Nikon DX 70-200mm VR lens f4-5.6
Discussion
Just taken the dog for a walk in the local woods and went out with my D80 with this lens strapped on. Haven't really used it much before and was disappointed at how it struggled to focus once the zoom went beyond about 100mm. I've had it a couple of months and had struggled in the same way at Goodwood in October when again it was overcast. Is it me or do they all do that? I might just be unrealistic in my expectations as the last time I took my camera just before Xmas I'd put my 50mm f1.4 on and it was doing whatever I asked of it.
Not sure if this is entirely relevant.... I have a 70-300 f4.5 VR (on a D50) which occasionally winds all the way from one end of the focus range to the other and back when trying to focus. Combined with the struggle the D50 sometimes has with the 18-200 f3.5 when there's a large area of uniform brightness in shot (like sky - it does focus, but refuses to switch on the focus lock, so the camera won't take a picture in automatic mode), I'm coming to the conclusion that the autofocus isn't all that brilliant, just reasonably OK... I'm starting to use the manual modes more and more!
Edited by Zumbruk on Friday 28th December 13:07
Felters said:
Just taken the dog for a walk in the local woods and went out with my D80 with this lens strapped on. Haven't really used it much before and was disappointed at how it struggled to focus once the zoom went beyond about 100mm. I've had it a couple of months and had struggled in the same way at Goodwood in October when again it was overcast. Is it me or do they all do that? I might just be unrealistic in my expectations as the last time I took my camera just before Xmas I'd put my 50mm f1.4 on and it was doing whatever I asked of it.
An f1.4 lens will suck in a hell of a lot of light even in dull conditions. An f4-5.6 will need reasonable light at least to Autofocus. At a guess i'd say your lens changes from a max aperture of f4 to 5.6 at around the 100mm mark.An F4 lens will let in 2x the amount of light that an f5.6 will and an f2.8 will let in twice as much light as an f4...
Lower f number = better low light performance.
I don't know how the Nikon AF system works but if it's anything like Canon the camera will set the lens at max. aperture to Focus then change just before taking the shot to get the correct exposure...hence a lens with an f2.8 aperture will work a lot better in dull conditions than an f5.6 lens will.
As an example, these were taken in Grizedale forest, in a snowstorm (obviously) and even my Sigma 120-300 f2.8 was struggling..
Edited by MonkeyHanger on Friday 28th December 13:25
Edited by MonkeyHanger on Friday 28th December 13:26
MonkeyHanger said:
Felters said:
Just taken the dog for a walk in the local woods and went out with my D80 with this lens strapped on. Haven't really used it much before and was disappointed at how it struggled to focus once the zoom went beyond about 100mm. I've had it a couple of months and had struggled in the same way at Goodwood in October when again it was overcast. Is it me or do they all do that? I might just be unrealistic in my expectations as the last time I took my camera just before Xmas I'd put my 50mm f1.4 on and it was doing whatever I asked of it.
An f1.4 lens will suck in a hell of a lot of light even in dull conditions. An f4-5.6 will need reasonable light at least to Autofocus. At a guess i'd say your lens changes from a max aperture of f4 to 5.6 at around the 100mm mark.An F4 lens will let in 2x the amount of light that an f5.6 will and an f2.8 will let in twice as much light as an f4...
Lower f number = better low light performance.
I don't know how the Nikon AF system works but if it's anything like Canon the camera will set the lens at max. aperture to Focus then change just before taking the shot to get the correct exposure...hence a lens with an f2.8 aperture will work a lot better in dull conditions than an f5.6 lens will.
As an example, these were taken in Grizedale forest, in a snowstorm (obviously) and even my Sigma 120-300 f2.8 was struggling..
Edited by MonkeyHanger on Friday 28th December 13:25
Edited by MonkeyHanger on Friday 28th December 13:26
Nice photo's by the way.
There's going to be a big different in price between an f/2.8 and an f/4.5 70-200 though!
FWIW I've just bought the same lens for my D70s and have found it excellent so far, even on overcast days. Not tried it in very low lights yet though. Think about it though, it's a nice sharp zoom with an excellent VR system and all for not much over 100 quid!
ETA: oops, mine is the 55-200!
FWIW I've just bought the same lens for my D70s and have found it excellent so far, even on overcast days. Not tried it in very low lights yet though. Think about it though, it's a nice sharp zoom with an excellent VR system and all for not much over 100 quid!
ETA: oops, mine is the 55-200!
Edited by NiceCupOfTea on Saturday 29th December 01:44
NiceCupOfTea said:
There's going to be a big different in price between an f/2.8 and an f/4.5 70-200 though!
FWIW I've just bought the same lens for my D70s and have found it excellent so far, even on overcast days. Not tried it in very low lights yet though. Think about it though, it's a nice sharp zoom with an excellent VR system and all for not much over 100 quid!
ETA: oops, mine is the 55-200!
Yep - there's about £1000 difference from f4 to f2.8... to be fair it was very overcast and in woodland. At 70mm when it was focusing ok, it was shooting at 1/30th F4. I think that the 50mm f1.4 that I've got has been the only lens I've used over Xmas. In the sort of conditions we have at this time of the year it's the most reliable lens in my bag - I commend it to the house!FWIW I've just bought the same lens for my D70s and have found it excellent so far, even on overcast days. Not tried it in very low lights yet though. Think about it though, it's a nice sharp zoom with an excellent VR system and all for not much over 100 quid!
ETA: oops, mine is the 55-200!
Edited by NiceCupOfTea on Saturday 29th December 01:44
FWIW the Nikkor 70-200 2.8 is pretty amazing. I took a load of handheld shots in New York at night with it and it focussed quickly and accurately. The D300 has the new focussing system though which I'm sure helped a bit too. Sadly this really does seem to be a hobby where spending really helps if you want to work in sub-optimal conditions.
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