TooManyShots Offline Upload & Sell: Off
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Beware of the 80-200 f2.8 D versions, push/pull or two rings. Is a known issue the lens tends to back focusing when the shooting distance is under 20ft to 10ft, at the longer ends. No amount of AF fine tuning can fix it. I had one before and I had to rotate the actual front elements from its default position in order to fix the back focusing issues. And I had to mask the electrical contacts on the AF distance scale to fool my D7000 in thinking that the actual distance was never closer than 10ft. Only this way, the lens was actually pretty sharp at wide open on my D7000. At f2.8, I was seeing some CA and a bit of glow. By f3.5, the lens sharpens A LOT. The lens reaches its peak sharpness by F4. That's with my copy, which I sold.
Why these Nikon 80-200 f2.8 zooms behave this way? It has to do with the AF system on many of the Nikon DSLR. These lenses were never meant for DSLR. The only version that behaves well is the AF S 80-200 f2.8. However, that version suffers from AF motor issues. Based on what I read, the AF motor would usually die on you after several years...typically as soon as the AF motor is squealing.
The Push Pull version is not a bad deal since you can pick one up under $300. The AF fine tuning on the D300 MAY fix the lens back focusing issues or it may not. Getting the 2 ring version is a bit risky since the average price is around $600. You don't know if that particular copy would have back focusing issues....you have to ask the seller for that.
If I were you, I would save a bit more for the Tamron 70-200 f2.8 VC. I got my copy for $700. It has some front focusing issues but it is fixable...at least... And these older Nikon 80-200 zooms, not including the AF S version, don't have sealing in the front. You need a front filter to seal the front. Otherwise, MASSIVE amount of dusts and dirt can get in. If you are getting one of them used, just makes sure it is clean inside. I doubt it unless the seller has cleaned the inner lens elements themselves.....
Edited on Oct 22, 2017 at 08:03 PM · View previous versions
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