Lens advise needed for Nikon D750 ( mainly zooms - 24-70 & 70-200)

[fracster]

@R.Y.K. LEE

If your serious about a VR2, then I would let mine go at the same price Dave paid. If interested let me know and i`ll put an ad up.

 

[AndyFo]

Ray, I got my Tamron from Cotswold Cameras for £700 when ordered with the d750, think the price was £720 ordered on its own, and found their service really good, 3 days shipped from HK.

 

[R.Y.K. LEE]

@R.Y.K. LEE

If your serious about a VR2, then I would let mine go at the same price Dave paid. If interested let me know and i`ll put an ad up.

Hi fracster,

Would it be possible to tell me a little bit more about the lens? Age, first owner, what it comes with etc.

Also what condition is the lens in, in terms of scratches, chips, dings etc. I know I'm probably being super optimistic and deluded in thinking that I could get a mint condition (cosmetic and mechanical) at this price point, but I'm hopeful that the condition might be what I'm looking for.

Ray, I got my Tamron from Cotswold Cameras for £700 when ordered with the d750, think the price was £720 ordered on its own, and found their service really good, 3 days shipped from HK.

Hi Andy,

Did you get hit with any kind of tax/duty when getting your lens in from Cotswold Cameras? As you mentioned it came in from HK, what's their policy on customers who get caught with tax/duty? I know Panamoz reimburse what you paid back to the customer if it does occur.

 

[fracster]

Hi fracster,

Would it be possible to tell me a little bit more about the lens? Age, first owner, what it comes with etc.

Also what condition is the lens in, in terms of scratches, chips, dings etc. I know I'm probably being super optimistic and deluded in thinking that I could get a mint condition (cosmetic and mechanical) at this price point, but I'm hopeful that the condition might be what I'm looking for.

Lens is five year old and comes with everything it originally did so.Box has a crease in it,that is all.

BUT, and it is a big but. The lens has just come back from Nikon, it had a new SWM,new rubber rings, new hood collar, calibaration and a clean up. Total cost was £326, So,in effect, a new lens.

 

[R.Y.K. LEE]

Lens is five year old and comes with everything it originally did so.Box has a crease in it,that is all.

BUT, and it is a big but. The lens has just come back from Nikon, it had a new SWM,new rubber rings, new hood collar, calibaration and a clean up. Total cost was £326, So,in effect, a new lens.

Thanks for the info fracster, I'm waiting for replies on two VR1's at the moment around the £750 mark.

Can I be a pain and ask if it's possible to throw some high res pics of the lens my way if I PM you my e-mail?

I just want to make sure that if I'm going to spend that kind of money on the lens, I want to be 100% positive before making a decision.

 

[fracster]

Thanks for the info fracster, I'm waiting for replies on two VR1's at the moment around the £750 mark.

Can I be a pain and ask if it's possible to throw some high res pics of the lens my way if I PM you my e-mail?

I just want to make sure that if I'm going to spend that kind of money on the lens, I want to be 100% positive before making a decision.

You mean pics of the actual lens or pics taken with it?

Either way, I can.

But I think I will have to put a for sale ad up or you`ll have to put a wanted ad up to abide by forum rules, if it is what you require.

 

[R.Y.K. LEE]

You mean pics of the actual lens or pics taken with it?

Either way, I can.

But I think I will have to put a for sale ad up or you`ll have to put a wanted ad up to abide by forum rules, if it is what you require.

I have a wanted thread up in the wanted section in the forum

Pics of the lens will be great fracster.

 

[AndyFo]

Hi Andy,

Did you get hit with any kind of tax/duty when getting your lens in from Cotswold Cameras? As you mentioned it came in from HK, what's their policy on customers who get caught with tax/duty? I know Panamoz reimburse what you paid back to the customer if it does occur.

I received an invoice from FedEx about 10 days after getting the camera and lens and as per Cotswold Cameras terms I emailed them a copy and they put the money back into my Paypal account within 2 days.

 

[R.Y.K. LEE]

Waiting to go see a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR1, mint/as new for £750.00. Hope it's what I'm looking for!

Options so far:

1: Nikon 70-200 VR1, keep the primes.
2: Tamron 24-70 VC & Tamron 70-200 VC, sell the primes.

But I have also noticed that for around the same money, I can get:

- Nikon 24-120 f/4 VR
- Nikon 70-200 f/4 VR
- Nikon 50mm f/1.8G

With a D750, do you guys think f/4 is less of an issue compared to a crop body?

Will I regret going with f/4, just to stick with Nikon. Or should I go for the faster f/2.8 lenses and not think too much into the brands?

