newenglandscene's reviews

Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF VR AF-S Nikkor

This lens smokes on my D90! The clarity of the images is jaw-dropping. It feels like the lens was made to go with the camera. Fast, accruate, silent focus. True to life color. Stunning action shots and portraits. Now... take the same lens and put it on my full frame D700, and I grit my teeth. I shoot in low light, open aperture setting, and the vignetting is agonizing. Such a phenomenal performer on the D90 is a loser for me on the D700. That said, I was warned. I read every review I could, and I knew what to expect. I am content to use the D90 for my distance shots. My advice to full frame shooters who need a telephoto is to check out the Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8. The Sigma was very good on the D90, but the Nikon lens stole the contest for sharpness, and that is what I need. I attribute it to a combination of the optics and the VR. I don't use tripods, since the unpredictable actions of a border collie are what I am usually following, so I have to judge based on my hand-held experience. If I were only shooting full frame, I would buy the Sigma, for a whole lot less money, and I would live with the very good images without vignetting. The Sigma even performed a bit better on the D700 that the D90 when I tried them side by side. My overall 10 rating is for the out of the park performance of this lens on the D90. If you shoot DX and you can afford it, what a lens!! If you use FX, there are other (arguably better) choices.