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Nikon 70-200mm VR II
© 2009 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.

Intro   Specs   Performance   Compared   Recommendations

Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II (77mm filter, 54.3 oz/1,540g, $2,400) enlarge. I'd order it at Adorama, Ritz, J&R, Amazon or Calumet. It helps me keep adding to this site when you get yours through these links, thanks! Ken.

August 2009        More Nikon Reviews

Introduction         top

Intro   Specs   Performance   Compared   Recommendations

Ever since 1982, Nikon has made an f/2.8 professional telephoto zoom, and it has always been superb.

This new 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II is now the seventh iteration of this series. I chronicle and compare all seven versions at Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 History.

7 versions in 27 years means we have a new version every few years, so this new version is right on schedule.

This 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II is a completely new design. It also adds Nano-Crystal coating as its marketing feature.

What's really important is that the close-focus distance has been pulled-in to 4.6 feet from 5 feet (1.4 instead of 1.5 meters), and from my reading of the MTF curves, the corners should now be now as super-sharp as all the other previous 80-200/2.8 lenses at 200mm, which is an improvement over the old 70-200mm VR.

I can't see any AF lock buttons at the front, but I do see a ribbed plastic ring. I don't know if Nikon removed this critical feature, or got clever and made that entire ring a touch-strip for AF lock. I suspect that the AF lock buttons are gone, which seems like a terrible downgrade, but then again, maybe AF performance has somehow improved over the 1990s that no one uses them anymore, or will not need them with the new lens. I don't know.

I see a new focus-mode switch position, A/m. The older lenses had two positions, M/A and M, and now we have A/M, M/A and M. Only experience will tell what these do. I'm sure Nikon got it right; this is the most important lens used by every pro news photographer and Nikon listens.

Image Stabilization (VR) now claims 4 stops of improvement, up from 3 stops in the old 70-200mm VR.

With every new model, the price and weight also go up. The only thing improved here is that the length shrinks by 1/4" (6mm), but the price climbs $500 and weight goes up another 2.5 oz (70g). Geeze, the lengths some people will go for even better optics and flexibility than last year's model.

Honestly, the closer focus is very important to a lot of people, and I suspect the corner sharpness at 200mm per the MTF curves will make this even more of a winner than the old model, which has been Nikon's highest-selling pro tele zoom of all time.

Compatibility       back to intro     back to top

Everything works perfectly on every digital Nikon, both FX and DX, and even on Nikon's cheapest digital D40, D40x, D60, D3000 and D5000.

It's also perfect on decent or recent AF film cameras like the F6, F100, F5, N80 and N75.

The incompatibilities for older or cheaper film cameras are that:

1.) It won't autofocus with the cheapest new AF film cameras like the N55, but if you focus manually, everything else works great. Even if you lose autofocus, these cameras have in-finder focus confirmation dots to help you.

2.) Late 1980s ~ early 1990s AF cameras like the N90s, N70 and F4 will focus just fine, but you'll lose VR. You'll have Program and Shutter-priority modes, but lose Manual and Aperture-priority since you have no way to set the aperture on the camera or on the lens.

3.) You're really pushing it with the oldest AF cameras like the N2020, N6006 and N8008. You'll have no AF, confused exposure modes, and no VR. Manual focus is fine, along with electronic focus indications.

4.) Since it has no aperture ring, it's just about useless with manual focus film cameras.

See Nikon Lens Compatibility for details with your camera. Read down the "AF-S, AF-I," "G" and "VR" columns for this lens. You'll get the least of all the features displayed in all columns, since "G" (gelding) is a handicap which removes features.

Specifications         top

Intro   Specs   Performance   Compared   Recommendations

Name: AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II

Optics

Internal construction (ED elements in yellow). enlarge.

21 elements in 16 groups.

7 elements are of ED glass.

Diaphragm Blades

9 rounded.

VR System

VR II, claiming four stops of improvement.

The original 70-200mm VR claimed only 3 stops.

VR works on Nikon F6, F5, F100, N80, N75, N65, D3 series, D700 series, D2 series, D1 series, D3000, D300 series, D200, D100, D90, D80, D70 series, D60, D50 and D40 series.

Close Focus: 4.6 feet (1.4m).

Maximum Reproduction Ratio: 1:8.3 (0.12x).

Hood: HB-48, included.

HB-48 Hood.

Case: CL-M2, included.

CL-M2 case. enlarge.

Size: 3.4 x 8.2 inches (87 x 209mm)

Weight: 54.3 oz. (1,540 g or 3.4 lb).

Nikon Product Number: 2185.

Announced: 30 July 2009

Promised by: November 2009

Price: $2399.95, USA.

Performance         top

Intro   Specs   Performance   Compared   Recommendations

The MTF curves suggest improved corner sharpness at 200mm over the previous 70-200mm VR. This was the previous lens' only vice, and that wasn't important to any pro users who all told me it was the sharpest lens they'd ever used.

