Long tele question

lindsaya99 · Jan 27, 2012

I have been saving my nickels and dimes so I can get a big telephoto lens for my Nikon D80 and N90s. My budget is five to six hundred and I have narrowed my choices to the following. Tokina 80-200 f2.8, Tokina 100-300 f4, or an older push-pull Nikon 80-200 f2.8 D. I want to use it for action and wildlife photography. Each one seems to have advantages and disadvantages but they seem to be about the best choices for my budget. The Tokinas seem to have generally good reviews. I have read the 80-200 2.8 is a little soft at f2.8. If that is indeed the case then I might lean towards the 100-300 f4. On my DX body that should give me lots of reach to capture those lions, tigers, and bears. The Nikon lens should be very sharper wide open but the lack of a tripod mount concerns me. If any of you guys has any advise or input I would appreciate it. Thanks.
Charlie

Tiberius47 · Jan 27, 2012

If the 80-200 f2.8 being soft at 2.8 is the only reason yrou are thinking about not getting it, then I wouldn't worry. Most lenses are sharpest a stop or two back from their widest exposure. If you use it at f4 or 5.6 you should get some nice sharp images.

djacobox372 · Jan 27, 2012

Tiberius47 said:
If the 80-200 f2.8 being soft at 2.8 is the only reason yrou are thinking about not getting it, then I wouldn't worry. Most lenses are sharpest a stop or two back from their widest exposure. If you use it at f4 or 5.6 you should get some nice sharp images.

The nikon 80-200mm is sharp wide open, the only problem with the push-pull version is focus speed. So it depends on what you want to sacrifice, speed or IQ. The two-ring version focuses reasonably fast, and you might be able to find one for $600 if you watch ebay closely. The single ring version sells for as little as $400.

Derrel · Jan 27, 2012

The push-pull, one-ring 80-200 Nikkors weigh about 15 ounces less than the later, heaviest model...I owned two push-pull, first-generation models...they were not as good wide-open as the later lenses...focusing speed is "adequate" on a pro Nikon like a D1 or D1h...I got rid of them before any newer cameras came out, back in 2001 and then 2003. I would liken the quality of these 20-year-old Nikkors to about the quality of the newer Sigma 70-200 2.8 when shot wide-open, based on reviews of the Sigmas I have seen...not quite up to snuff wide-open, but MUCH better at f/4

The older push-pull, one-ring 80-200's were designed as hand-held lenses...to be shot HAND-held...and so there's no tripod collar on the lens. THere ARE however, some "sled-style" aftermarket tripod collar devices that cradle the lens, and put a tripod collar underneath the lens, on the collar device itself.

I would honestly look for something that has AF-S focusing (Nikon), or HSM focusing (Sigma), or BIM (Tamron), and if Tokina has a lens with a built-in-focusing motor in the LENS, then consider that.