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Home → Reviews → Cameras and Lenses → Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8E FL VR Review

Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8E FL VR

By Nasim Mansurov 91 Comments
Last Updated On July 2, 2020

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Table of Contents

  • Overview and Specifications
  • Optical Features
  • Lens Sharpness and Contrast
  • Lens Comparisons
  • Summary
  • More Image Samples
  • Reader Comments
Disclosures, Terms and Conditions and Support Options
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91 Comments
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Bruce Fichelson
Bruce Fichelson
January 10, 2022 10:10 pm

Should the tripod foot be replaced with one from Kirk or RRS or is the Nikon foot sufficiently stable?

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neversink
neversink
May 5, 2021 11:53 am

Had no choice. Just purchased this lens today. Tested it before I purchased on a D850 and without any menu focus adjustments it was tack sharp at 70 and at 200 and in between even wide open , I will be taking my thirteen year old lens to be be cleaned and repaired and the will either use it as a back up or sell it.
I am blown over by the quality and sharpness. Definitely outperforms my older lens which was not a slouch. I am already used to the zoom and focus ring switcheroo. And it doesn’t bother me at all. Only took an hour to get used to the new configuration.

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Gtsimi
Gtsimi
December 20, 2020 10:14 am

Hi Nassim. I have a D850 and a D7000. Do you have any experience/ comparison of the Nikon compared to the 70-200 Sigma Sport? Also do you know if this lease would work with the D7000?

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Jon Middleton
Jon Middleton
December 8, 2020 4:17 pm

So, thinking about this lens, wondering if the QC problems have been addressed. Any updates?

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Brian C
Brian C
Reply to  Jon Middleton
October 16, 2021 4:28 pm

Any feedback out there re QC problems? Have they been fixed as to new lens made recently?

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Maxim Dupliy
Maxim Dupliy
September 23, 2019 3:22 am

Hello Nasim
I love your reviews, thank you for that.
I want to ask: If I already have this lens( 70-200 FL) and have TC 1.7 II. Do you think it’s better to buy a 300mm or 400mm f/2.8 VR 1, or to use what I have now with TC 1.4 III ?
My aim is to enter sports photography, either inside or outside.
Thank you

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Hassan Elhassan
Hassan Elhassan
August 6, 2019 6:07 pm

Hi Nassim,
Many thanks for the fantastic lens review. Your fairly called out Nikon’s QA issue which to me speaks of so much integrity and your readership cannot be grateful enough. I do hope the issue has since been resolved.
You kindly replied to one of the comments on how to test the AF reliability issues as well as the de-centering issue; I think having both of these within the body of the review would be appreciated by your readers (already found the de-centering article on PL and I’ll anxiously be checking my copy which I received yesterday!).
I do wonder: have you had much success procuring that 3rd lens copy and updating the article?

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Andrei Maximov
Andrei Maximov
March 31, 2019 6:42 pm

Few days ago I changed my very used 10 years old 70-200 VR + $900 to this new lens. It’s amazing!
And, considering the price for which I bought it, I don’t care about the zoom ring at all =D

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William Pollard
William Pollard
February 16, 2019 1:01 pm

Since this article appeared on this site, has Nikon issued a new release of this lens?

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Linda
Linda
February 16, 2019 5:23 am

Dear Nasim,
Do you think the nikon 70-200 with tc 1.7 or 2 would perform better (sharpness, focus accuracy) than the 80-400?
Kind regards,
Linda

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Alan
Alan
Reply to  Linda
June 18, 2021 4:45 pm

Using my D850, the 70-200/2.8 FL ED VR with Nikon TCs was only marginally sharper than the AFS 80-400 4.5-5.6G ED VR out to the edges with the TC-20E III but had considerably greater lateral CA wide open at the edges, less with the 1.7x and least with the 1.4x ( but still present). I didn’t test it stopped down but I would expect it to improve. The AFS 80-400 exhibited virtually no lateral CA even at 400 or even with a TC-14E II. That’s quite a feat considering it’s a 5x zoom.

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Alan
Alan
Reply to  Linda
June 18, 2021 5:13 pm

Testing with my D850, sharpness out to the edges is just slightly better with the 70-200 FL using the TC-17E II or TC-20E III compared to the AFS 80-400. However, there is significantly greater lateral CA as you go off axis on the 70-200 FL with the extenders, the worst being with the TC-20E III. This makes sense since even at 200 mm the 70-200 has more lateral CA than the 80-400 at 400. TCs amplify magnification as well all deficiencies in a lens’ performance.

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Alan
Alan
Reply to  Linda
June 20, 2021 4:46 pm

Technically, while the 70-200 with TCs does show more lateral CA than the 80-400 at the edges, use of LR’s auto CA correction for the lens profile eliminates most of it, so it’s not a significant issue unless shooting film instead of digital. Surprisingly, the 70-200 with a TC-20E III is impressively sharp to the edges as long as the AF fine tune is properly done to extract maximum sharpness and subject light/contrast is high enough for good AF detection.

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Linda
Linda
February 13, 2019 3:57 am

Dear Nasim,
Thank you for this great review.
I am looking for a 70-200 lens, the Nikon FL, the Tamron g2 or the new Sigma sport. I am a bit scared of the quality issues of the Nikon (after having had many quality (focus) issues with the Nikon af-s 80-400 myself)
Did you have the chance to test a new copy yet? Or maybe also the Tamron g2?

Thank you in advance
Linda

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