> I have several 70/80-200/210 zooms in the F/4-5.6 range for > autofocus. > All of them have their strengths and weaknesses. > Some are good at the short end and poor at the long end. > Others are just the opposite. > **What is your favorite mid-range zoom?**
I do have some experience with a few different "70/80-200/210 zooms", so I thought I'd chime in with a few comments. > The ATX 80-200/2.8 is fantastic but it's large, heavy and manual focus. Among the f/2.8's, I really like the FA* 80-200/2.8 (what's not to like, except I would have preferred a one-touch zoom, but I know it's an AF lens, so...). I also really like the ol' manual focus Tokina ATX 80-200/2.8 (which I'm reluctant to give up, even though I now have the FA*). I don't care as much for the autofocus ATX 80-200/2.8 (although, to be honest, I have not used it as much as the others). All three lenses do seem very well built. However, about as was said, all of these are big and heavy - not exactly walking around lenses - <g>. (Of course, the "heavy" goes hand-in-hand with the "well built".) But, when you're short on photons... > The F70-210/4-5.6 is good when it wants to be but I get inconsistent > results with it, both exposure and image quality wise. I still haven't gotten excited about the F 70-210/4-5.6. (I know some people love this lens, but I can say that there is not a universal admiration of it.) I find that the A 70-210/4 is better (unless maybe I just have a "dud" of an F lens) in all ways (except maybe in autofocus speed - <g>). In fact, jumping directly to the "bottom line question", the A 70-210/4 is my favorite all-around flavor of the "70/80-200/210 zooms". Among some of the 3rd-party models, I've used the five different VS1 70-210's: The original VS1 70-210/3.5 is solid, but is not quite as sharp as the second VS1 70-210/3.5 (which is optically identical, as far as I can tell, to the Tokina 70-210/3.5), which I'd say is tied with the VS1 70-210/2.8-4. The fourth and fifth VS1 70-210's (both f/2.8-4) are not as good as their predecessors (although the Q-DOS version, i.e., the fifth version, is a lot of fun to play with). So, my "bottom line" choice for this category is still the A 70-210/4. Fred
