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 | sent on 01 Marzo 2023 Pros: Very light weight, astonishingly sharp at 80mm+, usable and good IQ up to 300-350mm, good colour rendering, alltogether it has a very usable focus range, it is built stable, stabilisation available, with good luck this lens is available relatively cheap, Cons: performance becomes poor near 400mm, AF dependent on camera motor, therfore too slow for flying or running animals, tripod clamp useless weight (but can be taken off), stabilisation very old version (it works, but creates artifacts sometimes), Opinion: I bought an used, but excellent exemplar of that lens for less than 400 Euro, which turned out to be a bargain. But it took me perhaps a year to understand under which conditions the results can be satisfying. It is near to unuseable at 400mm, but if you work with less than 350mm or better less than 300mm, you will get fine results. It's very light to carry, which is important for me. It's no classical wildlife lens, as it is very slow. If you use it clever, you still can get some good shots, but you should not forget to find the focus point before action will start. For a long time, there were no tele lenses that light to carry. Nowadays they exist, but cost a lot. I love it on longer hikes, 80-350 go very well, and you still have a reserve of 400mm, if the two headed deer shows up. Don't pay more than 400 Euro for it. |
  | sent on 01 Maggio 2015 Pros: Focal length range, solid construction, tripod collar Cons: Rudimentary VR, that takes long time to kick in and does so visibly, Weight, f22 performance, 400mm open aperture performance, closest focus, repairs expensive and slow, old type AF Opinion: Initially purchased to turn my FX D700 more into a DX, extending maximum focal length from 300mm to 400mm. The combination of the 1kg of the D700 and this lens made for a home gymnasium! Good image quality generally but noticeable fall-off at 400mm, especially at f5.6. Highly usable long lens for many applications but some very restricting downsides. Closest focus of 2.3m isn't close enough for a head and shoulders portrait, for instance and the original VR was very agricultural, with noticeable delay and a visible movement in the viewfinder. F22 performance very soft (tripod mounted for a landscape with maximum depth of field) The lens, with generous lenshood becomes very long at 400mm too, making it very obvious. I then dropped the lens and, via the shop who sold it, Nikon took over 4 months to repair it as a part could not be sourced. On repair, I immediately traded it in for Sigma's 150-500mm, even bigger and far less well built, but better optically. I had also bought a DX D7000 by then too and so I had the 400mm focal length with my much more portable Tamron SP 70-300mm VC, which I still use for almost all telephoto applications. The new, replacement G 80-400mm seems to have addressed all the issues, such as 400mm performance and now has SWM and latest VR, BUT at a huge hike in price. BUT, if I had the money, then I would definitely buy the G as it offers a really useful extra length over the 70-300, especially on DX, but without the huge non portability of the 150-500mm, plus of course, a wider starting point. |
The following opinions have been automatically translated with Google Translate.
  | sent on 16 Maggio 2024 Pros: mechanics, weight, optical quality Cons: Minimum MAF distance a bit limiting Opinion: After years with my beloved 80-200 biferera I decided to extend the focal length with this lens, found cheaply used. I was worried about a consistent variation in weights and dimensions but I had to change my mind: by removing the plastic bayonet lens hood (which I never tolerated) and replacing it with the 77mm metal one of the 80-200 first series, the lens becomes very manageable in size and, together with the removal of the tripod collar (not as bad as described by others) it becomes easy to take out and store in the backpack, with a total weight lower than that of the 80-200. The optical performance is extremely satisfactory at all apertures and lengths and will make you want to carry it with you at all times. I didn't notice any noticeable drops in quality at longer focal lengths, probably because my specimen is of the second series (SN 4xxxxx) and clearly wants to be used at TA. The contrast is great and the shadows are legible. The colors are very natural, saturated. The mechanics are typical of those years: precise, solid, reliable, a blunt weapon. The af won't catch a fly in flight but if you exclude sports applications it almost never goes wrong (D700, D750). VR is a surprise: primitive but it works. It manages to ennoble in its use a lens that was created for photographic hunting. Extract and shoot. You get still images handheld even at 400mm at 1/50s, i.e. at least three stops of gain. In continuous mode it is also very effective in video, as long as you know how to manage the "symphony for autofocus and stabilizer". I don't regret my bighiera. |
 | sent on 25 Ottobre 2022 Pros: Very vivid colors, good construction, sharp at 80 mm Cons: Discrete AF Opinion: Bought in January used in excellent condition, like new, I needed a tele zoom, I use it for athletics photos, with burst shots you risk not having all the photos in focus, a still bird you can compose a great photo, in flight you have to find the right time, very lively as colors, I am still satisfied, just choose the subject at the right time. Judgment, however, more than positive |
