Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR vs 80-200 f/2.8

There is one simple reason for the lack of activity on this blog during the past few weeks - I did not shoot very much, and almost lost touch with the world of photography. I been busy with work, and due to California fires all around us, the atmosphere has been polluted and the skies had a yellowish cast to them. I look forward to the day it all clears up and we again can see some clouds.

However, a week ago I had a chance to shoot in Fountain Green, Utah where I along with my wife and Maks attended Lamb Days. I began uploading few photos of the event to my Flickr account, and we have an entry about this on our family blog.

For shooting session, I rented Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens. I wanted to try it out and compare it to its previous model in Nikon lens line, 80-200 f/2.8 that I borrrowed earlier for our Yosemite trip. From the reports I read online, I knew what to expect, but it's one thing to read reports of others and it's another thing to try it out yourself.

First, about the rental places. First time I rented from Glass and Gear, and second time I rented from Borrow Lenses. Both lenses were in great shape and pricing for rental was similar. First company was right on time sending me the lens, but I was disappointed with Borrow Lenses. I was going to pick up the lens in their San Jose location, but on the day of the pick up, I called them up and they completely forgot about it, so I had to drive to Menlo Park to pick it up on time. Not professional, and I can't see why I would want to do business with them again.

Second, about the lenses. I found 70-200 f/2.8 to be a much better lens (it's usually $600 more expensive too) in my comparison. While both lenses were sharp and produced impressive picture quality, a newer version of this zoom lens was much faster focusing, and I'd say significanly faster. If you're trying to capture a boy like Maks who is constanly moving, or a wildlife creature, you'll miss few shots here and there with an older version because motor is trying to focus. Also, 70-200mm lens has a Vibration Reduction built-in, so when I was shooting in low light, more images were sharp with this lens than with an older version without a VR. That made a difference in several situations.

While 70-200mm is more expensive, having used both and shot over 1,000 frames with them, I know I'm saving my pennies for 70-200mm. Faster AF system and VR will result in more images that are tack sharp and to me, it's worth spending few extra hundren dollars on. I can see how this lens will be a perfect lens for when I'm out shooting wildlife, or simply at home taking photos of our family.

Overall, 70-200mm f/2.8 VR is the best lens I have ever used with my camera.