FreoJim Loc: Fremantle, Western Australia

Thanks again for the continuing responses Erv and David. I'm not sure money isn't a problem jjetstar (!) but at my stage in photography and life I'm willing to invest in good quality. The 70-200 has such good write ups that it's a must buy I think, and it has VR Aaron so fairly easy to handhold and use as a walkaround but as SteveR said many people would use a tripod for portraits. My only real debate is a) whether I really need a wider angle than the 24-70 gives me and b) if I do whether to go for the 16-35 or the 'classic' 14-24. I suspect the classic will win out! At the other end of my wish list, I've just ordered the new Fujifilm Finepix X20 as a grab it and go and family snapshot camera. Another learning curve ahead - on top of my 9 year old's GoPro birthday present today - and the filter work I plan to do. Then there is 'proper' lighting for portraiture to learn.....and I better start doing some actual work again as my back heals after my op. I never understand how some people can say they are 'bored'. So much to learn, so little time...:-)

SteveR Loc: Michigan

I'm looking forward to purchasing this lens myself. Another poster, however, said that he'd shot handheld with the lens all day and shot 2700 shots. My suggestion would be to go to a pro shop and try it out for yourself and see if you find it comfortable. Many others use it handheld and get eye-popping photos with it.

Erv Loc: Medina Ohio

I love mine and it is very hand hold able. But I could not stand and shoot sports on the side lines all day. But for a hobby and taking a shot here and there it is a great lens for that.
Erv

David Dennis Loc: West Palm Beach, Florida

I am the "other poster". Those 2700 photos were shot at Butterfly World in the morning and a fashion show rehearsal in the afternoon.

I shot about 800 shots with the lens today at two wetlands parks in Boynton Beach.

In other words, I'm probably an extreme outlier in terms of the number of pictures I shoot. You might go to the same events and shoot a few hundred, not a few thousand. It's just an artifact of how I shoot, because in all cases I am shooting animals - whether human, avian or insectoid - in constant motion.

It is a fact, though, that despite being 50 years old and distinctly out of shape, I am capable of hand-holding the D4 and the 70-200 f/2.8 lens for an hour or so straight, as I did during the modeling shots.

At Butterfly World, I alternated having it around my neck with intense bouts of shooting. So I was able to rest my shoulder (at the expense of my neck, of course) periodically.

As a walk around lens, the 70-200 is conspicuous. It is distinctly weapon-like. People definitely believe you are serious, whether you are or not. This can be an advantage or disadvantage in taking pictures, depending on the situation. The exhibitionists love you and the shy ones shy away.

Obviously the birds and butterflies do not care :).

One major disadvantage of the 70-200 as a walk-around lens is the close focus distance. You have to be 4.6 feet or more away from your subject to get the shot. I've found this gives me the most difficulty with human subjects. As already noted, butterflies and birds don't really care, but if you're talking with a pretty model and shooting her, it would be nice to be able to be closer.

Well, as you can see, I'm also an extreme outlier in the number of words I type, too :). Hope this helps.

The enclosed pictures were taken today at the Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Boynton Beach, Florida.

David

FreoJim Loc: Fremantle, Western Australia

Great shots David! The first one certainly pops and I love the tight crop on the second. OK. That lens has to move up the priority list! You must have muscles you're not admitting to, to hold it with a D4 for that length of time though!

David Dennis Loc: West Palm Beach, Florida

I think all three images were cropped significantly. What I notice is that the 70-200 cropped to smaller size still gives nicer results than the 28-300 uncropped. So I am not missing the extra focal length nearly as much as I was expecting.

The second image was particularly interesting. That was shot very close to the birds, from a tiki hut structure in the wetlands. The problem with the shot was that all the action was on the left side, and the right contained essentially nothing of interest. Thus my experiment with the squareish crop. Normally I would have cropped it vertically, but that wouldn't have shown the whole birds, so it wouldn't have worked for me.

I initially tried the lens on the D300. At first, I didn't like it because it was poorly balanced - that is, my camera became very front heavy. The D4, being a heavy camera, balances it much better and so it's easier to handle. You may want to get a battery grip for your camera which will make it closer to the size and weight of the D4 and therefore easier to balance.

Another factor may simply be exercise - I have owned a D300 since 2008, the 24-70 since January 2012 and the D4 since June 30, 2012. So I have built up my muscles over time to hold the heavy camera and lens combinations I use.

Fun fact: I've always been pleased with my pictures taken with consumer lenses like the 18-200 and 28-300, but somehow my images mysteriously improve tremendously after I switch to the pros like the 24-70 and 70-200.

At this point, whenever I want a telephoto, I am grabbing the 70-200. It has replaced the 24-70 as my favorite lens.

Remember, you save $300 on it if you buy before the end of the month, and that's likely to be the best deal on it for quite a while. They occasionally come up used on eBay or Craigslist, but the discount you get on them is so laughably low that it's not worth bothering with.

Oh, and if you liked those shots, you'll love these, also taken with the 70-200:
http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-103214-1.html

David

bewithabob Loc: Dallas TX

Fantastic shooting, David!

Aaron Braganza Loc: Sydney, Australia

So David correct me if I am wrong.
This is the Nikkor 70-200mm f2.8G ED VRII lens priced around 2k that you use and are referring too
Cheers Mate

David Dennis Loc: West Palm Beach, Florida

Correct.

To be totally unambiguous, I have included a picture with my D4 :).

$2,100 plus tax. It will go back up to $2,400 when the current rebate promotion expires.

D