where there’s smoke there’s fire

This Nikon AF-S Nikkor 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4 FL ED VR lens ($12,396.95) field test is by Kjetil Schjølberg (Instagram) – the pictures were taken with the D850 in Norway and Kenya:

The last ten days I was able to test the new Nikon 180-400mm in a variety of situations. As mainly a wildlife photographer I used it to shoot some local beavers here in Norway, and I brought it along as my only lens for a workshop I led in Kenya. I borrowed the lens from Nikon Nordic NPS, but this is by no means a paid or biased review. I also shoot Canon, Olympus and Sony gear on a regular basis.

I have used both previous Nikon 200-400mm VR versions extensively as well as Canons 200-400, so I was eager to see how this new lens performed with the Nikon D850. Could this be my next wildlife photography-all-in-one travel setup?

First of all the lens is built exceptionally well. It is slightly lighter than the Canon 200-400, and just 150 grams more than the old Nikon 200-400. It is large but will fit nicely in approved carry-on luggage.

While I liked the old 200-400mm a lot (and it is one of the most widely used pro wildlife lenses) it has some issues with soft images at infinity and most important its focus speed never did it for me in terms of fast action/flying birds and so on.

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