Unless you're shooting flat subjects, nothing is ever in focus in the corners with a 200mm lens anyway, but now this new lens ought to be super sharp as well in the corners at 200mm if you care.

MTF at 70mm.

MTF at 200mm.

Compared         top

Intro   Specs   Performance   Compared   Recommendations

For comparisons to all six other f/2.8 pro Nikon zooms, see Nikon Pro Tele Zoom Comparison.

Recommendations         top

Intro   Specs   Performance   Compared   Recommendations

If you're a pro or serious amateur, this is you new tele lens.

Even after November 2009 when this new 70-200mm VR II hits the streets, it is unlikely that it will ever be able to find one in stock. Unlike amateur lenses, Nikon's top pro lenses are chronically out of stock, so order yours and wait. They always come in, just don't whine if it's not in stock (or goes out of stock) right before a big job. Nikon has a hard time keeping up with the demand for these complex lenses.

If you do want one, order it today, because the people who get theirs in November are the people who ordered in in July when it came out. People who wait until November will have to wait even longer until the people who ordered first get theirs.

When you use your lens all day, every day, an extra $500 doesn't matter. That's the amazing thing about photography as a business: it's one of the few businesses you can run with under $10,000 in capital equipment. Even a handyman spends more than that on his truck. See Is It Worth It?

Nikon doesn't screw around here; for pros, this is the one lens that makes or breaks the entire system.

Unlike digital cameras, which you trade in every 18 months, this lens will last you at least a decade and work great with all the upcoming cameras you haven't bought yet. Lenses retain their value, while money thrown at camera bodies goes down the drain.

For example, back in 1999 I bought my 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-S and F100. The lens cost me about $1,000 while the F100 cost me about $1,700. Today, the F100 is worth one-tenth of what I paid, about $170, while the lens is worth more than I paid for it and is still very highly sought after for pro use! The F100 is worth as much as it is because it's film; a digital D1 from 1999, which sold for $5,000, today is worth only $50 due to digital rot.

Today you could buy a D700 or this lens for the same money. This lens is a much smarter buy; in 2019 you'll be thanking me.

Pros know smart money is always spent on lenses, not cameras because they take the long view, while newcomers to photography often worry only about cameras and cheap-out with off-brand lenses.

If money matters, sure, the older 70-200mm VR does the same thing with less weight, and if you don't need VR (the people who use f/2.8 teles rarely do), then the current non-VR 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-D is just as good for sports and action photography, even if you have to move a switch to get between auto and manual focus.

If you want to look for used, if you don't need VR, get the 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-S, which offers the same modern full-time instant manual-focus override and AF lock buttons. The 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-S was the upgrade to the older non-VR 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-D which remains in production, while the 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-S was replaced by the previous 70-200mm VR. I explain this in more detail at Nikon Pro Tele Zooms.

f/2.8 zooms are for people who need f/2.8 and are too lazy (or cant') walk forward or back a couple of steps to frame a picture.

If you don't mind moving a step or two to frame your photo, you can get better, faster lenses for a lot less money. The 85mm f/1.8 AF-D is superb, and only about $450. The best portrait lens is Nikon's 135mm f/2 DC, for half the price of the 70-200mm VR II. If you want close focus or macro, any of the 60mm, 105mm or 200mm macros are worlds better for a fraction of the price. If you want sharpness at 200mm, the 200mm Micro is even sharper than any of these zooms, for a lot less money.

For nature and landscape shooters who use a tripod and want the best sharpness and who can live without f/2.8, I kid you not: a good manual-focus Nikkor zoom, like the last 80-200mm f/4.5n zoom of 1977-1981 (rectangular rear baffle), is as sharp or sharper than any of these f/2.8 AF lenses, but with half the weight and takes 52mm filters, and sells for under a hundred bucks. Manual focus lenses are completely compatible with FX cameras. Adding VR and speeding it up to f/2.8, not sharpness, is what adds the size and expense.

What would I use? I'm a nature and landscape shooter, so even if you gave me one of these new 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II lenses for free, I certainly wouldn't carry it through the woods with me. I'd take the 70-300mm VR, which weighs only half as much, or the 85mm f/1.8 AF-D which weighs only one-quarter as much and is much smaller and faster than any of these. I don't mind walking around to frame a picture.

More Information

105mm Center Sharpness Comparison (excludes this lens)

105mm Corner Sharpness Comparison (excludes this lens)

200mm Center Sharpness Comparison (excludes this lens)

200mm Corner Sharpness Comparison (excludes this lens)

Nikon's Product Information

Nikon's Press Release

Help me help you         top

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If you find this as helpful as a book you might have had to buy or a workshop you may have had to take, feel free to help me continue helping everyone.

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The biggest help is to use these links to Adorama, Amazon, Calumet, Ritz and J&R when you get your goodies. It costs you nothing and is a huge help. These places have the best prices and service, which is why I've used them since before this website existed. I recommend them all personally.

Thanks for reading!

Ken

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