AF VR Zoom-Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED
This versatile, compact and lightweight zoom is ideal for wildlife and action photography, and includes Nikon’s VR image stabilization technology.
$1,849.95*SRPSRP (Suggested Retail Price) listed only as a suggestion. Actual prices are set by dealers and are subject to change at any time.
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Supplied Accessories
- HB-24 Hood
- CL-M1 case
- 77mm lens cap
- Rear lens cap
*Supplied accessories may differ depending on country or area.
AF VR Zoom-Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED
76
76
Relatively affordable sharp lens
The lens is sharp, but heavy and very slow focusing. The Manual/Autofocus switch is sometimes difficult to operate since it sticks and does not turn smoothly. Nicely made and comes with a good case.
July 30, 2010
Slow to focus and it hunts a lot, but a sound lens
The first one I had did not focus well at all. After two trips to the Nikon repair station and a letter to the president of Nikon USA, Nikon replaced the lens. The replacement has produced several fine images. That said, I have found that it is slow to focus and intermittently, it hunts when it focuses.
If you have patience, you can do very good work with it. I find it to be less predictable than other Nikon lenses I have.
July 30, 2010
Why fair?
Well, the 80-400mm isn´t a lens for wildlife photos, because it isn´t sharp and the focus is too slow. I think that the Nikon should do a new one, further if the Nikon make a new one better than the oldest they will increase the number of new photograph with Nikon cameras. Why a think that? Here in Brazil, I heard many peolple say that went to Canon because of the 100-400mm.
I wouldn´t recommend the 80-400mm for wildlife. With you want a good lens for a standard wildlife photography, the 70-300mm is better than a 80-400mm (I have both).
May 29, 2012
Good - Only in the right situations
I owned this lens a couple of years ago...and it was too slow for wildlife photography. The lens isn't made for low-light shooting...which is when much of the wildlife world is up and moving, morning and evening. So...read the specs and reviews and don't expect it to do things it naturally can't with it's f-stop range. It should be obvious that it won't perform well without sufficient light!
Other than that...it was good for soccer and family photos, etc during the day.
I now own the 200 - 400 f/4 zoom...WOW...what a lens!! so Dave...don't talk about the other guy's 100 - 400 until you've strapped on a 200 - 400!
April 26, 2011
Very Disappointing Lens
I own many Nikkor Lenses and this is the only one with which I am disappointed. I have three major problems with the lens. First, the autofocus being outdated is very slow. Second, images exposed at 400mm and f/5.6 are extremely soft. I recently used the lens on my D90 to take many pictures of Big Horn Sheep and I could not believe how soft the images were. Third, the cost of the lens is much too high for the image quality produced. I have really tried to get to like this lens, but every time that I give it another chance, it continues to disappoint. I regret having purchased the lens and don't expect that it will see much use, if any, in the future.
April 17, 2011
Sorry, just not a great lens
I have a love/hate relationship with this lens. When used right, it is a good, albeit not great lens, but it focuses too slowly even on my D2X, it is less sharp than I would like, and poorly balanced. Not a lens I can recommend to friends or acquaintances. Perhaps if AF-S and/or a constant f/4 lens it might be better.
January 3, 2011
Not sharp near infinity
I have owned this lens for over a year and up until recently have not recorded many images at/near infinity focus. Of late I have had the need to shoot 400mm at infinity and found the lens to be very soft. I returned the lens to Nikon for repairs. The list of things done to it by Nikon was extensive, and fortunately under warranty. Immediately upon receiving it back from repair, I placed it on a rock-solid tripod and head, to do a test shoot. Using mirror lock-up, an electronic shutter release, and 1/500 sec. I am not seeing the sharpness I am accustomed to in Nikon products. Dissappointed at the least.
December 17, 2010
Unuseable for Sports
Doesn't matter how hard I tried, could not focus sharply at all on subject when zoomed between 3 and 400mm. This lens is essentially unuseable.
October 3, 2011
Please upgrade this lens
In it's day, a good lens. For birding it's light and mobile. But the speed of AF is archaic. Five years ago I knew five bird photographers who used this lens as a quickie point and shoot. Today I'm the only one left. All the others are now Canon users -- mostly because of their 100-400. I've been waiting for an upgrade. Please, or I too will go to the dark side.
