Home Nikon Lens Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Lens
Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
Nikon, like Canon and other manufacturers, produces their fixed aperture zoom lenses to their highest standards of quality. This lens is no exception; most reviewers, and certainly most professional photographers, will agree.

Since you already know this is a good lens, before you buy, ask yourself how you're hoping to use it. This is not a casual walk-about lens; it is heavy, and will make your arm(s) tired. If you're not willing to lug it around, you're not going to use it; any camera lens, no matter how good it is, does nothing for you while sitting unused on your shelf.

If you plan on using this lens exclusively at apertures smaller than f/4, you're not making the best use of your money-- you can spend half as much money, and buy a variable aperture lens that provides the same fundamental imaging capabilities. While this lens is probably sharpest at f/5.6, that's not where it truly shines.

Shooting wide open at f/2.8, this lens performs beautifully. Portrait photography (especially candid photos, such as one might take as a guest at a wedding), medium-distance wildlife photography, outdoor sports photography-- these are all fabulous uses for this lens. I am always pleased to put this lens on my camera and start taking pictures, because I naturally lean towards single-subject compositions, and this lens is perfect for making high-quality images while picking out a subject against an interesting background.

That's not to say it can't take fine images stopped down-- of course it can. When taking landscape photos, I regularly make several images with this lens in addition to what I capture with a wider angle lens.

Buy this lens because you plan to use its unique capabilities, not because you feel you deserve the best. If you won't be pushing the boundaries of a 55-200mm, f/4-5.6 lens (which, for what it does, Nikon's version is a fine lens), you certainly won't be leveraging what the 70-200 f/2.8 has to offer, and would be better off with the smaller, lighter, and cheaper lens.