80-200mm f/2.8 AF-D seeks DSLR

<p>After a long hiatus from shooting, I am looking for a DSLR to replace my old trusty N70. I have a Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-D and a Nikon 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-D. I shoot mostly nature/landscape/wildlife and some portrait/group/events (not sports). I've been looking at the D300s, D700, and D7000 (or possibly wait for the D300s replacement). I'm a bigger guy and have lugged my gear, including tripod, backpacking through the mountains, so weight isn't a huge consideration. I am particularly interested in the trade-offs of a DX body with my FX lenses. Recommendations?</p>

<p>I have the same 80-200 and it has gone from the N90s to the D100 and now the D7000 without a problem. Your lenses should work fine with any of the bodies you mentioned.</p>

<p>With a DX body, your field of view with that lens will seem more like 120-300mm, since every picture you take will be effectively cropped by the smaller sensor. Since you're used to film, the D700 with its full-frame sensor is the most straightforward way to transition to digital (your lenses will still give you the view that you expect), but of course it is more expensive.</p>

<p>I've used the 80-200 with both a D200 and a D700. Great lens! Coming from film (F2 and F4) I found the D700 full frame body to be much better and more familiar than the D200 crop copy.</p>

<p>I've used this lens with D90X (N90S) body many years ago. It was a superb combination. But when I switched to digital (D200, D300, D700), I've noticed problems with image sharpness (with all of my digital bodies). Photos weren't simply not sharp! I've sent it to Nikon service, but they couldn't find/adjust anything. So, I decided to sell the lens and to buy the 70-200/2.8VRII model. Now I have a superb combination again.</p>

<p>Hi. When I changed from an F70 to a D50, I found my 28-105mm nikon too limiting at the wide end. I suspect that might be the case for you too with the 28-80mm. A used 18-70mm would fit the bill on a crop frame sensor such as the D7000. On the D700, you may find that the 28-80 offers image quality that does not make the best of the sensor in that camera.</p>

<p>My gut tells me go for the D7000, not least for its cropability & add either the 18-70mm, or if funds permit, the 17-55mm Nikon. I wouldn't mind betting that the D7000 + 17-55mm would offer better IQ than the D700 + 28-80mm. At the long end, the 80-200mm should be fine with either body.</p>

<p>If you don't print really big then the benefits of FX (D700) will probably be outweighted by the benefits of DX (D7000). You could get a D7000 and 16-85 VR lens for less than the price of the D700, the 80-200 will be awesome on it, and you can give the N70 that old 28-80 to some kid or school or something or sell it.</p>

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<p>But when I switched to digital (D200, D300, D700), I've noticed problems with image sharpness</p>

 

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<p>Nikon's 80-200 AF-D is notorious for back focus issues.<br>

I sent mine back a few times until I finally received a good copy. Great piece of glass.</p>

<p>Mark, <br>

I have the 80-200 af-d lens and if I were you, I would consider getting the D7000 and upgrading the lens to a newer model. I find the 80-200 to be an extremely slow focusing lens due to the non-s screw focus. Also, with your wildlife/nature, you'll find the extra reach of a DX camera helpful. However, you're going to need to pick up another wide lens if you go for the DX camera for your group/event photography. It's all a trade-off. </p>

<p>Jerry</p>

<p>Unless you have a large budget for lenses, I would not buy an FX body such as the D700. In particular, you'll need long telephoto for wildlife.</p>

<p>The D7000 should be a fine choice. However, it is a smaller body, perhaps similar in size as the N70. If you are a big guy, I would find a D7000 and hold that to make sure that you are happy with its size. If that doesn't work for you, consider a D300S or wait till 2011 for its replacement.</p>

<p>Add a 10-24mm type DX lens to cover the wide side, e.g. for landscape.</p>

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<p>I use a Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 auto focus and an N70. Since my 80-200mm has the built-in focusing motor, I have no problems with slow auto focus on my N70 or my digital SLR. However, when I bought the DX dSLR, I ran into the following problems:<br>

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1. The crop factor changed the angle-of-view to the point where I had to replace some lenses. For example, my 35mm f/1.4 was the lens I used most often. I had to switch to the 24mm f/2 to get the same angle-of-view but the 24mm had less lens speed and less image quality.<br>

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2. The crop factor changed the angle-of-view on some lenses that simply could not be replaced. For example, my wide angle 28mm perspective control lens was worthless to me as a normal perspective control lens on the DX body. I would need an 18mm perspective control lens to replace it but such a lens does not exist.<br>

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3. The widest angle lens I used on my N70 was an 18mm. The DX crop factor made my 18mm perform like a 28mm lens. I had to buy a wider wide angle lens just to give me the same coverage on my DX body that I had on my N70 body.<br>

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4. Manually focusing on the N70 was relatively easy. I found it very difficult to accurately focus manually on the DX body. Even with a KatzEye screen, manual focusing the DX was not as easy as the N70. I had to replace many of my manual focus lenses with auto focus lenses.<br>

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When I bought my DX body, the D700 FX body was not yet available. If it had been available, I would have purchased it and avoided all the problems and unnecessary added expenses I had with a DX body.<br>

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By the way, if you had no problem with the user unfriendly interface of the N70, you should have no problems with the digital camera interface.</p>

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<p>Use this lens all the time with D300 with great results. While it crops to effective 120-300 equivalent, I find it it great for reaching far things. I do use it for kids sports mostly, which you've said you do not shoot, so take it with grain of salt, as it were... </p>

<p>Having said that, I do use it for outdoor portraits, assuming that there is enough space to create adequate distance. Sure I can use other lenses but I actually like the look and feel of the image from this lens quite a bit on DX, zoomed in, and from a far. I use other lenses for indoors, clearly :)</p>

<p>I "converted" recently from a F90 to a DSLR and bought the D300s. I too had the 80-200 AF-D lens. Added to my gear a teleconverter and used it to do a couple of thousand pictures during our holidays in Namibia, mainly for wildlife. Large animals, but also many birds, sitting and in flight. No focusing problems at all, even with the 2x teleconverter. Very happy with this setup.</p><div></div>