April 18, 2011
The lens is mechanically sound, but optically poor
This lens has been a major disappointment. Images throughout the zoom range just are not sharp. A friend who has the 70-300 that costs a third of this lens get tack sharp images. We often shoot wildlife photos together, and there is no comparison.
I don't know if this is a problem with this individual lens, or this model generally. Hopefully, it is a problem with this lens and not the design. I am looking to replace it at this time.
April 14, 2011
Product has many great features such as lightness,
This product needs to be refreshed. Like it because it is light and easy to carry. The auto focus gets clogged with dust and dirt, then it stops working. Nikon charges 400 dollars to clean. Auto focus is slow and there is no great teleconverter for it. Many have called this lens the worst in the Nikon line. I have a love-hate relationship with It. Sometimes the limits are jumped when it attempts to auto focus on other occasions the auto focus gets stuck at minimum distance. This is a problematic lens.
August 2, 2010
25 Questions | 38 Answers
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25 Questions | 38 Answers
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All
Is there a telecoverter that will work with this lens on a D3X or D7000 ?
1 year, 3 months ago
by
Anonymous
3 Answers
Answers
Answer:
I just want to add to the Staff answer about TC-201, which you can get from the manual of that lens on page 21:"Optional accessories"
Teleconverter TC-201 (Vibration reduction mode is not effective and only manual focus is available.)
Apr 14, 2011 by
by
Yevgen
Watertown, MA, 02472
Location :
Watertown, MA, 02472
Age: 55-65
Favorite Subject: Sports
Nikon Family: 21+ years
Experience: More than a year
Role: Professional photographer
Answer:
I will not suggest use any teleconverter to the lens with aperture 1/5.6, because all AF sensors on Nikon SLR and DSLR are limited with aperture 1/5.6.With 1.4X teleconverter aperture of that lens will change from 1/5.6 to 1/8
With 2.0X teleconverter aperture of that lens will change from 1/5.6 to 1/11
As more bigger aperture changes as more slow and not accuracy will be AF and in low light conditions it will be too bad.
Apr 14, 2011 by
by
Yevgen
Watertown, MA, 02472
Location :
Watertown, MA, 02472
Age: 55-65
Favorite Subject: Sports
Nikon Family: 21+ years
Experience: More than a year
Role: Professional photographer
Answer:
This lens is only compatible with the TC-201, but there is occasional vignetting.1 year, 4 months ago
by
Anonymous
2 Answers
Answers
Answer:
This lens is not compatible with teleconverters due to the rear element which would contact the teleconverter lens.Jun 4, 2011 by
by
Anonymous
Age: Over 65
Favorite Subject: Nature
Nikon Family: 21+ years
Experience: More than a year
Role: Serious passion, hobbyist
Answer:
I will not suggest use any teleconverter to the lens with aperture 1/5.6, because most AF on Nikon SLR and DSLR is limited with aperture 1/5.6.AF with 1.4X, 1.7X or 2.0x will be mush slow and not accuracy.
Mar 9, 2011 by
by
Yevgen
Watertown, MA, 02472
Location :
Watertown, MA, 02472
Age: 55-65
Favorite Subject: Sports
Nikon Family: 21+ years
Experience: More than 20 years
Role: Professional photographer
AF VR Zoom-Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED
2 Answers
Will the AF VR Zoom-NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED work properly with all it's functions with my Nikon D60
1 year, 4 months ago
by
Dave
San Antonio, TX
Location :
San Antonio, TX
Age: 55-65
Favorite Subject: Nature
Nikon Family: 0-1 years
Experience: 6-12 months
Role: Just getting started with photography
2 Answers
Answers
Answer:
Yes but you really should grt a more proffesional body to use like a 300 s or even a used d-300.Apr 16, 2011 by
by
Anonymous
Answer:
Hi DaveI think it is not for D60
Lenses type G or D AF NIKKOR not equipped with an autofocus motor: All functions supported except autofocus
Mar 9, 2011 by
by
Yevgen
Watertown, MA, 02472
Location :
Watertown, MA, 02472
Age: 55-65
Favorite Subject: Sports
Nikon Family: 21+ years
Experience: More than 20 years
Role: Professional photographer
Has staff answer
AF VR Zoom-Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED
2 Answers
Will the AF on Nikon AF VR Zoom-Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED work on a D50 Camera?
