Worth upgrading from Tamron 70-300 4-5.6 to Nikkor 80-200 F2.8D?

Hello everyone,

I currently own a tamron 70-300 4-5.6 DI VC lense and use it on D7000.
It hasn't been long since I bought this lense and I must say it's focusing and VC is very good. But I am not happy with the low light results. I don't use tripods and the lense is not usable at early morning or sunset times specially when its cloudy and there isn't much light.
After reading and researching for a while, I came across Nikkor 80-200 F2.8D ED lense. Since D7000 has a built in focus motor, this lense is usable for me and I can get a second hand lense for around 500 AUD. If I sell my current tamron lense, I should be able to get this Nikkor by putting a little extra money.

Now my question is that, Is it really worth upgrading to this Nikkor? I know that the focus will be a little slower than Tamron since its a screw driver type and it will be noisier but I think I can live with that.

Also I would like to mention that I cannot afford the newer 70-200 lenses and this second hand nikkor is the only option which is in my budget. Please share your views and also If you have any other option which I can go for but haven't thought about, Kindly share.

My Other lenses are Nikkor 18-105 and 50mm 1.8D.

Another user here just picked up the older Tamron (non-VC) 70-200 2.8 and is getting good results. Even the new price on them is very reasonable. Might want to look into that one also.

I used the 80-200 on my 7000 for 2 years before upgrading to the 70-200 VRII. I also have the Nikon 70-300, which might be similar to your Tamron. While a 70-300 gives a bit more range, it requires more light. I think you'll like the 80-200. It's not that slow.

Thank you for quick responses.
@Rick M, I will check out the Tamron one as well. Does anybody has experience with both the lenses?

@singlerosa, I hardly use the 300 range. Not sure if I am gonna miss this range . But since the nikkor is a non VR lense and Tamron is a VC one, I am not sure how will the nikkor perform handheld. Can anybody tell what is the minimum shutter speed till which they were able to get clear shots on nikkor?

I think the minimum handheld shutter speed varies from person to person. Big arm/hand vs small, camera body weight with our without grip, etc...

Shooting in quiet or mirror up mode may help.

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Worst case, 1/320 sec @ 200 mm if you're pixel peeping. Formula is 1 over the focal length times 1.5 (cropped sensor of D7000). If you shooting to post online or for a 4x6, you can shoot faster. I have many shots of static objects with my 80-200 at less than 1/200 sec that turned out fine.

My opinion is that VC-VR-IS is such a nice thing to have that I think you should wait until you have the money to buy the right lens and only buy once. The Nikon 80-200 is a great lens, but once you have it you'll already be wondering if you shouldn't have gotten the VR version, and eventually you will. So, unless you really absolutely need the lens right now and you are aware that you will eventually want to replace it, you might want to save a little or a lot more and get the right lens from the start.

​Opinions will vary.

I have the 80-200mm ED F2.8...I use it to shoot surfing, car racing and bike motox...I use a tripod under it as some times I shoot for several hours

Some people say it's slow but I haven't missed to many shots with it...Sigma make a 70-200mm F2.8 that is worth a look at...

Thank you all for taking time to respond.
After searching for a while on ebay, I realized that I can only get an older push-pull version of this nikkor under 500$. Newer versions are selling around 800$ and above.
Guess, I will keep my tamron for some more time and upgrade when I have saved enough.
Though I will only think about D version only; can't afford the VR version. I am not a professional and shoot only as a hobby.

If I hadn't bought a tamron, I would probably think about buying a push-pull version.

I recently purchased a used Nikkor 80-200mm f2.8 AF-D ED (non-push pull version) in mint condition including a warranty for $630. The seller serviced the lens on 8/23/2013 by Nikon. Non VR takes a bit of getting used to. I still have my Nikkor 70-300mm VR lens.

80-200mm f/2.8 Lens Review by Thom Hogan

After searching a lot here and there, I did something which is totally irrelevant to this thread. I bought a second hand Tamron 28-75 2.8 and decided to keep my current Tamron 70-300 for now. I will be selling my other lens Nikon 18-105.
Got this tamron 28-75 for 290 AUD on ebay and now eagerly waiting for it to arrive.

I guess I will miss the 18mm wide angle of nikon, since 28mm on D7000 is not actually a wide angle, but thats a tradeoff I decided to live with.

The wide angle may be missed in certain situations. You may want to consider the Tokina 12-28mm f/4 lens.

Tokina 12-28mm Review

yes, will look at it but maybe after some time.... when my wife will again allow me to spend this much on lenses.

While I am still waiting for my lense to arrive, has anyone in the forum used this lens on a DX body?

kratos said:

yes, will look at it but maybe after some time.... when my wife will again allow me to spend this much on lenses.

While I am still waiting for my lense to arrive, has anyone in the forum used this lens on a DX body?

Click to expand...

how is the Tamron 28-75mm working out for you?

Frankly speaking I am not very sure about it till date. Sometimes it gives brilliant photos but I feel its focusing is not as accurate as my other lenses. I get many out of focus pics with this lense but it may be just me.

I had a Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 non vc before. I was not happy with it because of it slower AF, it hunts in low light, noisy AF and was soft wide open.

Sounds familiar?


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