Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II AF-S Nikkor Zoom Lens For Nikon Digital SLR Cameras (New, White box)

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This is currently my favorite lens for portraits. Ill list the following as reasons why. See attached images for samples pros: 1. Sharpness. This is the sharpest lens I own. It is sharper than my tamron 24-70 2.8 VC, my nikon 50 1.8, my tamron 15-30 2.8(with vc), and my tamron 90 mm macro lens(no vr). I have also owned the most recent sigma 70-200 hsm os. This lens is sharper by an order of magnitude(the sigma lens is a fine performer, this lens is outstanding). 2. Autofocus speed - this lens focuses virtually immediately. I havent used this lens in dark situations, but in well lit situations which I have used it in, the autofocus is ultra fast and ultra quiet. I have photographed a basketball game and a roller derby match. In both scenarios, the autofocus hit early and tracked consistently. The only situations I found which werent ideal were where many moving objects are close together and moving at different speeds and directions. Occasionally using nikon 3d focus, it would focus on the wrong subject, likely due to my inability to track these moving object in the focus point of the lens. 3. Color- even with the raw files that I shoot, the colors generated by this lens are pleasing, realistic and brilliant, without having to adjust vibrance or saturation in post processing 4. Contrast - even in the raw file, the contrast is profound. I never have to adjust contrast during processing of the image in lightroom. One issue I had when I owned my sigma 70-200 was the images were somewhat flat, but with manipulation in post, the contrast levels could approach what I am getting on the nikon. 5. Bokeh - the background blur is dreamy. I shot mainly at f 3.5, but at wide open the background blue is phenomenal. cons: 1. When the lens is wide open, there is a very slight vignette, very easily removed in post if you want. I tend to prefer a slight vignette especially in portraits. 2. The lens hood is a joke. About the most plasticy piece of equipment I own. 3. Cost The images I am posting were taken using this lens on my nikon d7200. I have also used it on my d750 with identical results with respect to image quality and focus speed

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I wont get into the technical mumbo-jumbo, as that can be found in many other reviews and online research. I will add, though, that as someone who normally shoots with prime lenses (50 & 85mm), I am finding myself using this lens more and more. I initially bought it specifically for weddings, as it has a decent reach at 200mm and works well in low light. Most wedding photographers consider this a staple as far as gear is concerned. However, I have been using it more and more for engagement shoots, seniors, and even children, as Im finding that putting a little distance between myself and my subjects relaxes them a bit. One downfall to this lens is that it is HEAVY. Sometimes my neck is pretty sore after shooting a wedding all day. You need to be mindful about not just letting it hang from the neck strap.

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Had the Tamron 70-200mm that I have been using for the last year and half. I used my second shooters Nikon 70-200 VRi and fell in love with it. When searching online for the Nikon to upgrade my Tamron, I found this one. Seller shipped it right away, signature required (thank goodness), and it was exactly as described. This is my go to lens for portraits and weddings. Now to upgrade my 24-70mm lens.

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What more can be said about this lens - everybody needs it. It is my go-to lens for so many occasions. Its not quite the walk-around lens that some people boast about (for that I personally use a 50 f1/8) because of its size, but its super well balanced, has an incredibly useful zoom range, and is f2.8. Ive gotten so many amazing kids photographs with this lens that you just cant get with the so-called walk-around lenses because kids are hard to predict what theyll do and how far they are. With this lens, youre always ready to shoot.

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I take photos for fun, mostly at zoos to make my own desktop wallpapers and wall art. I got my first impression of this lens when I rented it. At the time, I was using an 18-200mm lens (lol). I was heartbroken when I had to send this lens back after the rental period ended. This lens spoiled me, and could no longer tolerate my 18-200 lens. Before buying this lens, I kept asking myself why I needed to spend so much money on just a lens when all I do is take pics of animals at zoos. I think my heart skipped a beat when I hit the "purchase" button. But over a year later, Im still so glad that I bought it. This lens solved several problems for me that I was having with my 18-200 lens, which were soft focus, chromatic aberration, faster autofocus, edge-to-edge sharpness, and edge-to-edge brightness; and at f2.8, allows faster shutter speeds in lower light. Ive also used this lens on a D800E that I rented. Upon careful inspection in Lightroom, I could see a very small amount of light fall-off around the edges. So slight, that its easy to miss and even easier to correct in software. I was tempted to buy the 70-200 f4, but decided against it because I would lose a stop of light. Sure the f4 version supposedly has better VR, but what if you dont need VR? Youre still stuck at f4. With all this said, this lens is big and heavy. Its not a casual lens. Youll be the one accommodating this lens, not the other way around. It took me a few months to become fully comfortable using it and carrying it. I use a BlackRapid Strap ( BlackRapid RRS-1BB Sport (RS-Sport) (Black) ) to dangle the camera body and lens at my right side, lens pointing straight down. Some side notes: From my experience, this lens is waterPROOF, and so is the D7100. I got caught in a downpour here in Florida and the body and lens got drenched. The lens fogged up, the cameras viewfinder filled with water. I put the lens and camera in airtight containers with dehydrated rice for a few days and all the moisture was absorbed and both worked like new! Ive used this lens with and without an expensive clear filter. No difference in quality, so I leave it on. Id rather have light "cleaning scratches" on the filter than on my expensive lens. Without the filter, I would have to resort to my cleaning kit and spend a lot of time carefully cleaning the bare lens. With the filter, I use my shirt! For best auto-focus results, half-press the shutter button for a few seconds before taking the photo. This gives the VR time to counter the type of vibration its experiencing in that particular situation.

