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A few weeks back I had mentioned that I was trying to figure out what to do about a lens dilemma I was having. I was debating whether or not to buy the Nikon 80-400mm VR or upgrading my Tokina 80-200mm f/2.8 to the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR and getting a 2x teleconverter. Well I thought I had decided on the 80-400...or so I thought...that was until I had the chance to actually compare the two set ups on my camera.

I first excitedly attached the 80-400mm to my camera and sadly I was not as happy with it as I thought I would be. I did not like the way it felt in my hands. It had a pinch point when I used the zoom where the hood is since the zoom is all external. I am also a little nervous with a zoom that extends beyond externally...I shoot in all sorts of weather and other conditions and this is a concern. I do have rain gear but sometimes...like today in fact...you can get caught in a spritz unexpectedly. The zoom ring also seemed pretty tight and I needed to really turn it quite far which required me to reset my hand position in order to zoom all the way to 400mm from 80mm...ok that is understandable...but never the less a bit awkward for me. I do suffer from some wrist problems so I was a little concerned about that.

I then decided to try out the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR with the 2x teleconverter...I was really surprised at the performance. I LOVE the quality of the 70-200mm f/2.8. VR..NO MORE FRINGING and chromatic aberrations in bright or slightly blown highlights which is something I had to deal with on occasion with my Tokina lens....WOOT! The little extra features aside from the obvious advantage of the VR also were a real plus...I love the 3 focus lock buttons on the end of the lens!!! and of course the Manual focus override is awesome...I didn't have that on the Tokina. But besides that when I attached the 2x teleconverter I saw how well they performed together immediately. I was really pleasantly surprised. I have to say that the combo proved to be sharper and I think actually quicker to focus than the 80-400mm. Granted the combo was a little (choke, choke) more money...but now I have the 70-200mm f/2.8 VR which I've wanted and know will be my workhorse lens and the extra reach of the teleconverter to bring me up to the 400mm I desired.

This shot was my first attempt at wildlife photography using the new set up. I went to the Delaware Water Gap are in search of wildlife to photograph but wouldn't you know it the only thing I came across that day were Geese...I did not want to travel an hour to get shots of geese...I could have gone 2 blocks for that!!! But such is life. It was still a beautiful day and we ended up going to Dingman's Falls which was quite beautiful and of course we had a nice lunch.

I shot this handheld...I rarely use my tri-pod...I really love to feel like I'm part of the camera and using the tri-pod doesn't give me that same connection...if that makes sense. I know it may sound odd but that is just me. I will more often use a mono-pod than a tri-pod. I will only use a tri-pod when I absolutely have to. I had no experience with the VR before as this is my first VR lens and I think it helped a great deal. None of the shots I took were soft from shake even down to 1/15 of a second which for me is a miracle when you consider that I don't shoot handheld below 1/100 sec. for the most part.

By the time this actually posts since I am queuing it on June 1 to run on June 20th, I will hopefully have had more time to use the lens and improve my shooting technique and hopefully will have found some wildlife other than geese to shoot!

Nikon D700
Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR w/Nikon 2x teleconverter
1/160 second
F/8.0
ISO 200
400 mm

Check out my new slideshow page. The link is here and at the top and bottom of every page. I am testing out several formats for the slideshows each with their own advantages and disadvantages. It will be an evolving process and I will add new ones from time to time. I hope you will stop by and check them out and feel free to leave me some feedback.