Verdict
Pros
- Consistent high resolution
Cons
- Fiddly M/AF switch
Key Specifications
- Review Price: £1630
Every now and again there comes a lens that bears a new feature for which there is no obvious demand and which seems to have been included either to trump another brand or to prove manufacturing prowess. Nikon’s new 70-200mm f/2.8 pro-spec zoom, with its three-mode focusing system, may be just such a lens.
Nikon’s lens is a tad uncomfortable to use owing to the extended height of its tripod-mounting pillar, which pushes the zoom ring just out of comfortable reach. This is exacerbated by the position of the zoom ring, which is a shade further forwards than would be ideal thanks to the fact that the four slider switches, which control the focusing and anti-blur settings, are located rearmost.
The extra height has been caused by a tripod-collar quick-release mechanism, which might be a boon for some users but merely introduced a little handling awkwardness for me. Similarly, the three-mode focusing slider, which adds an M/A mode to the usual A/M and M modes, is tricky to use. It’s easy enough to set pure MF by sliding the switch right back, or to set AF with full-time manual intervention by sliding the switch fully forward, but the middle position is rather hard to locate.
According to Nikon, A/M is AF-priority with manual intervention whereas M/A is AF with MF priority. Apparently, setting A/M makes the lens less sensitive to manual disturbances of the focusing ring (hence AF priority) but I could detect no significant difference between the two variants.
As is the norm, Nikon offers anti-blur settings that combat camera-shake in a specific direction that allows panning to be used (Normal Mode) and camera-shake in all directions (Active Mode). Nikon suggests that Normal mode will be appropriate in most situations.
Technical testing resulted in a perfect score for Nikon’s new lens: at no point did its MTF figures dip below, or even get close to, the critical 0.25 cycles-per-pixel level. In fact, as appears to be becoming the norm for Nikon lenses, the MTF curves are remarkably flat and tightly grouped. Canon’s equivalent lens achieves a higher peak resolution but Nikon’s lens is much more consistent and apertures can be selected without fear or favour.
Sample images
Verdict
Thanks to a recent price-drop Nikon’s new lens can almost be considered a bargain at the moment, albeit an expensive bargain. Though there is very little to dislike, if I were buying this lens I would get the tripod-mounting pillar modified to improve the way that the zoom sits in my hand.
Trusted Score
Score in detail
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Value 10
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Design 10
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Image Quality 10
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Features 10
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Professional conduct
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
