p.2 #1 · Official Nikon Z 70-200 f2.8 VR S II Thread
Wezre wrote:
Interesting. By "with the lens bare and with [the] old Z 70-200" do you mean the V2 lens bare, and the V1 lens also bare? Or the V1 lens with the 2X? I haven't seen this with the V1 lens either bare or with the 1.4X, but I don't own the 2X to test that with. The V1 lens does have optical vignetting which causes cats-eye shaped specular highlights, but I've never seen this donut effect in the specular highlights.
The lens bare does it. Look at the first image of the White-rumped Sharma (brown and black bird) it is the lens bare and then the next image cropped in to match the 2x TC which is the 3rd image. It happens with the V 1 bare and with TC's but only in this kind of situation like highlighted droplets.
p.2 #3 · Official Nikon Z 70-200 f2.8 VR S II Thread
Picked mine up yesterday but don't really have much time to try it yet but in a week I will have a trip where 70-200 will be quite handy. Lighter weight does help a bit with traveling but it is only about
1 cm shorter than the older version. Focus is very quiet and very fast (not that the old one is slow by any mean).
p.2 #8 · Official Nikon Z 70-200 f2.8 VR S II Thread
Fred Miranda wrote:
Should I? Let me know guys.
The earlier one is more of a pre-release thread containing speculation of what the lens may be together with the usual pre-release denouncements of it.
IMO the official lens thread should commence post-release and be created by the member who first receives a production copy and posts images from it, to the benefit of those contemplating purchase.
Perhaps the earlier thread could be re-titled to avoid irritation.
p.2 #9 · Official Nikon Z 70-200 f2.8 VR S II Thread
The other thread was first a rumor of the lens thread, then edited to it's released, then to "official" lens thread. That author has done it repeatedly with their threads. Don't know what points they are thinking they are getting here trying to be first at everything ...
p.2 #10 · Official Nikon Z 70-200 f2.8 VR S II Thread
Alistair1 wrote:
The earlier one is more of a pre-release thread containing speculation of what the lens may be together with the usual pre-release denouncements of it.
IMO the official lens thread should commence post-release and be created by the member who first receives a production copy and posts images from it, to the benefit of those contemplating purchase.
Perhaps the earlier thread could be re-titled to avoid irritation.
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NightOwl Cat wrote:
The other thread was first a rumor of the lens thread, then edited to it's released, then to "official" lens thread. That author has done it repeatedly with their threads. Don't know what points they are thinking they are getting here trying to be first at everything ...
I agree with the suggestion above that the earlier thread which started as rumor talk should be retitled to remove the ‘official’ language, and this thread of Lance’s which now has images from the new lens by 3 different members should remain the official image thread. I don’t think it’s good for forum clarity and helpfulness to have two image threads from the same lens.
p.2 #12 · Official Nikon Z 70-200 f2.8 VR S II Thread
Taken just a few minutes ago and just some quick shots of the cherry tree in the front yard. Will try to get more serious images later this week. Love the smooth backgrounds, but that's to be expected.
p.2 #13 · Official Nikon Z 70-200 f2.8 VR S II Thread
Got mine today, well collimated and really nice. Pretty much echoing what is out there already, weight difference is noticeable, ripping fast AF that is completely silent and seems to do well with my 1.4X. The clicking aperture ring is great, makes me want to actually use it!
I have a big week-long job next week, should be nice to put it through its paces. This is all I have to offer right meow...
The S MarkII is almost the exact same size when you factor in the ftz.
Adding a filter the S comes to 1136g and the old f4 G to 1059g…
Wow!
I carry my 70-200/4G VR without the FTZ adapter. It wouldn't fit in my bag. Just like the Z 70-200/2.8 II wouldn't fit.
My FTZ is usually attached to another lens (50/1.4 AI), and I only attach it to the 70-200 when I'm using it. It’s not the most convenient, but I’m not going to spend $3,000 to not solve this minor inconvenience, which I can live with anyway.
It’s about time Nikon made a high-quality, more compact, lightweight 70-200/4 S VR, like the one Canon produces, for example. Or a 70-300/4-5.6 S VR.
p.2 #17 · Official Nikon Z 70-200 f2.8 VR S II Thread
Ripolini wrote:
I carry my 70-200/4G VR without the FTZ adapter. It wouldn't fit in my bag. Just like the Z 70-200/2.8 II wouldn't fit.
My FTZ is usually attached to another lens (50/1.4 AI), and I only attach it to the 70-200 when I'm using it. It’s not the most convenient, but I’m not going to spend $3,000 to not solve this minor inconvenience, which I can live with anyway.
It’s about time Nikon made a high-quality, more compact, lightweight 70-200/4 S VR, like the one Canon produces, for example. Or a 70-300/4-5.6 S VR.
I’m certainly not trying to convince anyone to spend 3k on a lens they don’t need or even want.
I also don’t want to misrepresent the size— the new 2.8Sii is roughly the same size as the old f4 WITH the ftz attached. So if you can’t fit the latter in your bag you definitely won’t fit the former. (Though I’ll observe a new bag would cost less than 3k ).
Much has been said on this forum about whether Nikon stands to gain anything by adding an f4 70-200 to its Z lineup. I don’t want to rehash that; I understand the arguments and certainly if I were still doing a lot of landscape photography in the backcountry, that’s a lens I’d like to see.
