23 Feb 01

80-200mm f/2.8 AF-S

I'm finally writting an update about one of my favorite lenses. Okay, so all my lenses are favorites. But, some are more equal than others and my 80-200 f/2.8 AF-S is definately one of the more equal lenses in my arsenal.

My 70-180 Micro Nikkor is outstanding with respect to working in this lens range, but the focus speed of that lens was just too slow. My 300mm f/4 ED-IF was also too slow. Both of these lens' focus mechanism works through a drive shaft connected to the camera. Even though the F5 has superior focus speed, both lenses were just too slow when working high speed birds. I have many slightly soft images of Common Golden Eye's or even slower California Gulls. At the time I was new to the long lens game. I initially thought the troubles were caused by slight imperfections with the optics in my lenses. How could my F5 not be fast enough? Well, it isn't when combined with some lenses under specific situations. So began the quest for a suitable hand held short telephoto.

About the time I started my search, Nikon introduced the 80-400 f/4.5-5.6 VR. At first I was very enthusiastic about that lens. The introduction of Vibration Reduction or Canon's Image Stablization technology in the Nikon lens lineup was very inticing. But, I thought of my real requirements. I needed a hand held lens for bird photography. I didn't necessarily need something that could take extremely slow speed, hand held images. Since the 80-400 f/4.5-5.6 VR was driven by the camera's internal focus motor like my other lenses, I assessed this lens to have the same focus speed liimitations. Clearly that wouldn't satisfy my requirement. This is interesting because when money is available, lens envy because a very slippery slope. I definately wanted that newer lens but it wasn't going to satisfy my needs. I held to my original assessment and went with the 80-200 f/2.8 AF-S.

Finally, here's my review of this lens. In almost all respects, it's outstanding. Qualitatively, the sharpness and contrast are excellent throughout its focal length. There's imperceptabe improvements when you stop the lens down. Okay, there's a tiny bit of light fall off--vignetting-- when wide open at 80mm. This disappears when you stop down only a 1/3 stop or zoom in a little closer. Since I mostly use this lens for wildlife photography, my aperture is set to f/5.6 so I don't see this very often. The focus speed is incredible. By far, it's the fastest focusing lens I own. It even exceeds the speed of my other AF-S lenses--300mm and 500mm. In all respects it meets all my expectations as a in-flight bird lens.

What's wrong with it? No question, it's heavy. This lens attached to a F5 makes a great killer tool whether for shooting fast moving birds or defending yourself from envious adversaries. Holding the combo at eye height for any length of time is a strain. After a full day, my arms are sore. I solved this problem by using my monopod. Though it's not as steady as a tripod, a monopod is much more flexible and isn't much of a encumberance in action photography. Mostly I view monopods less as support tools than something to relieve the strain of carrying such a heavy piece of kit. As well, the direct connection between the lens and monopod--the tripod collar--isn't the most smooth design I've seen. Essentially the tripod collar is removable--nice feature though I never use it since I'm rarely shooting without it attached to something. It's designed as a clamp that surrounds the lens body. Unfortunately, lens rotation isn't smooth when the tripod collar is loose. Despite the collar's poor design, it does perform better than others on lenses like the 300mm f/4 AF-S or even the 80-400 f/4.5-5.6 VR. Both of these follow a minimalist design and barely keep their lenses from vibrating on tripods. That's not a problem with the 80-200 f/2.8 AF-S if the collar is locked down.

How does the lens perform with a teleconverter? The TC-14e is a perfect match with the 80-200 f/2.8 AF-S. I don't see any image degradation when using this tele. The TC-20e is also acceptable though there's a clear reduction in contrast and sharpness when using it. I state this because it's definately noticeable but acceptable. Auto focus speed with both teles is great. You almost can't tell there's a tele on your lens. A 160-400mm f/5.6 AF-S is great. Does it match the quality of the 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR? I don't know since I've never used the latter lens. Does it work for my type of photography? Sure does. Like I said before, it's a beast to use if your only using your arms to steady it.

How do I use this lens? Many times I cruise the roads with my longest lens--500mm f/4 AF-S--setup and ready to go in its Kinesis long lens bag in the floor of the passenger seat. My other F5 is sitting on the passenger seat ready to go with the 80-200 f/2.8 AF-S attached. Sometimes the TC-14e is attached. More often it's not. Rarely do I automatically have the TC-20e attached. Before getting my 300mm f/2.8 AF-S, I used to hike with my 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-S slung over the shoulder. I'd carry with me my teleconverters and a wide-angled lens. Without much weight, I could cover the whole range from wide to long tele. It's quite a combo. Now with my 300mm f/2.8 AF-S, I hike around with it attached to either a tripod or my monopod over my left shoulder and my 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-S with TC-14e slung over my right shoulder. All together it's about 25 pounds in gear evenly distributed across the body. I can easily stay out for hours and walk for miles with this setup.

Overall, the 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-S is outstanding. Once you build up your strength carrying such a brutt--especially when combined with a F5--it's extremely flexible and mobile. And, most importantly it's fast.

Cheers

Tom