Will the AF on Nikon AF VR Zoom-Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED work on a D50 Camera?
1 year, 3 months ago
by
JT
FL
Location :
FL
Age: 45-54
Nikon Family: 11-20 years
Role: Serious passion, hobbyist
2 Answers
Answers
Answer:
I am very sorry, but Staff answer is not correct at all.You can use this lens, but AF will be limited only in very low light situation, where with standard lenses you usually need to use AF assist illuminator function.
And the reason why is very simple:
In D50 "TTL phase detection by Nikon Multi-CAM900 autofocus module with AF-assist illuminator have range approximately 0.5–3.0 m / 1´8˝–9´10˝ "(see page 130 (Technical Notice-specifications).
And shooting distance scale for VR Zoom-Nikkor ED 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D lens "graduated in meters and feet from 2.3m (8 ft) to infinity "(see manual page 21, specification).
So theoretically D50 AF assist illuminator with VR Zoom-Nikkor ED 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D lens can work only in range 2.3m till 3.0m, if the body of the lens will not block the light from AF assist illuminator.
By the same reason in D50 manual (Page 107) you can find that:
"AF assist is not available with the following lenses:
• AF-S VR ED 70–200 mm f/2.8G
• AF ED 80–200 mm f/2.8D
• AF-S VR ED 200–400 mm f/4G
• AF-S VR 300 mm f/2.8G
• AF-S ED 80–200 mm f/2.8D
• AF VR ED 80–400 mm f/4.5–5.6D
• AF-S VR 200 mm f/2G"
But this lens is not for too low light conditions, where you can not see the object without AF assist illuminator function.
Good luck., I think you will love this lens
Apr 16, 2011 by
by
Yevgen
Watertown, MA, 02472
Location :
Watertown, MA, 02472
Age: 55-65
Favorite Subject: Sports
Nikon Family: 21+ years
Experience: More than a year
Role: Professional photographer
Answer:
Yes, you can use this lens on the D50, but it might block the AF-assist iluminator at ranges under 1m. Note that the camera may not be able to focus using the autofocus if the AF-assist iluminator is blocked.Has staff answer
AF VR Zoom-Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED
2 Answers
Will this lense work with a D5000? Will it autofocus?
1 year, 3 months ago
by
Anonymous
Age: 35-44
Favorite Subject: Nature
Nikon Family: 0-1 years
Experience: 6-12 months
Role: Just getting started with photography
2 Answers
Answers
Answer:
Sorry, you can can use this lens with D5000 only in manual AF mode.D5000 do not have internal autofocus motor and AF VR Zoom-NIKKOR
80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED do not have it also.
If you need lenses with AF function for your D5000, you can use Nikkor lens starting from "AF-S ... ", which have internal AF motor.
Good luck
Apr 14, 2011 by
by
Yevgen
Watertown, MA, 02472
Location :
Watertown, MA, 02472
Age: 55-65
Favorite Subject: Sports
Nikon Family: 21+ years
Experience: More than a year
Role: Professional photographer
Answer:
Yes, absolutely.AF-S lenses offer the highest level of compatibility with new Nikon DSLRs.
Please see this link for more info:
http://support.nikonusa.com/app/ans...
Has staff answer
AF VR Zoom-Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED
2 Answers
Will this lense (AF VR Zoom 80-400mm) work with a D5000? Will it autofocus?
The reason I ask this question again is because the kind person who answered it earlier mentioned that AF-S lenses work with the D5000. However, if I read the above description right the lense is an AF not an AF - S.
