Customer Reviews

Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED Autofocus VR Zoom Nikkor Lens

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Many photographers who purchase telephoto lenses wind up disappointed in their lenses' performance; they achieve subpar results and then swear that the lens is "not sharp." Some lenses indeed might not be optically outstanding, but even in these cases the major cause of soft images, particularly when camera and lens are handheld, is camera/lens shake. People routinely try to take highly magnified photos at shutter speeds that are simply too slow.

Nikon has come up with a (partial) solution to this problem through its innovative "vibration reduction" series of lenses. These optics are designed to compensate, at least partially, for the camera shake/movement that is inevitable when a lens is hand-held. According to Nikon, the VR mechanism adds two or more "stops" worth of steadiness, meaning that a 400mm. lens that previously might be adequately handheld at 1/500 second now will (often) produce good results at 1/125. Out in the field this can make the difference between a successful photo outing and a frustrating one.

Does this technology work, and is this 80-400mm. lens a good product overall? To both questions I offer a qualified "yes." As long as one realizes that VR is not magic and has definite limitations, this feature is definitely worth paying some extra money for, particularly if one's photographic style prevents the regular and disciplined use of a tripod. The other thing about VR to keep in mind is that since camera shake itself is variable, it's a good idea always to take multiple photos to ensure that at least one of them is optimally sharp (a slow-mo record of how much one 'vibrates' while holding a camera would reveal that from instant to instant there is considerable variation).

But what about this lens' performance overall? There definitely are some drawbacks and compromises of which potential buyers should be aware. The lens is fairly heavy, and since it utilizes what is now an "old-fashioned" screw-drive AF mechanism, autofocus can seem very slow and noisy. It would be nice if someday Nikon replaced this version of the lens with an AF-S model, but there apparently is no current plan to do this. To minimize the maddeningly slow "searching" that a slow AF lens can exhibit, Nikon has included a "focus limit" switch. This makes it possible to cut the focus range in half, essentially. If one is taking pictures that are all at a distance or are all reasonably close-up, setting the switch to "limit" will restrict the lens' focusing range, allowing proper focus to be achieved more quickly.

Another drawback is that the removable tripod mount that comes with the lens is simply not very good. Photographers intending to use the lens on a tripod regularly are advised to purchase a third party mount such as that offered by Kirk Enterprises.

Optically, the lens is actually quite remarkable. This is a 5:1 tele zoom, and one would think that given the "jack of all trades" nature of such a beast there would be severe optical compromises. Not so. As with just about all lenses, there is a slight loss of sharpness at full aperture, but once the lens is stopped down even one stop, sharpness at all focal lengths is quite satisfactory. As a bird photographer, I use my lens mainly at 400mm. As compared to my older, manual focus 400mm. Nikkors, the 80-400mm. is not quite as sharp and contrasty, but in practical terms the differences are truly minimal. This lens produces fine images exhibiting good contrast and excellent color rendition. Optically, it's a winner.

One caveat: because this is a complex zoom built from a large number of optical elements, it does NOT perform particularly well with teleconverters. With certain 1.4x teleconverters such as those in the Kenko Teleplus Pro line, the lens actually will still autofocus (even more slowly, however) and the VR mechanism works, sort of. But there is a notable deterioration of sharpness. With a 2x teleconverter, there is no AF, no VR, and even further reduced sharpness. If working with teleconverters is something you are counting on, stick to a single focal length tele.

Overall, however, for photographers bent on getting sharp photos at longer focal lengths hand-held, this is a fine lens to try and buy. For walkaround bird photographers like myself, it's nearly ideal. It's very likely that in a few years this early version of a VR lens will seem antiquated and quaint. For now, however, it represents a very good investment for Nikon users.

