Photowyzard
Senior Member
This review is a slightly modified copy I posted on Nikon Digital Camera Information and Self-Training | PlanetNikon.com. I wrote it after I had the 400mm lens for one month and I use it on my Nikon D800 DSLR camera body.
I was going to attach images within the file but the editing function here stinks and when I tried to insert the images, the formatting went to hell so I did it in 3 posts, sort of. Gave up on that too. I think if you read all this, you will get the idea.
Image Quality
Image quality was first and foremost, my consideration when purchasing this lens and it does not disappoint in any way. The images are sharp and crisp and everything I expect from Nikon glass. Rest assured, this is an excellent quality lens and I hope the image above shows you what I mean.
Construction
Steel body, build like a tank. Solid. As I am using it in the winter months, it is cold when you use it with your bare hands. I do not like the shape. The very large front element and the sharp shape decline as you move back from the front of the lens towards the camera makes it an awkward to hold and handle. I especially do not like the small focusing grip and constantly miss grabbing it when I have my eye on the eyepiece of the camera and go to focus. I don't know if it is me or just the design, but I don't have the same issue with other lenses, so I will say it is the design. You may find this is not the same for you.
I like the little lens preset focusing ring as I have found it useful in the field. This feature allows you to set the notch (for lack of a better description) to a pre set focus point and when you turn the focus ring, it will click into this spot for fast reminder. At first, I thought this was a silly feature but after a month of trying it out, I actually like it. It works very well for what it was intended to do. The front element on this lens is huge. Good luck finding a filter for it. I doubt one was ever made. It does, however have that pop up filter holder that takes 39mm filters. I can't see how this will ever be useful, much less ever finding a 39mm filter for this lens. I am content to just use the lens without ever putting a filter on it (other than the one you need to operate the lens properly, that came with it).
Focusing is smooth as silk. The barrel just rolls with a solid, quality feel you would expect from a Nikon prime lens.
The tripod mount is solid and I have no issues with it other than when I put the camera body and lens on the tripod, the lens continues to be top heavy and I have an inert fear the lens may topple over complete with camera and tripod if I am not careful to angle it to balance it when I am not paying attention. What I have done to compensate is I put one of the three legs of the tripod directly in front of me to make me feel like I have a secure base. I typically set up this way anyway, but I now make it a habit to always set the tripod up in the fashion with the lens on it.
If you leave the tripod head loose, the lens will tilt forward with a vengeance. I point the lens up about 45 degrees and tighten the tripod head and this pretty much sets the entire rig in balance. Hope this is a clear description.
Spinning the camera on the collar is smooth as silk and it easily and smoothly transitions from landscape to portrait. No issues with the design. The locking knob is large and easy to handle.
The Lens Cap booty is a pain. It comes off with a little trouble but goes back on with some fiddling. I don't like it. I would have preferred a lens cap of some sort.
The lens hood, I have heard, does nothing of any value with light. It is too short. I extend it and use is as a slight barrier for lens protection when I am in heavy brush. I like the screw design, unscrew push forward and screw into place, unscrew, slide back and screw to secure for storage. Simple, elegant and most likely prone to strip if you are too aggressive with it. Stripping it can and will cause a world of pain as I don't see any way to remove this without involving Nikon service and a high price tag. I deploy it carefully. It is made of metal as well.
The lens comes with a neck strap. No kidding, the lens itself weights a ton. Or so it feels like a ton when I walk around with it. 6 lbs of fun, add the camera and you get a work out walking in the park. Add a tripod...
What I don't like about the strap are the metal grips to hold the strap in place. They will damage the finish on the lens and I have not deployed the strap on the lens for this reason. May buy a Nikon strap next time I am at a photo show and use that. The new straps all have those sturdy plastic grips to hold the strap in place, much preferred.
The lugs that hold the strap in place are screwed into the lens housing in a very crude way. 4 screws to a lug or D ring. I am sure Nikon stress tested the design and they will hold. To look at them and holding the lens and camera in my hands, 9 lbs of glory, the four screws and the set up don't give me the warm secure felling I would like. Probably just me.
Aperture Ring
F stops are all set manually as this is a manual lens. I typically set it at f8 and leave it at that. My D800 has a very cool focus feature in it that assists me in focusing and it works very well. In the viewfinder, I see these markings in the lower left corner > • < . The dot lights up when it is focused, the arrows show me which way to turn the focus ring to get it in focus. Terrific!! Works very well.
The aperture scale is f3.5 to f22. This lens was made in three versions, I have the one with the minimum aperture coloured in orange, Ai-S version.
Initially, this lens was designed for pros shooting sports and wildlife. I have tried taking bird in flight images with it and let me tell you, you pre set a focus point and shoot when the bird comes to that point in bursts and hope you catch a focused shot. Maybe, this is how the pros did it in the day. Trying to track something with the manual focus is really, really difficult, I have not mastered it by any stretch of the imagination.
