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I've got the opportunity to buy the Nikon 80-400VR lens at a bargain price. It is still a substatial investment though.

I presently have: 18-70DX 24mm 28mm 50mm 35-70 28-80G 70-300G 70-210 F4 (D). Would it be a reasonable addition to the kit?

If you already have one how often do you drag it out and use it?

All input appreciated.

How often? As often as I need to.

Do I like the lens? Yep.

It's a great addition to your D70; have a look at my Sydney Night Shoot shots here, or perhaps a few of my test shots here and here.

Great Shots Gary!

TonyH, get rid of your 70-300g and buy the 80-400VR. By the number of lens you have you are already in the grip of lens lust, one more isn't going to hurt! (Maybe in the pocket but it's only money).

Bob.

Update on the Lens offer

After doing some digging the offer that was made appears to be a con out of Malaysia.

Just goes with the old addage if an offer is too good to be true it generally is.

I was made a second chance offer on Ebay for a lens that I was outbid on. All of the auction info was correct with a good looking email page here is a copy of the text

***Do not reply to this email .Contact the seller at this e-mail address:alfredtrendle@yahoo.com*** You expressed interest in an item titled "NIKON LENS AF VR Zoom-Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED NEW" (Item number: 7536471330) by bidding , however the auction has ended with another member as the high bidder.In compliance with eBay policy , the seller of that item is making this Second Chance Offer to you at your bid price of AU $950.55.The seller has issued this Second Chance Offer because the winning bidder was unable to complete the transaction . If you accept this offer,you will be able to exchange Feedback with the seller and will be eligible for eBay services associated with a transaction , such as fraud protection.To purchasethis item , don't reply to this mail ,just contact the seller at:alfredtrendle@yahoo.com. Thank you,eBay Inc.

Although the presentation was excellent, the logos etc very well presented it just didn't stack up. So I investigated further. A lesson for all "buyer beware".... Although a 80-400VR for $950 would be good.

Tony,

Thanx for the kind words.

On those test shots, the one that does it for me is the full size crop with the boats .... look at the chain wire fence behind the boats; you can see the chain wire links that make up the fence. That shot was taken, hand held, from the Pyrmont Bridge at a range of well over a half Km from the fence. I think that sums up the quality of the lens very nicely.


As to the deal you thought you may have been getting, I was wondering about that.

That said, the lens is still a great lens, and you should be expecting to pay around PP1650 for one that's sourced from HK, and around PP3K if sourced through Maxwell's.

Gary,

over 500 metres and hand held, that is impressive. I did notice the detail in the fence.

I'm hoping that the VR will assist with the slight softening I can get with hand held shots. Never used to be a problem but now......

$1650 out of HK sounds good, I'll just have to wait a little longer and save a few more pennies.

Regards

Tony

You can always check eBay messages by sending (forwarding) to spoof@ebay.com. They normally reply within a short time as to whether or not it is a spoof.

Chris,

Thanks for that. I did send it to spoof to confirm it all, but what gave it away was the fact that there was about 6 or 7 other bidders after me on that particular item so there is no way it could have been genuine.

They had me interested for about 30 minutes then the old too good to be true glands started kicking in....

Tony

TonyH wrote:Chris,

Thanks for that. I did send it to spoof to confirm it all, but what gave it away was the fact that there was about 6 or 7 other bidders after me on that particular item so there is no way it could have been genuine.

They had me interested for about 30 minutes then the old too good to be true glands started kicking in....

Tony

Yes, 80-400VR is a great Lens
$1600 is about the lowest you will get from a legit vendor. Plenty of respectable HK shops do them around $1,600~$1,700

GreyBeard wrote:

TonyH wrote:Chris,

Thanks for that. I did send it to spoof to confirm it all, but what gave it away was the fact that there was about 6 or 7 other bidders after me on that particular item so there is no way it could have been genuine.

They had me interested for about 30 minutes then the old too good to be true glands started kicking in....

Tony

Yes, 80-400VR is a great Lens
$1600 is about the lowest you will get from a legit vendor. Plenty of respectable HK shops do them around $1,600~$1,700

You're lucky to get the 80-400VR at AU$1600.00- $1700.00 today from HKG suppliers. If you're lucky still $1850.00 including shipping from HKG is your bet!
Stock of this lens is not healthy and HKS didn't have stock of it since last month, the last one I ordered for DanielA in SA was at the end of July and delivered before the AW, since then I have two in back-ordered but still no stock same as the 70-200VR
I'm still waiting to see if any chance that I can fullfill my BO sooner

Birddog114 wrote:

GreyBeard wrote:

TonyH wrote:Chris,

Thanks for that. I did send it to spoof to confirm it all, but what gave it away was the fact that there was about 6 or 7 other bidders after me on that particular item so there is no way it could have been genuine.

