Nikon 200-400Mm F4G Af-S Vr If-Ed Zoom-Nikkor

Product Information

VR works well and I even had it on with my camera at 1/3,200s. Photos turn out just fine. That said, I never had a blur image from high shutter speeds with VR in operation. Ergonomically I found handling on both very good, too. The rubberized zoom rings are big and easy to locate with your eye to the viewfinder and switches well-placed, with a reassuringly robust action. The current version of the lens has basically everything Nikon puts in a lens: ED glass, Nano coating, internal focus, VR II, drop-in filters, rubber weatherproofing seals, hold focus buttons, the ability to return to a predetermined focus point, 9-blade aperture, and fast AF-S motors. You really can't complain about the feature list. Although these lenses basically cover the same focal range and offer similar features, there are some key differences.

If you're shooting across long distances, atmospheric heat shimmer will make the bokeh look funny, especially from point light sources. This happens with all long lenses. I really cannot say enough about how fantastic this lens is. Also, it works very well with the TC-14e and TC-17e.

Due to the use of a fluorite lens element, Nikon was able to shave off a large lens element from the front of the lens, which makes the lens much more balanced to hand-hold compared to its predecessor – it is no longer as front-heavy as the 200-400mm f/4G VR II. Take a look at the new lens construction of the 180-400mm lens and feel free to compare it to the one on the 200-400mm: You can create one much cheaper then the RRS versions by using pieces from Desmond and Sunwayphoto.

I've used this lens on both static and fast moving subjects, and I'm always surprised at how fast the lens can snap to focus on the latter (assuming the camera is up to it). Basically, I have no issues with the focus performance. Considering how difficult it is to get sharp images in our ever changing atmosphere, I wouldn't bother with the TC since all it tends to do is lose a stop of speed and magnify atmospheric disturbances even more. I owned the first AF-S version of the 200-400mm f/4 lens and for things like working from a blind at relatively close distances (e.g. within 50' or so of my subjects) the lens was fantastic. But like others I found the lens less than ideal for distant subjects and a bit soft. I still really like the lens but its application is a bit limited if it's your only long lens. Image quality: cannot be expressed in words. Stunningly sharp from f/4 to f/13--it handily out resolves my D2x. DOF control is superb, with beautiful bokeh and crisp transitions from in focus to out of focus. Colors are clean and saturated, with few to no aberrations. Please feel free to visit this gallery on PBase to see some of my very first efforts with the 200-400, the majority of which were taken using the D2H.Both the 200-400 Mk 1 and 200-500 are prone to flare with the sun near the edge of the frame. The front miniscus of the 200-400 can be screwed off the Mk 1 in high flare situations. The lens comes with a pouch to put it in and a good "duffle bag" for transit. At distance with teleconverter (and certainly wide open as here), the lens sometimes fails to get the kind of acuity we desire. It's like the optomitrist flipped the wrong correction in front of our eye, as nothing quite resolves into focus. However, if your main subjects for shooting are small birds then you may find yourself slightly limited unless your prepared to put in more ground work for getting closer to your subjects undetected. Whilst I find the optics with a TC usable, some may not like the results. So if your only going to buy one lens and it’s a choice between this with lots of TC use or a 500 or 600/4 I’d go with the prime lens. And of course it IS heavy and I think that is one of the main things you need to take in to account when your thinking about buying one of these, especially if your not used to bigger glass and are stepping up from 70-200 sized lenses. The 200-500mm f/5.6E’s offers a constant f/5.6 aperture, so you get the same transmission at 200mm and 500mm, which is a bonus. The 180-400mm f/4E offers that extra stop though, so more light for the focus system, greater depth-of-field and the possibility of faster shutter speeds. I've also owned the 200-500mm f/5.6 and it's a very good lens. I didn't own both lenses at the same time so I can't offer a direct comparison but from my image library I'd say for subjects within about fifty to maybe a hundred feet the 200-400mm f/4 lens has an edge and of course is a full stop faster. But for more distant subjects I'd say the 200-500mm f/5.6 is a better lens and of course has an extra 100mm on the long end which can be very handy.

The biggest detriment to sharpness is the reality that temperature variations in the atmosphere create constant shimmers. In extreme cases these shimmers appear as mirages, but when using any high-powered optics one sees these shimmers even in normal conditions. Looking through the atmosphere with heat shimmers is exactly like looking down into a swimming pool from above: you get waves which obscure details.

Autofocus Speed and Accuracy

By coincidence I have always used B&W filters (not for protection) based on their reputation and this seems to borne out in testing. The supplied bag is very useful although I did have my reservations about it at first, but you can read more about that further down. I find my far smaller, lighter and less expensive 80-400mm VR far more convenient for carrying around, as well as having a wider zoom range. Basically, my initial impression was right, but there were camera components that intrude and made it tougher to get a clear handle on the problem. Put simply: at very long distances (300 feet or longer) the lens performs clearly less well than at shorter distances. Note that this implies something for teleconverter use, too, as you generally are using teleconverters for more distant subjects. With all of the latest technologies built in, including a silent wave motor (SWM) and vibration reduction (VR) as well as a ‘Memory set’ function and a construction that uses 24 individual glass elements in 17 groups including no less than four ED (extra dispersion) elements, there is good reason for the weight. The construction, as you might expect from a lens in this class, is first rate with very little to pull up.

Nikon introduces the original 200-400mm VR. It's also big, heavy and expensive and doesn't do much compared to a fixed lens. AF is fast; faster than you'd expect if you haven't used any serious professional Nikon lenses before. Zooming action goes from 200 to 400mm in less than a quarter turn. That's probably the right decision, too. You'll find that you want to zoom fast with moving subjects, and you don't need to move the ring much to do so. Glad to see here that it does accept the 1.4x quite well at that distance. The details loss is not too bad. Resulsts are very good at f7.1 andf8.

Peace of mind with our 6 month warranty

You need really clear air to make any reasonable use of the 400~550mm range you gain, but you lose a stop and some sharpness everywhere (and the 200~280mm range) when you use the TC-14E. Finally, the newest version of the lens was tested directly against my old copy, using the same support setup, body, and targets for testing. If you need to crank form one end of the range to the other, it will be faster to let the AF system do it for you. Lens Description: This powerful super telephoto zoom lens offers incredible image quality. Enhanced Nikon VR II image stabilization, a constant aperture and Nano Crystal Coat make this lens an ideal choice for sports photography, wildlife and more.