Richard_Coyle
Lifetime Member
Registered: November 2001
Location: Lake County, Illinois
Posts: 548
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Review Date: Wed June 27, 2007
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Superb quality with super zoom range and tripod VR
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Cons:
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Inconsistent production quality control from Nikon.
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This lens is truly unique. As the only fixed f4.0 aperture lens in this range, with IF, ED elements, and VR, even Canon users are figuring out ways to utilize this lens, mostly by purchasing it with a Nikon body. And the quality justifies this cross platform interest. This lens has some of the highest MTF ratings of any Nikkor, or any other manufacturer's, lens, with real world resolution results justifying the ratings. And the color rendition, contrast, and bokeh are simply superb. With a close focusing distance of about 7 feet, and the ability to zoom from 200mm to 400mm, this lens is very flexible, and perhaps best suited for shooting wildlife. With the exception of small birds. this lens will excel in most situations in it's native range. By adding the TC1.4 or TC1.7 converter, this lens will equal the reach of many super telephotos at usable f-stops. The TC1.4 will achieve a 560mm range and a Nikon approved AF with an f5.6 aperture, while the TC1.7 will produce a 680mm range with an f6.8 aperture which will most likely be usable in many situations. The TC2.0 is likely to produce acceptable AF in only the most brightly lit and contrasty situations, with a noticable degradation in image quality. The only limitation of this lens is the f4.0 aperture. When compared to the prime Nikkor telephotos with an f2.8 aperture, such as the 300mm AFS and the 400mm AFS, the performance in lower lighting situations suffers, as does the bokeh to a very slight extent when shooting at maximum aperture. However, in this latter category, the 200-400 is still superb, in my opinion, and produces creamy OF backgrounds with excellent subject rendition in all regards. This lens is highly recommended, with the caveat that the purchaser thoroughly test the lens upon receipt. There have been problems in the last year with production quality control resulting in poorly performing samples, mostly regarding CA and general optical alignment, as personally experienced with two initial lenses.
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OldPhotos
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