Nikon AF-S 180-400mm f/4 announced

[Netr]

It will cost you an arm and a leg. And maybe your firstborn child.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nikon-announces-new-af-s-nikkor-180-400mm-f4e-tc14-fl-ed-vr-super-telephoto-zoom-lens-at-ces-2018-300579476.html

[elsa hoffmann]

A lot of money - but less than I thought - IF it lands in SA at that price (which usually isn't the case)
The white paper on the lens sounds good.

[richardHaw]

wildlife and sports shooters will love this 

[elsa hoffmann]

wildlife and sports shooters will love this 

What's not to love.... range is good - and on a D500 will be really great. One of the things birders care about (besides length) is weight - hopefully easy to use without a tripod. yup - it will be popular for those who can afford it. For the rest - there is the 200-500

[richardHaw]

What's not to love.... range is good - and on a D500 will be really great. One of the things birders care about (besides length) is weight - hopefully easy to use without a tripod. yup - it will be popular for those who can afford it. For the rest - there is the 200-500

the 200-500 is pretty good 

Nikon stressed that they used magnesium alloys and fluorite to make it as light as possible.

definitely not a lens for me, out of my pay grade and not really something I can see myself using. tried shooting birds but ended up shooting something else

[elsa hoffmann]

the 200-500 is pretty good 

Nikon stressed that they used magnesium alloys and fluorite to make it as light as possible.

definitely not a lens for me, out of my pay grade and not really something I can see myself using. tried shooting birds but ended up shooting something else

As you say - every lens has a market I am not that market either.

[Roland Vink]

Just like the Canon lens, but a little better An outstanding lens I'm sure.

Still seems strange to put a TC in a lens (to add flexibility) on a zoom (which is already flexible), makes the lens very complex. Why not just make it a 200-600/4-5.6 zoom, would be simpler. I guess that is how a lot would use it, but then sports shooters might want the constant apertures, and it starts to look like a consumer zoom

I wonder why they don't build a TC into their super primes like the 400/2.8?

[David H. Hartman]

I'd rather have a lens like this with a matched TC of the conventional type. I might be wrong but it seems like the built in TC adds a failure point I'd rather not have built in.

Dave Hartman

[Akira]

What's not to love.... range is good - and on a D500 will be really great. One of the things birders care about (besides length) is weight - hopefully easy to use without a tripod. yup - it will be popular for those who can afford it. For the rest - there is the 200-500

The new 180-400 weighs 3500g (maybe with the tripod foot).  The 200-500 weighs 2300g with the tripod collar.  So, it's around 50% heavier.

[elsa hoffmann]

The new 180-400 weighs 3500g (maybe with the tripod foot).  The 200-500 weighs 2300g with the tripod collar.  So, it's around 50% heavier.

Akira - I wouldnt compare it to the 200-500 (not in the same class) - I would think more in terms of my friends who have a 500mm prime - which is about 3090g - so ya - even for them this one isnt then very helpful in terms of weight. Eish.

[Akira]

Akira - I wouldnt compare it to the 200-500 (not in the same class) - I would think more in terms of my friends who have a 500mm prime - which is about 3090g - so ya - even for them this one isnt then very helpful in terms of weight. Eish.

I see.  Then the question would be the necessity and the degree of convenience of a zoom lens which is one full stop slower than a prime when it is set with the teleconverter (the difference between 500mm and 560mm may not matter much).

Personally I'm not big fan of a lens with such amount of optical elements for the lens and alphabets/numbers for the name...

[Erik Lund]

Interesting flip flop TC design - Clever little detail to quickly gain a little more reach without making it overly complex,,,

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Perhaps this will be a lens of interest for me? The specifications and MTF graphs  are surely impressive. Might turn out to be the ultimate landscape lens not just for chasing animals with or without feathers.

I'll contact Nikon and sign up for a review sample. Just need to clear out my current lens house, move into my new apartment then sell off the old digs. Might be able to increase cash flow in the process as well.

My guess is that by making this lens "naked" first (without the TC) would allow for a smaller and more compact design. Easier to optimise a TC later for just a single, dedicated optic.

[Anthony]

I suspect a lot of people will rent this lens on an as-needed basis, eg safari trip or sporting occasion.  Should be superb for those situations.

[chris dees]

Impressive MTF graphs.
It's €11.999 in Holland, the Canon is a little more expensive €12.229 (and already a couple of years available).
The first time a comparable supertele of Canon is even more expensive than it's Nikon counterpart.
The Nikon one is a thad lighter (less heavy).