness in the corners and some minor vignetting. However, I don't see that as a major problem. When shooting at f/2.8, I am trying to focus the attention in the center of the frame, and the natural vignette helps. The softness also makes the central part more prominent. At smaller apertures, these issues are really not present. Running this through a demo of DXO has showed what it is really capable of, however, I found the DXO results looked a bit too much like over sharpened images, and lacked the naturalness of a manually sharpened image. However, the distortion corrections and CA/LCA corrections worked a treat. Last comment is that I would've like the closest focusing distance to be more like 1.0m rather than 1.5m or even closer. This would allow me to make even tighter portraits and have this lens double up as a pseudo-macro.
Overall an excellent lens and optic, and would sure to be a long term keeper for me. It allows me to make stunning images in a variety of conditions (including low light indoors, D700 @ 3200+ and f/2.8 with VR) as well as architectural/urban shots.
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Dec 25, 2008
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emorale
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Registered: Nov 20, 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Nov 25, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2335281,00.asp
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Cons:
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None
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Shooting indoor sports and outdoor band contests at night have two things in common: There's not a lot light. Sure, a brightly lit football field or well-lit gym looks bright, but if you're trying to shoot action shots at 1/400th of a second or better, you quickly discover that you need fast lenses. So my D300 is paired with a Nikon 24-70mm f2.8G ED AF-S and a Nikon 70-200 f2.8 ED-IF AF-S VR. Both are zoom lenses that can be set at f2.8 through all zoom settings.
The combination of the D300 and 70-200VR weighs almost five pounds. Shooting with that combination gives my hands, arms and shoulders quite a workout. So I often use a monopod with a Really Right Stuff monopod head. The 70-200VR ships with its own tripod mounting bracket, which locks onto the lens via a latch-and-screw assembly.
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2335281,00.asp
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Nov 25, 2008
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LMT1972
Offline
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Registered: Oct 26, 2008
Location: Australia
Posts: 681
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Review Date: Nov 11, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,950.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharp, verstile & great bokeh
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Cons:
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Soft in the corners
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This lens is by no means perfect but as my most used lens it does everything I want and although expensive it is worth it.
Whether it sports, macro or candid portraits this lens always delivers. I normally shoot at f4 and it is tack sharp and bokeh is as good as it gets. Recently I have been shooting wide open on the D300 and I'm pleasently surprised at the sharpness which seems much better than on my D70s for some reason.
I use it extensively with the Nikon 1.7 TC and it works quite well when stopped down 1 stop, though images require extra sharpening. I've also used it with the Kenko 1.4 TC and image quality is excellent (better than the 1.7) and its focus speed is still pretty good on the D300.
VR is good but I don't use it that often. I don't mind the weight and often shoot handheld for long periods without too many worries.
Corner sharpness is not great but that's not an issue for me as I'm cropping 90% of the time anyway.
I use the lens with the Canon 500D for macro and image quality is superb.
I'd also recommend the Kirk lens foot replacement as well if you are going to be using it a lot on a tripod or Wimberley SK.
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Nov 11, 2008
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oriwo
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Registered: Oct 7, 2004
Location: Germany
Posts: 1
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Review Date: Nov 9, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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... very good and sharp on DX (D200/D2X/D300). Lens is solid rugged. Very fast AF. my second one performes even at f2.8.
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Cons:
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... disapointing on my D700 (FX) (especially between 120 and 200mm) because the corners are extreamly weak (low contrast, low sharpeness an high vignetting). Seem to be bulid for APS-C ;) .
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DX Rating 10
FX Rating 4
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Nov 9, 2008
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Sambru
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Registered: Jun 6, 2007
Location: Canada
Posts: 700
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Review Date: Aug 22, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,500.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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I just love the contrast & fast focusing of this lens, it stays pretty much on my D300
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Cons:
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none
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Aug 22, 2008
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ghamden
Offline
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Registered: Aug 10, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 81
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Review Date: Jul 16, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,749.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Image quality Build quality
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Cons:
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Pricey
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This lens as with most of Nikon Pro grade lens are well built and great image quality
Plus hold their value
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Jul 16, 2008
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nanana
Offline
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Registered: Nov 26, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 1372
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Review Date: Jun 24, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,575.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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sharp, fast, look good, vr, ...
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Cons:
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too heavy, price, ?
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I got this lens from a fellow FMer. It was a very difficult lens to find with good price. It is however a great lens to be in my bag. I have often used it on sports event of my kids. So far so good...we are all happy with this copy.
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Jun 24, 2008
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cta888
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Registered: Jul 14, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: May 29, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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good handling, excellent image quality
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Cons:
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flares very easily, overpriced (like most Nikon professional lenses and especially compared to Canon version), VR needs to be disabled when used on tripod
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It feels very nice in the hand, even better than the similar lens from Canon. However, compared to the Canon 70-200 IS lens, this one is still a generation older as it requires disabling VR when used on tripod (otherwise you get blurr, no matter the shutter speed). Canon will sense the tripod and do some magic things, like reducing mirror slap. Glass quality of the two lenses is the same. It produces consistently very good (but not excellent) pics. Excellent I would rate the Nikkor 85mm f/1.4.
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May 29, 2008
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lextalionis
Offline
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Registered: Jul 28, 2007
Location: United States
Posts: 1076
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Review Date: May 5, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,630.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Like the Canon version, every bit as good + an ounce brand loyality!
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Cons:
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A little pricy, but you get what you pay for.
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Very sharp and fast! The lens works great with the Kenko 1.4X TC! The VR is icing on the cake! Highly recommend!
The first two sample shots of a Kestrel here were taken with the 1.4X TC and the rest of the shots w/o the 1.4TC, photos taken with a D80:
Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Lens Photo Samples
-Roy
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May 5, 2008
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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95
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228318
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Nov 12, 2012
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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91% of reviewers
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$1,625.72
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Build Quality Rating
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Price Rating
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Overall Rating
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9.86
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8.56
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9.6
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