[Rover]

I know you are not serious. I think you are just trolling.

No one in their right mind is going to put an extension tube on the 70-200 to shoot at MFD. Next you are probably going to tell me that you have the whole rig on a heavy tripod running around after these critters? Didn't someone tell you that Nikon invented a macro lens decades ago?

I am also certain that you know that there is the 180mm f2.8 which would meet your needs better, if you were actually shooting "exclusively" at 200mm and at MFD.

Affected or effected? You are going to have to do better than this to wind me up.

Actually I did just that yesterday... used my 70-200, although a Canon one, with tubes to shoot a colorful caterpillar I chanced upon when doing a very different kind of shooting. I also donned an extender to boot. I don't own a macro lens because I only rarely shoot this stuff and I own too many lenses already! Besides, the tubes are versatile because you can put them on any lens (not all will work but I've had reasonable success shooting electronic components with the 16-35 @35mm plus tubes).

A 180/200 prime cannot fully replace a 70-200 zoom anyway... For one thing, none of them have IS, and Nikon's is an old, screw driven lens.