lens question

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

stormlady - 04 Jan 2007 18:09 GMT

HI all,

I have now purchased my D80, and am quite happy with it so far and I
want to get a zoom/telephoto lens to go with it. I just got off the
phone with the camera store here and got a totally useless answer to my
question, so I figured that maybe you guys could help. I am looking at
the Nikon AF-S VR, 70 - 300, 4.5-5.6 IF-ED lens. It retails here for
around $680 (Canada) and I asked about the image quality of the lens, I
wanted to know if it is sharper than Nikon's regular 70 - 300 lens
without the VR, or am I just paying extra for VR. All I could get was
that "yes, your pictures will be sharper with VR" (not necessarily
true I know) So What I'm wondering is: The VR notwithstanding, is the
lens a sharper lens than one without VR, or is that the only reason for
the price jump. (reg 70 - 300 here is ~$200) If anyone has any other
lenses to recommend in that zoom (or greater) for around the same
price, I'd be interested in hearing.

Thanks all
Heather

Reply to this Message

Buy_Sell - 04 Jan 2007 18:46 GMT

I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The 70-300mm was one of the first
lenses that I purchased with my D70s. I don't use it much anymore. It
works fine as long as there is enough light available. The VR version
should help considerably but I haven't had the opportunity to try it.
For $680 CAD, you could probably find an older version of the 80-200mm
f/2.8 which is an extremely nice lens.

PS: If you are just starting out, you might also want to consider
picking up a 50mm f/1.8 prime lens. It sells for about $100 and it is
my favorite for low light photography.

------------------------

> HI all,
>
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> Thanks all
> Heather

Reply to this Message

Richard H. - 04 Jan 2007 19:24 GMT

> So What I'm wondering is: The VR notwithstanding, is the
> lens a sharper lens than one without VR, or is that the only reason for
> the price jump. (reg 70 - 300 here is ~$200) If anyone has any other
> lenses to recommend in that zoom (or greater) for around the same
> price, I'd be interested in hearing.

Hi, Heather.

You'll find that Nikon makes 3 versions of the 70-300. The VR version
is not comparable to the CDN$200 model - the low-end model is plastic
construction and does not use ED glass. ED glass is designed for
sharper results (thus the premium); so, yes, even without the VR you
should get sharper results with the VR ED version.

At the moment, the VR model is in very short supply, so count yourself
lucky if you can actually buy one. Here's a recent thread discussing them:
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.photo.digital.slr-systems/browse_frm/thread/7
9993edcb6a96582/f9c6f8adc4185a11

Here are some comments & photos taken with the low-end model:
http://www.pbase.com/cameras/nikon/70-300_4g
and the VR version:
http://www.pbase.com/cameras/nikon/af_s_vr_zoom_70_300_45_56g_if_ed

As for other recommendations, how do you plan to use it? E.g., an f/2.8
might be nice for lower light / faster action, but you'll sacrifice
focal length in exchange for more weight & size. When evaluating, also
consider the focus speed, which can range from snappy to sluggish.

Cheers,
Richard

Reply to this Message