I’m tempted to get this amazing lens to go with a Z6III and 24-120, acquired during the generous May rebates.
My 12 year old D600 and 24-85 are finally retired! I’m blown away by how much more capable this new combo is, yet the cost in actual dollars is only a bit more, and with inflation, even less. Fantastic job Nikon!
My ideal all-around telephoto addition would be a close focusing 70-300 S line, with an aperture range of 3.5-4.5, accepting 77mm filters.
Meanwhile, I use my 10 year old 70-200 f4 G on the FTZII. It’s often not long enough, and the optical quality is noticeably less than the 24-120.
Please Nikon, make this lens soon!
Dan wells
October 8, 2024 7:48 am
Just wondering if Sony had a secret EF Mount. when comparing it to the Nikon Z. 70 to 200 probably just a typo.
Eric W
October 3, 2024 2:05 pm
I can’t seem to find a sharpness test of the Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 with the 1.4x and 2.0x TCs. You have tested a few of the others with TCs, but of all the compatible Z lenses, this is one in particular I’d like to see plots on.
For reference, Nikon publishes official MTF charts with the teleconverters attached. Just a little “lift” over the already good TC14E and 70-200 2.8E combo on F mount in that the 1.4x Z converter seems to completely avoid any hint of veiling flare and is ever so slightly cleaner on CA at full aperture. Very useful thing to have.
Benjamin
August 20, 2024 1:58 pm
Hey PL Team! Have you ever encountered frame skipping with the Z 70-200? My new Z8 with Z 70-200 appears to skip frames when taking a photo. So far I’ve isolated it to VR Normal only. VR Sport appears to resolve this isue.
I use BBF and everything appears fine in the EVF and LV until I actually depress the shutter button. The EVF and LV never shows a black screen or turns off – it just “jumps”. I suspect it might be something to do with VR as this is the only lens I can reproduce this for. My other Z lenses (no VR) and F lenses with FTZ ii don’t have this issue in any VR mode. I have no other Z VR lenses to run this test on.
I did find some threads on the internet that may be similar to what I’m seeing but there is no conclusive answer. Search Google for “z8 frame skipping”.
I’ve reached out to Nikon Support and am awaiting their response. I’ve followed you guys for literally forever and as my photography quants – I pose this question on to you!
You’re just seeing the VR recenter after each frame. That’s normal for Normal. If it’s bothering you, switch to Sport. That’s what it’s for: Tracking moving subjects. You won’t notice this as much on stationary shoots, which is more “normal” photography, it seems.
Gabrielius
July 2, 2024 9:52 am
Sveiki , ar nikon z 70-200mm tinkantis renginiams fotografuoti? Ačiū.
PicTricks
December 4, 2023 10:50 am
Hi Nasim, First, thx for all your help and reviews over the years, real inspiration! Looking for advice or opinions! I’m shooting a Z9 with a Z70-200 2.8S. Is it better in terms of IQ to use this camera n DX mode with a 1.4 teleconverter to get approx. 420mm @ f4 or leave the Z9 in FX mode and get the 100-400 f4.5-5.6????? Thx for any help! Happy Holidays! Chet
DX is just cropping. It’s cutting the edges off an FX frame and writing that to the memory card. Use of the 1.4 exposes all of the pixels to a smaller area of the image circle, so it exposes the limits of the lens more readily — but with this lens, there’s a lot there. Go for it.
Randy B
April 18, 2023 10:21 am
Nikon advertised this lens on sale, with a $300 price break. I came here first, to decide if it is worth the price. I basically made my decision when I read the subtitle, “The Sharpest Zoom Lens We’ve Ever Tested, Period.” Now I have to wait two days for my B&H order to arrive, to find out for sure.
Jay
August 28, 2022 11:19 pm
I have a Z 70-200 2.8 that I just bought and the lens seems to be underexposing at F2.8. Is this normal or is this lens defective? At 2.8 the image is noticeably darker, perhaps by a 1/3 to 1/2 of a stop. Stopping down to F4 seems to clear up the problem, and there is consistency in exposure from F4 to F11.
Its because of vignetting at wide open apertures, image looks under exposed
Richard Rosen
April 13, 2022 2:10 pm
Completed my Z trinity, with the purchase of the Z 70-200 f2.8 VR S, today. Actually I have a quartet with the 14-30, 24-70 f2.8S, 70-200 f2.8 VR S, and the 100-400 f4.5-5.6 VR S.
Jon Middleton
December 25, 2021 2:16 pm
Hi Spencer,
I asked a question regarding the Imatest scores of this lens vs the FL version below. Scanning through these comments I see that it’s the second time I asked. The first time was in November, but maybe you didn’t see it as it was buried down the page. Here is the question copied and pasted from my comment below:
Am I to understand that you tested the FL again for this review? The Imatest numbers for the FL are slightly different between your original review and this one. You also said in your original FL review that the first two samples of the lens had “all kinds of problems”. So, if you did retest the FL, was it a good copy? Thank you very much in advance.