For static nature shots and the like, the results are superb!
Teleconverter Use
I have an old Nikon 2x manual teleconverter (TC200) and the images with it on are very sharp. Look at the image above, it was taken with the focal length at 800mm. Terrific, quality. I don't hesitate to slap it on.
Manual Focusing
I started photography with Pentax gear in the early 1970's. There was no such thing as AF then. Everything was manual. I managed just fine. With the advent of Auto Focus, I honestly feel like I use a glorified point and shoot. I set the shutter and the f stop and point and shoot. When I put this lens on the D800 and started taking images, I felt like a photographer again. Funny feeling, but this was my first thought. I was looking through the lens and actually working the focus, trying to get more scenery in front or behind the subject in focus. It is how I used to think when I shot with my old gear. I haven't thought like that in years because ... you point and shoot ... with the AF lenses. Unless, you set them on manual and do the same thing. I seldom did this. Now that I have no choice, I actually like it. I feel more involved in the over all composition of the image.
Do I prefer this to AF? NO! LOL. I would like the choice, but for what I saved, I certainly don't lament it. It is a very, very minor nit I don't worry about. I am very reliant on the focusing aid in the Nikon D800 and have very much gotten used to that.
For those that do not have a D800, it has a rangefinder capability and in the lower left corner are three indicators on whether you are focused or not and which way you have to turn the barrel...
> • <
Great tool! Love it with a manual lens! It is as good as it gets until you can afford the AF version!
Price
I could not justify spending $6K - $12K on a new, Nikon 400, 500 or 600mm lens. I want to, but it will not happen any time soon unless I score a huge business deal and I become suddenly flush with money and spend it before my wife does. This lens, in my opinion, is a bargain for what you get and what it delivers. Being manual focus, it will most likely outlast me and still not need service. I doubt you can say the same for the new lenses.
The range of prices I have seen on ebay go from $900 for a really beat up one, to $2K for one in great shape. I paid in between, got an immaculate lens and I very much feel I got terrific value for the money.
Overall, I give the lens a very, very high rating. Out of 10, I would say 9 is about right. I have posted enough pictures and I think I have covered everything there is to cover. Feel free to ask me any questions if I missed something. More than happy to answer and help you out if you are considering finding one for yourself.
I believe this lens is a bargain and amazing value for the money. If you are so inclined, get one. You can't touch what this delivers in terms of reach and quality at this price. 400mm to 800mm!! Nikon glass, f3.5 for under $2k!
I was going to attach images within the file but the editing function here stinks and when I tried to insert the images, the formatting went to hell so I did it in 3 posts, sort of. Gave up on that too. I think if you read all this, you will get the idea.
Image Quality
Image quality was first and foremost, my consideration when purchasing this lens and it does not disappoint in any way. The images are sharp and crisp and everything I expect from Nikon glass. Rest assured, this is an excellent quality lens and I hope the image above shows you what I mean.
Construction
Steel body, build like a tank. Solid. As I am using it in the winter months, it is cold when you use it with your bare hands. I do not like the shape. The very large front element and the sharp shape decline as you move back from the front of the lens towards the camera makes it an awkward to hold and handle. I especially do not like the small focusing grip and constantly miss grabbing it when I have my eye on the eyepiece of the camera and go to focus. I don't know if it is me or just the design, but I don't have the same issue with other lenses, so I will say it is the design. You may find this is not the same for you.
I like the little lens preset focusing ring as I have found it useful in the field. This feature allows you to set the notch (for lack of a better description) to a pre set focus point and when you turn the focus ring, it will click into this spot for fast reminder. At first, I thought this was a silly feature but after a month of trying it out, I actually like it. It works very well for what it was intended to do. The front element on this lens is huge. Good luck finding a filter for it. I doubt one was ever made. It does, however have that pop up filter holder that takes 39mm filters. I can't see how this will ever be useful, much less ever finding a 39mm filter for this lens. I am content to just use the lens without ever putting a filter on it (other than the one you need to operate the lens properly, that came with it).
Focusing is smooth as silk. The barrel just rolls with a solid, quality feel you would expect from a Nikon prime lens.
The tripod mount is solid and I have no issues with it other than when I put the camera body and lens on the tripod, the lens continues to be top heavy and I have an inert fear the lens may topple over complete with camera and tripod if I am not careful to angle it to balance it when I am not paying attention. What I have done to compensate is I put one of the three legs of the tripod directly in front of me to make me feel like I have a secure base. I typically set up this way anyway, but I now make it a habit to always set the tripod up in the fashion with the lens on it.
If you leave the tripod head loose, the lens will tilt forward with a vengeance. I point the lens up about 45 degrees and tighten the tripod head and this pretty much sets the entire rig in balance. Hope this is a clear description.
