Non-flaring telephoto recommendations 200mm to 400mm

[Tejpor]

Dear knowledgeable fellows,


can you please advise me on telephotos between the 200-400mm range, which are very resistant against flare and hold contrast against direct sunlight shining into the lens?

I would prefer Nikon F mount but I'm open to more obscure optics (mirror lens with T-mount, etc). Telephoto aperture is not important at all.

I have several photo ideas in mind which include the sun directly and the foreground object will be in shadow. In this scenario, even mild veiling flare, not to mention the direct reflections, obscures details in the foreground with my current optics (Nikon 200mm f2.0).

With kind regards,

[Ilkka Nissilä]

The AF-S 80-400 is very good in this respect, holding color and contrast well in backlit scenarios.

[Tejpor]

The AF-S 80-400 is very good in this respect, holding color and contrast well in backlit scenarios.

Thank you, Ilkka. I'm however very surprised to see a highly complex zoom lens for this purpose.

[Roland Vink]

My guess is that the best candidates are telephoto primes with Nano Coating. In the 200-400mm range, that includes the AFS 200/2 VR II, AFS 300/2.8 VR, AFS 300/2.8 VR II, AFS 400/2.8 VR and AFS 400/2.8 FL. You said you have a 200/2, but not which version.


The new 300/4 PF and 500/5.6 PF also have nano-coating but the PF element flares more than normal elements.

Telephoto zooms with nano coating include the AFS 70-200/4, AFS 70-200VR (ED and FL), AFS 80-400, AFS 200-400/4 II, 180-400/4 FL and forthcoming 120-300/2.8. Zooms have more air glass surfaces than primes so tend to suffer more from flare and ghosts but some are surprisingly good. On the other hand, some primes are poor, sometimes the lens spacing and curvature just happens to reflect/focus stray light on the sensor, regardless of how good the coatings are.

[Tejpor]

Thank you, Roland.