I am looking into buying a telephoto zoom for my D70.
I do not anticipate needing (at this time) an extreme telephoto, so I limited myself to a max focal length of ~ 200mm. I was also interested in a lens that had a fixed aperture throughout the range.
Based on these starting critera, I found 4 lenses that fit the bill.
Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 EX APO IF HSM ($1200 CDN)
Nikon 80-200mm f2.8 AF D ED ($1400 CDN)
Nikon AF-S VR 70-200 f2.8 G IF-ED ($2220 CDN)
Tokina AT-X 828 AF PRO 80-200mm f/2.8
(All prices do not include 15% tax)
I discounted the Tokina since it is unavailable in Canada and is also the lowest rated of the 4 in the FM review section. Also, realistically the Nikon 70-200VR is well outside my price range.
I have a few questions about the remaining 2 and I hoped to get some advice.
I realized that the telephotos would be heavy, but today when I tried the Sigma 70-200 on a Rebel XT (they had no Nikon mount demos) I was shocked at just how much. At 200mm, I was hard pressed to keep the image in the viewfinder steady. I feel much more comfortable shooting handheld, so my question to those who use non VR lenses is:
Are you able to shoot handheld?
How to you find the quality of the resulting pictures (sharpness etc)?
Also, I've noticed that the Nikon is rated fairly close to the Sigma. From people who have used both (the store had no 80-200s in stock), what were your impressions when you compared them? Why did you choose one over the other?
From a purely technical POV, in Canada the Nikkors have 5-yr warranties - the Sigmas 7yr w/ 48hr guaranteed turnaround time (?). Both take 77mm filters. The Sigma has HSM - the Nikkor is AF only (Does this make a substantial difference?). Also, the Sigma has full-time manual override. This seems like a "nice to have" although I'm unsure whether it would be useful. I'd appreciate any insight on that too.
I own the Nikkor 80-200 2.8 AF-S, picked it up off of these boards in excellent shape for a great price. If faster focusing (vs HSM) and manual override are a big factor to you, this lens has it. If you're not shooting action, I don't see too much of a need for the increased focusing speed as the standard is no slouch.
I shoot with mine handheld a lot and don't have much of an issue as long as you're aware of your subject and shutterspeed relationship. Use what makes the lens so expensive, the fixed aperture. Otherwise, adjust your shooting technique and cut down on the caffeine.
Regarding quality, it's awesome. Simple as that... Shouldn't be much if any of a difference between the AF vs AF-S versions. I've heard great things about the Sigma as well but have no first hand experience.
I didn't realize that the 80-200 was AF-S. But you're right - I just checked the Nikon Canada lens listing and the 80-200 is listed as an AF-S. So - I'm assuming that it does have full-time manual override?
Also, these may be silly questions but does the 80-200:
Does it come with a lens hood?
Does the actual barrel extend when you change focal lenghts?
Does the front rotate when focused (i.e. any problems with using Circ. Pols - I assume not)
The 80-200mm AF-S was replaced with the 70-200mm VR.
I'm actually looking for a good 80-200mm non AF-S right now from these forums. The lenses are far too expensive in Canada. Even with shipping a lens comes out cheaper than if I were to purchase it from a local store here in Vancouver.
I have both the Nikon 80-200 AF-S and the 70-200 AF-S VR and I think they are both excellent lenses. They both have full time MF override. One think to note is that the 70-200 is a G lens and won't work with older bodies. It does however make it much lighter than it's older 80-200 version.
I have shot with the non-VR version handheld for over a year without any major problems. I use a handstrap on the camera body and I keep the tripod collar and foot on. I hold the lens at the tripod collar which I find helps me balance the lens and enable zooming. I haven't had the 70-200 VR all that long and I haven't seen all that much benefit from the VR.
I used to have the Sigma 70-200, and shot it on my D100. It's an awesome lens, quite sharp and well built. As to hand holding, that's entirely up to you The older I get, the harder it is for me to shoot handheld with zoomers, but some people are quite impressive with their handholding abilities. My personal take on the Sigma, it was very well balanced with the D100, not sure how that compares to the D70, but should be close, plus, it's (for me) very comfortable holding it with the tripod collar/mount.
I really like the Sigma 70-200 but I might be lucky with my copy (see the reviews on FM). When I bought it it was not sharp above 165mm at f2.8. I got it recalibrated and it is now incredibly sharp all over the range.
It has very fast and quiet focusing (HSM) and has fixed length. The build is quite good, I think it is a good value for the money. The reselling value is also quite good if I look at the price paid for used copies in Europe.
I did a recent test with a colleague and could see that my copy outperformed his copy of the Nikkor 80-200 (non AF-S version) on all focal lengths wrt sharpness. This conclusion is of course only valid for those specific copies.
Regarding the Nikkor, I played with the idea to buy one but the only version available here (new) is the non AF-S version and that lens is quite noisy and has much slower focus than the Sigma. So if you go for Nikkor try to find an "old" used AF-S version.
allen_a_george wrote:
I didn't realize that the 80-200 was AF-S. But you're right - I just checked the Nikon Canada lens listing and the 80-200 is listed as an AF-S. So - I'm assuming that it does have full-time manual override?
Also, these may be silly questions but does the 80-200:
Does it come with a lens hood?
Does the actual barrel extend when you change focal lenghts?
Does the front rotate when focused (i.e. any problems with using Circ. Pols - I assume not)
I have the 80-200 AF-S and it comes with a lens hood (HB-17). They no longer make this lens so just make sure to find out if it comes with one. You could also buy the hood on ebay or somewhere I suppose. The lens barrel does not extend. Nikon still makes the 80-200 new but not the AF-S version. They replaced it with the 70-200 as mentioned above.....
The older I get, the harder it is for me to shoot handheld with zoomers, but some people are quite impressive with their handholding abilities. My personal take on the Sigma, it was very well balanced with the D100, not sure how that compares to the D70, but should be close, plus, it's (for me) very comfortable holding it with the tripod collar/mount.