 

[AndrewSt]

Waiting to go see a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR1, mint/as new for £750.00. Hope it's what I'm looking for!

Options so far:

1: Nikon 70-200 VR1, keep the primes.
2: Tamron 24-70 VC & Tamron 70-200 VC, sell the primes.

But I have also noticed that for around the same money, I can get:

- Nikon 24-120 f/4 VR
- Nikon 70-200 f/4 VR
- Nikon 50mm f/1.8G

With a D750, do you guys think f/4 is less of an issue compared to a crop body?

Will I regret going with f/4, just to stick with Nikon. Or should I go for the faster f/2.8 lenses and not think too much into the brands?

I am also thinking the same. The ISO is great on the D750, more than happy shooting at 6400. F4 on full frame on a focal length of 200 provides plenty of background separation. If I want more I use my 85mm F1.8.

I am thinking of going down the 16-35 (landscapes), 35mm F1.8 for street/walk-around/environmental portraits 85mm 1.8 for portraits and 70-200 F4 for longer portraits/wedding/wildlife.

A 70-200 is not that long for wildlife, they only negative compared to the 2.8 I see is when using a TC, resulting in a smaller aperture. Ideally I would remedy this with the new 300 F4 when funds allow.

 

[R.Y.K. LEE]

I am also thinking the same. The ISO is great on the D750, more than happy shooting at 6400. F4 on full frame on a focal length of 200 provides plenty of background separation. If I want more I use my 85mm F1.8.

I am thinking of going down the 16-35 (landscapes), 35mm F1.8 for street/walk-around/environmental portraits 85mm 1.8 for portraits and 70-200 F4 for longer portraits/wedding/wildlife.

A 70-200 is not that long for wildlife, they only negative compared to the 2.8 I see is when using a TC, resulting in a smaller aperture. Ideally I would remedy this with the new 300 F4 when funds allow.

I have the 35 and 85 primes at the moment too. But if I were to go the f/4 route that I mentioned, I'd have to sell them to help fund it.

Just concerned I may be taking a risk and end up regretting later for not going for the faster lenses. The 50mm f/1.8G in the mix, I guess is to compensate for the slower zooms choice. Whilst with the Tamron route, I'll be getting the f/2.8.

 

[AndrewSt]

Its the portability of the primes are really useful, with a 35mm I think you can do just about everything well.

 

[f/1.2]

Got a reply from Panamoz, pretty much the same answer as before therefore that route is not available.

Cheapest now will be Digitalrev, or a mint second hand copy. Or the VR1. Then if I'm REALLY lucky, maybe a VR2 might come my way at the price Dave paid

I think I got my Tamron 70-200vc from Digital Rev from memory. At the time Panamoz told me the same thing and that was well over a year ago. You would have thought they would have removed them from there website, bit odd.

 

[brman]

A 70-200 is not that long for wildlife, they only negative compared to the 2.8 I see is when using a TC, resulting in a smaller aperture. Ideally I would remedy this with the new 300 F4 when funds allow.

I know this needs to be taken with a pinch of salt but I recently had a play with a 70-200 VR1 on my D7100. I was quite surprised how much I could crop it and still get reasonable images.
This crop for example is the equivelent of a 750mm lens on a FX camera....

British Airways G-EUOF, Airbus A319-131 by tobyjm, on Flickr
(click through to flickr if you want to see it at full resolution)

Like I say, take it with a pinch of salt as that plane doesn't have the detail a bird has but it has certainly given me food for thought about how to replace my 70-300VR

 

[R.Y.K. LEE]

UPDATE: I didn't go ahead with either the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR1 or the VR2 in the end

VR2 was out of my price range realistically (but was willing to dip in to savings for it).

VR1 all came up as well-used copies with no real warranty/reassurance. Therefore didn't want to take the risk.

My two options left are:

1: Tamron 24-70 2.8 VC & Tamron 70-200 2.8 VC.

2: Nikon 24-120 f4 VR, Nikon 70-200 f4 VR & Nikon 50 1.8G for low light.

I'm guessing they weigh about the same, and give or take £100, are priced similarly to each other.

So it's all down to 2.8 vs f4.

I've heard Panamoz say that the Tamrons are such duds that they are not stocking/selling them anymore. But I have heard a lot of good things about the 70-200mm. However the opinions on the Tamron 24-70 VC seem to be hit and miss. Seems some people love it, but some people say the AF is temperamental, onion bokeh etc. What are your experiences of this lens, if any?

