When it comes to workhorse lenses, the 70-200mm fits the bill for many photographers. If you are shooting portraits, events, travel and landscapes, this lens does the job. I have owned every version of the Nikon 70-200mm for the last 30 years, so naturally when Nikon introduced version two of the Z 70-200mm, I was intrigued. How could it be better than the Z 70-200mm F2.8 version one? This lens is tack sharp, built like a tank, and works fantastic with teleconverters. I’ll cut to the chase right now, I bought the new version as soon as it came out, and it has surpassed my expectations. But you might be surprised what I like most about the new lens.
First, is it sharp? Sharper than version one? At this point sharpness is almost a non issue with both the Z versions. They are both incredibly sharp, and in real world situations I couldn’t find much difference between them. The online focus chart reviews might show a slight difference here and there, but in my real world shooting situations it just is a non issue for me…they are incredibly sharp. These lenses both work exceptionally well with teleconverters, especially the 1.4x. I did some test shoots and it appears to me the new 70-200mm F2.8 II with the 1.4x (280mm) is even sharper than the 100-400mm at 300mm…very interesting. And with the 2x converter I’d say the 70-200mm F2.8 II is about as sharp as the 100-400mm at 400mm. So this really had me thinking hard about the versatility of bringing a 70-200mm on shoots, and if I need the 300-400mm range I would just add converters.
But what really got my attention? How about a new 70-200mm F2.8 II that is almost a pound lighter and half inch shorter? Nikon reduced the weight by 26 percent on the new version, and that means a lot to me. If you have ever shot assignments standing all day with this lens around your neck it gets heavy. Now imagine years of a heavy lenses around your neck and you start looking for chiropractors! I couldn’t believe the difference, this lens felt a lot lighter. I just returned from almost two weeks of shooting the lens in Costa Rica, and I love the light weight!
There is so much more Nikon has changed on this new version. A brand new Silky Swift VCM motor improves autofocus speed and accuracy. This is especially noticeable when focusing from short distances to infinity. Nikon has used their latest coatings to reduce glare and fringing, I saw little flare shooting into the sun.
One of the highlights of using a 70-200mm is shooting at F2.8 and rendering buttery smooth bokeh. The new lens has more aperture blades (11) than the old version, and special attention was put in designing a lens that renders beautiful bokeh. Nikon got this right. Check out the beautiful bokeh in the image above. And the new lens has better VR (6 stops) for shooting in low light at slow shutter speeds.
Nikon also improved the minimum focus distance so you can get very close to your subject, whether it is the face in a portrait or just trying to get close to small subjects. At 200mm the lens can focus at 2.6 feet.
There have been some physical improvements as well. First, Nikon made the tripod collar Arca-type friendly, so no more plates needed to attach this lens to my RRS tripod heads. Second, they added a door on the lens hood so you can rotate a polarizer. Third, they eliminated the LED panel, and now you have control ring that is ‘clickable’ when changing settings.
So as you can see, this wasn’t just a simple update. Nikon completely redesigned the 70-200mm F2.8 II, which is why I bought it. Just the weight alone, along with improved autofocus and closer focusing had me getting out my credit card. Remember, this lens is internal focusing so you have a weather sealed lens that in a pinch with converters can reach out to 400mm. I keep thinking back to my recent trip to Antarctica. I brought my 100-400mm which worked great for groups of penguins on the beach. But there were also many times penguins got pretty close and being able to shoot at 200mm at F2.8 would have been great. Do I bring my 70-200mm F2.8 with converters next year, or my 100-400mm F4.5-5.6?
Is this lens for you? Version one is tack sharp, so if weight isn’t an issue, maybe you stay with version one. But if you use this lens on long shoots, or travel frequently and weight is an issue, I’d get the new version. It is lighter, smaller, faster autofocusing and focuses closer. Retail for the lens is $3196.00.
If you have enjoyed these images, come join us next year on our Costa Rica workshop. This will our eight year running this trip, only two spots left!