Botts' Dots, 21 November 2016. Nikon D810, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 FL at 78mm at f/22 hand-held at 1/30 at Auto ISO 100. bigger or camera-original file to explore on your computer. Falloff on FX and 35mm is invisible, except at 200mm at f/2.8 if you leave Vignette Correction OFF, which is the same way just about every Nikon f2.8 tele zoom has been since the 1980s.

This 70-200 FL is a huge improvement over the old 70-200/2.8 VR II from 2009 because it weighs less and focuses much closer. While the rated close-focus distances aren't that much different, older 70-200s cheated and didn't really go to 200mm at close distances. This new FL lens really is 200mm at close distances. Since this new 70-200 FL doesn't cheat on 200mm, it gets what seems like twice as close when you need it. The reason the 70-200mm VR costs ten times what other equally sharp lenses might cost are because the 70-200 VR also offers: Macro performance is the best of any 70-200/2.8 because not only does this lens focus closer than any other, it doesn't cheat and shorten its actual focal length to focus closely, so we get what looks to be about twice as close compared to every other 70-200/2.8 from Nikon. Its macro ability is unmatched by any other Nikon f/2.8 tele zoom, with a super-close 1:4.76 maximum reproduction ratio.Performance seems the same, on a D3, as the lens alone, except now it's a 100~280mm f/4. If you're on a tripod and looking at images at 100%, it's just a teensy bit softer wide open (f/4) and is wonderful by f/5.6, one-stop down.

Manual focus is easy: simply move the focus ring at any time. It just works. Tap the shutter button again for AF. VR ( Vibration Reduction) lets me hand-hold at almost any speed for when I need depth of field. No tripod needed! The metal 77mm filter thread is a nice change from some of the plastic garbage Nikon sold us in earlier years. Filters spin off and spin on easily with little worry for cross-threading. The foot has two ¼″ × 20 tripod threads so you can position it for great balance with either light or heavy cameras. Be sure your card has the same serial number as your lens, otherwise it's worthless. The serial number on the box should also match the lens and warranty card.

Comments

x 450 pixel crop from above image. If this crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on our screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 75 x 50." (6 x 4 feet, or 2 x 1.25 meters)! Sharpness has little to do with real image quality, but if you count your pixels, skip the TC-20E with the 70-200mm VR. When used DX, it sees the same angle of view as a 105~300mm lens sees when used on a 35mm or FX camera. For B&W film outdoors, I'd use a 77mm Nikon Y48 or O56 filter, or a 77mm Hoya HMC Yellow K2 or 77mm B+W Orange. Use a yellow filter for normal results outdoors on B&W, and I prefer the orange for stronger clouds. If you use no filter the skies and clouds will be washed-out because B&W film is overly sensitive to blue and ultra-violet light; a yellow filter gives a natural rendition.

This was the standard lens of the pros from 2003-2009, and today remains as a top professional lens. It's not cheap, even used. If you're worrying about this lens' sharpness, you're probably not a seasoned full-time pro. This, and all Nikon's previous 80-200mm and 70-200mm lenses, have been the standards against which all other professional zooms have been judged for many, many decades. Palm Trunk against the Mountain, 20 November 2016. Nikon D810, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 FL at 155mm at f/2.8 at 1/2,000 at Auto ISO 100. bigger or full-resolution file to explore on your computer. This Nikon 70-200mm VR was Nikon's top professional zoom for news and sports photographers from its introduction in 2003 through the Fall of 2009 when it was replaced by the very similar 70-200mm VR II. Today this original 70-200 VR is still a remarkable professional lens. The only things the newer lenses do is focus a little more closely, weigh a little less, or maybe have a hair more sharpness visible only in the laboratory.

The lens' four AF buttons are much easier to reach than using the one on the camera. The lens' AF buttons are easy to use while holding the camera in any orientation.

If you're a tripod-hugger who demands the very highest sharpness in the corners at 200mm, you'll prefer the 200mm f/4 AF Micro-NIKKOR instead at 200mm. Normal people and pros love the 70-200 VR. They all do the same thing. There are three so you have one for horizontal shots, and one for each vertical orientation. You're on you're own shooting upside-down. This 70-200/2.8 is lighter and focuses closer than any other 70-200/2.8. Yes, it's at least as sharp as any other 70-200, but when you earn your living with it every day, what really matters is weight and close focus instance All pro 70-200mm lenses are ultrasharp, but that doesn't matter if the subject is too close to get in focus! EXIF and exposure data read correctly with the TC-17E, meaning the camera and EXIF read the effective f/stop, which now starts at f/4.8, and the effective focal length, which goes from 120~340mm. What this gobbledygook means is that you can't tell how sharp this lens is by looking through the finder. The corners will always look dark and blurry because Nikon's finders aren't optimized for this lens.In fact, corner sharpness is better than the 70-200mm naked, since with the TC-17E the corners are always sharp, and the 70-200mm alone has softer corners at many focal lengths if you're looking to hard. How can this be? Easy: the TC is throwing away the corners.