I’m tempted to get this amazing lens to go with a Z6III and 24-120, acquired during the generous May rebates.
My 12 year old D600 and 24-85 are finally retired! I’m blown away by how much more capable this new combo is, yet the cost in actual dollars is only a bit more, and with inflation, even less. Fantastic job Nikon!
My ideal all-around telephoto addition would be a close focusing 70-300 S line, with an aperture range of 3.5-4.5, accepting 77mm filters.
Meanwhile, I use my 10 year old 70-200 f4 G on the FTZII. It’s often not long enough, and the optical quality is noticeably less than the 24-120.
Please Nikon, make this lens soon!
Just wondering if Sony had a secret EF Mount. when comparing it to the Nikon Z. 70 to 200 probably just a typo.
I can’t seem to find a sharpness test of the Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 with the 1.4x and 2.0x TCs. You have tested a few of the others with TCs, but of all the compatible Z lenses, this is one in particular I’d like to see plots on.
Someone pointed me in the right direction. Appreciate ya.
For reference, Nikon publishes official MTF charts with the teleconverters attached. Just a little “lift” over the already good TC14E and 70-200 2.8E combo on F mount in that the 1.4x Z converter seems to completely avoid any hint of veiling flare and is ever so slightly cleaner on CA at full aperture. Very useful thing to have.
Hey PL Team! Have you ever encountered frame skipping with the Z 70-200? My new Z8 with Z 70-200 appears to skip frames when taking a photo. So far I’ve isolated it to VR Normal only. VR Sport appears to resolve this isue.
I use BBF and everything appears fine in the EVF and LV until I actually depress the shutter button. The EVF and LV never shows a black screen or turns off – it just “jumps”. I suspect it might be something to do with VR as this is the only lens I can reproduce this for. My other Z lenses (no VR) and F lenses with FTZ ii don’t have this issue in any VR mode. I have no other Z VR lenses to run this test on.
I did find some threads on the internet that may be similar to what I’m seeing but there is no conclusive answer. Search Google for “z8 frame skipping”.
I’ve reached out to Nikon Support and am awaiting their response. I’ve followed you guys for literally forever and as my photography quants – I pose this question on to you!
Thanks in advance!
You’re just seeing the VR recenter after each frame. That’s normal for Normal. If it’s bothering you, switch to Sport. That’s what it’s for: Tracking moving subjects. You won’t notice this as much on stationary shoots, which is more “normal” photography, it seems.
Sveiki , ar nikon z 70-200mm tinkantis renginiams fotografuoti? Ačiū.
Hi Nasim, First, thx for all your help and reviews over the years, real inspiration!
Looking for advice or opinions! I’m shooting a Z9 with a Z70-200 2.8S. Is it better in terms of IQ to use this camera n DX mode with a 1.4 teleconverter to get approx. 420mm @ f4 or leave the Z9 in FX mode and get the 100-400 f4.5-5.6????? Thx for any help! Happy Holidays! Chet
DX is just cropping. It’s cutting the edges off an FX frame and writing that to the memory card. Use of the 1.4 exposes all of the pixels to a smaller area of the image circle, so it exposes the limits of the lens more readily — but with this lens, there’s a lot there. Go for it.
Nikon advertised this lens on sale, with a $300 price break. I came here first, to decide if it is worth the price. I basically made my decision when I read the subtitle, “The Sharpest Zoom Lens We’ve Ever Tested, Period.” Now I have to wait two days for my B&H order to arrive, to find out for sure.
I have a Z 70-200 2.8 that I just bought and the lens seems to be underexposing at F2.8. Is this normal or is this lens defective? At 2.8 the image is noticeably darker, perhaps by a 1/3 to 1/2 of a stop. Stopping down to F4 seems to clear up the problem, and there is consistency in exposure from F4 to F11.
Its because of vignetting at wide open apertures, image looks under exposed
Completed my Z trinity, with the purchase of the Z 70-200 f2.8 VR S, today. Actually I have a quartet with the 14-30, 24-70 f2.8S, 70-200 f2.8 VR S, and the 100-400 f4.5-5.6 VR S.
Hi Spencer,
I asked a question regarding the Imatest scores of this lens vs the FL version below. Scanning through these comments I see that it’s the second time I asked. The first time was in November, but maybe you didn’t see it as it was buried down the page. Here is the question copied and pasted from my comment below:
Am I to understand that you tested the FL again for this review? The Imatest numbers for the FL are slightly different between your original review and this one. You also said in your original FL review that the first two samples of the lens had “all kinds of problems”. So, if you did retest the FL, was it a good copy? Thank you very much in advance.