Lastly, has anyone been through this dilemma already and gone the Nikon f4 route instead of 3rd party 2.8. Did you regret not choosing the faster lens?

Sorry for the massive essay everyone, but coming back in to DSLRs from mirrorless, and the immense lens choices has got me confused.

 

[Swanseajack]

How often do you shoot or need f2.8 should answer your question.

I have only had the older (AFS) Nikon 300mm f4 lens and for me it was fantastic. I was using through the winter for bird photogrpahy in mostly poor light, it never failed to focus and was instant, this was also on my D7100 and not the D750. So if the current f4 lenses are anything like the 300mm I would go for them.

Have you got a local dealer to try them out?

Edit: The 300mm f4 also took took a 1.4TC well, which could also be the case with the 70-200mm if you need a little more reach.

 

[fracster]

Simon has got it right when he asks how often you need F2.8. If you don`t, then the F4 would be a better bet for you Ray.

If I go back to this zoom range, then the F4 will be my preference.

 

[R.Y.K. LEE]

How often do you shoot or need f2.8 should answer your question.

I have only had the older (AFS) Nikon 300mm f4 lens and for me it was fantastic. I was using through the winter for bird photogrpahy in mostly poor light, it never failed to focus and was instant, this was also on my D7100 and not the D750. So if the current f4 lenses are anything like the 300mm I would go for them.

Have you got a local dealer to try them out?

Edit: The 300mm f4 also took took a 1.4TC well, which could also be the case with the 70-200mm if you need a little more reach.

Simon has got it right when he asks how often you need F2.8. If you don`t, then the F4 would be a better bet for you Ray.

If I go back to this zoom range, then the F4 will be my preference.

Thanks guys, I normally shoot wide open on the NEX with the sigma 30 & 60 2.8 DNs. I don't use flash, not even indoors (I shoot mostly indoors). But this is on the crop sensor of the NEX 6.

I have read from some people that the high ISO is so good on the d750, that f/4 is not as much of an issue compared to using it on a crop body.

 

[chrism_scotland]

The Nikon 70-200 f4 VR is a cracking lens I have one and its a nice size and weight for taking with me too. Personally I don't doubt that there have been some issues with the Tamron 24-70 f2.8, the first one I had was stunningly sharp but this one I have now I am struggling a bit with the corners, after my trip this weekend I think I'm going to send it into Tamron. However there are excellent ones out there too, and lets face it theres problems with Nikon, Canon, Sony and other non-third party lenses too.

 

[R.Y.K. LEE]

The Nikon 70-200 f4 VR is a cracking lens I have one and its a nice size and weight for taking with me too. Personally I don't doubt that there have been some issues with the Tamron 24-70 f2.8, the first one I had was stunningly sharp but this one I have now I am struggling a bit with the corners, after my trip this weekend I think I'm going to send it into Tamron. However there are excellent ones out there too, and lets face it theres problems with Nikon, Canon, Sony and other non-third party lenses too.

Thanks chrism_scotland, I guess lens variation happens. It's good to hear from someone who has owned the lens twice and how they compared in terms of each other.

As for the Nikon 70-200mm f4 VR. Have you owned the 2.8 version before? If yes, how does it compare to it, and do you miss having the 2.8 aperture in that focal range?

 

[Gary Coyle]

If youre not going for the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 option then i can only advice you get a Sigma 100-300mm f/4, id advise against the Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 VC as it cant take teleconvertors

 

[twist]

If youre not going for the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 option then i can only advice you get a Sigma 100-300mm f/4, id advise against the Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 VC as it cant take teleconvertors

Yup, the 100-300 is superb, shame no OS though, they really should relaunch it.

 

[R.Y.K. LEE]

If youre not going for the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 option then i can only advice you get a Sigma 100-300mm f/4, id advise against the Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 VC as it cant take teleconvertors

Yup, the 100-300 is superb, shame no OS though, they really should relaunch it.

Thanks Gary, I think someone earlier had advised me already about the Tamron not working with teleconvertors. However, I have never owned/used a teleconvertor before and have no intention to use one in the near future.

Other than that, how are you finding the Tamron, compared to the Nikon in terms of AF speed, image quality etc?

 

[Gary Coyle]

Thanks Gary, I think someone earlier had advised me already about the Tamron not working with teleconvertors. However, I have never owned/used a teleconvertor before and have no intention to use one in the near future.

Other than that, how are you finding the Tamron, compared to the Nikon in terms of AF speed, image quality etc?

I sold the Tamron because of the TC issue, great lens but i needed the flexibility of using TC's so i just bought another Nikon VRII