It's been a few months since I received my Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, aka the 'stalker' lens to my friends. The low-light zoom was a good addition to the 17-55mm f/2.8 I picked up earlier this year.

If you read many of the reviews of the 70-200mm f/2.8 you'll see a consistent thread...it's an awesome lens. For much of what I shoot, the lens is the perfect solution.

I'm often at conferences where there is a speaker on a stage in a low-light situation. I want to get a nice headshot. This lens does it every time. Some of my recent favorite shots have been taken with this lens. What you need to realize is that for the headshots below, I was standing a good distance away.

The 17-55mm is my standard walk-around lens but recently I've been shooting with the 70-200mm in many situations. Almost all the photos I took at our recent trip to Animal Kingdom were taken with the 70-200mm.

John Frost recently complimented the shots I got of the Finding Nemo Musical, I could not have taken those shots without this lens. The combination of the low aperture and VR makes for great shots in a stage/theater setting. However, I've found that the VR does get in the way of sport photography, i.e. rapid fire shooting.

There are some drawbacks, but not many. The weight of the lens is something to contend with, but I find that you quickly get used to it. It's also, well....big. The final factor is cost, currently B&H lists the lens at $1600 (if they're in stock).

Any good lens is a major investment, but they're supposed to live through a few bodies so if you amortize the cost of the lens over that lifetime....justification in process here.... :-) In the end the lens is worth the investment if you can swing the finances.