Ouch, Phil Askey...

Indeed, the DPR lens review of the Nikon 70-200 VR confirms the fears of other professional photographers who recently upgraded from DX to FX:

The 70-200, announced in 2002 with it's slim and sexy design, was engineered to be a killer lens on the DX crop, with very, very little consideration as to what might happen if Nikon "went full frame" half a decade later... It's almost a DX lens that just happens to cover the full 35mm frame. Ouch.

Basically, just outside the DX "frame", the lens falls to pieces in every department- sharpness, chromatic aberration, and vignetting. At ANY aperture. It's not as bad at the wide end as it is at the telephoto end, but still... Let's just say I'd laugh at you if you wanted to go shoot landscapes with it.

Chances are, and this is what the review itself called for, Nikon will "update" the lens this year, seeing as they are on an amazing roll with their other f/2.8 primes designed specifically for the D3- The 14-24 f/2.8 and the 24-70 f/2.8 basically set a new standard for sharpness, beating even prime lenses. So, if you already own the 70-200 and shoot DX, be aware that going to FX may be a bit of a surprise. If you already shoot FX or plan on it in the near future, then you may want to off-load the 70-200 and upgrade to a "mk2" when it comes out.

Sadly, the lens will probably be big and huge, maybe bigger and heavier than Canon's behemoth 70-200 2.8...

Aaaannnnd, reason #1 why I love DX! My Sigma 50-150 2.8 DC is so cute, I just love it. Under 6" long and less than 2 lbs, it just rocks...

=Matt=