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Nikon 400mm f/2.8E ED FL Review
Lens Reviews

Nikon 400mm f/2.8E ED FL Review

TrueToad

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Nikon AF-S Nikkor 400MM f/2.8E ED FL VR Lens:

New On the Trail Series: Here

 

2024: Still using this wonderful lens! I did consider upgrading to the 400mm TC Z lens since I now use Nikon Mirrorless Camera bodies but decided to hold fast for now with the wonderful Nikon 400mm ED FL lens using the FTZ adapter.

2020 Update: The best 400mm lens on the market. Nikon is primarily an optics company that makes superior and professionally built lenses to withstand heavy use in all environments. The Nikon 400mm ED FL lens is my go-to lens for fast action sports and its superior sharpness for wildlife. The lens accepts all Nikon's excellent teleconverters, giving you a very versatile lens.

NIKON 400mm f2.8 lens review: Recommended? YES! 100%

After years of rugged use, this lens is Pro Level photographic instrument - It has endured the rain, dust, and cold and has never failed to deliver top quality images. I am impressed with the focusing speed, accuracy, and quality of the images I get from this lens. After owning 4 Nikon 400mm lenses, I can not imagine how Nikon can improve on the 400mm line. This is an excellent lens by all measures.

I love this lens. I keep repeating this one theme when people ask me about the Nikon 400mm ED FL lens when I am out shooting, it is the finest 400mm Nikon has ever produced to date - It is fast, sharp, is a reasonable weight, has excellent balance, has excellent weather sealing and fluorine coatings that make crap fall off the glass. The lens is a pleasure to use and carry, with the speed of a cheetah. This 400mm ED FL excels at anything you put in front of it in almost any lighting.  What is your favorite lens? This is your favorite lens at 400mm! I find no flaws in design, quality, or build. If you can afford it, this is the lens you need in your kit for a number of photographic reasons, and you know who you are - you are reading this. Many of you as well as I pondered about 400 vs 500 vs 600, agreed it is a hard difficult, and expensive decision, regardless of your choice, the 400 is a remarkable lens you have to use it to understand.

Nikon established the benchmark for super telephotos. The Nikkor 400mm FL continues a fine heritage and, simply put, is the most versatile long lens Nikon offers due to the flexibility of all Nikkor teleconverters. 

The question was If I had to sell every lens but one, which would I keep?  Wow! The Nikkor 400mm is my answer, what a beautiful lens optically and versatility speaking. The Nikkor 400mm is the sharpest & fastest Super Nikkor lens available (spooky sharp, as Moose says). If you are here for the bottom line, here it is Sports shooters - STOP now and go buy one and enjoy! Wildlife Shooters, this is more complicated, so read through. Regardless, with the Nikkor 400, you will have the finest super-telephoto on the market, and when you arm yourself with the 3 Nikon teleconverters, you have amazing capabilities to cover out to 800mm and beyond if shooting a DX crop mode camera body ( 400 x 2.0(TC) x 1.5(dx) = 1,200mm).  YES, I love my 400mm for close-in work I can do the local areas and the ability for low light sports field events. I never regret this purchase, especially when I am out shooting with this fine lens; This lens is simply the best Super Telephotos Nikon has ever produced. If you have a dual shooting life, such as sports and wildlife, this is an awesome lens.  If you are a primary wildlife shooter in open areas, I believe the new FL 600mm is a better lens choice out in the wild. The 400 FL easily takes all the teleconverters, which is one reason why I love it.  Best use is for close-in wildlife and the late afternoon work, and you find yourself owning the low light game.

I Love Flowers a picture of an orange Lilly

I Love Flowers a picture of an orange Lilly

One Plus Year Anniversary: September marks my one year with the exceptional FL 400 lens and I think I owe everyone an update at this point. Today I share one new photo as our summer draws down in the Northen Hemisphere, the fabulous Hummingbird; 
A Ruby Throated Hummingbird in mid flight

Let me say this new 400mm is the finest 400mm Nikkor has ever released. I have many years using earlier Nikkor 400mm lenses, and this new version performs fantastic; sharpness, speed, and Vibration Reduction are all top-notch. If you read nothing below this paragraph, please take this message home: This is one beautiful lens all around, and the question is, would I buy it again - Yes.  

