Nikon AF-S Nikkor 200-400mm f/4G Ed VR II Lens

The Nikon AF-S VR G 200-400 mm f/4.0 zoom is a pro lens by any means. You may also call it a "tool", so you should buy it if you have a job in mind for it. I bought mine for airplane and airshow photography. I have a Nikon 300 mm f/2.8 prime lens that I use a lot and it is excellent for me under most circumstances, but there are times when a fixed focal length lens is less than optimal. At most airshows the photographer's move relative to the airplanes is limited. Often times the planes fly across my field of view, at a relatively constant distance from me, but the military demo teams such as the Thunderbirds and the Blue Angels may fly directly overhead at me or away from me. These are the times when I wish I had a zoom to follow them, and that this zoom be as good ... MoreThe Nikon AF-S VR G 200-400 mm f/4.0 zoom is a pro lens by any means. You may also call it a "tool", so you should buy it if you have a job in mind for it. I bought mine for airplane and airshow photography. I have a Nikon 300 mm f/2.8 prime lens that I use a lot and it is excellent for me under most circumstances, but there are times when a fixed focal length lens is less than optimal. At most airshows the photographer's move relative to the airplanes is limited. Often times the planes fly across my field of view, at a relatively constant distance from me, but the military demo teams such as the Thunderbirds and the Blue Angels may fly directly overhead at me or away from me. These are the times when I wish I had a zoom to follow them, and that this zoom be as good as a fast prime lens. For me, the Nikon 200-400 f/4.0 serves exactly this purpose. I can photograph the planes when they are flying down the runway or when they are flying across it, directly towards me. The 200-400 f/4.0 lens is sharp, it has incredible details and it is virtually free of the so annoying color fringes and distortions that less capable lenses suffer from. The autofocus is extremely fast as you would expect from a lens designed for sports and wildlife photography. You can read the detailed technical reviews of this lens at various photography web sites, so I'm not going to go into those details here. I only want to say that this lens can do all the things that the reviews say it can. Of course, this lens is heavy. I recommend using a tripod with a gimbal head, especially for fast paced sports, like airshows, boat or car races and such. You may try using a monopod but be careful with the traditional ball heads. I have used monopod with my 300 f/2.8 but the 200-400 f/4.0 is longer and heavier than the 300, so be careful how you set the friction of the ball. There is one thing you must know if you buy this lens. Some versions of its carry bag, the Nikon CL-L2 case, is under recall because the bottom of the old style case can fall out. An accident like that almost certainly would destroy your investment. I followed the instructions on the Nikon web site to request a replacement bag, and eventually got the new style case. Customer service lost track of my replacement request along the way, so it took a few phone calls and emails to sort this out, but finally I got a new style carry case that I can trust. I am looking forward to the new air show season with this lens. Based on my limited tries at my local airport I am very confident that I won't be returning this beauty to the seller.

I am a wildlife photojournalist by profession and I am actively doing wildlife tracking and behavior monitoring of predators that demands a lot of bumpy driving or boating with heavy camera kits and photographing in unstable conditions. I had taken this huge 'photographing rifle' to shoot polar bears on a boat in deep Beaufort Sea in the Alaskan Arctic. This lens is heavy. This cannot be handheld for long time specially if you anticipate action anytime by pointing directly at the object. On a boat, with monopod, pictures were more stable and tact within 380mm but if the object goes beyond 400mm, focus become dicey. This lens has a great IQ and am happy with its performance on a sturdy surface. On the move with high trekking 70-200mm is the choice

First and foremost, this is a superb lens. It ought to be for the investment needed to purchase one new. Whether you're using an FX or DX formatted DSLR this will be a mainstay in your kitbag, for anything sports and wildlife related. Coupled to a DX body, this lens becomes a 300mm to 600mm lens when you factor in the crop of the APSC body with the gain that gives you in reach over the FX variants.Ideally you'd be using this lens on a top end body say a D500 or D5 / D6 for wildlife. It's a cracking lens for macro too, so ace on the D850. It has a great close in focus limit of 2 meters. Super-fast autofocus, memory recall. This VRII lens has slightly better VR and has Nano coatings on the front lens element. But the optics are the same as the mark I lens. I've had ... MoreFirst and foremost, this is a superb lens. It ought to be for the investment needed to purchase one new. Whether you're using an FX or DX formatted DSLR this will be a mainstay in your kitbag, for anything sports and wildlife related. Coupled to a DX body, this lens becomes a 300mm to 600mm lens when you factor in the crop of the APSC body with the gain that gives you in reach over the FX variants.Ideally you'd be using this lens on a top end body say a D500 or D5 / D6 for wildlife. It's a cracking lens for macro too, so ace on the D850. It has a great close in focus limit of 2 meters. Super-fast autofocus, memory recall. This VRII lens has slightly better VR and has Nano coatings on the front lens element. But the optics are the same as the mark I lens. I've had both variants of this lens, they're pretty much identical, plus you can pick these lenses up considerably cheaper on the second-hand market if you look hard enough, you might find a bargain. I wouldn't discount the mark I (VR) lens, unless you need the minimal updates this VRII lens has.The f4 aperture is fast, bright, the end results optically are a marked step up from the more consumer lenses, as you'd expect, and dare I say it from some of the newer Nikon lenses. This lens is better value than its replacement, the 180mm to 400mm. It's a great lens but bulkier and optics wise no better than this. It does have a built in tele converter but I never use these personally. Plus, at ten grand, I'd be going for the fixed primes, personally at that price banding.Build quality is what you expect from a pro lens, built for serious and sustained use, looked after, you'll only ever buy one. Fully weather sealed, there's nothing flimsy about this lens. It's a heavy lens, but has a great point of balance, so you can handhold it and at reasonable shutter speeds the VR is excellent whilst handholding the lens. It isn't front end heavy like the 400mm f2.8 or 600mm f4, which both realistically need to be on a mono pod or tripod.Personally I would rent one of these lenses first and see what you think. Most folk slate prime lenses because they say 'they're too heavy'. A crass dig really, as what were you expecting. These are very large metal / alloy and glass units. Designed to be manhandled and absorb some rough treatment in the field.If you shoot using mirrorless kit, weight might be an issue, but if your work is primarily in the field, outdoors for hours in all weathers and if the likelihood of a knock or tap to the lens is likely, I'd buy one of these. Nikon seems to have milled out a lot of the strength and weight in its PF lenses particularly the f5.6 500mm, not a great lens for serious shooters in the field, but a reasonable lens if weight is your primary focus, say if you're a travel shooter or on a cruise or something, or struggle with the size and weight of pro kit. Plus, it's more expensive new than a good second hand 200mm 400mm.Photography is about trade-offs, there's no one lens that does it all perfectly. The 200 to 400mm is a great lens that comes recommended. Go check one out and see for yourself.