steve.manzon

<p>Thank you all for great responses and I appreciate the image sampler. 80-200 is also a great lens although lack of VR is a biggy for me since I rarely get a chance to use my tripod. I shoot on D300 so I'm pretty sure it is compatible. Thanks again enjoy decent weather finally in northeast!</p>

<p>Hi,<br>

I'm just looking to get some general input from users of this lens. From all reviews it seems decent. maybe not 300mm zoom but certainly usable. I shoot on DX and i can't justify spending 2300 on 2.8 70-200 (though i would if i had the cash)! I use mostly my 16-85; 55-200 does not do it for me :0; more to the point, I probably will not do alot of low light shooting. Mostly I'd use it during day for some landscapes, zoo animals, flowers and maybe some day sports. So the questions i have are is the lens<br>

1) relatively sharp at large focal length<br>

2) is autofocus fast enough to keep with kids, animals, birds, i.e well moving subjects<br>

3) how is the contrast and color rendition</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for your help!</p>

<p>I went through quiet a few lenses and although 17-55 f 2.8 nikon is an excellent lens. I did not find it as useful as 16-85 vr as a walk-around lens. With d-300 and vr you can achieve very good low light shots at iso's of 1600 and even 2,000..some minor noise reduction may need be applied. I don't share enthusiasm about tamron as it the iq varies widely and once again i like a little more focal range. As far as overlap on the low and high end i think it is great because sometimes you may want to avoide switching jsut for a couple of extra millimeters ( i have 12-24 as well) I'll try to upload some of the images i took with 16-85 at the very low light and with slow shutter speeds hand held. Everyones needs different but just my 2 cents in favor of 16-85( whcih is better than 18-200 in my opinion)</p><div></div>

Hello,

 

just to clarify on the sensor issue, 40D uses the new Digic III. 40D is a great camera, but for vast majority of photography outthere you won't notice difference in picture quality if you are using good lenses. I would recommend F2.8 17-55 lens and 70-200 f4l IS to go along with guidelines that you proposed in your question. It is pricy but the zoom lenses are not very forgiving without the IS and the L quality is truly amazing.

 

I have an XTi and for my amateur needs i don't have a good reason to upgrade for a couple of years as i'm not shooting motor car races. Instead i was adviced to invest in some quality glass.

 

I hope any of this helps. Best of Luck