I’ll start with the pros and cons before I get into the details.
Pros
- Very fast
- Amazing Stability with Vibration Reduction
- Tough build quality
- Silent focusing
- Smooth focusing ring
Cons
- Weight. When attached to my D300 it is not something I can wear around my neck for long
- Expensive (ish). But when you consider the range it could be worse
Physical Use
The lens is quite big and heavy but not cumbersome. I have read of some people not being able to use it for long but I can shoot for several hours without any discomfort. I personally like it’s imposing presence, it let’s my subjects know (usually musicians) that I am going to be taking great shots of them. The weight does not bother me; I am right handed so with my left I support the lens in the palm of my hands and tuck in my elbow into my chest for stabilization. It’s not possible to always do this, especially at the speed I shoot. The weight will eventually tire me so I simply lower the camera and lens, look at my subject away from the eyepiece then recompose my shot through the lens; this really helps to me to discipline myself into literally searching for great compositions in framing so you could say the weight is making me a better photographer.
Performance
I’ll keep the superlatives to a minimum and attempt to describe real world use.
- indoors with room lights - this is where the lens is really tested; in no other condition are the available lights dimmed to create mood, so with such poor light the lens has to provide great stability, speed and fast focusing. Whilst shooting an anniversary party the lens opened up many options to me; although it has a narrow angle it really comes into it’s own when you want to shoot but don’t want to disturb the party. It is excellent when you want to capture those candid moments without people intimidated by a camera, I can shoot from an unobtrusive distance because the F2.8 lets in so much light. Very good if you like those depth of field effects to really make your subject ‘pop’ out.
- indoors with stage lights - Stage lights are usually powerful, so I have no problems using this lens. If I were really picky, I would say sometimes it struggles to focus because the stage lights are constantly moving; so I lock onto my subject as best I can then switch to focus lock or manual focus.
- outside with stage lights at gigs - The same as indoors with stage lights, except that if I’m shooting during daylight I don’t struggle with focusing. During night shoots when the only illumination are the stage lights then it is just amazing as the colours really pop out to stunning effect.
- outside with natural light - This is one of the few times I wouldn’t choose to use this lens because there is alot of available light that I bring out the trusty 18-200mm VR which gives me more focal range; also I wouldn’t use the F2.8 to full advantage plus the weight is something that doesn’t make it practical (hiking, journalistic shoots) unless I’m stationary much of the time (specific location shoots)
VR - Vibration Reduction
I just want to make a specific point about Nikon’s VR image stabilization system. It goes without saying that it does help to keep your photos sharper, but is no replacement for a strong tripod. I would say it allows me to shoot a few shuttle speeds lower with it activated but no more than that.
Conclusion
In a gig situation and indoor envinroment, the 70-200mm AF-S VR lens would be the first lens I pack without a doubt, but if you were to be on the move alot and shooting landscapes (which I rarely do) then I wouldn’t bother taking it with me and opt for the 18-200mm instead.
