Nikon 200mm f2

Carden

Hello, I currently have a Nikon 80-200 f/2.8 D ED/IF I use for football on my D300. I am about to begin a new season and am considering a 200mm f/2.
Any opinions/experiences or suggestions? I am finding them $4300 and up.
Thanks,
Carden

DsrtVW

It is super fast focus and super sharp. AS long as you do not need the zoom capable lens it is one of the best. I use a 1.7 Teleconverter on mine for wildlife shooting which makes it a 495 equivalent at f3.3. Found mine used on the Dgrin Flea Market and never regretted the purchase.
Here is a link to a post about it on Nikoncafe it is been going on for sometime but it shows what the lens can do and peoples opinion of it.
http://www.nikoncafe.com/vforums/showthread.php?t=61674&highlight=200mm+f2

rookieshooter

is 200mm enough coverage? I would think for football something at 300 to 400 would be more suitable.

ziggy53

For night (American) football and other night action sports, and for indoor sports, there is nothing better in the Nikon world. It doesn't replace the 80-200mm/70-200mm f2.8 zooms, but it is a nice luxury especially if you have a second body.

A more common setup is the 70-200mm, f2.8 on one body and a Nikkor 300mm, f/2.8G AF-S IF-ED VR (or the older Nikkor 300mm, f/2.8D AF-S ED-IF II on another.

Take a look at the comments on SportsShooter, regarding the 200mm, f2:

http://www.sportsshooter.com/gear_profile.html?id=143

... and the Nikkor 300mm, f2.8D:

http://www.sportsshooter.com/gear_profile.html?id=44

Carden

f2 would give me my nights

rookieshooter wrote:

is 200mm enough coverage? I would think for football something at 300 to 400 would be more suitable.

f2 would make my night games so much sharper and shutter speed friendly. Does f2 to f2.8 make a difference with a night of dome game? Rhetorical question, i know. A stop is a stop, period. A 1.4X during the day would make a nice combo.

As I said in another forum... but does anyone have 5K burning a hole in their pocket?

Thanks

ansel4

I just saw something amazing. Adorama has the Canon EF 200mm f/2 lens for $5,300 and the Nikkor 200mm f/2 is "only" $5,099. Yes that's right folks. A Nikkor long lens is actually cheaper than the Canon equivalent! I was shocked so I thought I'd share.