Nikon AF-S Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR


PROS

  • Strong sharpness through most of range.
  • Long telephoto reach.
  • Optical stabilization.
  • Minimal distortion.
  • Relatively lightweight.
  • Includes tripod collar and hood.

CONS

  • Sharpness dips at 400mm and toward edges of frame.
  • Pricey.

BOTTOM LINE

The Nikon AF-S Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens offers the convenience of a long range and doesn’t show a lot of distortion, but images lose some crispness when zoomed all the way in.

Design

The 80-400mm£1,799.00 at Amazon is about average in size for a telezoom lens, measuring 8.0 by 3.8 inches (HD) at 80mm. It does extend a bit when zooming, but even when set to 400mm, the 3.5-pound lens balances well when paired with a full-fame Nikon body like the D810 or D5$6,496.95 at Amazon. The front element has a thread for 77mm filters, and the lens ships with a reversible hood, removable tripod collar, and a carrying case.

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As is the case with most modern Nikkor lenses, the barrel is a mix of metal and tough polycarbonate, finished in matte black with gold accents. There are a number of control switches on the side, including a focus mode selection toggle and a focus limiter that can limit the range to six meters to infinity, or to the full range, including close focus. The VR system is turned on or off via a switch, and another switch lets you set it to Normal mode, for when you’re shooting from solid ground, or Active, which is more useful when shooting from a moving vehicle. Finally, there’s a lock that can keep the lens set to 80mm, so the barrel won’t creep out as it hangs from your side.

There are two big control rings on the barrel. The manual focus ring, covered in ridged rubber, sits toward the lens mount. Turning it in any focus mode moves the distance scale (shown in feet and meters) across the 5.7-foot (1.5 meter) to infinity focus range. Ahead of the distance scale sits the larger zoom ring. Its rubber texture is finished with small rectangles; it’s comfortable to grip and turn. It moves from 80 to 400mm with about a 90-degree turn, and has markings at the 80, 105, 135, 200, 300, and 400mm positions.

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The lens focuses on subjects as close as 5.7 feet, even when zoomed to 400mm. This gives it a modest 1:5 macro reproduction ratio. That’s not quite best in class—Canon’s remarkable EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM$1,999.00 at Amazon captures objects at 1:3 life-size—but it’s still handy for capturing smaller subjects.

Image Quality

I tested the 80-400mm with the 36-megapixel D810$3,296.95 at Dell. At its widest angle and aperture, 80mm f/4.5, it puts up excellent numbers in Imatest. The average score is 3,156 lines per picture hight, better than the 2,200 we like to see at a minimum from a high-resolution body like the D810. Image quality holds up through most of the frame, but there is a drop in fidelity as you look at the outer third. Still, the lens puts up solid numbers, 2,564 lines, at the periphery. Stopping down to f/5.6 improves the average to 3,321 lines, and there’s a more significant jump at f/8, to 3,647 lines. At f/11 the average score is its best, 3,796 lines, and edges only lag behind that mark by 200 lines. You can get away with shooting at f/16, where the lens still hits 3,479 lines, but avoid f/22 (2,773 lines) and narrower apertures, as diffraction really sets in—that advice holds true for the entirety of the zoom range.

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Image quality remains strong at 135mm. The maximum aperture has narrowed to f/5, and the lens scores 3,162 lines. Edges are a little softer, at 2,486 lines, but still better than what we want to see at a minimum. They improve at f/8 (2,959 lines), as does the overall score (3,659 lines), and peak performance is once again achieved at f/11 (3,907 lines), the setting that also delivers the best image quality at the edges of the frame. You can get away with shooting at f/16 (3,525 lines) if depth of field requirements call for it.

At 200mm the maximum aperture is f/5.3, and the zoom does a fine job, notching 3,146 on average with very good (2,666-line) edge performance. Stopping down just a little bit to f/5.6 pulls the periphery above 3,000 lines, however, so you may want to consider doing so when shooting. The score remains solid at f/8 and f/11—you see about 3,850 lines at both settings, and it loses just a little bit of resolution at f/16 (3,495 lines).

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Results are still excellent at 300mm f/5.6—the overall score is 3,440 lines and edges only lag behind by 250 lines. Images get crisper at f/8 (3,612 lines) and f/16 (3,362 lines), before dropping off at f/22 (2,642 lines).

At 400mm there’s a drop in image clarity when shooting at f/5.6. The lens drops to 2,624 lines, with fairly even performance across the frame. That’s still above our cutoff for acceptable sharpness, but the results are not as strong as at 300mm or wider. To get the best images you’ll want to stop down to f/8 at 400mm—you’ll get images that show about 3,351 lines there. At f/11 it’s even better (3,682 lines). There’s a drop at f/16 (3,267 lines) and f/22 (2,545). You can stop the lens all the way down to f/40, but I don’t recommend doing so.

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Sharpness isn’t the only thing we look for in lens performance. Distortion is also a factor, although not one we weigh as heavily, as in-camera correction is often available for JPG shooters and Raw conversion software like Lightroom and remove it easily, often with a single click. The 80-400mm doesn’t show a lot of distortion. There’s a negligible amount of barrel distortion at 80mm, and you need to zoom all the way to 300mm in order to notice pincushion distortion—about 1.1 percent at 300mm and 1.2 percent at 400mm.

Imatest’s Uniformity tool evaluates how evenly the lens captures light. I use an ExpoDisc to capture a flat gray image, and feed those images into the software for evaluation. The 80-400mm shows consistent results on this test throughout its range. At its maximum aperture the corners lag behind the center by about 1.5 f-stops (-1.5EV), which is noticeable in field conditions, but not overly distracting. Stopping the lens down one stop reduces this deficit to about -1EV, which is a solid result. As with distortion, JPG shooters can use in-camera controls to compensate for the slight vignette, and Raw shooters can remove it using the Lightroom lens profile or vignette tool.

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Conclusions

The Nikon AF-S Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR is a solid choice for photographers who want more zoom reach than is provided by a 70-200mm, but don’t want to sacrifice a lot of wide-angle coverage. It’s best used in brighter light, making it a fine option for shooting outdoor sports and wildlife. Event photographers will no doubt want to stick to f/2.8 glass. In terms of image quality, the zoom is a solid performer through 300mm, but does lose some clarity at the 400mm setting, which is a shame given its premium price point. But you can stop down a bit when zoomed all the way in and net extremely crisp images. If you shoot with a Nikon system and value a zoom with this range, the 80-400mm is an overall strong performer. Our Editors’ Choice telezoom is the Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary, which offers a longer telephoto reach and is quite sharp throughout its range. But the Sigma doesn’t cover as wide of an angle as the Nikkor, and it’s almost a pound heavier.

Source: pcmag.com

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