Review on Nikon AF S NIKKOR 2 8E ED by Michelle Carey

This is a difficult lens to see. I had the non-VR version but sold it because I didn't find it particularly sharp from center to corners. The mids were clear but the corners were soft and I never felt like I was getting the sharp landscape photos I usually use the lens for. The new lens appears to have undergone some design changes (see Roger Cicala's excellent bench tests against the old lens and Tamron VR on the Lensrentals.com blog). For the most part, Nikon seems to have incorporated optical formulas and design changes that sharpen corners and edges with little loss of sharpness in the center. This is most noticeable in close-up shots of people, where the center appears slightly (but noticeably) softer in the center of the frame. This is especially true at 24 and 50mm apertures at f4, and at larger apertures at close range. On the other hand, landscapes seem to benefit greatly from this new formula, as the whole image seems to be evenly focused and it's fairly easy to sharpen it in post and in print. In short, in my opinion if you're considering this lens for portraits, the older versions might be for you. If you mainly shoot landscapes, VR, E-stop and a modified optical formula will be beneficial. These are the advantages of the lens. Cons - higher price (about $500 more than the old version; almost double the Tamron), the lens is larger (both in terms of weight, length and volume) and it uses the less common 82mm Filter. the size. Overall the lens is beefy, fairly solid and probably difficult to portage with Nikon's holy trinity of fast telephoto zooms (14-24, 24-70 and 70-200).