This is the absolutely best lens I have ever used but it can also be the most frustrating. After 6 months, with this lens on my D70 most of the time, I have hundreds of magnificent bird and animal photographs including hand held shots in fading light with an effective 35mm focal length of 600mm at f5.6 and 1/100 sec that are razor sharp thanks to vibration reduction. A bonus is that the magnification outweighs the longer focusing distance and you can actually get great close-ups of butterflies etc. As far as I can see you are never going to be able to fault the optics with a 6 Mpixel sensor. The VR technology gives you 2 stops most of the time and 3 stops enough of the time to be always worth a go. But there is a big cautionary tale. The focusing on this lens is slow! It can also get confused and seemingly refuse to focus for no good reason. (You have to refocus on something totally different and then switch back to your subject hoping it is still there!) I have lost a lot of shots while the focus motor is whirring backwards and forwards and then cursed the lens until I see the next really great shot and all is forgiven. It took me about 3 months and 1000 shots to get really familiar with the lens and the shooting techniques needed. On the D70 I generally push the ISO speed up to 400 when I mount the lens to compensate for the narrower f-stop range and I switch to central spot focus to get the best chance of controlling the slow focus problem. For the sort of subjects I like, aperture priority is usually the best approach - sometimes switching to full manual when there is time to set things up. Manual focus is always an option but the D70's "eyes" are sharper than mine so persisting with auto focus remains my preference. I use the focus limit option switch a lot and I leave the full VR option on nearly all the time. With my other lenses I generally keep about 1/3 of the shots I take, with this lens the ratio drops to about 1/4 or 1/5 but stick a big CF card in your Nikon and just take everything many times. This lens has revolutionized my photography and I love it much more than hate it.
POSTSCRIPT: This lens just got a bit better. I spent my kids' inheritance and bought a D200 which now improves the focusing issue. While the basic lens focus speed remains slow, the D200 is obviously quite a bit smarter at homing in on the right focus and hunts backwards and forwards less often than the D70, particularly in low light conditions. I still miss some shots due to slow focusing but definitely less often with the D200 than with the D70.

This is a great lens and takes simply amazing pictures. The results are much better than what you will get with the "plain" 70-300 telephoto lens.

That being said, there are a few things to consider.

1) the lens is expensive. It cost more than my D70 did...
2) the lens is HEAVY. When lugging this baby around, you know *something* is in that camera bag...
3) the focus is SLOW, particularly compared to the 70-300.

However, using the tripod mount as a "handle" (an awkward but effective use of the mounting bracket), I got some shots that simply blew me away given the amount of perceived camera shake. I do not have very steady hands (particularly with something so heavy) so the VR feature is invaluable.

I would recommend this lens, but don't throw away your 70-300 just yet...

Yes, without a doubt this lens is worth the price.
I have not used it with film but I couldn't be happier with how it performs on my
digital D200.
There is a reason that the pro's use lenses from the manufacturer of their cameras.
The same reason that these lenses cost more! Quality, durability and performance!
When you hook this lens up to the new camera technology the performance is quick and responsive. Yes, the autofocus does hunt at times, usually as you focus the first time. It is an easy switch to manual focus and also can be slightly adjusted manually during exposure lock. Images are crisp and colors are superb!
Personally I like the weight and substantial feel of this lens. When extended to full zoom the balance is not quite as nice but certainly manageable for me. I am over 6ft tall and could see where someone of smaller size would find this lens to be heavy. As far as I am concerned the size and weight are as they should be for a quality lens with this range.
Build quality is very good! Controls are in the right place and quickly become intuitive. I have to disagree with other complaints in regards to the tripod collar.
The one that came with my camera fits tightly and securely. It also removes very easily and since it is heavy the weight reduction is noticeable.
This lens comes with a very rugged pouch and strap as well as front and rear caps and lens shade. The lens shade is big! Suffice it to say that if you are using the lens shade on this lens it looks like something from the sidelines of an NFL game.
Bottom line is this is my favorite lens!
I thought long and hard about getting the 70-200mm AFS and the 80-200AFS nikkor lenses. Not a day goes by that I haven't been glad I put my money towards this lens with it's much bigger zoom range. Remember the 1.5 factor when using with digital sensor.
Good luck!

I just bought this lens to get more reach than I could with my 70-200 f/2.8. Let me first say that my 70-200 does not have VR. Normally, my shots with that lens are great. However, the use of a TC with the 70-200 in order to get the length I needed was intolerable. Shots were soft wide open and were impossible for me without the use of a tripod. It is for these reasons that I went to the 80-400 VR.

I use this lens with a D200. As everyone has claimed at length, the focus is slow (and noisy)...perhaps an AF-S version will come out now that I have already spent my $1500.

I have to say that I actually read the (short) manual before I went out with the lens for the first time. During that outing I was able to take very capable shots of my son's baseball game even in fading evening light. Photos were clear/sharp at 400mm and colors were bright and accurate.

Using the focus limiter switch made a great improvement in focus speed. No reason not to use it if you are consistently shooting subjects at greater than 15 feet. The other thing is to use position 1 for the VR. This locks the VR when you depress the shutter 1/2 way. Position 2 does not activate the VR until you actually press the shutter all the way down. I found 2 advantages of position 1: first, you can see the VR effect in the diopter and it gives to a chance to reframe your picture (which you will often need to do) and second, it takes about a second for the VR to lock in.

