I want to buy a Nikon f2.8 zoom

[bsmith]

I'm enjoying my sports photography but the f4 I'm using is a little restrictive, I'm looking for a new or second hand 70-200 f2.8 IS , has anyone used this lens or got another recommendation.

Bob

[milky]

well it would depend on what lens you are refering to as u say Nikon but then put IS which is a canon term but anyway i have used both so will do a breif low down on both jst incase.

Nikon 70-200mm 2.8 vr, its a great bright lens the vr is very very useful, i ddi have a sigma 70-200 2.8 but i had to put all the images on Cs to make them to my liking(me just being fussy i think) but ever since i moved to the nikon vr 70-200mm 2.8 i have never had to change a image unless it was my fauly on not changeing the setting (done that quite a bit lol) but it is a great lens point in anywhere and it will perform only thing it is very expensive around 1200-1500 sencon had just under starting price i.e ebay.

Canon 70-200mm 2.8 IS this lens is good,great image quality and provides the same high qualiy uild standars as the Nikon the only thing i found wrong with it is that i found it lighter than the Nikon lens and of couse the zoom assembly has to be moved the other way to nikon (but that only becasue im a Nikon user) i found this lens a realy gr8 peace of kit for anyone and would reccomend this to any Canon user.

P.S you could always get the Sigma 70-200m 2.8 ex HSM version which i had it is a good lens but as i said fro me i had to twead on Cs to get what I wanted btu that was me being realy realy fussy, the Sigma does take a reli nice image and it is half the price of a Nikon vr NEW!!! or a good one secong hand would cost you around 300-400 so think bout this first before you buy the Nikon or Canon


Milky

[OldBoy]

Originally Posted by bsmith

I'm enjoying my sports photography but the f4 I'm using is a little restrictive, I'm looking for a new or second hand 70-200 f2.8 IS , has anyone used this lens or got another recommendation.

Bob

If you are taking Nikon then it's VR. The new Full Frame version is been released this month, so you might see a few second-hand on various sites. I have this and it's my most used lens on my D3 usually with either the 1.4 or 2x converters attached. It is one of the best lenses that Nikon made and most if not all Pros have one. It's a solid lens that weights almost 1.5kg but works well in any weather and will survive rought treatment.

[bsmith]

Thanks guys, yes its Nikon, I use VR and IS as a generic term rather than brand spec as its the same thing essentialy ( I think), good to know you have one OldBoy and like it, I've looked at sample images on Pixel Peeper and am impressed. I thought that using 2x converter would cut the usable light so defeting the f2.8, time to read more

Bob.

[OldBoy]

Originally Posted by bsmith

Thanks guys, yes its Nikon, I use VR and IS as a generic term rather than brand spec as its the same thing essentialy ( I think), good to know you have one OldBoy and like it, I've looked at sample images on Pixel Peeper and am impressed. I thought that using 2x converter would cut the usable light so defeting the f2.8, time to read more

Bob.

Well the 1.4 converter will give you 280mm at F4 and the 2x converter will give you 400mm at F5.6. It will require brightish light to get the best from it, but with the D3's high ISO it serves me well. You don't have to use a converter but it is another option to consider.

[flake]

Or you could spend a bit more and buy a Sigma 120 - 300mm f/2.8 which is a 180 - 420mm f/4 with a 1.4 TC and a 240 - 600mm f/5.6 with a 2x. This is the cheapest way to a long focal length while still maintaining autofocus, which might be of interest, but a lens which can give you 120mm - 600mm while returning excellent image quality should not be overlooked.

The lens has a couple of drawbacks it's a lot of money at £1900, but at 2.6 Kg it's very heavy, final element is 105mm, you're going to need a monopod, which will make up a couple of stops for it not having any VR / IS.

Given that neither Canon nor Nikon produce anything to match this lens, and if you want one of their 300mm f/2.8 prime lenses you'll have to spend over £3500 then you can see that it is in fact something of a bargain.

This lens was made for sports photography!!!