White Nikkor Zooms

[Zach Matthews]

Hey guys –

Although it is likely to be a while, the next camera-related purchase Lauren and I make will probably be the 70-200mm f/2.8 AF-s VR lens from Nikon.

[Steve K.]

Drool and spittle on my keyboard as I think about that lens. 🙂

I saw a white one on Ebay a few weeks ago. I was leery of the offering until I saw that it was offered by Calumet (I think it was them….if not, it was a respectable company). I’m torn between the 80-400mm and the 70-200mm with TC. I do most of my photography in the backcountry so weight is an issue. So….I’m leaning toward the 80-400mm.

[anonymous]

Hi

Not sure I would base a lens purchase influenced on it being white or

[yuhina]

Go for it! Zach…

That is a pretty white lens. The optic quality should be good… I used old version Nikkor ED 80-200/2.8D  a lot and love it! 😉 This lens is tough built, I had been careless to this lens and it still hold it shape …The optic quality is superb and very versatile for landscape shooting… actually this lens changed my mind ( I used to think the Zooms ain’t good enough for the landscape… I am wrong…). Another thing I like this lens is the f2.8 constant aperture. It is fast enough for night shooting in the woods… if you like wondering around in the woods for shoot some owls or flying squirrel at night… this is the tool… the VR just add more bonus …   Mark
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t215/markyuhina/2.jpg/img%5D Nikkor ED 80-200/2.8

[Ben Cochran]

Zach, I purchase all of my equipment from bhphoto.com They are a great company to deal with and respond to any problems extremely fast. You will love the 70-200 lens, I love everything about mine!! That lens is also a ligh grey and not white but they do have them there and list them on their web page. I also like the fact that they let you know in advance, if they have them in stock or not…

Will, I also have the 80-400 VR and to be honest, there is not much noticable wieght difference between the 70-200 and the 80-400.. I don’t know what model camera that you have but it does not balance well on anything less that the D200 but still it does function great on the D80, just make sure that you support the lens when you carry it on the D80 as problems could arise at the mount plate. The VR on the 80-400 is not as good as on the 70-200 and you will need to spend some time learning this lens as it does hunt a bit. Once you get used to this lens though, it will deliver amazing images and I even used it some in a fashion shoot for a publisher. The lens is that good! 🙂

[Carter Simcoe]

Hold out for a red one.

[anonymous]

Ben-

I have a d200- went into my local store cash in hand to buy a Canon 5d and some lenses and walked out with a d200 and a bunch of lenses – lol so much for research on the net versus cam in the hand!!:)))

I’m not big on zooms to be honest- though I have the 12/24 DX- it’s ok but has some obvious CA issues through the zoom range- easily corrected in post though.

I also have the 105 f2.8 Macro

[Ben Cochran]

Will,

I agree about the net research, it is a good foundation on which to further research but I have learned that not a lot of merit should be given to it as well. I think that my aproach on research may be much like yours:  For specific use, I feel that it is imperative that one gets a trial test of a lens and uses it for their designed application. Seems that most of the net revues appear to be cut and paste jobs with new names. I have also noticed that far to many reviews are written with the expectation that all lenses are general purpose/specific application and should do everything great. I make my purchases on indication of use and then filter the research to see how well they performed in a particular category as opposed to all categories. Also, I measure the handicap of the lens to the amount of time it will take to repair minor weakness in PS3. I do not believe in a singular all purpose “professional quality” perfect lenses and it seems that most of the critiques mention how the lens will not perform well for a purpose that it wasn’t really designed for.

Having said the above: The 80-400 VR is not a sports or action lens at all. It was advertised to also be a great lens for this but this lens is not great for fast action or low light, it does hunt a lot in these applications. For slow moving distant objects, it does work great. It also works great as a fashion photography and street portrait as well as streetscape lens. The lens is not the fastest in the world but on the D200 and above, the lens is plenty fast enough. I have seen many reviews about how this lens is very slow but on the D200, I have no complaints. Another thing that is not mentioned in the critiques is the fact that this lens goes from 80-400mm so how fast could it really be? The VR functionality of the lens is not my favorite feature but I don’t miss using it at all.  My logic on my purchase was this: The lens does have a bit of a learning curve but it will deliver amazing images if one only takes their time learning the character of this lens. I am very impressed at 400, 300, 105 and yes, even at the 80mm so, the only question really is this: Is the price worth it for a very good 400mm professional lens, I decided yes. I didn’t say “great lens” because the images it delivers are and can be great but more because one really has to learn the strengths of this lens and then use it within a context of limits.

The 70-200 is amazing in every way!!! It is extremely fast and the VRII is far better on this lens as it does not kick. It focuses amazingly fast and does not seem to hunt at. The motors are almost to silent LOL and the image quality is a bench mark that other zoom lenses should measure against, it is that good. It functions very well in low light and gains a good focus in the low light as well. For exteme darkness, I always go to manual anyway and carry a pocket flashligh in my bag to gain a focus. The foot is completely reengineered and you don’t have to remove the entire ring to remove the attachable foot. I would be a happy chappy if they would also make this for the 80-400 :). This lens is so easy to use that it truly is ridiculous. I am holding out for the new 24-70 that is designed the exact same way and should be out in November.. I feel that everyone should have this lens!! 🙂

I only use a Tripod for about 25% of my shots so, I don’t really think that the foot on the 80-400 is that much of a problem, for extreme slow shutter speeds. How-ever, a moderately slow shutter speed will have motion blur and this is where the under engineered foot on the 80-400 will actually destroy the shot. It is a great hand held lens though. Both lenses are a bit heavy but that does not bother me at all, even after a full day of shooting. I hate reading the reviews that complain about the lens weight as these same people then complain about another lens that has a plastic feel to it. They are tanks that feel like a professional lens should feel..

[Ben Cochran]

Here area a couple of examples from a bit of fun that I decided to do this weekend. I am getting ready to go back to Europe during the first of October and my freinds, over there, keep asking me about Indians. So, I played a bit of cowboy this weekend and shot a few, with the camera of course lol.

These are completly unedited in any way and I know that they do need it but I don’t want to mislead anyone. One was shot with the 70-200 on a D80 ( the example is suppose to be at its weak spot, (according to some net reviews), at the full 200 mm. The 80-400 was on the D200 and shot at its weak spot, (according to some net reviews), at 80mm.  They aren’t the best images so please give me a free pass on this one 🙂

D80 70-200 @200mm

D80 70-200 @ 70mm

D200 80-400 @80

Need to be faster on the settings as I know this is to dark, she was dancing and I was focused to much on the lens. D200 80-400 @ 400mm

They aren’t the greatest shots but they are all can be worked in PS fine and considering that this is the weak spots of the lenses, I am a happy chappy with them 🙂

[fred krow]

One caution on the White Nikon lens available in the USA.  

They are all grey market imports and not covered by Nikon USA warrantee.  The white colored lens is  made for the Japanese home market.

If it was a standard lens with external drive for auto focus, I would consider the purchase however, with teh VR and internal motors (AF-s) in the newest lens designs, they become more failure prone and very expensive to repair if not USA Nikon.   There are rumors that a grey market lens will not be touched by Nikon USA repair departments.

I purchased my first Nikon in 1967 while living in Japan and have followed the development of Nikon for many years.

Regards,
FK

[stephen prunier]

Check here for anything Nikon http://www.nikonians.org  
It’s a great site for owners of nikon gear.

[Author]

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