Nikon 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6D ED Vibration Reduction Nikkor Lens

Comments about Nikon 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6D ED Vibration Reduction Nikkor Lens:

Several wildlife and sports opportunities have presented themselves. The 80-400 ED VR lense on my D80 have performed superbly. Long time professionals have taken a doubletake at some of the shots that this system has produced. I think my brother (a grey lense user) may be a little jealous of the results too. He hasn't admitted it yet, but I can see it in his eyes.

The only frustration has been it's poor performance in lower light situations. But just knowing where it doesn't work fixes that.

Great product that produces great results.

Comments about Nikon 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6D ED Vibration Reduction Nikkor Lens:

Great lens for fairly bright shooting. Got caught without my tripod when I came upon Bighorn Sheep on a trip in Utah. Used my wife's shoulder and the VR really worked. At 400mm (600) on my D200 it was a pretty shakey scene...but it worked.

Comments about Nikon 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6D ED Vibration Reduction Nikkor Lens:

I have used the lens mostly for sports shots and am very happy with the clarity of the shots as well as my ability to get into the midst of the action from the sideline.

Comments about Nikon 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6D ED Vibration Reduction Nikkor Lens:

Excellent value for money in its class!

Comments about Nikon 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6D ED Vibration Reduction Nikkor Lens:

I have owned this lens for 3 months now, using it on a D300. Getting crisp photos of various wildlife. Pros: great telephoto lens, durable, well constructed, like the tripod adapter. Cons: lens is a little heavy for my favorite activity of backpacking, acceptable for short to medium hikes.

Comments about Nikon 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6D ED Vibration Reduction Nikkor Lens:

This would have been an impeccable lens with the addition of AF-S. Focus speed is adequate on my D200, but in the low-light conditions of the golden hour when I often find myself shooting wildlife, this lens can sometimes be frustrating. I have missed some potentially great shots where focus hunts in these types of conditions, and often go to my 70-300 AF-S VR under those conditions.

On the upside, I love that Nikon made this lens so light and portable as compared to something like the Canon 100-400 USM IS. It is an ideal size for a lens of this focal length. It turns out great images when everything comes together.

Comments about Nikon 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6D ED Vibration Reduction Nikkor Lens:

I bought this lens to shoot outdoor (daytime) sports. It continues to impress me on well lit days. Shooting afternoon football here in the Pacific NW you can reach pretty low light and rain awfully early but I can stand in one endzone and cover most of the field. For softball I can shoot from center field and capture the batter and catcher expressions. It has worked extremely well for me.
The 4.5-5.6 is pretty serious, I generally shoot in apiture mode but under pretty well lit environments. I'm going to have to switch to a 70-200 F2.8 lens to capture any night games.

Comments about Nikon 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6D ED Vibration Reduction Nikkor Lens:

For those looking for a cost effective alternative for a 400mm
(digital equivalent 600mm) capable lens, this may be the lens
for you.

My primary need/use of this lens is for daylight sports (soccer
and football) and wildlife. Things I've tried:
70-200 VR with TCs (not bad but not as sharp at 400mm),
400mm F/2.8 (heavy, bulky, no zoom and not cheap,)
200-400mm (perfect for those with $5K of dispensable
income.)

My prime concern was the lack of AFS, especially reading the
other reviews. On a D200 the AF speed is not great but
adequate. The lens will AF hunt occasionally but once you are
in the general AF range/distance, minor AF adjustments are
pretty effective. I would not use this for any low light action
shots. I see this as the most cost effective alternative for
daylight 400mm capability. The added bonus is that it is a
very compact lens in size relative to the prime lens and can
produce prime lens quality shots most of the time. Although
this lens is not perfect, I am very satisfied with the quality of
shots that this lens provides and it is the lens of choice in
almost all of my outdoor photography.

VR is great for low light static motion situations and hand
holding in almost all situations. Zoom range sets it a apart
from the 400mm primes.

Comments about Nikon 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6D ED Vibration Reduction Nikkor Lens:

I've had this lens for about one year and I've been using it with D200. The lens' performance exceeded my expectations. I've been primarily using it to shoot wildlife, mainly birds. The zoom range and the ability to hand-hold your camera (thanks to VR) means you can adjust very quickly and capure the most of the action.

At first the lens might seem big and heavy, but what would you expect for a 400mm that offers good build quality? I'm not a body-builder, but after using the lens for about a month, it started to be "natural" for me to carry it.

Lens' controls are all smooth and comfortable to operate - whenever the camera is on the tripod or when it's hand-held. The VR works great. I have no problems getting nice, sharp pictures setting the shutter to 1/60. Therefore if I have no time to set up a tripod and want to capture moving animals in a not very good light, I most often switch the camera to Shutter priority mode. I'm then sure that I get a sharp picture and if it's a little underexposed, adjusting levels or curves in Photoshop does a trick.

As far as autofocus is concerned, I found it pretty accurate. Sometimes it might seem slow (I noticed it especially tends to slow down in cold temperatures). However, the lens is equipped with a focus range limiter switch - and it grately speeds up it's performance. Also, the final result depends on camera's body settings - while using continuous servo AF focus mode, it's also crucial to choose the AF area mode which would be the most appropriate for the particular situation. Because quite often it's not "slow lens' fault" when the picture doesn't come out super-sharp.

Overall, the lens has been working flawlessly and allowed me to take a lot of stunning pics.

Comments about Nikon 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6D ED Vibration Reduction Nikkor Lens:

I wanted a long telephoto zoom to reach out and capture people, animals and birds in their natural environment, be that sports or in the wild. This lens accomplishes this goal without being too long nor too heavy. It is big but so is 400mm (600mm on most digitals). It is a little heavy but I wear it on a stock neck strap and half carry it as I walk.

I hand hold the 80-200mm VR, foregoing a tripod or monopod to increase mobility while stalking subjects.

The VR feature is Big, especially early morning or late afternoon outside where nature lives.

You can pay more for faster glass, but for the price, this is a great value.