On 80-400G /D800 combo.

[longzoom]

20160604-102-2 by longzoom, on Flickr.   Source of light is inside the frame. MC and "N" coating are  speaking of themselves. BTW, small 1"(25mm) hood over the filter is there.  LZ 

[longzoom]

20160607-026 by longzoom, on Flickr.                           My granddaughter Michelle, 14.       ISO3600, manual WB K 3350, -1 comp., at 150mm, f5.6, light crop.  LZ

[longzoom]

20160613-035-2 by 20160613-035-3 by longzoom, on Flickr/longzoom/]longzoom[/url], on Flickr.  Wide open,  1/30, hand held, crop. There is no even trace of coma.  LZ

[longzoom]

20160614-110 by 20160614-147-2-2 by longzoom, on Flickrom/photos/longzoom/]lon20160614-187-2 by longzoom, on Flickrgzoom[/url], on Flickr.   They are all crops. One can't come any closer. LZ

[Akira]

All images are impressive!  Your handle name does justice to the combo for sure.  Thanks for sharing!

[longzoom]

All images are impressive!  Your handle name does justice to the combo for sure.  Thanks for sharing!

           Thank you so much!   LZ

[longzoom]

20160613-038 by 20160613-038-2 by longzoom, on Flickrzoom/]longzoom[/url], on Flickr20160613-038-4 by longzoom, on Flickr.    At 1/30sec, hand held, 2 crops. Wide open. LZ

[longzoom]

20160616-119-2 by 20160616-119 by longzoom, on Flickros/longzoom/]longzoom[/url], on Flickr20160616-119-2-2 by 20160616-115 by longzoom, on Flickrlongzoom, on Flickr.   My wrist watch.  At 400mm, Canon 500D close-up, 72mm with step-up to77mm ring, no vignette. The last crop from the other image - I was not able to keep the combo in absolute parallel to the object, even f11.0 giving me less than 2mm of DOF. Especially hand held.  F16.0 is visibly destroying image due to diffraction.  VR and AF were absolutely necessary, I can't imagine how to keep the combo steady without ones.   Thank you for your attention!  LZ

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Impressive close-up qualities from this obviously versatile zoom lens. Well done examples.

As to keeping the lens steady, there are efficient solutions apart from VR ... No potential optical downsides  either: tripod and good head. For a lens such as this, a fluid head probably is optimal.

[longzoom]

Impressive close-up qualities from this obviously versatile zoom lens. Well done examples.

As to keeping the lens steady, there are efficient solutions apart from VR ... No potential optical downsides  either: tripod and good head. For a lens such as this, a fluid head probably is optimal.

.  Correct!  But my goal is to show what to do in case of emergency, even with acceptation of some lowering of its phenomenal resolution. Thank you! LZ

[longzoom]

20160702-021-2 by lon[url=https://flic.kr/p/Jio82d]20160702-021 by longzoom, on Flickrgzoom[/url], on Flickr.   Looks strange, but I like how it was lit. Crop.  LZ

[longzoom]

20160623-034-4 by 20160623-20160623-034-4 by longzoom, on Flickrphotos/longzoom/]longzoom[/url], on Flickr.     What wasn't fast nor easy here, to keep metal and skin colors simultaneously.  On your judgement. LZ

[longzoom]

20160527-046-2 by longzoom, on Flickr.      At 400mm, crop to 1200mm. LZ

[longzoom]

20160725-2016-07-25 060 by 20160725-2016-07-25 060-3 by longzoom, on Flickr/photos/longzoom/]longzoom[/url], on Flickr20160725-2016-07-25 060-2 by longzoom, on Flickr.  It was rainy in Brooklyn tonight.     1/30,   ISO2800,  400mm, 5.6.  Crops.  Every comment welcome!  THX!   LZ

[tommiejeep]

LZ, it was actually dry here last nigh  .  I really like that last image as an Abstract.  The Hamilton watch images are really great examples of the versatility of the lens.
Cheers
Tom