 | sent on 10 Settembre 2019 Pros: Focal excursion, construction. Cons: Sharpness at maximum opening Opinion: Simplifying: Canon the theme of 80 - 400 f4.5 - 5.6 stabilized solved it at the first shot (sharper at maximum focal and lower minimum focus distance), Nikon no. Having said that, the first Nikonian version of this declination is not without interest, and I affirm it not disjointedly from the low price at which it can be found today. At a relatively small figure you get a well-built lens, with a very versatile focal excursion, with good general sharpness. As announced, its Achilles heel is the drop in sharpness at the maximum focal. However, the advantage is that the maximum MTF value at 400 mm is reached in the center already at maximum opening, for acceptable field results. Thus, the proof of the facts results convincingly in a wide variety of situations. There is also to consider that my specimen is a freshman with first number 4, and as another reviewer explains here since this series, improvements have been made. As for bokeh, there are negative and positive premises. The negatives: it's a wide focal excursion zoom. The positives: the blades of the diaphragm are nine and rounded. On the field the consequence is: a soft base so to speak "covered" by a structured patina. A result not entirely pleasant but not even the worst. The autofocus - which only works when controlled by the camera engine, where mechanical coupling is expected - is slow, but less so than you might think when paired with modules starting with the D800/D4 series. My opinion is therefore positive when compared to today's quote: as much as you pay it, it gives a lot, and with a multiplicity of uses. |
  | sent on 07 Febbraio 2018 Pros: focal excursion Cons: size, slow AF. Opinion: It was Nikon's first VR, and it cost an eye ... that I bought as soon as possible in 2002 to replace a bit of manual long optics including a 300 f2.8. In fact, then it was a decisive choice, making sports photos, the number of usable images (still and in focus) radically increased, instead of discarding 30 per roll, now I got at least 30 good for roll. Then came the digital ... the lens was slow and had a lower quality than that of an AFS 70-200 f2.8 with 1.4x. I sold it, and then bought back a used one a few years ago, to satisfy temporary work needs. On a D800, I got good images, not to scream, but still very worthy and well publicized. Then I got the AFS version and life changed for the better. It is used at a reasonable price and satisfactorily fulfills the role of a long lens and autofocus as needed, without major compromises on image quality. Personally I found it anyway better than the AF-S 70-300 f4.5-5.6G VR%2C in particular on the contrast, but this is only an opinion, more dictated by the conditions in which I found myself photographing that real and valid comparisons. VOTE 8 (but when he left he deserved a good 9). |
 | sent on 06 Settembre 2015 Pros: Weight below two pounds, 80 to 250 crisp even at TA Robust and compact enough, filters 77 that also use other lenses. AF precision. Cons: AF is not very fast, chasing a bird in flight is difficult. Plate of the attack to stand a little 'small. Opinion: I was struggling with another zoom that started even shorter, then I bought this used to make "portrait and fashion" because many of the larger zoom in excess of 300mm. But I have not found an opportunity to use it this way, I had fun in the Camargue and Provence. Great for boating and water sports like sailing and kite surfing, or maybe was thought to these uses. The VR does not earn God knows what but I have yet to see if with the monopod should be removed or not, as I use it on the stand off the Vr. rnHo tried for a day the new version, she does well but does a bang more, a bit 'too much for such a lens. This retains its value in used thanks to its inherent strength. |
 | sent on 13 Giugno 2013 Pros: Compactness, weight, colors, clear 80 to 300mm, stabilized, well built Cons: Lose a bit to 400mm, af very slow with d80 and acceptable with d300s (but always slow compared to today's standard), a price a little high but with the takeover of the new 80-400 has become fair (about 1000 euros) Opinion: The 80-400 was my first telephoto zoom. The first sample that I took was second-hand and the 2xxxx serial number went back to the first specimens produced by nikon. My first 80-400 did not satisfy me much: at 400mm it was really soft (even closing at f8) and from 80 to 300 it was discreet. However, it remained an excellent companion for photographs of landscape details. One day I read an article in which it was written that nikon in 2006 revised this lens from an optical point of view and introduced the new models with new 4xxxx serial numbers. On the article it was written that the 80-400 to 400mm, already at f5.6, was good to then become excellent at f8. At the beginning I was hesitant but then I decided to put 300 euros more than I had obtained from the sale of my used and I bought a new 80-400 (year 2011). How did it end? I did not believe it but at 400mm f5.6 it was clearer than the model I had (matr 2xxxx). From 80 to 300/320 is very good while at 400mm it is discreet (but closing one stop improves a lot).Regarding the af with the d300s is acceptable. It's really an optic that allows you to do a lot and with little space. |
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| sent on 26 Gennaio 2012 Pros: construction, rendering delicate range of focal lengths covered, good performance 80 to 300mm. Cons: Unclear to 400mm, very slow in focus, very expensive for what it from. Opinion: The Nikkor AF 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 D ED VR, my first lens was a po'spinto, I needed a long lens to experiment with pictures of birds in those days had few pretensions and quality satisfy me even at maximum focal length, I was particularly enchanted by the delicate strokes of color and brilliant. where exactly was I was not nell'autofocus, far too slow, very difficult to pull a bird in flight. so, after some hesitation, I changed to the more powerful Sigma 50-500, which in addition to offering more than 100mm in the longer focal lengths, gave me a good speed in autofocus. rigurdando now the shots of the old 80-400 accustomed to yield 500 vr I seem particularly sharp, but this obviously can not be expected otherwise. I would only recommend if you need a zoom travel to photograph a bit 'of everything, with low space, but for a specific use in the fields of natural, is not great, definitely better 300f4. one final comment is reserved for the vr .. I did many tests with and without and I did not notice particular bebefici with vr on ... say that the new tecnlogia Vr II is quite another thing. optical urge a serious restoration.! |
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