yep yep i agree. i sometimes have that thinking too. i used to shoot at high ISOs with a 70-300 VR (i always have my VR off) so that my shutter speeds were fast enough to freeze motion. so i was able to freeze motion, but i miss shots many many times, because my lens was not fast enough to AF. and then i figured, high ISO, but still its not enough.
but one thing we must be reminded, is that for fast action stuff, you need to be able to AF fast for rapidly changing environments. most tele lens i have used so far has never been able to meet that challenge.. so dun even talk about lens like 55-200...
Think you need the 200L F2....
....the 70-300VR is not known to be fast at AF....but my point is, the 80-200, preferably the AFS version, works for indoor sports as well. The VR is but something nice to have, since one need to push the shutter fast enough to freeze the motion. That would mean at least 1/200 or higher....which means what you really need is higher ISO.
The AFS version sells for betw 1.6-1.9K depending on the condition, compared with the VR selling for between 2.4-2.9K secondhand. The non-afs 2-touch version could be had for between 1-1.4K secondhand. Or even lower at 650-900 for the one-touch version.
Note that this is based on today's prevailing retail price of the newer versions. New prices have gone up, and have dragged the 2nd hand prices of current model upward. The pricing of older models such as the one-touch version has been constant for the last few years.
The thing is as camera sensors get better at handling noise, VR tech may become redundant to a certain extend.
Rationally, one should also weight budget constraint and needs when buying equipments. Even if budget is not an issue, one should look at ones' needs and level of skills. No point getting a D3x if one is a P-mode user, or one is just a casual user, shooting once in the while when the moon is blue.
But having said that, it is none of of our business if someone just want to acquire the top-of-the line(TOTL) just to make sure his dry-cab is not left empty. However, when the next TOTL is launched, we can see how fast we are at snatching a good deal if these outdated TOTL is sold on B&S.
