Nikon Z 70-200 f/2.8 S II vs V1: Worth the Upgrade?

6 years ago, Nikon came out with arguably the best 70 to 200 f/2.8 on the market. 6 years later, we got version two. Shorter, faster, lighter. But is that 5% difference going to inspire you to pick up your camera again? Or is this going to make a difference in your photography? Let's talk about it. First impressions on this lens is I mean it's about 300 grams lighter than the original one. It's a little bit shorter as well as we mentioned, but this is a really fast action lens. I mean this is doesn't feel like a the 7200. It actually feels more like a 2470 in a lot of ways. The length of it is much shorter. And the one thing just walking around taking photos with this is just how fast it is. how the autofocus is lightning quick. I mean, it's very similar to the new 2470 FF2.8 Mark II where they've improved the autofocusing motors inside of it. You're getting that same technology in this. And I mean, it's just very confidence inspiring. Now, it's not like the old 70 to 200 f 2.8 isn't good. It's fantastic. I would I think for 95% of you out there, that lens will still be more than relevant and you'll find the optics out of that amazing. But this is for those 5enters out there. And it could be for performance. It could be because you're doing sports photography or wildlife photography and you need that extra speed or you want that more close focusing or you want that faster, you know, internal zoom from 70 to 200 that's going to make a difference in your photography or it could just be because you want the latest and greatest, you want the newest lens and there's nothing wrong with that. Sometimes picking up something new like this that's, you know, obviously bit better in a lot of ways reinspires your photography. And so I always say buy what makes you happy because you know what that's what all this is really about or for those who are doing sports and that 5% is going to make a difference in you capturing that one moment or not this lens can help you with that. Anyway, we're going to walk around here with Gardens by the Bay, take some photos, daily stuff, just lifestyle photography. Let's see how it performs. And we'll also compare to the 70 to 200, the original 2.8 Sline lens. By the way, in case you're wondering, I only had about three hours in total with this lens, so it's much more of a first impressions. With that said, some other things that are similar to the new 24 to 70 f2.8 [music] S2 lens is going to be that control ring with clicks. That's very similar to having an aperture ring now, but that's something that's new to the 70 to 200 f2.8 version 2. And minimal focusing distance has now been improved to 0.38 m to 0.8 m versus 0.5 m to 1 m. And you're going to definitely notice that difference, especially taking photos as I have around Gardens by the Bay and the Flower Dome. One of the things I want to try was the teleconverter on this. Now, you can put a 1.4 times or two times as well. And that's going to give you some really good range. So, with the two times, you're basically about 140 to 400, about 5.6 straight across. And that's more than adequate for a lot of uh users out there. Nailed it. Focus. Everything is great. APS-C crop on this because 45 megapixels on the Z8 can even get closer on that and it's going to give you a lot of versatility. But the one thing I like is the ergonomics. Case in point, this tripod footing here is now Arca-Swiss and it's a bit longer. So what's nice about here is if you rest your hand and I can actually, you know, go back and forth from the 70 to 200 pretty much like that, which is really very quick. I mean the uh the zoom throw on this is very short considering which makes it very easy and uh again adds to the whole fast action and user experience of using something like this versus not. So yeah anyway let's walk around here. We'll probably go inside the flower dome here, take some photos, try some different scenarios and see how it performs. But so far I'm liking this thing. And there's one thing I haven't showed you about the tripod footing which uh I think is very cool and I think because of the weight of this lens may not even need this. Let's get into that in just a bit. [music] All right. So, one of the new things about this lens, as I mentioned, we got the Arca-Swiss tripod footing here, but you can remove this ring and actually we have a cover that goes over because this is so light. I mean, basically without the tripod footing, you're you're under 1,000 grams. So, if you notice here on this uh ring right here or this housing, you're going to see this button. So, you have to press that. Then, you have to turn it and you're going to get all the way to the very end. And sometimes you get it and pull it off. See, there's the lock right there. Right? And then for aesthetic purposes, line up the white line, white line, lock it in place, and there you go. But the one thing the tripod footing does help you as I mentioned is