Can The Nikor Af 80-400 Vr Lens Fit On To The Nikon D200

[nez]

I have been thinking about upgrading my nikon d50 camera to the nikon
d200 ,but im afraid that some of the functions on my 80-400 vr lens wont work as the d200 has the f mount which is different to the d50s d mount.

Can any one help me on this problem?.

Thanks

[Leif]

I have been thinking about upgrading my nikon d50 camera to the nikon
d200 ,but im afraid that some of the functions on my 80-400 vr lens wont work as the d200 has the f mount which is different to the d50s d mount.

Can any one help me on this problem?.

Thanks

All Nikon SLRs use the F mount, but some older bodies cannot be used with lenses that lack an aperture ring, and some cannot drive VR. Your D200 should have no trouble with the 80-400 VR lens.

Leif

[nez]

All Nikon SLRs use the F mount, but some older bodies cannot be used with lenses that lack an aperture ring, and some cannot drive VR. Your D200 should have no trouble with the 80-400 VR lens.

Leif
Thanks leif i shall go ahead with my purchase.

[yossi]

It works like a charm with this lens.

[nez]

It works like a charm with this lens.

Thanks yossi for the advice do you use this set up and if so what camera settings do you recomend for birding
thanks.

[yossi]

There are no special birding setups.
I use the camera always in Aperture priority mode, Center weighted metering (8%) unless there's a bird with white, shining feathers - as then I use spot.
During daylight I use sunny WB setup, Single focus, center spot. I leave all other setting in normal mode.
The 80-400 focuses faster with the D200 than it used to do with the D100 or D70, but not as fast as with the D2X. In any case, it's not as fast as the 70-200 AFS. I limit the focus range on the lens - and it works much faster.
This is a great lens. I'll upload soon translated test reports to the new English section of my website on this lens and on the D200. There are still other 140 test reports and articles to translate...
http://www.kramery.com/en/

[nez]

There are no special birding setups.
I use the camera always in Aperture priority mode, Center weighted metering (8%) unless there's a bird with white, shining feathers - as then I use spot.
During daylight I use sunny WB setup, Single focus, center spot. I leave all other setting in normal mode.
The 80-400 focuses faster with the D200 than it used to do with the D100 or D70, but not as fast as with the D2X. In any case, it's not as fast as the 70-700 AFS. I limit the focus range on the lens - and it works much faster.
This is a great lens. I'll upload soon translated test reports to the new English section of my website on this lens and on the D200. There are still other 140 test reports and articles to translate...
http://www.kramery.com/en/

Sorry for the late reply Yossi ill put those setting into the camera and see how i go on.Another question i would like to ask is Will the lens work with a kenko 300 pro 1.4 teleconverter thanks again yossi for your help and a big hello from Yorkshire England.

Thanks.

[Keith Reeder]

It will Nez - and you will still get AF and stabilisation in good light.

[yossi]

Yes, it will work with the Kenko Pro 300 x1.4 TC.
If you'll use it with the 80-400, AF will slow down further, but it will still be useable. The optical quality of the combo is good but not stellar and the best way to use it is on a tripod, VR turned off and close the iris by 1/2 a stop at least.

[PhilW]

Spoke to Nikon and believe it or not the Kenko converter is the only one that will work allowing autofocus with this lens. Unbelievable that Nikon don't make one. I use it with D100 and have noticed autofocus hunts more when converter fitted.

You may struggle to get this particular converter.

[nez]

sorry for being ignorant but what do you mean by close the iris by 1/2 stops

thanks.

[nez]

Yes, it will work with the Kenko Pro 300 x1.4 TC.
If you'll use it with the 80-400, AF will slow down further, but it will still be useable. The optical quality of the combo is good but not stellar and the best way to use it is on a tripod, VR turned off and close the iris by 1/2 a stop at least.
sorry for being ignorant but what do you mean by close the iris by 1/2 stops

thanks.

[nez]

It will Nez - and you will still get AF and stabilisation in good light.

thanks keith

[Leif]

sorry for being ignorant but what do you mean by close the iris by 1/2 stops

thanks.

He means stop down (or close) the lens aperture by 1/2 stop. If the lens is F5.6 wide open at the long end (400mm), then stopping down 1 stop takes you to F8, two stops to F11. For each stop the amount of light getting through halves. Or put another way, each time you stop down the lens 1 stop, the size of the aperture halves. So stopping down half a stop at 400mm means halfway between F5.6 and F8 whatever that is.

I hope that is clearer than mud.

Leif

[nez]

He means stop down (or close) the lens aperture by 1/2 stop. If the lens is F5.6 wide open at the long end (400mm), then stopping down 1 stop takes you to F8, two stops to F11. For each stop the amount of light getting through halves. Or put another way, each time you stop down the lens 1 stop, the size of the aperture halves. So stopping down half a stop at 400mm means halfway between F5.6 and F8 whatever that is.

I hope that is clearer than mud.

Leif

Thanks leif i feel like a complete idiot now its just dawned on me what a plonker i am

[yossi]

Leif is absolutely correct. I close down the lens by a 1/3 stop to 6.3 or by 2/3 stops to 7.1 - depending on the lighting conditions. The average is half a stop - about f:6.8.
When there's good light outside, I close the iris more - then sharpness improves. Keep in mind though that the TC does not report back to the camera the real aperture. With the x1.4 TC, the aperture changes to f:8 and the focal length changes to 560mm. Long AFS lenses report to the camera (and the EXIF) the actual focal length and aperture. The 80-400 does not report, but nevertheless, metering is correct and VR function is maintained.
So in practice, closing the iris by say 1/3 of a stop while using the TC means going from F:8 to F:9 and this is not reported. What IS reported is F:6.3.
This means that you are shooting at f:9 and low shutter speed - meaning - a lot of care should be taken while shooting - to eliminate hand shake blur.
How much is allowed?
The rule of thumb states that you can safely shoot hand held (after some practice) at a speed of 1/focal length in seconds. In our case, focal length is 400mm, so it's safe to shoot at 1/400th of a second. However, due the crop factor, the focal length seems to the sensor as 600mm, meaning - you should shoot @ 1/600th of a second.
Now, the VR comes to help. In theory, it allows you to shoot by 3 stops of speed slower, e.g., 1/75th of a second. In real life, 1/100th of a second is a safe speed.
Now, everything should be recalculated for the lens + the TC...