After all the problems I've had trying to get Nikon to repair my 300mm f/4 PF, I decided to look at other telephoto options. So @3 weeks ago I did a 3-day rental of the Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6 VR through Allen's Camera.. Unfortunately it was just too heavy for me to hand hold (tennis elbow and trigger finger/thumb) which made me return it within 90 minutes. Absolutely nothing was in focus (which was due to me not being able to hold its weight). :sorrow:
So I decided to look at additional options and eventually saw specs for the Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G VR. Allen's had two preowned copies in stock as well as the first version which is the 'D' model. The 'D' model was too slow to AF. It also wasn't quite as sharp as I wanted. So I moved on to the 'G' version.
The newer version had some heft to it but was manageable (just a little heavier than my 300mm f/4D lens). The VR wasn't as quick to respond as I'd hoped, and since I'm having this current VR issue with my 300mm PF, I wouldn't take a chance on it. The second copy of this lens was set aside for another customer who called and asked that it be put on hold. They allowed me to test it out just to see if I liked the lens overall. That one worked flawlessly. But since it was already spoken for (came with a box), I searched online for other preowned copies.
B&H had a preowned one in stock, but the price was way up there.
In the past when I tried two different lenses from keh, both were returned due to issues (and both were listed to be in the 90%+ rating). Keh had two of the 80-400mmG lenses in stock. One was rated a bargain (70-79% of original), the other excellent (80-89%) that included a Kirk tripod collar/foot. I opted for that one.
It arrived this afternoon between storms. While the conditions weren't perfect, I really did want to test it out.
This is one of the memorial benches - minimal editing. The lens was quick to respond, and the VR works flawlessly (at least so far).
Here is another memorial bench - also minimal editing. Since the background leaves are so much out of focus, the image reminds me of a Monet painting. So I opted for a light-colored vignette instead of a dark one.
And this image was a true test - lens zoomed out all the way at f/5.6. Usually that is a weak spot for zooms as they tend to get sharper stopped down. This is a sooc jpeg only resized for the forum. Since resizing tends to make images more crisp, I lowered Clarity by -15 to compensate. The lens is definitely impressive although there will be additional testing. Its AF responds faster than my 300mm PF so that is a plus! :encouragement:
