I have just bought a 70-200 f4 VR and here is my story.
I had a G1 of this lens, the NIKKOR 70-210 f4 AF and dearly loved it, other than slow focus it was a truly awesome lens. This was circa 1992 and I was 35.
I heard the siren song go the 80-200 AF-D f2.8 and sold the f4. The 2.8 did offer just a hair blurrier background to isolate the subject better, but it wasn't really any sharper than the f4. It did allow a higher shutter speed and I do a lot of outdoor sports shooting, but the ability to hit 1/8K instead of 1/4K was of minimal value. It also was a beast to pack around up and down an athletic field. This was circa 2000 and the weight was an aggravation and I was 43.
Next I picked up a 180 f2.8 lens for the weight savings, and it is a magnificent but limited lens, albeit much lighter than the 80-200 f2.8. This was circa 2018 and I was 61.
Well, now I'm 64 and the 70-200 f4 is a joy to use in comparison to any of them. Sharp as a tack, half the weight of the 80-200 f2.8. A little heavier than the 180 f2.8 but with a very useful zoom range.
Since my early thirties I've always had a decent income with a brutal workload.
In the last year I've cashed out our rental properties and my interests in a couple of other businesses.
My income now is $2,800 social security, whatever we decide to pull out of cash accounts, and I do some advisory work and sales training for the interests I sold out ... it amounts to maybe 8 hours per week ... and sell a few prints here and there. Our only debt is a car payment.
To make a short story long, the 70-200 f4 VR coupled with a new D750 and MBD16 makes for a kit highly suited to me that delivers outstanding results.
The others were choices that made sense at the time of life I was in.
What makes sense for another is dependent upon physical and financial constraints.
I am so far in very good health and get around well, to be honest I could still pack around the 80-200 f2.8, but the 70-200 f4 gives me a bit more speed, agility and mobility.
I hope this helps anyone else wondering about this lens.
My $0.02, YMMV.
I had a G1 of this lens, the NIKKOR 70-210 f4 AF and dearly loved it, other than slow focus it was a truly awesome lens. This was circa 1992 and I was 35.
I heard the siren song go the 80-200 AF-D f2.8 and sold the f4. The 2.8 did offer just a hair blurrier background to isolate the subject better, but it wasn't really any sharper than the f4. It did allow a higher shutter speed and I do a lot of outdoor sports shooting, but the ability to hit 1/8K instead of 1/4K was of minimal value. It also was a beast to pack around up and down an athletic field. This was circa 2000 and the weight was an aggravation and I was 43.
Next I picked up a 180 f2.8 lens for the weight savings, and it is a magnificent but limited lens, albeit much lighter than the 80-200 f2.8. This was circa 2018 and I was 61.
Well, now I'm 64 and the 70-200 f4 is a joy to use in comparison to any of them. Sharp as a tack, half the weight of the 80-200 f2.8. A little heavier than the 180 f2.8 but with a very useful zoom range.
Since my early thirties I've always had a decent income with a brutal workload.
In the last year I've cashed out our rental properties and my interests in a couple of other businesses.
My income now is $2,800 social security, whatever we decide to pull out of cash accounts, and I do some advisory work and sales training for the interests I sold out ... it amounts to maybe 8 hours per week ... and sell a few prints here and there. Our only debt is a car payment.
To make a short story long, the 70-200 f4 VR coupled with a new D750 and MBD16 makes for a kit highly suited to me that delivers outstanding results.
The others were choices that made sense at the time of life I was in.
What makes sense for another is dependent upon physical and financial constraints.
I am so far in very good health and get around well, to be honest I could still pack around the 80-200 f2.8, but the 70-200 f4 gives me a bit more speed, agility and mobility.
I hope this helps anyone else wondering about this lens.
My $0.02, YMMV.
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