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I am looking for a used Nikkor 80-200 2.8. I found one of the older push pull variety for sale and took it for a test drive.

This is one of the shots taken at f7.1, 200mm, hand held, can't remember shutter speed but it's bright sunlight so it's probably about 1/1000. It looks pretty sharp to me.

Can anyone see anything obvious that might indicate that the lens might have had a hard life.




Comments much appreciated.

Except for the sky colour John looks ok to me sharp enough, i guess if it looks ok and is on good nick at a good price it is ok. Depending on price though.

Bit hard to tell from that pic, but it looks OK. As far as its' condition, besides looking for the obvious signs of wear and tear, scratches,etc, hold the lens vertical and if the zoom ring stays still, it's probably a keeper, if the zoom ring slides down the body, it's seen a lot of work...  BTW, how much do they want for it and does it come with the hood and case?

johndec wrote:Bit hard to tell from that pic, but it looks OK. As far as its' condition, besides looking for the obvious signs of wear and tear, scratches,etc, hold the lens vertical and if the zoom ring stays still, it's probably a keeper, if the zoom ring slides down the body, it's seen a lot of work...

Exactly right! It's how to check the push & pull zoom lens.

BTW, how much do they want for it and does it come with the hood and case?

Hehehe! I can see you're in the lust now

Birddog114 wrote:
Hehehe! I can see you're in the lust now

How many 80-200s do you think I need

johndec wrote:

Birddog114 wrote:
Hehehe! I can see you're in the lust now

How many 80-200s do you think I need

Perhaps two: one to mount on the D70 and other reverse

johndec wrote:Bit hard to tell from that pic, but it looks OK. As far as its' condition, besides looking for the obvious signs of wear and tear, scratches,etc, hold the lens vertical and if the zoom ring stays still, it's probably a keeper, if the zoom ring slides down the body, it's seen a lot of work...  BTW, how much do they want for it and does it come with the hood and case?

$500, but he wants to move it with a 35-70 f2.8 for $650 total, so me and a guy I work with who's also on this forum (O1) offered $500 for the 80-200 and $150 for the 35-70. I took some test shots last night and the 35-70 is as soft as anything and it should also be sharp so there's something wrong with it, so I think the deal is going to fall thru. And yes, the 80-200 has a hood and case.

On the 80-200, the UV filter is screwed on crooked. It's obviously been cross threaded so either the filter or lens thread is stuffed. When you focus the 80-200 with the d70, it made a clunking noise which I didn't like. It's been treated fairly rough as well by the looks of the nicks and marks on it. Focus is slow of course being the old type of lens that uses that screwdiver thingy to focus from the camera. I'm going to be in Melbourne tomorrow so will check out Camera Exchange to see what they've got. Talking to O1 who has the 80-200 with the zoom ring rather than push pull, he reckons once I try the zoom ring type of 80-200 I won't want to touch the push pull one. I really prefer the one with the lens collar as well, so I reckon I'll be saving my $$$s and giving Birdy a call.

The more I think about it the more I've convinced myself that I won't be buying this particular 80-200 because I think it's had a hard life. So johndec, if you wanted to go for it, it's in the Trading Post in Hobart.

Thanks for your help and advice on this guys.

For Johndec,
It's good for you to seek another 80-200, using reverse or stacking it up to 400mm

Check for oil on aperture veins if they look even slightly wet will indicate damper seal is leaking -fatal
good luck
CC