New Nikon 80-400

Zerodog

I got to play with one of these bad boys yesterday. Tracked some moving cars and tried focusing from close to far a bunch of times. Seems very fast. Nikon rep says it is incredibly sharp. And puts it right with the 70-200 in ability. As long as you do not need constant f4 it might be as good as the 200-400. I am renting one for Widowmaker this year.

Has anyone used one of these yet?

Matthew Saville

No, but I'm thinking of renting one for the next air show here in town... (Miramar, San Diego)

Zerodog

If its before the last weekend of June, I want a full report!

Zerodog

I rented one for the Widowmaker Hillclimb last weekend. It was fantastic. It is one of the best lenses I have ever used. Super sharp, accurate and tracked very well on my D3s. On top of that i hand held it all weekend. I tried it with a d7100 on the 1.3 crop mode and shot across a canyon! It was ok but I think I was seeing heat distortion. I used a tripod with the ball head unlocked so I could track a rider up the mountain.

Now for the downside. I crafted some covers for it out of fleece to protect from dust. The only thing exposed was about a 1/2 inch strip of the zoom ring. For the most part they helped the outside of the lens. But inside it looks like the Milky Way. The Nikon rep told me it is very weather sealed. I guess it is not. The conditions this year were the most tame as far as dust. The climbs were watered for weeks before the event. There were never walls of dust as years past. My 70-200 has taken years of this with no covers and has almost no dust. So either something wrong with this lens or it is not very sealed at all. Keeping my fingers crossed that Nikon takes care of this. If not, I may be buying this rental lens. I am sort of ok with it because it was awesome. If I buy one of these I want to make better covers. I need to figure out where it vents and create a filtration system for it.

Another issue is f5.6. To keep the shutter speed up I found myself over 1000iso during the early morning and evening runs. Not a problem for a d3s but not optimal for most other bodies. I was surprised at the ISO needed all day. It could be the small 77mm size of it too? Maybe if it was larger it could be better? I think this lens would be almost unusable for any indoor venue.

jmphotocraft

Zerodog wrote: »

Another issue is f5.6. To keep the shutter speed up I found myself over 1000iso during the early morning and evening runs. Not a problem for a d3s but not optimal for most other bodies. I was surprised at the ISO needed all day.

Yeah. That and the relatively deep DOF are why I sold my Canon 100-400L. I'm spoiled by f/2.8 at 200mm and 300mm. I can't go back.

It could be the small 77mm size of it too? Maybe if it was larger it could be better? I think this lens would be almost unusable for any indoor venue.

Well 400/5.6 = 71mm. If it were bigger it wouldn't be f/5.6. Wouldn't be much point in making it bigger unless it went to f/4, and then it would probably be more expensive than the 200-400/4.

Zerodog

I meant to say the filter size of 77mm. I wonder if it would help if it were bigger. The sigma super zooms are huge aren't they? Lens was sent to Nikon for cleaning. No charge! Fantastic. They said it happens with this lens. So I suppose it is not really optimal for outdoor use in dusty or wet conditions, and it is unusable inside. So maybe it is good from inside of a bubble? I think if I were to buy one, it would need some research for some serious covers. The only reason I would consider going through the trouble is the fact that it was so awesome for Moto.