Now that the new 600mm ED FL lens is out how do you choose between two of the finest supers on the market? Not easily done. I used 600 and 400, and this is a decision based on speed or reach.  I hate to be so common in my remarks of other reviewers.  Now that the 600 is as light as the 400, one needs to consider the NEW 600 as the go-to nature lens. With three new killer Nikon's, the D500, D5, and D850, all with so many focusing points and higher dynamic range, the new 600 works exceptionally well with TC extenders (1.4 & 1.7) good with 2.0. Consider using the 600 with a D500 and 1/4 TC = 1200mm. That is awesome!! Using the same setup the 400mm will be an 840mm but a stop faster. Is the question - what do you need fast or reach?  Both are expensive to the point of being painful, but if you want the best it cost.

My Earlier postings on this lens.

I took time this past weekend to shoot with the finest 400mm on the market. This is one superlens, with clarity, contrast, and a super VR system - It even makes me look good! See the photos in the gallery. After  8 months of use, I can not find any fault in this lens; it is the BEST Nikkor Telephoto lens I have ever used.

Portable, and Sharp 400mm Nikkors ever. Years of use representing the best of Nikon. It's a wonderful lens.

I waited an hour for this Great Blue Heron to land

I waited an hour for this Great Blue Heron to land

Waited until he made his landing, lighting was bad but Nikon D810 and 400 pulled it off.
You can read technical details on other sites I don't do that here. – I am not about counting pixels on a technical level or explaining how much better one manufacturer is over the next. If you're shooting Canon 400 you have a fine lens. Both Nikon users and Canon users browse and say - wow, I wish I had that. This review is about how well this lens delivers images using your camera body and my impressions compared to earlier versions. I can say my latest VRII version was a stellar performer which I loved with images so sharp it was uncanny if this lens is anywhere near that at almost 2 lbs. the lighter I will be one happy person.

I buy my own gear, have no handouts or sponsors, and just recently updated my D800 to the D850 and added two mirrorless bodies, the Z6 and Z7. Reviews were posted.

Anyway, what are the different features of this newer Nikkor 400MM 2.8E VR FL lens? Several key features made me want to switch out my current 400mm 2.8.

1. The lens is more compact and lighter, compact in length by about 1 inch, and the weight of this new lens is 8.37 pounds or 3800g for you metric folks, the older 400mm VRII is 10.1 pounds or 4,620g. for a realistic weight difference of 1.8 pounds, and yes, I can tell the difference when lifting it. The weight bias is still on the front but balances nicely on my tripod and shoulder once you get accustomed to it.

2. You actually have a usable custom-fitted hardshell case similar to an airline carry-on but I am not certain if the dimensions are ok for carrying the so be it – and looks to be. So, the "hard" case is better suited for travel.

3. Nikon states this lens has extreme weather-resistant and seals, to me, it looks as good and the VRII lens but not any better I can tell.

4. Fluorite Lens coating – watch the youtube video to see the benefits, the coatings make crap come off real easy. Note: I normally never clean my glass unless I have a large amount of debris present.

5. Fluorite lens elements x 2 to reduce weight and improve the lens optically (this is probably where most of the added cost comes from)

6. A new panning mode VR setting - sports mode. I am a nature shooter, but I am sure the sports shooters can attest to the benefits, and I can use it in my panning shots.

7.An electronic diaphragm for more consistency during exposure shots, more for the continuous shooter high FPS (not sure how this feature impacts battery life). Glad Nikon added it, I use the PCE lens and appreciate this feature.

8. better lens ergonomics (debatable); not too sure it matters overall.

9. Increased sharpness – To Be determined – really, how much sharper can a Nikkor 400mm get? 
That is pretty much it. So do the enhancements really make this lens worth the cost over the other Nikkor version? Hard to say, but if you’re a 400 fan who uses the lens often then I suspect yes.

The awesome 400mm ED FL lens mounted on a Nikon DSLR
Before I forget the “Really Right Stuff” lens foot replacement from my old 400mm VRII will technically fit, but will not allow the lens hood to attach for storage, the Really Right Stuff foot replacement is too long now that the carbon fiber hood is a single piece.

