The choice between Nikon 80-200 F2.8 small steel gun and Sigma 70-200 and Tamron 70-200

There are four versions of Nikon 80-200. The new products on the market now are only the third generation. The first three generations are called small steel cannons. The fourth generation is called the big steel cannon, which weighs three pounds. In addition to not having VR, the imaging is significantly more powerful than the small bamboo cannon. Nikon is the real king of this focal length. Unfortunately, it has been discontinued and the cost is too high. You can only buy second hand.

The Sigma 70-200 has been in its fourth generation so far. The new product on the market now is the fourth generation, which is also the second generation of macro, commonly known as macro black.

As for Tamron 70-200, it is called Xiaolong Pao here.

1 If you don’t have a D200, D300 or higher fuselage, you should carefully consider a small steel cannon. The focus is very slow, and the big one will worry about burning the motor of the fuselage

2 These three do not have anti-shake. If you want to anti-shake, Nikon only has a small bamboo gun (70-200VR).

3 The small steel cannon weighs 1.3 kilograms, and the Sigma Xiaohei is even heavier. The lightest one is the Xiaolong Cannon.

4 Last time I went to take pictures at a car show, I used the Sigma Black. I felt that there was not much blur, but I just used a flash to raise the shutter. If you are shooting outdoors and the shutter speed is above 300 when the lighting is good, shake should not be a big problem.

5 I used Xiaohei to shoot a car show all afternoon. When I came back, I could hardly lift my arms and could hardly press the shutter. It was considered a physical exercise.

6 The maximum aperture of Dragon Cannon Sharp is good, but the sharpness is dry and the out-of-focus feeling is a bit messy. In addition, the focusing speed is slow. I heard that the new firmware has significantly improved the focusing speed, but even if it is improved, it will not be faster than the ultrasonic motor and the sound will be loud.

7 Xiaohei is more oily, has a better layering, and the out-of-focus is softer and more delicate, but the sharpness is slightly worse. This is most serious at the 200 end. The maximum aperture is not sharp enough and needs to be closed by one or two stops. . In addition, Xiaohei focuses quickly and quietly.

8 Xiaohei’s sharpness is high at the short focal length, especially the 70-end, which is high enough, but it is worse at the telephoto end, and the 200-end is almost unusable at full aperture.

9 The worst focal length of the Dragon Cannon is around 135, and this section should be avoided as much as possible.

10 Whether it’s Xiao Hei or Dragon Cannon, you have to choose one that doesn’t lose focus. After all, the telephoto lens has a large aperture.

11 I personally thought about it for a long time and chose Xiao Hei. Because I shoot more portraits, I don’t like the dry feeling of the Xiaolong Pao. Relatively speaking, the skin color taken by the Xiaohei is more dewy. Another factor is that Xiaohei has an ultrasonic motor, which allows it to focus quickly enough.

12 Both Xiaohei and Xiaolong Cannon have macro functions. Relatively speaking, Xiaolong Cannon’s macro is stronger. However, if you only use it occasionally for macro photography, then macro should not be the main consideration. But if you like macro very much, you might as well get a macro head specifically.