They had me interested for about 30 minutes then the old too good to be true glands started kicking in....

Tony

Yes, 80-400VR is a great Lens
$1600 is about the lowest you will get from a legit vendor. Plenty of respectable HK shops do them around $1,600~$1,700

You're lucky to get the 80-400VR at AU$1600.00- $1700.00 today from HKG suppliers. If you're lucky still $1850.00 including shipping from HKG is your bet!
Stock of this lens is not healthy and HKS didn't have stock of it since last month, the last one I ordered for DanielA in SA was at the end of July and delivered before the AW, since then I have two in back-ordered but still no stock same as the 70-200VR
I'm still waiting to see if any chance that I can fullfill my BO sooner

Ah well, nothing stays the same for ever.
I suspected a little while ago when I saw NikonUSA giving US$100 cash back on these that Nikon may have been moving toward updating to an 80-400VR-S...
Do you hear any rumours to this effect Birdy?

GreyBeard wrote:
Ah well, nothing stays the same for ever.
I suspected a little while ago when I saw NikonUSA giving US$100 cash back on these that Nikon may have been moving toward updating to an 80-400VR-S...
Do you hear any rumours to this effect Birdy?

Hi,
Last year about October, the few first 80-400VR sold on this forum was AU$1560.00 and the Nikkor 70-200VR was AU$1900.00 including shipping from HKG with warranty and those prices are in history right now. A handful of members on this board took that opportunity and got their lens at the best prices in the world. They can resell their used lens with little profits after 12 month in use.

I didn't hear anything about these, but perhaps a 70-300/2.8 G VR could be the replacement of the 70-200VR

Hi Gary

Although it has been said before, its the best moon shot I have seen. The detail is awesome. Is it the same moon we get in Wollongong?

How would you compare the VR 80-400 with the 80-200's at the 80-200 range in terms of sharpness at say 5.6 or 8? Some comments would be appreciated.

I am a sharpness fanatic and am considering purchasing either a new 80-200 Nikon 2.8 or now, after seeing your photos, the 80-400VR.

Regs

Peter Mc

Birddog114 wrote:Stock of this lens is not healthy and HKS didn't have stock of it since last month, the last one I ordered for DanielA in SA was at the end of July and delivered before the AW, since then I have two in back-ordered but still no stock same as the 70-200VR

I feel very lucky to got mine so quickly.

In regular light it really is an awesome lens. I'm still discovering the joy that is VR.

Daniel

Peter,

petermmc wrote:How would you compare the VR 80-400 with the 80-200's at the 80-200 range in terms of sharpness at say 5.6 or 8? Some comments would be appreciated.

Unfortunately, I can't give you an answer to this at the moment. I've not done a side by comparison of the two, and the only comparable lens I have is my old 70-210 f4-5.6 AF, which is quite a nice lens, but I don't think it's quite as good as the 80-400VR, but I'd need to do some comparitive images to really be sure.

And of course it's not the glass you're asking about.

I'm expecting to have some shooting time next week, so if you care to remind me, let's see if I can arrange for a couple of comparisons to be made.

I am a sharpness fanatic and am considering purchasing either a new 80-200 Nikon 2.8 or now, after seeing your photos, the 80-400VR.

OK, sharpness is one important aspect here, but there are a couple of other issues that need to be seriously considered. At 2.8, the 80-200 is very fast, so the question of low-light performance needs needs to be considered.

The 80-400VR is significantly slower in this regard, but of course it has twice the reach. For my needs, the extra reach was a primary consideration and is why I bought this lens over and above the 80-200 or the 70-200VR.

Note too that the 80-400's AF will perform more slowly than some other lenses; this can be controlled with thoughtful use of the lens (I had no issues at the F1 in Melbourne, and there aren't too many things that move more quickly than a gaggle of F1 cars in full flight) but it may or may not be an issue for you.

Aside from the testing I referred to above, I'd strongly recommend a visit to the next minimeet, so you can have a play and make some infomred judgements for yourself.


And one final comment - that moon shot looks superb printed on A3+ from the R1800.

Thanks for your reply Gary. That little piece at the end about the R1800 was the cream on the cake. I still love that thing (that takes up half my desk)

It really brings home to me the importance of thinking about what kind of photos one is going to take (of the longer range) most of the time. I am going to give it some more thought. PS I am going back to Samoa next Tuesday for "Work" and intend to take my 12-24 and 24-120. It is too hot to carry anything too heavy there. I have just purchased these two babies and hope to trial them with a vengeance in the tropics.

Regs

Peter Mc

petermmc wrote:PS I am going back to Samoa next Tuesday for "Work" and intend to take my 12-24 and 24-120. It is too hot to carry anything too heavy there. I have just purchased these two babies and hope to trial them with a vengeance in the tropics.

Have fun!