Nearly 7 years after its predecessor, the Nikon AF-S 70-200mm F/2.8G ED VR II, was released, Nikon has come out with the outstanding 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR. That’s a lot of time to make a lot of improvements. Edge-to-edge sharpness, reduced flare, better color contrast, improved VR, autofocus so fast you can’t keep up, closer focus distance, quiet SWM (silent wave motor), better built, impressive field of view… just to name a few. Are you almost out of breath? I am.

If you shoot weddings, sports, or wildlife and nature, you’ve probably shot with a 70-200 lens before. They’re kind of the perfect “all-around” telephoto lenses. Nikon has introduced their new AF-S 70-200 f/2.8E lens with improvements for virtually every circumstance. Closer focusing for when you’re in that tight wedding venue, super fast autofocus for when you’re trying to catch that play, and a quieter lens all around for when you’re trying to sneak in a shot of that bird.

Before I leave you, let’s talk about a few differences. First and foremost, the zoom and the focus ring have swapped places. If you’ve been shooting Nikon for a while, this might throw you off guard and if I had to guess… probably won’t be your favorite thing. We didn’t design the lens, and we feel your pain - but we still have lots to love. Next, is the name… The last 70-200 lens Nikon came out with was a f/2.8G II, this newer one you might have noticed is a f/2.8E. That “E” stands for Electronic Aperture. Essentially, they’ve moved from a mechanical aperture to an electronic one. The key point: This lens won’t work with bodies older than ~2009 vintage. That means if you have a D70 or D200 (or anything that shoots actual film), this lens will not function correctly. But if you’re shooting with anything produced in the last 7 years or so, you really should check out this lens. The performance it amazing.