AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/4G ED VR

The build and optical quality of the Nikon 70-200mm along with its lighter weight and price compared to Nikon´s iconic pro-quality 70-200mm 2.8 VRII has proven to be a great choice on all of my current Nikon DSLR cameras: D300s, D7000, D7100, and a D600. I often shoot yachting races and maritime events in the San Francisco Bay with a Nikon 80-400mm mounted on a D300s or D7000 and the Nikon 70-200mm VR F4 mounted on the D600 or D7100 to take advantage of the great optical quality and handling/balance. I find the focusing ease, balance and weight of the 70-200mm F4 to be better than my previous favorite the Nikon 70-300mm 3.5-5.6 VR. The 70-200mm VR Zoom F4 is the lens I would pick for shooting from a moving boat platform or for back packing for shooting nature and landscapes with my D7100 or D600 because of its better optical results than the Nikon 70-300mm across all f stops. I did purchase the optional lens tripod ring as expensive as it was as I believe to get the best results using this lens for sunrise, sunset, and night landscapes it should be used on a tripod, in spite of its terrific stabilization capabilities. I still find myself in a quandary when choosing between the 70-200mm F4 VR and my 70-300mm VR when traveling to places like Greece, Europe, or Japan where I travel currently taking the Nikon D7000 and Nikon D7100 bodies with the Nikon 10-24mm, Nikon 16-85mm, and Nikon 50 1.8 G plus the Nikon 70-300mm VR with its effective 105-450mm range on the DX bodies. One idea is to consider taking the 70-200mm and a 1.4 extender for those times greater magnification is required. The Nikon 70-300mm or 80-400mm would be my choice over the 70-200mm for shooting in Kenya, Africa. I will say one of the determining factors in choosing this terrific lens is that it delivers stunning results with out breaking the bank or my back carrying it vs. the significantly heavier 70-200mm 2.8 VR or the new 80-400mm VR II which both probably are served best with a combination of carrying a tripod or shooting at much higher ISO to capture the best nature or static landscapes. I would highly recommend this lens for moderate telephoto work shooting people or landscapes requiring hand held shots and the new 80-400mm VRII for nature and shooting distant subjects like the America´s Cup races recently held in San Francisco.

This lens far outperforms any other mid zoom I have tried on my D800.

I am a 67 year old avid photographer and have been lacking a good telephoto lens for my D90. While most of my friends carry f2.8, my experiences in using them were less than satisfactory. I found the weight a real problem for getting sharp, fast shots. A friend suggested I try the f4, and after reading rave reviews, I thought I´d try it out.
I´ve only had it a week but am more than pleased. It is the sharpest lens I own, easy to use, easy to ´´walk around´´ with and I haven´t taken a bad shot yet. I can´t see any drawback to the f4 over the 2.8 unless you really like carrying extra weight.
Try it; you´ll like it.

Excelent image quality so good as f2.8 or better, good weigth, construction, speed focus with precission. I prefer f4 if don´t need f2.8 for sport photo or concerts with low light.
I recommend use it with 20 iii teleconverter, if you need it, is a good combination.
The only thing, the f2.8 construction is some better, in my opinion.

The 70-200 f/4 VR is simply a must-have lens. It focuses extremely fast with my D800 and produces incredibly detailed images. I have used it with the Nikkor TC-17E teleconverter and have been very pleased with the results. Having a constant aperture is also fantastic for video production. This lens is sharp throughout its focal range and I have no hesitation shooting it wide open. The VR on this lens is incredible...at 200mm with decent technique it is possible to get tack-sharp images at 1/30 on a consistent basis. It is lighter and much easier to handle than the Nikkor f/2.8.

I bought this camera a day before the MTL St.Patty´s Day Parade. Specifically, to get some great pics. And boy did it deliver. The Red´s in the costumes was amazing, colors just popped. The AF was fast and I have used this lens for taking pics in multiple Marathons of my wife and friends now with amazing results. I had a little buyers remorse for not buying the 2.8. But when I look at the results of this lens, and the fact I could afford to add on a Teleconverter and high quality filter for less than the 2.8 I have no complaints. This lens really performs. And it is LIGHT! Carrying this thing around all day long is nothing! And my pics in daylight are going to be the same as the 2.8. Only place is lowlight, but you know what? I bought a 35mm 1.8 for lowlight. Voila! Love this lens. It is my go to lens always on my camera.

I use for outside sports and wild life photography on my dx nikon d3200, it is super sharp at f8 and the vr is amazing

The lens is easily as sharp as everyone else comments on. Currently being used on a D7000 and decided on it with the long term goal of moving to an FX body. Also bought a Nikon 1.4x tele-extender. Great combination, very sharp at all f-stops with best appearing to be f8. What with the extender and using a crop sensor camera, it is difficult to get sharp hand-held images at much below 1/100 sec at the 200mm end of the range. On tripod, best results have been achieved using the mirror lock up function. Under this best case scenario, the results remain quite sharp above 100% on monitor. IQ is excellent with or without the extender. The lighter weight of this lens compared to the f2.8 version was a major consideration as it will be carried on back-packing sojourns; lower price was clearly a consideration as well. The auto focus is very fast; great for fast moving kids and animals. All in all, if it meets your ´´needs´´, it is highly recommended.

As near as I can tell this lens can equal it´s f/2.8 big brother optically, but I can stick it on a camera and carry it around without wearing down my shoulder. It´s an amazing lens. The VR is remarkable.