that short is that short sort of zoom throw on this because it is uh shorter than the original 70 to 200 just by a bit. Not by much, but you definitely do notice it. But with your hand resting underneath the lens like that, it makes it very easy to turn back and forth. But um this is a nice thing. Again, not the easiest thing to take off and on. You got to practice that a few times. Let's figure that out. Here we go. Push there. block then put there we go. Man, these Japanese engineers at Nikon must be really strong. Do the forearms on these guys must be like wah. But I mean, not a dealbreaker. So, I'm pairing the original 70 to 200 2.8. And okay, sharpness-wise, they're pretty much on par with one another. I mean, this is obviously a very sharp, high performing lens. The difference you're going to notice is the bouquet, the falloff. Obviously, the new one has 11 rounded aperture blades versus this has nine rounded aperture blades. So, it's going to be much more of a smoother falloff and a more smoother bouquet, which is the thing. You'll notice the difference and the weight. I put this on here cuz I cannot remove this entire ring. I can remove the footing, which is an Arcus Swiss by the way. You definitely feel the weight difference on this. Also, this this display is gone now, which obviously you can tell by the B-roll that you've seen in this video, but you definitely notice a difference. And I think even those 3 400 g will they may make an impact on you depending on how you want to carry this lens. Could be all day you're doing events, wedding photography, whatever have you. With the Z8 and Z9 or even a Z63, you may find this 3400 g weight savings be a big factor in why you want to pick up the second uh version of this lens versus the original. But I mean optically they're very much on par. And that's just a testament to Nickon and how good they make a lens that six years after the fact it's still that good. So now we're gonna do a quick video test here with this lens. And um as you saw from the focus breathing, I mean it's minimal at best. I mean hardly anything. So this is going to be designed great for video uh videographers and so forth. But yeah, I mean the image quality of this is is just outstanding. The performance, the weight, I don't know what to say. I mean again it's on paper it's 5% difference probably around there but in real world usage unless I mean if you're coming into the Nikon system brand new and obviously it depends on budget cuz street price versus you know MSRP I would say just pick this up. But again if you're only going to use a 7200 uh 2.8 Once in a while, the original one that I have here is just going to be as good and it will I mean [music] it will do the job for you. Image qualities out of this is fantastic. Sharpness, autofocus is still there. Even 6 years after Nikon released this lens, it is still very relevant. This [music] one is just that much better in terms of weight, um, usability and so forth like that. The bokeh, you're going to notice a little bit more creamier. But again, sometimes we buy what the heart wants us to buy. And that's what this lens is about. For the sports photographers, the wildlife photographers, you need that that few% difference to capture that image. This lens is for you. For the hobbyists, the people that love photography. If you want the best of the best, this is probably it. Anyway, guys, that's it. If you like this video, like, subscribe. Thank you for the support once again, and I will chat to you all very, very soon. Bye.

#Nikon #NikonZ8 #Nikon70200f2.8 Check out the full resolution sample images here: https://bobbytonelli.pic-time.com/-NikkorZ70200f28VRSII Nikon just announced the new Nikon Z 70-200 f/2.8 S II, six years after releasing the arguably perfect original version. I had a few hours to take this new lens around Gardens by the Bay to see how it performs in the real world. It's about 300 grams lighter , features lightning-quick autofocus similar to the Nikon 24-70 f/2.8 II , and has a drastically improved minimum focusing distance. We test out the teleconverter performance on the Z8 , check out the new 11 rounded aperture blades, and I even show you how to remove the new Arca-Swiss tripod collar so the lens drops under 1000 grams. But the big question remains: is the 5% performance bump enough to make you trade in your original version, or is this just for the 5% of sports and wildlife shooters out there? Let's break it down. Video Chapters: 0:00 - Intro: Is the 5% Difference Worth It? 0:24 - First Impressions: Weight & Size 0:48 - Autofocus Speed & New Motors 1:03 - The 95% vs The 5%: Who is This Lens For? 2:18 - Control Ring & Improved Minimum Focus Distance 2:48 - Teleconverter Performance on the Z8 3:14 - Arca-Swiss Foot & Zoom Throw Ergonomics 4:07 - How to Remove the Tripod Collar (Under 1000g!) 5:29 - V1 vs V2: Sharpness, Bokeh & 11 Aperture Blades 6:44 - Focus Breathing & Video Performance Test 7:08 - Final Verdict: Should You Buy It?