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View Full Version : Field Testing the Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 Lens


Jason Dunn
02-24-2010, 11:00 PM
<p><em>"Nikon introduced the 70-200mm f2.8 VR back in 2003 and for 6 years it was known as one of those "must-have" medium zoom lenses. Now, with the release of the VRII, can Nikon improve on an already great formula? Watch the world's first field test of the 70-200mm f2.8 VRII to find out."</em></p><p><object width="600" height="360" data="http://www.youtube.com/v/MisgP8GdGX0&amp;ap=%26fmt=18" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/MisgP8GdGX0&amp;ap=%26fmt=18" /></object></p><p>I haven't had much time to test <a href="http://www.digitalhomethoughts.com/news/show/96920/my-preciousssss-has-arrived-the-nikkor-70-200mm-f-2-8.html" target="_blank">my 70-200</a> yet (hoping to go to the local zoo this weekend for some good shooting), so I enjoyed this video overview of this very nice, but very expensive, lens.</p>

John London
02-25-2010, 02:17 AM
You need to be taking picts instead of watching reviews.:) Check this one out at
http://moosepeterson.com/blog/?p=13607. Still waiting to see those results.

ptyork
02-25-2010, 03:10 AM
Man that things ginormous!! (wow, did you know that "ginormous" is a real word and is in the Firefox's spell checker?!?) 65-135mm at the closest focal lengths? That's bizarre sounding. I'm not sure it much matters for a non-macro lens, but is that a normal thing for a fixed aperture lens like this? Just seems odd.

Anyway, I'm with g35a, less video watching, more photo shooting? Oh, and did I happen to mention that I'm jealous. :)

Jason Dunn
02-25-2010, 07:38 AM
65-135mm at the closest focal lengths? That's bizarre sounding.

I know, that part confuses me - it's honestly beyond my level of understanding - I've never heard that type of thing mentioned with another lens - so I need someone smarter than me to explain it. Where's Lee Yuan Sheng when you need him...? :D

Lee Yuan Sheng
02-26-2010, 01:42 PM
Did someone call for me?

Most internal focusing lenses or lenses where only a few elements shift when focusing will have this issue. Older lenses where the entire lens shifted when it focuses will not have this issue. I'm not going to bore people with the math, but it's needed when the magnification ratio gets larger. As an example, the new IF versions of the Micro-Nikkors have a shorter working distance compared to their predecessors because of that (IF design).

Now the reason why the 70-200 II is more pronounced is probably because it's easier to design a lens that way; consider it some corners cut in order to fulfill other design parameters. Iin this case, I'm guessing it's because of corner performance in FX sensors.

ptyork
02-26-2010, 09:34 PM
Thanks! That helps. It is still quite amazing to me that just changing the focal length from 1.5 to infinity can cause that kind of shift in magnification. Very interesting.