Nikkor AF-Zoom ED 80-200mm f/2.8

There are 3 versions of this lens. Mine is the first AF (non-D) version. I bought it second-hand without instruction manual. But I believe that the optical construction is the same as the newer D version (AF-Zoom Nikkor ED 80-200mm f/2.8D) and the newest version (AF-Zoom Nikkor ED 80-200mm f/2.8D N, with tripod collar). Here are some specifications I gathered:

Construction: 16 elements in 11 groups;
Contains some ED glasses;
Filter thread is 77mm (the first Nikon lens that introduced the 77mm filter size);
F stops range from f/2.8 to f/22;
Marked focal lengths: 80mm, 105mm, 135mm and 200mm;
Minimum focusing distance: ~1.5m (1.8m in normal focusing, about 1.5 when continuously focused into "micro" range);
Has M-A switch;
Has focusing limiter for 3 ranges: 3m to micro; 3m to infinity, and 5m to infinity;
Length: about 7 in., and grows another 0.5 in. when focused;
Weight: 46 oz!

There are several minor differences between this version and later versions: it has rotating front element when zoomed or focused; and it takes screw-in type lens hood (HN-28). I can't find the matching lens hood for it. Instead, I picked up a Mamiya RB67/RZ67 rubber lens hood for its 127-250 lens, and found it to be a perfect fit, just a bit heavy.

Every owner of various versions of this lens says this is a fabulous lens. That pretty much says all. This is also one of my favorite lenses. That's the reason I've hesitated to write this review. But ... here we go:

It is a mechanically solid, optically fabulous lens. In many aspects, the image quality is comparable to many prime lenses. It's a sensation to have this lens on, but a friend of mine said it's ugly. :-) I like its push-pull zooming, and its manual focusing feels really great. Hope I've said enough about the good side.

General characteristics: At 80mm, it is soft when wide open. The sharpness improves as being stopped down, but no significant improvement for corner sharpness throughout apertures. Center sharpness improves when zoom out. At medium focal length, the corner sharpness also improves when stopping down, but, barely noticeably, deteriorate after passing f/16. At 200mm, center is slightly shaper then corners at wide aperture and even out when stopped down. Worst situation is the short end at wide open.

Now the negative side: it is a nightmare for auto focusing. Furthermore, I'd like to "pick" on some of its optical imperfections: [note my emphasis :-)]

The lens has slight light fall-off at wide apertures. It diminishes after f/5.6. From slides, I'd guess the worst case of light fall-off is no more than 1/3 stop, at the 200mm end. But, in most cases, the light fall-off is not obvious.
The lens has slight "pin-cushion" type liner distortion throughout its focal range. The worst is at the 200mm end.
The "brick wall" example at right shows both the light fall-off and the linear distortion of the lens. The image is a full-frame scan of the picture taken at f/2.8 and focal length of 125mm. Note that the thick trim (actually the roof of the original building before one more floor was added) near the top is bent downward in the center. Also note, it happens that this trim has dark coloring at the edges in the picture, so look at the lower corners for a more precise sense of the light fall-off. (Sorry that the picture is not perfectly horizontal. I think I need to get a grid screen later :-))
Almost every owner is also tempted to ask: will it work with teleconverters, especially 2x TC? For 2x TC, I've only bad news. Check out my testing of Nikon TC-200 (a 2x TC) with this lens for more details. The conclusion of the test: not quite good. The following is an example of how it really looks like when used with TC-200.

The first image of a full-frame scan of the picture taken with this lens + TC-200 at 200mm marked f/5.6 (so an effective 400mm f/11). The second is the enlarged center portion (third row down from the trim, at the edge of the window), scanned at 2700dpi. The third is an enlarged portion at the left edge (same row, the vertical gap is between the first and the second bricks from the left edge of the picture), also scanned at 2700dpi. The overall contrast of the image is low. The sharpness at the center is OK, but at the edge, there is almost no detail in the vertical gaps between bricks!
Besides, even if the quality is acceptable (for example, only 4"x6" prints), it is not easy to use at all, since with the TC, the heavy part of the lens gets farther away from the camera.
Also in the above mentioned testing, I shot a "brick wall" using this lens at f/5.6 and f/11 at focal length 125mm. It appears that at f/11, the sharpness has started to deteriorate. So, probably, the optimum apertures of this lens are f/5.6 and f/8.
It is a slightly vari-focal: zoom to the maximum focal length, focus on a subject, then zoom back to shorter focal lengths, the focusing has changed a little bit.
It forms out-of-focus image (bokeh) in the "double-image" type (or "cross- eye" type): not a pretty one, especially if used for portraits. The linked photo page is an example.

Many people are concerned about the lack of tripod collar in the lens. Their concern is that the lens could damage the camera's lens mount. My guts' feeling is that the camera's lens mount carries the weight quite well for all Nikon camera I've put it on (N90s, N6006 and FM). My concern is the tripod socket of the camera. But someone comforted me that the even the nightmare happens, it is quite easy to have the camera's tripod socket replaced. I've used the lens on tripod (a small one: Bogen 3001 with 3030 head) at various shutter speeds, and the camera shake has not been a problem so far.

Do we really need a tripod collar for the lens? Let's see: use of the lens with TC-200/201 is probably out of question; use with TC-14B only gets to 280mm and probably shorter, a tripod support could help but not a must. I've heard that it is still fabulous with TC-14B. BUT, TC-14B is darn expensive! At its price, I could buy a used Nikkor-ED 300/4.5.... I started to see why Nikon insisted not to have the tripod socket on the lens.... Yeah, we won, and Nikon bulged :-)

My conclusion: A fabulous lens as everyone says; but, still, it is a zoom. Also, big and heavy. Forget about teleconverters unless you already have TC-14B which is bought not solely for this lens. I'd really like to see Nikon improves this lens to work well with TCs, but I don't think it's gonna happen.

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Last updated: July 18, 1997.