1 year, 3 months ago
by
Anonymous
Age: 35-44
Favorite Subject: Landscape
Nikon Family: 0-1 years
Experience: 1-3 months
Role: Just getting started with photography
2 Answers
Answers
Answer:
Although I do not have any experience with the D5000 body I'm guessing that the issue is that it does not have a focus motor built in. This lens should still work with a body that does not have a focus motor as the motor is built into the lens. The issue of AF vs. AF-S is speed. The old AF system is just slower.Apr 15, 2011 by
by
JBS
Anacortes, Wahington
Location :
Anacortes, Wahington
Age: 55-65
Favorite Subject: Nature
Nikon Family: 11-20 years
Experience: More than a year
Role: Semi-professional photographer
Answer:
Nikon offers two types of autofocus digital camera bodies: those with a built-in focus drive motor and those which require a lens to have a motor. Cameras such as the D5000 do not have a focus motor in it so they require the lens to have the focusing motor – an “AF-S” lens. While these bodies can use a lens with no focus motor (an “AF” lens) you would have to manually turn the focus ring to bring the subject in to sharp focus.Has staff answer
AF VR Zoom-Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED
2 Answers
FX format lens with a DX format camera,
Although the focal length will change using a FX format lens with a DX format camera, is there also a photo quality reduction. For example, I want to shoot wildlife with the AF VR Zoom-NIKKOR 80-400MM F4.5-5.6 ED lens using a D40x or a D7000, With the 1.5 increases, do I lose clarity?
1 year, 3 months ago
by
Anonymous
2 Answers
Answers
Answer:
Theoretically it can happened, if the resolution of the lens is poor,but AF VR Zoom-NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED resolution is very high and with DX camera with the same image size or bigger (I think till 24 MPS) you will only win in details.
On DX format at 400mm this lens will have sharper corners than on FX.
Just take a look on MTF charts for 400mm and keep in mind that the max diameter corner in DX format is ~14,4mm.
Blue broken Meridional line for FX format corner ~0.13,
for DX format ~ 0.5.
That is much, much better.
With this lens on DX format you will win twice: second one - you will be closely to the wildlife, but use D7000 (it is better).
Apr 14, 2011 by
by
Yevgen
Watertown, MA, 02472
Location :
Watertown, MA, 02472
Age: 55-65
Favorite Subject: Sports
Nikon Family: 21+ years
Experience: More than a year
Role: Professional photographer
Answer:
Please click on the link below for more information:Answer Title: Please explain FX sensor size, DX sensor size, and the angle of view.
Answer Link: http://support.nikonusa.com/app/ans...
Has staff answer
AF VR Zoom-Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED
2 Answers
Will this lens FIT and WORK well and OK with my Nikon D80?
May 3, 2011 by
Has staff answer
1 year, 2 months ago
by
Josh
Iloilo City, Philippines
Location :
Iloilo City, Philippines
Age: Under 18
Favorite Subject: Portrait
Nikon Family: 0-1 years
Role: Serious passion, hobbyist
2 Answers
Answers
Answer:
In a word, Yes! This lens will work well with any Nikon DSLR no matter the size of the sensor. With your camera and its 1.5 crop factor this lens gives you the field of view of a 600 mm lens.Sample Photos & Videos
Jun 4, 2011 by
by
Shootsalot
Age: Over 65
Favorite Subject: Nature
Nikon Family: 21+ years
Experience: More than a year
Role: Serious passion, hobbyist
Answer:
Yes, this lens is compatible with the D80.
AF VR Zoom-Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED
2 Answers
Will the VR feature of this lens work well with my Nikon D90?
1 year, 2 months ago
by
sarahw
Vancouver
Location :
Vancouver
Age: 35-44
Favorite Subject: Family & Friends
Nikon Family: 2-5 years
Experience: Less than a month
Role: Serious passion, hobbyist
2 Answers
Answers
Answer:
and on every other body made by Nikon.Answer:
yes, it will
AF VR Zoom-Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED
2 Answers
Will the AF VR Zoom Nikkor 80-400 fit and autofocus on the D5100?
Doesn't seem to even allow full zoom range.
1 year, 1 month ago
by
Larry
Chicago suburbs
Location :
Chicago suburbs
Age: Over 65
Favorite Subject: Nature
Nikon Family: 21+ years
Experience: Less than a month
Role: Professional photographer
2 Answers
Answers
Answer:
It does focus full range but is slow to focus from long range to short.Aug 15, 2011 by
by
Anonymous
Answer:
It will fit but wont autofocus.
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