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Nikon Nikkor AF 80400 mm f4556D ED VR

maxi_kore

Member
What do you think about Nikon Nikkor AF 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6D ED VR ?
Should I by it?
or Nikon Nikkor AF-S 70-200 mm f/2.8G IF-ED VR is much better
 
Personally I try to always go for much 'brighter' lenses, f2.8 for ex&le.

If you can afford it a much better option would be an 80-200mm and a X2 teleconverter to take it to 400mm.

Having said this, if you can afford the AF-S 70-200 mm f/2.8G IF-ED VR, then this combined with a teleconverter is a superb set-up.
 
Having owned and used both, I would highly recommend buying the 70-200 f/2.8 and passing on the 80-400. Image quality is much better with the 70-200 and it focuses much faster (the 70-200 is AF-S while the 80-400 is not; both lenses have VR).

The best two Nikon zooms I have ever used are the 17-35 f/2.8 and the AF-S 70-200 f/2.8 VR.
 
the 70-200 VR f/2.8 is hard to beat. Rent one, play wiith it and then make your decision. You won't be sorry...
 
It depens of the size of you wallet and what you are gonna take pictures of? 70-200 is a wery nice piece of glass, 80-400 i longer but f-stops are not ipressiv. My money is on the 70-200. Ilkka
 
Those two lenses (the 80-400 and the 70-200) serve very different purposes. Your own needs would determine which to get. I own the 80-400. I don't shoot sports or very much action. My purpose is to get long focal lengths with compositional flexibility, in the most portable package possible, without needing rapid focusing or low- light capability, so it works great for me. Optically the 80-400 is a fine lens.
 
I own both the 80-400 and 70-200 f/2.8 and find that I use the 80-400 much more. Optically, the 80-400 is a fine lens, and because of its compact size, is easier to take on a trip. As stated before, the focus is much slower than the 70-200, but for low action shots and even for larger and slower birds in flight, I haven't found the 80-400's focus speed to be a hindrance to obtaining the shot.
 
I have the 80-400 VR and actually like it quite well. There are times I use it handheld and VR on, and other times it is tripod mounted and obviously the VR is off.

As far as I am concered, the lens works quite well and the quality of images IMHO is great!!

Glad I spent the bigger bucks and bought it.

I have no experience with the other lenses, so cannot offer any comments.

Ron in kalamazoo, Michigan
 
I'm fortunate to own both these lenses and must admit I tend to favor the 80mm-400mm.
I have some super sharp images from this lens, and have even used it with a 2x Teleplus converter in good light to capture some shots of Tigers at a zoo.
In all fairness though the AFS 70mm-200mm lens does focus a lot faster even when fitted with the Nikon AFS 2x converter.
 
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