Upgrading Gear: Nikon D7000 or Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 @ ring

[SquarePeg]

Just got an email from B&H and they have dropped the price on a new D7000 w/ 18-105 VR to $996 (Mother's Day sale through 6/1). That is about $200 cheaper than 2 weeks ago when I was considering a D7000. The price for the body only has not changed. OP it doesn't appear that you need the lens so probably not a great deal for you but for others who may be considering the D7000 w/ 18-105 and reading this thread...

 

[fjrabon]

the push pull 80-200 is a disaster to try to focus with the D7000 for anything that's moving (ie most things you're using a 80-200 f/2.8 for). The torque on the D7000's focus motor just isn't enough to to keep up with that lens.

 

[gryffinwings]

The latest 80-200mm afd model is what I'm looking at. Sports isn't my intention, my intent is subject isolation with the f2.8 aperture.

I don't get why you guys say it's slow on the D7000. I was watching this same combo on YouTube and it seems plenty fast. The push and pull version is very slow to me though.

I'm aware of the new prices, but don't need the lens, so why buy new when I can get a refurb body for $744 at adorama.

 

[Mach0]

The latest 80-200mm afd model is what I'm looking at. Sports isn't my intention, my intent is subject isolation with the f2.8 aperture.

I don't get why you guys say it's slow on the D7000. I was watching this same combo on YouTube and it seems plenty fast. The push and pull version is very slow to me though.

I'm aware of the new prices, but don't need the lens, so why buy new when I can get a refurb body for $744 at adorama.

The focus motor isn't as fast on the d7000 as some of the higher end bodies. I don't have the 80-200 but I can say the 35-70 is slower on my d90 but on the d700 is much faster and has a snappy torque feeling.

 

[fjrabon]

The latest 80-200mm afd model is what I'm looking at. Sports isn't my intention, my intent is subject isolation with the f2.8 aperture.

I don't get why you guys say it's slow on the D7000. I was watching this same combo on YouTube and it seems plenty fast. The push and pull version is very slow to me though.

I'm aware of the new prices, but don't need the lens, so why buy new when I can get a refurb body for $744 at adorama.

The 2-ring 80-200 should be fine for you. The only time I have a problem with the 2-ring on my D7000 is when I wan to quickly make large focusing changes. It typically works plenty fast enough to follow focus on high school athletes. But if I want to change from the QB to the WR, it can struggle at times with the D7000. But it doesn't seem like focusing speed is a critical issue for you. If it's not, and VR isn't an issue either, I actually prefer the 80-200 to the 70-200. The focus breathing on the 70-200 has driven me nuts the few times I've used them (though perhaps that would go away as I got used to it).

 

[Mach0]

The 2-ring 80-200 should be fine for you. The only time I have a problem with the 2-ring on my D7000 is when I wan to quickly make large focusing changes. It typically works plenty fast enough to follow focus on high school athletes. But if I want to change from the QB to the WR, it can struggle at times with the D7000. But it doesn't seem like focusing speed is a critical issue for you. If it's not, and VR isn't an issue either, I actually prefer the 80-200 to the 70-200. The focus breathing on the 70-200 has driven me nuts the few times I've used them (though perhaps that would go away as I got used to it).

I've never used the 80-200 but the 70-200 paired with the multicam fx3500 AF 3d tracking works awesome. Just saying.

 

[fjrabon]

The 2-ring 80-200 should be fine for you. The only time I have a problem with the 2-ring on my D7000 is when I wan to quickly make large focusing changes. It typically works plenty fast enough to follow focus on high school athletes. But if I want to change from the QB to the WR, it can struggle at times with the D7000. But it doesn't seem like focusing speed is a critical issue for you. If it's not, and VR isn't an issue either, I actually prefer the 80-200 to the 70-200. The focus breathing on the 70-200 has driven me nuts the few times I've used them (though perhaps that would go away as I got used to it).

I've never used the 80-200 but the 70-200 paired with the multicam fx3500 AF 3d tracking works awesome. Just saying.

If the 70-200 was built like the 80-200, didn't have the focus breathing issues and wasn't so much more expensive, I'd have already switched.

As is, I constantly change my mind about 'upgrading' to the 70-200. Much faster focus and VR (which I don't use very much in a 70-200 f/2.8 personally) v. build I like better (don't want to get into a 'is the build quality better debate), no focus breathing. My policy is to never make an upgrade unless I'm convinced it's worth it for 2 months (this is a luxury I have, since I do most of my paid shooting on company gear, and don't 'need' the most up to date personal gear). I've never made it two months without changing my mind on the 70-200 being worth the upgrade cost for me.

 

[Derrel]

I went from an 80-200/2.8 one-ring zoom, the "early" model, to the 70-200 VR, the first-generation model, on the Nikon D1 and D1h pair along with a Fuji S2 Pro. The difference in the speed and reliability of the AF-S lens versus the screwdriver focusing lens, on those older camera bodies, was like night and day. The AF-s protocol is very different from screw-drive AF; AF-S can take an initial focusing reading, and using all that amazing data, color-aware and distance aware metering information, can drive the lens to the exact focus point in one,discrete operation; screw-drive does not work the same way...there is often some see-sawing, as well as occasional utter lock-to-lock screw-ups...

The pro Nikons like D1-D2-D3, seem to indeed have more "oomph!" in terms of handling screw-drive lenses; the old 80-200 one-ring is a massive lens that moves a LOT of glass and metal to focus...the new AF-S 70-200 models, and the old 80200 AF-S are all internal focusing, maintain their length, and do not rack-in and rack-out a big, herkin' metal barrel + elements when focusing; instead, they move very small,lightweight internal element groups, using high-quality,almost silent ultrasonic motors.

All-in-all, AF-S focusing tele-zooms are simply better performers. And this seems doubly so on the "consumer" type cameras that have the 7-volt and not the 11-volt electrical systems. At least this is my experience; there is a lot of variability in the word "focusing"--it can mean one thing to one guy, and another to another type of shooter.