Below is the gallery are some “snapshots” taken – Keep in mind the outing was not all that exciting and subjects during this time of year limited. 
The butterfly was taken from about 50 feet @ 60% crop. The dogs on the beach were taken at extreme distance, they were so far away I could not make out any detailed features with eyesight, I could see and hear the dogs in the water frolicking, I literally rotated the camera and hit the shutter – 90% crop 1.7 Teleconverter used. The guys fishing were taken with a Nikkor 1.7TC II as well and were sitting out on the river a very good distance from me, shooting conditions that day were not all that good, many know on the east coast haze is most often present The yellow flowers were taken from a wooden platform Tripoded about 50 feet away, the insect is a 50% crop showing how much detail and clarity this lens can capture. I will not try to comment on the geese landings, my first attempt, and I was not prepared – but got a few other birds in flight shots off anyway – better luck in the spring next year - can't wait. Who needs Macro - the Spider was shot at about 30 feet and you can see the details- the wind was a factor here so not all too sharp.
Mounted on my a D810 for the first week was new to me even though I had been using a D800 for two years, it was enough of a difference to make me pause due to trying different focus settings.

To Note: The performance with the TCs ( I tried all three), including the new 1.4 III version, and the older 1.4 II version. Very responsive with all Nikkor TCs. The lens would snap to attention when I touched the focus button, this is one awesome setup.  I have high confidence with this lens and my TCs and the reason I bought a 400mm 2.8 in the first place.

**UPDATE: The 1.4 III TC is an excellent combination! The two together with my camera body act as one instrument, with no noticeable loss of IQ or focusing speed.
Weight, Today I was out for about 6 hours, this lens wore on me and took a few hours to adjust my shoulder technique for carrying. I am still working the lens to rest on my shoulder in the sweet spot and once I figure it out should be fine. You will still need padding, camera, tripod, the lens is 7+ pounds. My prediction the next 400 will be a PF FL version 400mm weighing in a 3.4 pounds.
Final thoughts, See all above, This Nikkor 400mm ED FL is by far the finest Nikon 400mm ever produced!  Having owned three previous 400s this incarnation is the best yet. Lighter with much better balance, along with the great image and build quality makes it a standout, and having a fast f/2.8 aperture light gathering capability is excellent and usable in many situations. This lens is a near-perfect tool for wildlife in difficult lighting conditions, excels when used with a teleconverter, especially the TC14III. If you are looking for a wide range/versatile super-telephoto lens and have the cash or trade-up, the 400 just might be your perfect answer.

The 400mm lens is a super champion and I am looking forward to more photography of this lens! Help This Site: Buy a Nikkor 400

If you require longer reach for great birding - see my review 400mm vs 500mm vs 600mm.

NIKON 400mm f2.8 lens review: The main image is the reason as to why the 400 rules as a super-telephoto!

Buy your Nikon 400mm Super Telephoto using my Amazon Associate Link

 

Comments

Collapse Expand Comments (4)
Q8mc

thank you very much for your review it help me. i hope you can upload more photos especially birds.

thanks

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Bill

Thanks for taking time to post the images and review of the 400mm. I am considering one and this helps me decided.

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Robert Daniels

What is the best way to save and get this lens in 1 years time

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TrueToad

Robert, I will provide you my strategy for the expensive camera bodies and lens purchases.

1. what other interest are you NO longer actively engaged in that could possibly provide revenue? I had three APO telescopes I hardly used and sold for a few grand.+ an older 400mm, thus I recovered a majority of the expense for the new 400 lens.

2. Start saving now! I have no idea of your budget so I can not recommend how much, but one thing is clear - you will never get there unless you start.

Most of all: Owning the lens may not necessarily bring you all the benefits over your cost outlay you may be hoping for if your photography does not demand a fast 400 mm. 80% solution Might make your photography just as rewarding! Such as using the Nikkor 200-500, or the fantastic 300mm PF with a 1.4 tc. both at a fraction of the cost.

Finally, the used lens market may be a cheaper option.

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