TEST: 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II+TC-20EIII vs.80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR

Msmoto

These two lenses were compared in a semi lab setting by RMP and myself. AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II+TC-20EIII vs. AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR

The Procedure, Nikon D810, tripod, Exposure delay 3 sec, Aperture priority, ISO 64, Exposures from 1/8 sec to 2.5 seconds, RAW post processing limited to cropping.

An album on Flickr has these images, in full size:
Nikon D810, AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II+TC-20EIII at 400mm @ f/5.6
Nikon D810, AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II+TC-20EIII at 400mm @ f/8
Nikon D810, AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II+TC-20EIII at 400mm @ f/11

Nikon D810, AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II+TC-20EIII at 140mm @ f/5.6
Nikon D810, AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II+TC-20EIII at 140mm @ f/8
Nikon D810, AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II+TC-20EIII at 140mm @ f/11

Nikon D810, AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR at 400mm @ f/5.6
Nikon D810, AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR at 400mm @ f/8
Nikon D810, AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR at 400mm @ f/11

Nikon D810, AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR at 140mm @ f/5
Nikon D810, AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR at 140mm @ f/8
Nikon D810, AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR at 140mm @ f/11

Nikon D810, AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR at 80mm @ f/4.5
Nikon D810, AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR at 80mm @ f/8
Nikon D810, AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR at 80mm @ f/11

Plus a couple of cropped images. The results were clearly in the favor of the 80-400 in all images and can be easily seen in these images I have selected:



Full size: https://www.flickr.com/photos/fantinesfotos/22562819721/sizes/o/



Full Size: https://www.flickr.com/photos/fantinesfotos/22365096469/sizes/o/

I would suggest opening the two full size images in separate windows and doing your own comparison.

The full set is here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/fantinesfotos/albums/72157660391804786/with/21929279084/

I have started this as a new thread as we did not have the TC-17 nor the 70-200 f/4 to compare.

Parke1953

Wish I could see them on a good monitor. Mine died a few days ago. Even PHOTO-A-DAY looks so bad on this TV screen and I know they look great on my old monitor. Do yourself a favor and buy the best monitor you can afford so you don't miss anything. Sorry about being off topic but I'm bummed.

heartyfisher

Distance to subject ?

rmp

I'm sorry, but I cannot remember: It was either 15 or 17 feet. The d-o-f was inches. The shots above were full frame. Checking the little pinwheel circles is the fastest way to see the differences.

rmp

I can barely see the difference on my laptop, but on my large monitor the difference is very clear, and zooming to 1:2 or better shows the differences dramatically.