From the 80-200 to the 70-200 S II
My first walk with the Z 70-200mm f/2.8 S II, next to three Yellowstone frames from the 80-200 I used to love.
I went for a walk at Lowry Nature Center on October 25. It was my first time out with the Z 70-200mm f/2.8 S II on my Z 8, and I’m very impressed by it.
For years the lens I loved was the old AF 80-200mm f/2.8. I used it a lot for weddings and such, and it’s behind more than 600 of my Lightroom picks. What I loved was the color accuracy, the general sharpness without feeling clinical, and the bokeh, which was incredible. My portraits from the Feerick wedding really showed it. It just made dreamy pictures. These three are from that lens on the D700, wide open at 200mm in Yellowstone in 2013.
What impresses me most about the S II is the new technology. It’s incredible how quickly and quietly it focuses, and how accurate it is. It was fun playing with 3D-tracking autofocus on animals and watching it lock on to their eyes. Overall it’s sharp wide open and stopped down, and the colors and bokeh remind me of what I liked about the 80-200. I really like my F-mount 70-200, but I never had that same feeling with it.
On my About page I wrote that modern lenses can feel clinically boring. This one is an exception. It brings the clinical, technical side while still having the character I enjoy in photography. I still think the flaws in old lenses are what made them special.
It was also my first real edit in DxO PhotoLab. I like its clarity and simplicity, and it looks like it can also get very technical.
