Camera Labs

I hear there's this big bright thing called the sun, which is also a good flare-inducer?

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I take pictures so quickly, my highschool was "Continuous High".

Well I don't think you would see the following effect shooting against the sun
http://www.cameralabs.com/forum/viewtop ... 0497#90497
Why? You need a dark enough background to see the bird-like halo.

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Update on prices in Germany:
With the availability of the lens more shops vie for a larger part of the cake. So the first reputable dealer offers the new zoom for below 2000EUR and even Amazon.de is already at 2213EUR (that is 1860 EUR without 19% VAT).

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

That explains

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I take pictures so quickly, my highschool was "Continuous High".

Btw: With a max magnification of 1:8.3 you capture just 30x20 cm area at closest focus on a FX body. This is about the size of a DIN A4 sheet.
That is just about enough for a tight head-shot of an adult head. Surely not enough for close portraiture on babies

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The (P)review is here.

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Is it a bad idea to buy a used 70-200mm at this point?

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I have a variety of gadgets that capture and create light... people tell me their cameras, lenses, strobes, and speedlights...who knows

Elijah, this is not the topic for discussing this, I think we have also told you about this in your own thread(s). Please stay focussed on the 70-200VRII here, thanks in advance

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- Wout -
Nikon D80 with 18-70 DX, 70-300 VR, 35 1.8 DX
Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod with 488RC0 midi ballhead
Lowepro CompuRover AW and Nova 200 AW

Lens arrived!
Currently shooting the first test-targets...

Hehe, I can totally dumbfound this lens
Using AF with only one AF-point exactly at the middle of the Siemens-star target at 2m distance, turned the focus ring to infinity, then half-pressed the shutter: Focus hunted from infinity to 1.4m and back to infinity. No focus confirmation came
Don't think we're talking about a low-light situation here: Exposure measured 1/250 sec at f/2.8, ISO 200!

You can cure this strange effect by either switching to multiple AF-points, or pointing the camera a little off-centre, or using an off-centre focus-point.
Well, I blame the test-target. I must admit, that you could produce similar effects with other lenses too - sometimes.

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Just did some prelim testing of VR.
At 200mm and 1/15 sec free standing (and naturally handheld) I get a lot of pretty good results. This would be equivalent to almost 4 stops
Not bad so far. Have to do more testing...

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

how did you get your hands on the VR II
plust how slow of a shuter speed does the VR II work up to

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I have a variety of gadgets that capture and create light... people tell me their cameras, lenses, strobes, and speedlights...who knows

Just ordered one two months ago
1/15 sec at 200 focal length seems like the limit for my quality of handholding.
Expect slower shutter-speeds at shorter focal lengths, though. Perhaps 1/8 to 1/4 sec at 70mm focal length. Will test for that.

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

I have had perfectly sharp pictures with my 70-300VR, at 70mm with 1/8s. Since this lens is a little heavier, I dont know if it will be the same, but hearing pro's talk that the VR has improved over the old one very much, I can only guess that it will indeed be the same.

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- Wout -
Nikon D80 with 18-70 DX, 70-300 VR, 35 1.8 DX
Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod with 488RC0 midi ballhead
Lowepro CompuRover AW and Nova 200 AW

After reviewing more shots at 1/15 sec and 200mm the new VRII seems to give a god hit-rate.
But:
I have to get into focus-testing big-time as some AF results are outright disappointing. And on my micro-focus test-chart sharpness was a little "jumpy".
Not good for my blood-pressure

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

overall do you find it a good enough inprovement
to pay the 2400 dollars instead of a used 70-200 for 1500

is it worth the extra grand ?

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I have a variety of gadgets that capture and create light... people tell me their cameras, lenses, strobes, and speedlights...who knows

Elijah, I cannot answer this Q as I did never have a version I in my possession. But there is almost consensus on the web that the "old" version is perfect on a DX body.
So if you never plan to migrate to FX (full-frame) that should answer your question.

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses