Evaluations By Bjørn Rørslett
I recently wrote up an article about good or bad tripod collar designs. As a part of the research for that story, I made a compilation of my experiences with various tripod collars found on many of the big telephoto lenses, and the Micro-Nikkors. Read on to learn more. Please note I have not incorporated other people's opinions in the list below.
| Tripod Collar Rating | Lens | Comment |
| Excellent to Very Good | 50-300 mm f/4.5 Zoom-Nikkor ED | AI version (which I own) is excellent and the AIS has an even bigger and better tripod collar. A superb lens on a tripod |
| 200 mm f/4 Micro-Nikkor IF (AIS) | AIS version had a much improved, broader collar | |
| 200 mm f/2 Nikkor ED-IF | Smallish sized, but still well-performing | |
| 300 mm f/4.5 Nikkor ED-IF | Same clam-shell type collar as the 200 Micro (AIS) | |
| 300 mm f/2.8 Nikkor ED-IF | All manual versions have nice collars | |
| 400 mm f/3.5 Nikkor ED-IF | Fitted with one of the best collars | |
| Good | AFS 70-200 mm f/2.8 G ED-IF VR | Detachable tripod mount and at last a broad rotating collar |
| 200 mm f/4 Micro-Nikkor IF (AI) | The narrow collar of AI version had less stability than its successor | |
| AF 200 mm f/4 Micro-Nikkor ED-IF | Slanted foot makes the tripod mount less stable than its MF predecessor, but performance still is good | |
| 400 mm f/5.6 Nikkor ED-IF | Hinged removable collar similar to 200 Micro and 300/4.5 ED-IF. However, its long lens barrel is prone to vibration | |
| 600 mm f/4 Nikkor ED-IF | Various versions with recent tendency towards a cantilevered design | |
| 800 mm f/5.6 Nikkor ED-IF | Long lens barrel can give vibration issues, needs two-point support | |
| 800 mm f/8 Nikkor ED-IF | Lens barrel prone to vibration, needs two-point support | |
| Adequate (more or less) |
AFS 300 mm f/2.8 Nikkor ED-IF | Adequate, but no more |
| AFS 500 mm f/4 Nikkor ED-IF | Marginally acceptable | |
| 500 mm f/4 P Nikkor ED-IF | Tripod mount on the skimpy side, may need improvement. Light lens barrel quite prone to vibration | |
| AFS 80-200 mm f/2.8 Zoom-Nikkor ED-IF | Just barely acceptable tripod mount | |
| Inadequate | AF 70-180 mm f/4.5-5.6 Micro-Nikkor ED | Acute need for improvement, in order to get the optical quality the lens is capable of delivering |
| AF 80-200 mm f/2.8 Nikkor ED | They could just have dropped the whole tripod mount | |
| Poor | AF-VR 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6 Nikkor ED | 100 % wrong design, the worst tripod collar I've ever seen |
| AFS 300 mm f/4 Nikkor ED-IF | With the identical collar to the above lens, the AFS 300 is a pathetic experience on a tripod | |
| AFS 400 mm f/2.8 Nikkor ED-IF | Very long, pliable and extended foot on the collar, making the lens a bad joke on any tripod | |
Last Update 27 July, 2003 |