AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8E FL ED VR
How does Nikon’s very latest AF-S 70-200mm f2.8 zoom stand up against its pioneering predecessor from nearly two decades ago?
Along with the 24-70mm f2.8, the 70-200mm f2.8 zoom is a staple in the kits of many photographers, both amateurs and pros. Nikon’s latest 70-200mm f2.8 is the third-generation model, but back in 1999 I purchased the first AF-S series 80-200mm f2.8 zoom – the spiritual predecessor to the new lens – which I’m still using today. It’s been such a reliable workhorse – and the optical performance is hard to fault – I see no real reason to change, but it’s interesting to see what differences around 18 years of subsequent developments in lens design and technologies have made.
For starters, the two lenses are pretty similar in size and weight, although the new 70-200mm is slightly lighter and has a much more contemporary approach to the design of its tripod mounting bracket. Like Panasonic’s 100400mm telezoom, just the foot detaches rather than the whole collar, but Nikon hasn’t been quite as clever and arranged it so all the barrel controls stay in the same place when the camera is rotated to the vertical position. In fact, on the new 70-200mm, they end up being inaccessible unless you can squeeze a finger in between the lens barrel and the tripod mounting plate. On my ‘old’ 80-200mm there are rather fewer of these controls, primarily because it doesn’t have an optical stabiliser – probably the one compelling reason for an upgrade – which the 70-200mm has had from the off. On the new model – officially designated the AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8E FL ED VR, with this last set of initials standing for ‘Vibration Reduction’ – the image stabiliser delivers up to four stops of correction for camera shake and has both Normal and Sports modes, the latter for panning as it switches off correction in the one or other plane (i.e. when the camera is held either horizontally or vertically).
As already noted, my original AF-S 80-200mm has Nikon’s ultrasonic ‘Silent Wave Motor’ ring-type autofocusing drive – in fact, it was the first SWMequipped model – which is in the new 70-200mm as well, but no doubt much improved in terms of speed. My 80-200mm has five elements – out of its total of 18 – made from extra-low dispersion glass – that’s the ‘ED’ in the new lens’s long model name and it has six. More significantly though, it also has a fluorite element (yep, the ‘FL’ initials) which is rather superior at correcting for chromatic aberrations. It also has what Nikon calls a “HighRefractive Index” (HRI for short, but wisely somebody stopped them adding this to the model name as well) which corrects for spherical aberrations and curvature of field. There are, incidentally, 22 elements in all, packed into the new 70-200mm’s barrel, so a good proportion of them are special types designed to enhance all aspects of the optical performance; including sharpness, contrast and colour rendering. The new lens also has Nikon’s ‘Nano Crystal Coat’ multi-coatings to deal with internal reflections, something that wasn’t so much of an issue when the film-era AF-S 80-200mm was being designed.
The new 70-200mm also has fluorine coatings on the exposed element surfaces front and rear to help repel moisture and grease which has added importance on this lens because it’s weather sealed, including a beefy rubber gasket around the lens mount. This is a luxury that my 80-200mm doesn’t have, but over the 18 years that I’ve been using it, it’s been subjected to some pretty shocking weather conditions and has continued to work reliably.
The barrel tubes are aluminium compared to the magnesium alloy of the new lens which also has a smooth matte finish rather than the ‘crinkle’ look that was the hallmark of high-end Nikkor lenses for many years. However, the biggest change externally – even compared to the previous 70-200mm f2.8 VR II model – is that the zooming and focusing collars have swapped places. There doesn’t appear to be any major reason for this, except perhaps that it makes more sense to have the focusing collar closer to the camera body, especially when shooting video. Maybe because I’m so used to having it the other way around, I actually found the new arrangement much less comfortable.
A set of AF stop buttons make a re-appearance on the new 70-
“There are 22 elements packed into the new Nikkor 70-200mm’s barrel, and a good proportion of them are special types designed to enhance all aspects of the optical performance.”
200mm, located between the control collars and arranged at 90-degree intervals.
My 80-200mm has these too, except for some unknown reason, only three instead of four. They’re simply focus lock buttons on this lens, but on the new 70-200mm they can be switched between stop or start duties (hence another extra control on the lens barrel). By the way, the two lenses share a focus limiter switch and a focusing mode switch, but on the newer model, the latter has a third position enabling an instant AF override of manual focusing as well as vice-versa.
My lens also has a manual aperture collar, something that’s now disappearing as Nikon switches to an electromagnetically-controlled diaphragm in its latest Nikkor lenses.
This allows for more accurate setting – especially frame-to-frame with continuous shooting – but it’s actuated electronically from the camera rather than via a mechanical linkage. Consequently, while my trusty 80-200mm can be used on any Nikon SLR back to the original F, the new 70-200mm can’t be used with any 35mm film body and only on the digital bodies which date from around the middle of 2007. Problem? Probably not for most contemporary users.
The new lens has a closer minimum focusing distance of 1.1 metres, compared to 1.5 metres on my 80-200mm and 1.4 metres on the previous incarnation of the 70-200mm. This may not look like much on paper, but 40 cm can make quite a difference with closeup focusing.
Making Advances
One thing that’s become very apparent in this comparison is that Nikon’s original AF-S 80-200mm f2.8 model was actually a pretty advanced design for its day. It’s not really all that far behind the latest-generation 70-200mm f2.8 except for the optical image stabilisation and weather-proofing, and it’s worth noting that the first AF-S 70-200mm f2.8 – which was launched back in 2003 – had both these features.
Despite the external differences, the two lenses handle pretty similarly and the 80-200mm’s SWM autofocusing is still fast by any standard. However, it is in the area of performance that the progress of the last two decades can be seen. The AF is definitely slicker – we used the two lenses on the same body to make the comparison – and the handling of flare is quite superior, to the benefit of overall contrast and colour. It’s also sharper particularly in terms of the corner-to-centre uniformity at f2.8 – something that’s been steadily improving with each generation – and there’s less vignetting when shooting wide-open too. The correction for chromatic aberrations is also noticeably better at the widest aperture, and it’s actually very well controlled overall on the new lens. Likewise distortion which is noticeably better corrected at either end of the focal range. But in terms of colour and contrast… well, geez, the old AF-S 80-200mm f2.8 is still standing up very well, and it also has a nine-blade diaphragm so the out-of-focus effects look just as smooth as those of the current lens.
There’s undoubtedly been progress, but perhaps it’s not quite as dramatic as might have been expected.
The Verdict
On one hand Nikon should be pretty pleased that a 16-year-old AF lens still looks so good – and has proven to be hugely reliable despite plenty of fairly hard use – but on the other hand it really wants you to buy new stuff. If you own the previous AF-S 70-200mm f2.8 VRII, upgrading to the next model could be a little harder to justify – although the improved stabilisation and sharpness are big plusses – but if my experience is any indicator, it’s undoubtedly a good longterm investment. And with Nikon still seemingly wholeheartedly committed to the D-SLR, perhaps an even safer choice.