Nikon AF 80-200mm f/2.8 ED: opinions?

[Benco]

Much as I'd like to own a brand new, shiny AF-S 70-200 f/2.8 IF ED VRII there's no way I can afford it (without my wife murdering me anyway), been trawling the secondhand market and I'm curious about the AF 80-200mm f/2.8 ED. I know there are limitations, no SW AF motor, no VR, no coated optics, no weather sealing, fewer expensive letters in on the name plate and so on but all that aside does anyone have any opinions of this lens? I'm particularly curious about how the AF performs with the D7000, I read on Thom Hogan's review that the AF motors on cheaper Nikon DSLR's are a bit of an issue when it comes to AF speed.

So who's got this lens? how does it compare to the top of the line 2.8 tele zoom?

 

[pixmedic]

it spent quite a few years as top of its class, so don't underestimate its value as a solid shooting lens even today. I don't personally own one, but i have heard only good things about it here from people that picked one up on a budget. some people think it makes a better alternative to a newer third party 70-200 as far as IQ goes, but I dont own either so... cant help you there. i think we have a few people that have this lens, as well as a few that have sigmas 70-200 and tamrons 70-200 so you might be able to get a decent review of all three.

 

[KmH]

If you look at the specifications for the 2-ring Nikon AF 80-200mm f/2.8D ED you'll see it does indeed have Nikon's Super Integrated lens coatings, though not the newer Nano lens coating.

My 2-ring AF 80-200mm f/2.8D and D90/D300 camera body screw-drive focused plenty fast enough for me to use the lens quite a bit for shooting action sports.

Where does Nikon say the Nikon AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II is weather sealed? The AF-S 70-200 mm f/2.8G also has Nikon's Super Integrated Coatings.

 

[2WheelPhoto]

You can google comparisons between the too. I like both but opt'd for the VRII flavor of them all

 

[Patrice]

Less expensive but equally good is the yet older 'push-pull' 80-200 2.8 af.

 

[cgw]

Did Nikon ever make a dud 80-200? Nikon sold containers of these in AFD and AFS versions. They were top of the line in their day and few working pros from the the early 90s on didn't have one. No coating issues(?) and most had ED elements. Superb build quality is evident if you've ever seen one. Given all that, they're still not giveaway priced in nice shape.

 

[Mach0]

What I would like to know is how does it stack up in focus speed and focus tracking against the 70-200's.

 

[Benco]

If you look at the specifications for the 2-ring Nikon AF 80-200mm f/2.8D ED you'll see it does indeed have Nikon's Super Integrated lens coatings, though not the newer Nano lens coating.

My 2-ring AF 80-200mm f/2.8D and D90/D300 camera body screw-drive focused plenty fast enough for me to use the lens quite a bit for shooting action sports.

Where does Nikon say the Nikon AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II is weather sealed? The AF-S 70-200 mm f/2.8G also has Nikon's Super Integrated Coatings.

Aye, no nano coating, I oversimplified.
It says on DPreview that the VRII is 'dust and moisture sealed': http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/nikon_70-200_2p8_vrii_n15, isn't that weather sealed?

Did Nikon ever make a dud 80-200? Nikon sold containers of these in AFD and AFS versions. They were top of the line in their day and few working pros from the the early 90s on didn't have one. No coating issues(?) and most had ED elements. Superb build quality is evident if you've ever seen one. Given all that, they're still not giveaway priced in nice shape.

I'm looking at them in MPB Photographic Used Nikon Lenses | Second Hand Nikon Lenses | 2nd Hand Nikon
Prices range from £399 to £569 which is pretty do-able for me...in a month or two.

Less expensive but equally good is the yet older 'push-pull' 80-200 2.8 af.

Thanks, I'll see if I can seek one out.

 

[shadowlands]

I own the Nikon AF 80-200mm F2.8 (two ring) and I love it. It's a keeper!!! I'll never part with it as long as it works.....

 

[manicmike]

I had the 80-200 two ring and sold it. I miss that lens so much. I just ordered the push pull version because I now realize just how much I used that lens for everything.

 

[mcleish]

I recently bought the push pull version for £350 off eBay. I love it. Dead sharp too.

 

[thereyougo!]

I have the AF-S 80 - 200 2.8 and love it too. Very sharp and no slouch on the AF. Have used it to take photos of my nephew playing football, and it kept up with him:


alfie-football-2 by singingsnapper, on Flickr

 

[KmH]

Nikon didn't make many of the AF-S 80-200 mm f/2.8D 2-ring version.

 

[thereyougo!]

Nikon didn't make many of the AF-S 80-200 mm f/2.8D 2-ring version.

so I have a rarity then!

 

[djacobox372]

There are three versions of the 80-200mm 2.8 ed, all of fantastic optics--the only difference is focus speed, push pull is sort of slow, 2 ring focuses fairly quickly if you have a powerful camera body, af-s focuses just as fast as the newer lenses.