Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED AF VR Nikkor Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below. Get information and user reviews for this lens at Amazon: Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED Autofocus VR Zoom Nikkor Lens

Photo Zone

The Nikkor AF 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED VR is a decent performer but it also comes with a few glitches. Optically the lens shows a very good but not exceptional resolution characteristic except at 400mm at wide-open aperture where the borders could be a little better. Vignetting is basically non-existing on an APS-C DSLR and the level of distortions is quite low. CAs are an issue at 80mm and 400mm, less so in between Generally the build quality is pretty good but regarding the price class of the lens Nikon should have used a little less plastic and a better tripod collar. The AF performance is acceptable on the D200 but don’t expect it to be a speed daemon in this respect. READ FULL REVIEW

Other Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED AF VR Nikkor Reviews

SLR Gear

We were a little surprised that this lens wasn’t sharper at 400mm than it was, but it does a great job of reaching way out There, amounting to a 160-600mm equivalent zoom on a DX-sensor DSLR. Combined with an effective VR system, this would make a great “walking around” lens for the nature photographer. (600mm equivalent, image-stabilized, in a lens this small? – Crazy! – And loads of fun!) READ FULL REVIEW

Thom Hogan

Autofocus speed is slow and it hunts. Not a lens that’s particularly useful for fast moving objects or sports (unless the object stays a constant distance from you, as in panning, or you use the lens in manual focus). A bit of give in the foot of the tripod collar if not tightened fully. And it gets in the way of handholding. The finger-biter front ring, the awkward Automatic/Manual focus switch, and the focus limit switch all contribute to less-than-stellar ergonomics. Excellent Optics out to 300mm. Fully sharp into the corners up to 200mm, with some softening in the corners of 35mm film images by 300mm. At 400mm, the widest apertures are noticeably softer and provide less contrast than at 300mm, but still quite serviceable. In all, a quite respectable performance for the range. On the digital bodies, hard to fault optically. READ FULL REVIEW

Shutterbug

In terms of optics, build, quality, and features, this is clearly a professional lens, likely to satisfy both pros and demanding photo enthusiasts. While some photographers still prefer to use tripods for all their work, others will consider the VR system to be a blessing. In any event, the addition of the VR system makes this new tele-zoom highly versatile and ideal for problem solving. It will surely help many photographers to increase their success ratio and produce many technically excellent images. READ FULL REVIEW

Ken Rockwell

Before you run out and buy this lens (if you can find it, it’s in short supply in some areas, apparently) make sure that you really need what it has to offer. Don’t buy it because you need a 400mm and the 400/2.8 is too expensive for your budget – buy it because you want a long range, handholdable, high-quality and fairly compact tele-zoom. If you shoot lots of handheld shots you will love the VR, but get the 80-200/2.8 first because that lens is a true must-have while the 80-400VR is icing on the cake. READ FULL REVIEW