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This marvelous new-generation Nikon 70-200MM F2.8 VR II (Vibration Reduction) “Trinity” Tele-Zoom works flawlessly with our Nikon cameras (D800, D3200, D300S). Auto focus is very fast; at mid to far distances, auto focus is literally immediate; at closer distances, it quickly follows, searches and obeys where I want to focus on and with a whispering sound locks the focus with the subject tack sharp in the viewfinder (or Live View). Auto-Focus fine tuning is also dead-on at 0 (no variation) with our D800 and D300S (the D3200 does not have this fine-tuning capability). It is incredible to see pictures having virtually fault-less sharpness, contrast, color depth and vibrancy with this Tele-Zoom, which leaves our Sigma 70-200MM F/2.8 APO DG HSM in the dust in every aspect (oh well, the Sigma is less than half the cost), when viewing at actual-pixel magnifications with Photoshop CS6 and ViewNX 2. For example, the tiny reproductive parts of Hibiscus flowers - the yellow stamens and the red pistils – the tiny “hairs” on the stems, and the tiny “veins” of the petals with very subtle color changes, all came out clean and clear within pictures of the whole flowers taken more than six feet away. In comparison with our other Nikon “Trinity” Zoom 24-700MM F.28, at 70MM and the same apertures, the smaller sibling slightly won in sharpness, with all other performance aspects pretty much even. In comparison with our Nikon Primes (85MM F/1.4 and 105MM F/2.8 Micro), while the Primes won in sharpness contests at similar focal lengths, two things stood out from our tests: (1) With the same shutter speeds, this Tele-Zoom came in within 1/3 F stop of the Primes : excellent light transmission capability, and (2) Colors of similar spots in pictures are within a few points of the Primes (using the Color Sampler tool in Photoshop): exceptional color depth and vibrancy. Just one minor point, a tripod may be a necessity, even with VR, for shutter speeds slower than 1/40 second. Conclusion: Expensive but so worth it.

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The Nikon Nikkor 70-200 2.8 VR II has great professional quality optics youd expect from Nikon. Its is an wonderful lens that takes amazing images . I really love the low light capabilities and the VR for image stabilization allows me to shoot much slower without always having to use a tripod. Im very pleased with my purchase it works perfectly combined with my Nikon FX full frame dslr. If you are serious about getting a quality piece of glass these optics will surely not disappoint.

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This is a great lens thatll be your go-to for up to 200 mm telephoto. Ive paired it with a 1.7 teleconverter for an African safari and came back with some great pictures both with and w/o the TC. Obviously it is pricy, but if you can afford it you will not be disappointed.

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Its a very high quality (and heavy) lens. It works great on a DX camera as well as FX. The optics are very sharp and *very* clear. Ghosting is minimal and will only show up if shooting almost directly into the sun. Bokeh is fantastic. The auto-focus is *very* fast. The vibration reduction is useful but at 200mm (effectively 300mm a DX body) a tripod or even an improvised support of some kind should be used for best results. The constant aperture (when set to f/2.8 it remains at f/2.8 through the entire zoom range) is wonderful. However the depth of focus at f/2.8 is very small and so correct focus-point placement becomes *very* critical. The only thing I dont like about it, is the price. If youre shooting exclusively on DX there are several other lenses you might look into instead, that will get you similar results for a much lower price tag. Is it worth the price? For most people Id argue probably not. Most real "pros" I know carry used gear that is just "good enough" so they can pocket the rest of the money as profit. The clients wont be able to tell the difference between this and a cheaper alternative. A discriminating photographer might. Is it a nice toy if you like to play with expensive camera stuff? You bet it is! Its fantastic.

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I am not here to compare the old Nikon or shoot brick walls, this is the new Nikon lens it is better then the old one since it had issue, Nikon worked those bugs out. I was looking at the Sigma for 1200 the new Tamron that just hit the market for 1600, and the Nikon. At the same time I had researched this lens I brought the Nikon 24-70F/2.8 which I compared the three brands. The Nikon 24-70 was on my camera 90% of the time and I was so impressed I knew I had to get the 70-200. I have now had the 70-200 for a month and it is sweet. The construction of this lens is just solid and heavy (use it in a fight youll win) you know that you have a lens on your camera and in your hands, but it is also well balanced and very responsive with a sonic fast focus, Recently I covering indoor sport event the focusing was dead nuts on. This is a work horse of a lens(the breast)after using the high end Nikon lens I am now brand loyal. In addition, I have used this lens outdoors in foul weather and it just keep clicking. Hope this helps.

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