Does anyone own the Canon or Nikon 200m f/2?

[Neil S.]

I think these are both mighty sexy lenses.

If anyone here owns them, please give us your impressions and maybe some sample pics.

Derrel, I am guessing you might own the Nikon 200mm f/2?

Anyone that has knowledge or experience with these lenses, please share it! :mrgreen:

 

[Derrel]

Yes, I have the 200/2 Nikkor AFS-VR G. It's a beast to hand-hold. The balance is very front-heavy on anything lighter than D1h or a D2 or D3 series body. It shoots best on a monopod, since it's as heavy as a 300/2.8, but much more front-heavy. Its focusing speed is exceptionally fast on the D2x,and is noticeably sharper and better in contrast than the 70-200/2.8 VR at f/2.8. The lens is almost perfect wide-open, and at f/2.2, it's superb. It creates rounded out of focus circles, and is almost totally free of chromatic aberrations. it has some of the creamiest, most ethereal background bokeh of any lens I've ever seen, and the way the focus transitions from the foreground OOF band to the depth of field band is amazing. Same with the way the lens transitions from the DOF band to the rear, defocused zone; this lens was designed with superior bokeh in mind.
With the TC-14e-II it becomes a passable 280mm f/2.8 with VR and speedy AF. This lens is the best AF Nikkor I own for sports shooting in dimmer or low-contrast lighting, like in February and March, when even afternoon light is low,and can be very gray and overcast. It shoots beautiful portraits, although it is very heavy and high-profile.

The lens testing people here have a good summary page. As you can see, this lens has almost no field-relevant chromatic aberration,either lateral, or longitudinal.
Nikkor AF-S 200mm f/2 G ED VR (FX) - Review / Test Report - Analysis

I have some shots done with the 200/2 here Caitlin's Senior Portraits-Proofs Photo Gallery by Derrel at pbase.com
minilights gallery 2 Photo Gallery by Derrel at pbase.com
Casual Family Portraits with the 200 VR Photo Gallery by Derrel at pbase.com

as well as many not online shots from my published high school sports portfolio, mostly track and field, where the 200/2 is a superb lens.

 

[Neil S.]

Yes, I have the 200/2 Nikkor AFS-VR G. It's a beast to hand-hold. The balance is very front-heavy on anything lighter than D1h or a D2 or D3 series body. It shoots best on a monopod, since it's as heavy as a 300/2.8, but much more front-heavy. Its focusing speed is exceptionally fast on the D2x,and is noticeably sharper and better in contrast than the 70-200/2.8 VR at f/2.8. The lens is almost perfect wide-open, and at f/2.2, it's superb. It creates rounded out of focus circles, and is almost totally free of chromatic aberrations. it has some of the creamiest, most ethereal background bokeh of any lens I've ever seen, and the way the focus transitions from the foreground OOF band to the depth of field band is amazing. Same with the way the lens transitions from the DOF band to the rear, defocused zone; this lens was designed with superior bokeh in mind.
With the TC-14e-II it becomes a passable 280mm f/2.8 with VR and speedy AF. This lens is the best AF Nikkor I own for sports shooting in dimmer or low-contrast lighting, like in February and March, when even afternoon light is low,and can be very gray and overcast. It shoots beautiful portraits, although it is very heavy and high-profile.

The lens testing people here have a good summary page. As you can see, this lens has almost no field-relevant chromatic aberration,either lateral, or longitudinal.
Nikkor AF-S 200mm f/2 G ED VR (FX) - Review / Test Report - Analysis

I have some shots done with the 200/2 here Caitlin's Senior Portraits-Proofs Photo Gallery by Derrel at pbase.com
minilights gallery 2 Photo Gallery by Derrel at pbase.com
Casual Family Portraits with the 200 VR Photo Gallery by Derrel at pbase.com

as well as many not online shots from my published high school sports portfolio, mostly track and field, where the 200/2 is a superb lens.

I already knew it was one of the finest lenses in existence...just wanted to hear it from you man. :thumbup: Thanks by the way.

I want the Canon 200mm f/2 so bad...omg.

I got to have $5300 lying around here somewhere.....

 

[Derrel]

I have seen the "new" Canon 200/2 lens...it too has beautiful bokeh and superb build quality...there are some folks on pBase who have some incredible shots done with the Canon 200/2...lenses in this class are really,really well-corrected and are designed for the most demanding uses,so focusing speed is high, build is super-rugged,and in the case of the Nikkor 200, the lens is designed so that it pairs very well with the "newest" Nikon teleconverters, like the very new 2009-introduced new TC20-E-III Aspherical, as well as the TC14-e-II and TC-17e.

The Canon 200mm f/2 is a super-sweet lens in terms of the kind of visual "impression" it imprints on its images; if you look around for samples galleries in Flickr or pBase or some of the Japanese web sites, you can see that Canon's new 200/2 is an, "I want it bad" kinda' lens as well!

 

[Neil S.]

I have seen the "new" Canon 200/2 lens...it too has beautiful bokeh and superb build quality...there are some folks on pBase who have some incredible shots done with the Canon 200/2...lenses in this class are really,really well-corrected and are designed for the most demanding uses,so focusing speed is high, build is super-rugged,and in the case of the Nikkor 200, the lens is designed so that it pairs very well with the "newest" Nikon teleconverters, like the very new 2009-introduced new TC20-E-III Aspherical, as well as the TC14-e-II and TC-17e.

The Canon 200mm f/2 is a super-sweet lens in terms of the kind of visual "impression" it imprints on its images; if you look around for samples galleries in Flickr or pBase or some of the Japanese web sites, you can see that Canon's new 200/2 is an, "I want it bad" kinda' lens as well!

Ya the sample pic for the 200mm f/2 in Canon's Lens Work III book is simply stunning. The bokeh is unreal, and the sharpness is off the charts.

It is most definitely a better portrait lens than my 85 1.2. The focal length is probably not as useful on the 7D though.

If I came into some money, this is the 1st thing I would buy. You can take that to the bank! :thumbup: