My 80-400VR Arrived!

And it looks just like the pictures. I'm pleased.

These are simply test examples:



Flag was blowing around in the courtyard.

Looks good

Looks nice and sharp.

Nah! That sux! I think you need to let someone else try it out and see if it's broken or something. I will volunteer!

Looking good to me.

Looks good at 400mm. Rated quite a good lense.

Looks great

I got one a few months ago and I am very pleased with it.
I hope you are too.

Very nice! Were the test shots handheld or on a tripod? (guessing tripod with the shutter speeds on the parking lot shots, but worth asking for the others)

nice Ted

Ohhhh! Is this the AF VR Zoom-Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D??
I'm interested in popping one of these on my D7100, would it be a good match?

Pretzel said:

Very nice! Were the test shots handheld or on a tripod? (guessing tripod with the shutter speeds on the parking lot shots, but worth asking for the others)

Click to expand...

The parking lot is supported and the flag shots were handheld. The distances were quite different.

While VR is a great help, remember that if VR allows as little as a .5 degree movement, that extends out to inches, or maybe even feet at a great distance. Imagine shooting a rifle that is off a tenth of an inch at the barrel hitting a target at 100 yards..... Inches off center. With VR, your shot could be tack-sharp at 30 yards, but fuzzy at 200 yards.

I will be using this lens with a tripod 90% of the time. Handheld, the pounds of D800 and heavy lens adds up. Holding that weight is tough to hold steady (at least it is for me). I won't kid myself into thinking I'm going to get sharp photos at a long distance with hand-held shots. I'll use a tripod and that's not an inconvenience for me and I accept my limitations.

SteveH said:

Ohhhh! Is this the AF VR Zoom-Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D??
I'm interested in popping one of these on my D7100, would it be a good match?

Click to expand...

This is a nice solid lens with great optics. The main complaint and the reason why Nikon revised this model was due to its focus speeds and problems with catching focus. I've never used one but I do know people who were frustrated trying to use this lens for birding. These focus issues are exponentially made worse with the addition of a TC. If you're not trying to catch something quickly and can wait on the focus, it's a great lens that is now selling at a pretty good discount to its previous price point.

This is a 7 frame panorama. It is 66" by 8".


This is a 100% crop of the pano.

For my needs, this lens will work well. No need for instant focus, I don't shoot birds, and I won't use a TC with this lens.

SteveH said:

Ohhhh! Is this the AF VR Zoom-Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D??
I'm interested in popping one of these on my D7100, would it be a good match?

Click to expand...

You can Google the lens and read a lot of reviews. I did. You can read what one guy's buddy heard from the wife of his second cousin about the lens, or you can make specific searches for actual photos shot by regular people with the lens. I did. In the end, I found plenty of "negatives" about the lens (and I'm sure many came from people that actually used the lens), but I also saw fantastic photos from lots of actual users and I was impressed. I'm not worried about out-shooting the ability of the lens. I made this purchase knowing full well what all the opinions were.

I took these today.


The first two were shot from the far side of a lake.

oooooppps! A bird shot.

Congrats - I've had one since they first came out -I am very pleased with it.

Sambr said:

Congrats - I've had one since they first came out -I am very pleased with it.

Click to expand...

And I've followed your photos. Your opinion is appreciated.

Nice mang..

What is the general consensus for low-light snapping?