Best Deals nikon 70 200 f2 8 g ed if af s vr

Great All-Purpose Lens for FX DSLRs, July 30, 2009

I bought this lens new about six months ago to use on my D3, and have used it now for four weddings.

It is not quite as sharp as my 24-70mm f/2.8, when wide open, but when stopped down one stop, it is tach sharp. It is also much lighter which helps a lot at a long event, and it has more reach, making it great for parties and receptions.

It autofocuses very quickly with the screw drive in the camera, and I never miss any action shots due to focus lag. It won’t focus on some of the low-end Nikon DSLRs because they lack the drive screw.

I don’t recommend this lens for DX cameras, because 24mm is not usually wide enough on DX for many reception and party shots. In my opinion, the 16-85mm VR DX or even the 18-70 DX lens would be a better choice for a DX camera.

The 24-85mm is also a very nice light weight travel lens for an FX camera.

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A very good lens for mid-range zoom, November 20, 2009

By 

RonAnnArbor (Ann Arbor, MI United States) – See all my reviews

  

This is a very good lens for mid-range zooms. Those of us who kept the lens around from our SLR days can happily use it on digital equipment. It’s meant for full-frame cameras, but it works on DX as well (though I am not sure 36 – 128 is a useful lens on DX). On my D700 for instance, it is a true 24 wide to 85 zoom.

The lens is fast and sharp. It renders colors well. I do find some lens flare apparent without a standard UV filter — buy one. A tiffen UV filter, for example, will set you back 20 dollars, and is worth it. Note that the lens hood on this lens is pretty much useless. It doesn’t stay latched, and is more bother than it is worth. I have long ago stopped using lens hoods on my lenses — using your hand for shading the three times out of 1000 that you might need a hood does the trick just as well.

The fast 2.8 aperture speed allows for creative shots, and it’s generally usable along it’s entire 2.8 -4 low-end aperture range.

For Full-frame cameras, this is a dream lens. It is sharper and faster than the 24-120 VR kit lens, and it doesn’t need the VR at these speeds. It is also light, and makes for a great travel lens. I do a lot of event shooting, and it’s great to use this small lens — while the 24-70 2.8 is the current top of the line standard zoom for Nikon, it also costs three times as much, does not have a Micro function (NIkon’s name for macro) and weighs three times as much. The 24-85 is much better for extended walk-around shooting, be it landscapes, everyday shots, or events.

You will not be disappointed with this lens — though you might still crave that 24-70 2.8 in the longrun.

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Happy to have it, October 15, 2008

I use Nikon since ~30 years. Last one a F801 (film, autofocus) for over 20 years. I used digital Sony W7 and Canon Elph etc. in parallel to the film camera F801. I ordered the D80 with a Tamron 28-75 /f2.8 on Feb 2008. First evening I shot about 200 images. Bottom line, the very old&cheap Nikon 35-70 mm f3.3-5.6 was in sharpness and contrast better then the Tamron (my taste). I returned the Tamron. I wanted a lense about that focus length. I read Ken Rockwell review and bought this one in May, made over 1500 images.

The sharpness, the contrast, the versility, the handling (no “turning front part”), the weight on the D80 body is perfect to me. It is exact what I was looking for and did not find with the Tamron. I am fully satisfied with this lense.

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