Nikkor 70-200mm F2.8E FL ED VR AFS – Thoughts

I am so behind on photography news at the moment as I have been back-to-back with work, but I did hear about this announcement last week through various YouTubers that I follow.

The announcement was for the new Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8, (Full model number/name: Nikkor 70-200mm F2.8E FL ED VR) and I’ve now had a few days to process my thoughts a little and so far… a little underwhelmed…

I have to preface this blog post incase you haven’t been following my work and reveal that over the past 1.5yrs I have been shooting Sony Mirrorless and my camera of choice these days for my personal photography is the Sony A7R II. I only ever lift up the Nikon when I am going to work…

So that being said, will I be investing in the new Nikkor 70-200mm F2.8E FL ED VR?

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Short answer… No…

From a business standpoint, I have to look at the ROI (Return On Investment) and there is no real return here. The Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII is plenty sharp! I’ve had no issues with using it these past few years. I’ve read about the focus breathing issues, but it hasn’t really affected me as the focus breathing issue only occurs when you’re close focussing. It can still reach quite far out if you’re trying to reach a far off subject.

I did notice when I briefly used the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens that it held the 200mm focal length much better. Filling the frame when close focusing. However again, from a business standpoint, it’s not going to benefit me much. That’s not to say there won’t be a benefit, but I do not believe the new lens will draw in more clients or improve the quality of my work drastically. It will just give me the option to fill the frame tighter at times when a subject is close to me.

For a little more information and examples of focus breathing, check out Tony Northrup’s video comparing a few lenses for portraiture.

Skip to 5min to see examples and comparisons. 

Now I must re-iterate, there is not much ROI for me personally as I am a part-time events photographer. So the cost of upgrading to this lens will be £2650GBP. I personally had purchased my Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII for £1350 5yrs ago. I did receive a discount from a friend, however full price back then was £1600 if I remember correctly.

The new one is priced extremely high!

Now Matt Granger did make a very valid point and that the price has gone up with inflation, check out his video to learn more.

However, with the recent events of Brexit, the GBP £ is very weak at the moment so further investments for me will have to be heavily considered and as before, it’s just not for me at this stage.

In addition, as mentioned at the beginning, I am slowly moving over to Sony.

I much prefer using Sony for my Portraiture, Landscape, and casual shoots and for the handful of events that I do cover, it’s not worth holding onto two camera systems.

So I am intending on swapping over fully to Sony and will be purchasing the Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM lens at some point next year (or year after).

It just depends on how it works out with the newer Sony Camera bodies and whether they will finally introduce a back-up memory card slot!

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