Do the Nikon VR lense work with the S2

[mrrjm]

Has any one had any experience with the new Nikon Vibration resistant lenses? Will they work with the S2?




Ray

[memobug]

Yes the 80-400 has been out for more than a year, and works fine with the N80/D1/S2. There are also some attractive rebates this month, but it might be worth waiting a few months for the 75-200, due out in March (maybe?) unless you are looking for that extra long focal length and can deal with the slower aperture.

Regards,

Matt

[jenbob]

I checked out the 80-400 VR a month ago. KEH had a used one for $1,200 that I tried and after repeatedly shooting and re-shooting I sent it back. I was seriously disappointed. The lens was incredibly soft unless you shot at f11 and I was never able to get enough VR to justify having it. The VR seemed to work beautifully if it was on a monopod, but then the monopod works beautifully anyway (without VR).

enjoy,
bob

[bjnicholls]

If you got a "soft" 80-400 then there was something wrong with it. Mine isn't quite as sharp as the legendary 80-200 2.8, but it is a sharp zoom. The sweet spot for this lens is closer to wide open, not stopped down. Nikon did this to enhance the utility of the VR for handheld shooting. Sharpness, contrast, color are all very good with this lens. I think some people go too far with the VR handheld capability and use shutter speeds that are too slow for the focal length. VR is impressive, but it won't do miracles.

The main weak spot for me is the lack of AF-S focusing. The focusing is driven by the camera's AF motor. The S2 has a relatively weak motor and the AF performance is sluggish. With this lens, it's critical to use the AF limit switch for either close range or long range, this prevents really long "hunting" cycles when you give the camera the full focusing range to work with. I have an F100 with a stronger AF motor and the 80-400 focusing is significantly more responsive. The new 70-200 VR zoom scheduled for shipping sometime in the spring has AF-S focusing and should be a lot more responsive for action shooting.

Another weak spot is the miserable tripod collar. Without modification, it has diving board vibration that will ruin most large-fraction shutter speed shots. Really Right Stuff has a tip for adding a larger knob so that the clamp can be tightened very firmly. This helps a lot, but it isn't a complete fix. Some people wedge an object like a plastic film cannister between the mount and the lens. I'm watching for the Burzynsky collar to be available from Isarphoto.be in Germany. Nikon puts the same lame collar on the 300mm f/4 AF-S prime.

[jenbob]

When I was researching the 80-400VR I found multiple site indicating the fact that this lens was sharpest (by far) at f11. I gave it a fair test and found it soft. Overall color of the image was good but I was hard put to get an image (even at 80) that was as sharp as I was willing to put up with. I already have the 80-200 2.8 and would have loved to be able to replace that one with another that is the same size, greater zoom, and handholdable. Maybe I got a good one.

When I returned it the woman I spoke with at KEH said she felt exactly the same way about this lens but has other friends that swear by it. To each his (or her) own.

enjoy,
bob

[teski]

Strange because my buddy has the 80-400 on his S2, and he has some incredibly sharp pics from it. We take it to the zoo all the time, and he doesn't stop down all the time...In fact, he sets it at 5.6 a lot for DOF and the pics are incredible. I think you got a bum lens.

Teski

[jenbob]

As a pro I depend on my glass and will only use it if it is the sharpest possible piece of glass I can afford. I could afford the VR but not the soft focus at f stops other than f11. If you check the critical reviews of the 80-400 VR you will see what I am referring to. When I bought it I thought I would be able to live with it, but not at that price. I happily went back to my 80-200 2.8.

[teski]

Well the 80-200 is the sharpest telephoto zoom that Nikon makes. I did read the reviews (Moose Peterson, Ken Rockwell, Bjørn Rørslett) and they say that f/11 is the sharpest point in this lens, but none of them say that the lens isn't sharp outside of that aperture. All lenses have their sharpest point.

It's all about what you need, and obviously the 80-400 isn't for you, but the lens is quite sharp throughout it's range, and at apertures outside of f/11...I've seen it...Again, I'm sure there are some bad lenses out there.

Teski

[critter]

I have had this lens for about 24 hours and it seems to me it is built for the S2. Much sharper than all of my zooms and it is really amazing that you can hanhold a 400mm shot while leaning against a building and get a pretty sharp shot. Tripoded this lens with the vr disengaded is very sharp. I highly recommend it based upon my 24 hours of usage.