70-200AF-SVRII +TCIII the successor of 80-400VR?

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70-200AF-SVRII +TCIII the successor of 80-400VR?

Post by Stany Buyle »

I used to be a very enthusiast fan of the 80-400 VR. Although not very fast focusing it was (and still is) a great lens for ocassional wildlife photography and many other applications. Some members and myself posted many series of pictures taken with this lens. You can see them here, here, here and here...
The advantages of this lens against primes and much more heavy wildlife lenses like the 200-400 are compactness, portability(weight) and the versatility(focal reach).

For a quite long time though, many owners of the 80-400VR were waiting for a faster autofocusing, sharper successor of this lens. Until now, many people including myself, were speculating about a 80-400VR successor. After the very early tryouts results from Dr. Dusslierand myself, I start to doubt now if there is any need for that update after the release of the TCIII. @ least for users of nikon bodies with powerfull AF mechanisms like D3series, D700 and D300... The only "advantages" a possible 80-400 or 100-500 telezoom would still have over the magic combo would be weight, compactness and instant focal range...

So TMHO, together with the AF-SVRII and the TCIII, the 80-400VR successor has just been released by nikon: The 70-200 AF-S VRII-TCIII combo. Let me call it the "nikkor magic combo" I think, but didn't test this because I don't have my 70-200 VRI anymore, that the 70-200VRI with TCIII is also "better" than the 80-400 about sharpness, AF speed and VR.

Some people might still dream about a new nikon super zoom te be released which is compatible with this TCIII 2x converter. The loss of 2 stops light would make this combination unuseable though as the F5.6 in the end would turn out to be F11... In another article on this forum I added the link to an interesting article about "F-numbers explained". A 100-500F4 would be a +10 kg monster, so no option neither, not for handholding, not for carrying around.

Here is my comparison between the 80-400VR and the "nikkor magic combo":

Advantages for the 80-400VR:
-instant focal reach of 80-400mm
-weight and compactness.

Advantages for the "nikkor magic combo":
-improved sharpness
-F2.8 from 70 until 200mm
-Extended focal reach from 70 to 400mm
-Very significant improved AF speed
-improved VR

Thanks for your attention, comments and thoughts are welcome.

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kindest regards,

Stany
I like better one good shot in a day than 10 bad ones in a second...
http://www.fotografie.cafe
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Stany Buyle
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This topic has been moved to...

Post by Stany Buyle »

This topic has been moved to :arrow: : http://www.fotografie.fr/fotoforum/view ... sd=a#p2069
Reason is to collect all info and opinions on this subject in one topic.
kindest regards,

Stany
I like better one good shot in a day than 10 bad ones in a second...
http://www.fotografie.cafe
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