| FIRST
IMPRESSIONS
This
lens, released in time to be paired with the F6, D2h and D2x cameras,
confirms Nikon's intention to bring AF-S and VR into all telephoto
Nikkor lenses. At first glance it is an impressive lens. Later,
one cannot but say that it is awesome.
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AF-S
VR 200mm f/2G IF-ED Nikkor |
The
new AF-S version is a bit heavier but more compact than the manual
version.
The new hood (HK-31) is also very well designed, and although
it is not a carbon one I like it a lot.
In
my view a bit too heavy to handhold so I use it most of the the
time on a monopod with VR active. When not on the monopod, the
need for the occasional break is there and is nice to see Nikon
engineers thought it had to be put down, which can be done resting
it on its lens hood or front, both of which have thick rubber
rims.
I
try to use this lens wide open all the time as that is what it
is designed for...
When
there is too much light I do not hesitate to put a neutral density
filter in the therefore designed filter drawer (52mm thread).
When
used wide open, the contrast is great and sharpness is never an
issue; of course the narrow DOF contributes to the nice "bokeh"
of this marvelous tool.
The
autofocus is lightning fast (AF-S) and the image in the viewfinder
is very bright (f/2) for a 200mm lens.
I
was already very happy with the "old" manual focus 200mm
f/2 AI-S but this one is really great, more so when used on a
D2H (AF-S + VR)
A
new button has re-appeared on this lens: The "Memory Set"
button witch allows you to come back to a pre-set focus point.
I still have to play with that feature a bit to learn to use it
well.
Here
are a couple of samples:.
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