In short, I am thrilled with the performance of this lens. Yes, it is expensive. However, it is extremely capable. I have about 8 lenses in my collection and have pretty well decided that the glass I will need in my bag for 'everyday shooting' are the following:

50mm f/1.8 AF-D
18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX
80-400 f/4.5-f.5.6D ED VR

The 70-200 will still see the light of day, but not nearly as often. This 80-400 lives up to my expectations in terms of build quality, image quality and color accuracy. The VR exceeds my expectations in every way. The only thing that kept me from giving the lens 5 stars is the focusing mechanism. With AF-S, this would have been 5+.

I have to agree with most of the reviews here. It's heavy and not particularly quick focusing, but makes great pictures. I moved up from a 70-300 Nikkor, and it was well worth it. Having the extra 100mm is wonderful (essentially it's like a 600mm lens on a 35mm). And the VR is fantastic. One of the best endorsements for it is the number of times I've heard "You took that handheld?". Closer minimum focusing distance would be nice, but I have no real complaints about this lens.

I posted a couple of photos here, but you can't really see the detail.

Some Nikon lenses feel like they're made for the masses. The 80-400 has the 'pro' feel you come to expect from Nikon. You won't be disappointed.

I used the Nikon 80-400mm lens with my D200 for the first time last week at my kids lacrosse game. Before purchasing this lens, I was a little concerned about some of the comments here that the autofocus is slow to react. I took about 100 pics at the game, and had one that was slightly out of focus. All other pics were incredibly sharp. I think this is a great lens.

This review is mainly for anyone trying to decide between the 70-300mm VR and the 80-400mm. If you are like me, you have gone back and forth many times trying to decide if this lens is worth $1000 more, or if you can simply do a little cropping from 300 and achieve good results. I finally just bought both lenses to find out for myself.

After owning both for about 6 months, I will say that the 70-300 is on my camera more often. It does an excellent job tracking motion on my D200, focuses fast, and delivers results well beyond its initial cost.

That being said, I have to say this lens is a definite keeper. The relatively slow (and noisy) mechanical focus is my biggest complaint. This would be a stellar 5-star lens if Nikon had included AF-S. Everyone says this was to save cost and reduce size, but all you have to do is take one look at Canon's excellent 100-400 with USM and IS to realize that a much better lens can be made for this price point. When you have time to focus, the 80-400 delivers extremely high quality results and that is why it's staying in my bag.

I recommend you think twice if you are planning on tracking motion, shooting birds in flight, or spend much time in the low light of dawn/dusk. Other than those exceptions, I've achieved some excellent results and am also very happy with the size and weight of the lens.

I have this lens for half-a-year now. Pricy, of course, but it is worth it. It allowed me to take some pretty interesting pictures which would not be taken any other way. Most of the time it is necessary when you `shoot' animals, e.g. birds, or butterflies, who would not allow you to get close. Another example is to shoot an alligator, where he probably would not mind, but I do. Then, some architectural shots from a big distance also become possible. The VR (vibration reduction) is totally amazing. The thing, however, eats batteries for lunch, so I've started to carry a second battery. The lens comes in a nice cylindrically shaped bag, and because it is pretty big and heavy, I carry it in it's original bag, instead of trying to stick it into the same bag with camera, so the load is spread. Of course, you really need to love this type of shooting to carry it around. Overall, the lens is a miracle of the modern technology, and the quality is exceptional. This is a great fun, and if money allow - I highly recommend.

This is a good lens. It is soft at the long end, but sharp through most of its range. Bokeh is good, but not great. The lens is heavy, but what did you expect? The thing that downgrades this lens is no AF-S. What? At this price, AF-S should be mandatory. And this lens pays for that lack with slow, inaccurate autofocusing.

Nevertheless, it is capable of some interesting work. This is the lens I turn to when the 70-200mm simply will not reach. After all, a good 400mm lens costs $6000 or more. This one will give you results almost as good for a fraction of the price. Okay, I hate the tripod mount, probably because I have been spoiled by the 70-200mm lens.

Surprisingly, despite the long minimum focus distance, this lens does passable close-ups. The long focal length and passable bokeh do a reasonable job at isolating individual blossums in trees. A few snow covered red berries filled the frame and made a passable Christmas card.

The lens is fragile. Drop it and you will destroy the autofocus, the VR, or both -- but you will not see any external damage. The lens will appear to work normally but in fact all the pictures will be soft.

I have used this lens in a raging category 5 typhoon. It never skipped a beat. It easily handled jungle heat and alpine snows.

Extend this lens to its full zoom range, especially with the hood on, and it calls attention to itself. However, it folds up nice and compact and fits easily in a LowePro Lens Case 4. Although the included lens case is quite good, it will not fit easily on LowePro's accessories.

If this lens had AF-S and was sharper at 400mm it would rate 5 stars.