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

Hi I read many conflicting reviews on this lens but decided to have a go anyway, I am delighted it is fantastic had the sigms 50-500 for a month but being so heavy I had to part with it, no regrets the nikon is in my opinion a far better option mainly because of the VR , the results far exceed my expectations, if in doubt GET ONE

VR VR VR if like myself your hands struggle to hold the malt then VR is a godsend, it is heavy but if you want to know heavy try the sigma, the sharpness of the photo's is amaing

price but this is UK (rip-off-ville) other than that none £800 UK

sigma 50-500 nikon 70-200vr

no experience

The lens does work well. It takes great images. The VR does work but dont believe the hype about total stability. It works well in daylight. I used it hand held and noted blurring in numerous images. I now use it on a monopod with the VR on and the limiy set to full. It works alot better on the monopod and distibutes the weight a little better. This lens is heavy and you feel it after carrying this thing around for awhile. Make sure you have good monopod, the big ones. I used it on a smaller monopod at first and that set up was not the best. After getting used to the lens and its limitations most of the images I get are great as far as being in focus. The image quality is on par for a high end Nikon Lens. The 400mm focal length is great for wildlife shots, though I never go all the way out to 400, image quality tends to suffer abit at the long range. Most people buy this thinking they can chunk the tripod, you will end up using a monopod, if nothing else to help with carrying this monster around. The plus is the images are great, color and detail. I used a Sigma 500mm APO as well. It took great images as well but only mounted on a tripod with more or less stationary subjects. The Sigma Lens works well and cost alot less, but it does limit you oprions of use and ease of use. The Sugma Lens does not feel near as nice in build quality as the Nikon. The Nikon is well built and sturdy. I love this lens, but it can get tiring if you do a alot of walking, the images usually make up for that. Look at like carrying a dumb bell around to excersise. Works great on my D200.

VR, does help but is not the cure all. It takes great images just like you would expect for the money it costs. I got mine from a person I knew and the lens was in great condition. If you van find one for 1000 dollars or so it is worth every cent. New they are not priced to bad, but is still alot of money.

Excellent feel and build quality. I would recommend this lens and would have paid full price if I had not got the deal I got. It is worth it.

It is heavy and slow in focusing, but it is abig lens. I do not if this is really a weakness for what it is designed to do. I do not think it was intended for action sports. I have used it for sports and got some great shots. It just takes some paitence. I think the price ought to be a little lower with the other VR Lenses that Nikon has come out with, but this is really the only Nikon Vr targeted to nature shooters in this price range, so they kinda got us.

Sugma 170-500mm APO-Not to bad of a lens. I got mine for 550 at a local camera shop new. Tripod required.

Nikon 300mm-Not long enough, excellent images.

Nikon 200mm F2.8-Great images, way to short for wildlife at a distance. Handy when limited on light. I have used a teleconverter on it but got mixed results depending on conditions.

Great zoom for the $ but dont expect VR to make you a pro. VR takes the shake out and lets you go handheld at long lengths, but only in bright light as its still slow. AF hunts, a lot! Weighs a ton.

VR Focal range. Price

AF hunting Weight

The choice was between the SIgma and the Nikon. The Sigma one is slightly bigger and the handling of the Nikon is better imo. My impressions are that it is very sharp, better than my 24-120 and it's amazing to get razor sharp pictures handheld at 400mm at 1/40s! True not every 1/40 is good but it fits the bill for the purpose I bought it for: handheld outside shooting, wandering around in city's and taking pictures of people and situations from a distance without them noticing it too much. Focussing is slow as said here before, ceratinly not for sports but other than that there is not much wrong wiith this lens. I have some CA in big contrast areas at the wide end. but this could be my copy.

versatile focal range VR! can be used handheld

slow focus slight CA

Nikon 24-120, 35F2, 18-70; Sigma 18-125, 18-200; 15F2.8, 15-30; Canon 70-200LIS 2.8, 28-135, 28F1.8, 50F1.8, 28-105, 17-40L

not experienced

The holy grail. The one lens making your equipment bag a lot lighter and the changing of lenses every 3 seconds in the field obsolete. I wanted this lens ever since Nikon announced it not too long ago. Great for just about any type of photography, but certainly most usefull in the bush or on race track where you can set it up on the tripod. It has everything your Nikon F5 was begging you for. Same robust and solid materials and outstanding balance. While it is not a cheap lens, this is the one you willl eventually buy anyways. So why not now. Save yourself the pain of finding out that you never get anything of quality unless you pay for it...

The overall quality in just about every aspect of the productions shines through. Hail to the Japanese and their technology and craftsmanship. Solid materials, outstanding bild quality, colour rendering and sharpness. Works absolutely fantastic with the Velvial 50 slide film, that is if you do want to get it right.

A bit heavy - but who cares anyways. Occasional focus hunting is possible when you don't want to use the VR, but then, if you have an F5 you can just use your AF Lock On and you are laughing.

There is nothing similar to this one. Believe it.