I only offer my observation because over a decade ago when I bought my 70-200/4, size and weight were a major deciding factor against the 2.8. Now in 2026 it’s amazing to see it’s basically a wash, and unlike back then, I actually have uses for the brighter aperture.
p.2 #18 · Official Nikon Z 70-200 f2.8 VR S II Thread
A few quick observations; I can only compare the NIKKOR Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S II to my AF-S NIKKOR 70-200MM F/2.8G ED VR II FX. I am most interested in rapidly moving subjects.
The NIKKOR Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S II is a tenth of an inch longer than the FX lens. This is obviously not the case if the FX is used with an FTZ II adapter on a Z body.
The NIKKOR Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S II is much lighter, 35.2 oz. compared to 54.3 oz.
The FX version feels very solid, balanced, especially on my D5, and is made in Japan. Not that the new Z lens, made in Thailand, doesn't also feel balanced and does not feel cheap.
The zoom ring is located towards the end of the lens and it will take some time to retrain my muscle memory. This didn't take too long when I moved from the 200-400 to the 180-400 TC.
Image quality and focus speed was already fantastic with the G FX so any improvement is a bonus.
Not needing to deal with the FTZ II will be nice and I will appreciate the weight savings.
I haven't used the 70-200 FX very much, possibly because of needing the adapter, but I can see myself using the Z version much more often, especially for people photography.
I've only taken a few pictures and once I knew where the zoom ring was, it handles well. I wonder if I will miss my left hand balance position closer to the body though.
My daughter brought her Red Merle Australian Shepherd puppy over, just now approaching a year old, to play with our Red Tri so I put the TC 1.4 on and took some test shots. The Aussies are fast, unpredictable, and pure chaos when they get together so it was a fun test. I got slightly more out-of-focus images than typical for me but I think it is because of the unfamiliar zoom ring location and therefore my left hand position while also making my right hand working of the back focus button not as efficient. With time it will become a subconscious routine and my capture rate will be back to normal and the capture rate was still very good.
It wouldn't be an issue with a static subject but when tracking erratic, fast moving subjects like dogs, I am not sure if my left hand inadvertently moves the focus ring occasionally and activates manual focus at times when moving the zoom ring. It is still fast and simple to reactivate auto focus tracking by releasing the back focus button for an instant. I can always turn manual focus off with the Z9 a18 control setting. It was never an issue on the FX version due to the opposite positions of the focus and zoom rings.
Lens: 280 mm, ISO: 1600, Aperture: 4, Shutter: 1/2500
p.2 #19 · Official Nikon Z 70-200 f2.8 VR S II Thread
GeorgeR wrote:
A few quick observations; I can only compare the NIKKOR Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S II to my AF-S NIKKOR 70-200MM F/2.8G ED VR II FX. I am most interested in rapidly moving subjects.
The NIKKOR Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S II is a tenth of an inch longer than the FX lens. This is obviously not the case if the FX is used with an FTZ II adapter on a Z body.
The NIKKOR Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S II is much lighter, 35.2 oz. compared to 54.3 oz.
The FX version feels very solid, balanced, especially on my D5, and is made in Japan. Not that the new Z lens, made in Thailand, doesn't also feel balanced and does not feel cheap.
The zoom ring is located towards the end of the lens and it will take some time to retrain my muscle memory. This didn't take too long when I moved from the 200-400 to the 180-400 TC.
Image quality and focus speed was already fantastic with the G FX so any improvement is a bonus.
Not needing to deal with the FTZ II will be nice and I will appreciate the weight savings.
I haven't used the 70-200 FX very much, possibly because of needing the adapter, but I can see myself using the Z version much more often, especially for people photography.
I've only taken a few pictures and once I knew where the zoom ring was, it handles well. I wonder if I will miss my left hand balance position closer to the body though.
My daughter brought her Red Merle Australian Shepherd puppy over, just now approaching a year old, to play with our Red Tri so I put the TC 1.4 on and took some test shots. The Aussies are fast, unpredictable, and pure chaos when they get together so it was a fun test. I got slightly more out-of-focus images than typical for me but I think it is because of the unfamiliar zoom ring location and therefore my left hand position while also making my right hand working of the back focus button not as efficient. With time it will become a subconscious routine and my capture rate will be back to normal and the capture rate was still very good.
It wouldn't be an issue with a static subject but when tracking erratic, fast moving subjects like dogs, I am not sure if my left hand inadvertently moves the focus ring occasionally and activates manual focus at times when moving the zoom ring. It is still fast and simple to reactivate auto focus tracking by releasing the back focus button for an instant. I can always turn manual focus off with the Z9 a18 control setting. It was never an issue on the FX version due to the opposite positions of the focus and zoom rings.
Lens: 280 mm, ISO: 1600, Aperture: 4, Shutter: 1/2500
Gorgeous dogs! I’m enjoying seeing folks’ first images from the lens. I’m still on the fence myself about ordering, because I’ve been making more use of the 200-400mm range in the past year, although I’ve relied on and enjoyed 70-200/2.8’s for decades.
p.2 #20 · Official Nikon Z 70-200 f2.8 VR S II Thread
My initial observations:
1. Really happy with the weight reduction and ability to fully remove the tripod foot on this lens!
2. The rendering is very similar to the last 70-200 z, which I enjoyed. Still prefer the rendering of the 200mm 2.0 VRII so that lens will stick around a few years longer it seems.
3. Like the new design direction but still wish the gold ring came back. Like the new clickable ring and very happy this lens does not have lens mount slop like my last gen version (movement/play at the mount).
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