Spinning the camera on the collar is smooth as silk and it easily and smoothly transitions from landscape to portrait. No issues with the design. The locking knob is large and easy to handle.
The Lens Cap booty is a pain. It comes off with a little trouble but goes back on with some fiddling. I don't like it. I would have preferred a lens cap of some sort.
The lens hood, I have heard, does nothing of any value with light. It is too short. I extend it and use is as a slight barrier for lens protection when I am in heavy brush. I like the screw design, unscrew push forward and screw into place, unscrew, slide back and screw to secure for storage. Simple, elegant and most likely prone to strip if you are too aggressive with it. Stripping it can and will cause a world of pain as I don't see any way to remove this without involving Nikon service and a high price tag. I deploy it carefully. It is made of metal as well.
The lens comes with a neck strap. No kidding, the lens itself weights a ton. Or so it feels like a ton when I walk around with it. 6 lbs of fun, add the camera and you get a work out walking in the park. Add a tripod...
What I don't like about the strap are the metal grips to hold the strap in place. They will damage the finish on the lens and I have not deployed the strap on the lens for this reason. May buy a Nikon strap next time I am at a photo show and use that. The new straps all have those sturdy plastic grips to hold the strap in place, much preferred.
The lugs that hold the strap in place are screwed into the lens housing in a very crude way. 4 screws to a lug or D ring. I am sure Nikon stress tested the design and they will hold. To look at them and holding the lens and camera in my hands, 9 lbs of glory, the four screws and the set up don't give me the warm secure felling I would like. Probably just me.
Aperture Ring
F stops are all set manually as this is a manual lens. I typically set it at f8 and leave it at that. My D800 has a very cool focus feature in it that assists me in focusing and it works very well. In the viewfinder, I see these markings in the lower left corner > • < . The dot lights up when it is focused, the arrows show me which way to turn the focus ring to get it in focus. Terrific!! Works very well.
The aperture scale is f3.5 to f22. This lens was made in three versions, I have the one with the minimum aperture coloured in orange, Ai-S version.
Initially, this lens was designed for pros shooting sports and wildlife. I have tried taking bird in flight images with it and let me tell you, you pre set a focus point and shoot when the bird comes to that point in bursts and hope you catch a focused shot. Maybe, this is how the pros did it in the day. Trying to track something with the manual focus is really, really difficult, I have not mastered it by any stretch of the imagination.
For static nature shots and the like, the results are superb!
Teleconverter Use
I have an old Nikon 2x manual teleconverter (TC200) and the images with it on are very sharp. Look at the image above, it was taken with the focal length at 800mm. Terrific, quality. I don't hesitate to slap it on.
Manual Focusing
I started photography with Pentax gear in the early 1970's. There was no such thing as AF then. Everything was manual. I managed just fine. With the advent of Auto Focus, I honestly feel like I use a glorified point and shoot. I set the shutter and the f stop and point and shoot. When I put this lens on the D800 and started taking images, I felt like a photographer again. Funny feeling, but this was my first thought. I was looking through the lens and actually working the focus, trying to get more scenery in front or behind the subject in focus. It is how I used to think when I shot with my old gear. I haven't thought like that in years because ... you point and shoot ... with the AF lenses. Unless, you set them on manual and do the same thing. I seldom did this. Now that I have no choice, I actually like it. I feel more involved in the over all composition of the image.
Do I prefer this to AF? NO! LOL. I would like the choice, but for what I saved, I certainly don't lament it. It is a very, very minor nit I don't worry about. I am very reliant on the focusing aid in the Nikon D800 and have very much gotten used to that.
For those that do not have a D800, it has a rangefinder capability and in the lower left corner are three indicators on whether you are focused or not and which way you have to turn the barrel...
> • <
Great tool! Love it with a manual lens! It is as good as it gets until you can afford the AF version!
Price
I could not justify spending $6K - $12K on a new, Nikon 400, 500 or 600mm lens. I want to, but it will not happen any time soon unless I score a huge business deal and I become suddenly flush with money and spend it before my wife does. This lens, in my opinion, is a bargain for what you get and what it delivers. Being manual focus, it will most likely outlast me and still not need service. I doubt you can say the same for the new lenses.
The range of prices I have seen on ebay go from $900 for a really beat up one, to $2K for one in great shape. I paid in between, got an immaculate lens and I very much feel I got terrific value for the money.
Overall, I give the lens a very, very high rating. Out of 10, I would say 9 is about right. I have posted enough pictures and I think I have covered everything there is to cover. Feel free to ask me any questions if I missed something. More than happy to answer and help you out if you are considering finding one for yourself.
I believe this lens is a bargain and amazing value for the money. If you are so inclined, get one. You can't touch what this delivers in terms of reach and quality at this price. 400mm to 800mm!! Nikon glass, f3.5 for under $2k!
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