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Nikon Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S lens review

Christopher Frost

41,325 views

Nikon's flagship sports lens, with a fabulous built-in teleconverter! Is it really worth the money?

Find it here (affiliate links - I earn a commission on purchases. Be sure to buy the right lens for your system). Please don't use browser extensions such as Honey.
B&H (USA): https://bhpho.to/4udSPGO
Wex (UK): https://wex.pxf.io/aNn2Wj
Amazon (Worldwide): https://geni.us/NikonZ400TC

All pictures taken by me (and my wife) on a Nikon Z8 camera.

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20 Comments

@raygamma8739 9 hours ago

2026.10
尼康尼克尔： Z 120-300mm f/2.8 TC VR S 镜头，预计将于10月底发布。
据 Nikon Rumors 消息，这颗镜头的首批产能预计十分有限，提货周期可能会相对漫长，部分零售店已提前开启预订。

@mvp_kryptonite 2 years ago

Impressive, Nikon continues to knock these primes out the park. I’m sure Nikon shooters will be chuffed

@deejayiwan7 2 years ago

Probably best sport lens ever

@dragonnyxx 2 years ago

Just got my copy recently. While it is no surprise that such an expensive lens is excellent, I was genuinely surprised by how sharp it continues to be even with a 2x teleconverter attached. Even pushing it out to 1120mm (with both the internal 1.4x and external 2x), it holds up perfectly well and continues to deliver crisp detail.

@MannsWoodlandPerspective 2 years ago

Youre going to be mine one day, 400 Z.

@PhilipSalen 2 years ago

For bird photography and nature photography, this really seems like one of the best lenses ever made. Sadly, I am committed to Canon

@feliciacore 2 years ago

We're getting closer and closer to the 180-600 review I think.

@petersuvara 2 years ago

A mind-blowing lens for the professional. Would be great to rent it out to experiment with it.

@Karsiris 2 years ago

Thank you for this review. My first new car was cheaper than this lens 😆

@antonoat 2 years ago

Great stuff Christopher, you’ll need to try the 600 mm version next! Seasons greetings to you and your family, I hope 2024 brings all you wish for! 👏👍😀

@EST84x 2 years ago

Wow, that stabilization looks really impressive.

@Jawad.1 1 year ago

01:26 This is the best portrait I've ever seen. The rendering and subject isolation here is nothing short of a miracle. This Nikon Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S lens seems to have elements of the JWST Space Telescope in it!!!!

@raygamma8739 9 hours ago

好镜头，就是太贵了

@johntheux9238 2 years ago

Would be awesome to see a 200mm f1.4 someday. Sensors are getting sharper and sharper with smaller pixels so fast lenses are the way to go.

@alexmirza5210 2 years ago

How far they've come since their heavy AI 400mm f2.8ED manual focus pro lens of the late 1970s with its spherical and chromatic issues wide open. This lens's spectacular optics and electronics further reinforces their high reputation at this cutting edge pro level. I have their old non-VR af-s 400mm f2.8 II which seems to be nearly perfect at f2.8, but not I think quite as amazing as this here. For me it's something to aspire to over the next decade maybe, but for the foreseeable future I am more than impressed with the non-VR f mount equivalent though it does have vignetting.

@patricksmith2553 2 years ago

The IQ for 400mm f/2.8’s has always been stellar or near perfect optically. I’ve owned every autofocus copy starting with the AF-S and ending with the 400mm f/2.8E FL. For the price it’s quite sad that this lens and the 600mm f/4S 1.4x TC have cheap tripod collars. Both of them have this issue where the tripod collar rotates even when fully “locked” down or tightly turned. Plus the Kenningston lock cover just flaps around which is annoying. Also for $15k you should get an arca-Swiss cut foot and 90 degree stop/clicks for the tripod collar. Anyways I’m very happy with my 500mm f/4E VR FL and 120-300mm FL. So I’m not really in the market, but I am legit sad to see Nikon cutting corners. It’s one thing for the 800pf to be made in China and it’s well made for $6500! Yet it’s quite sad to see quality control issues with brand new lenses that cost as much as a nice used car!

@porkster5924 2 years ago

I’d love one as the switching from 400mm to 560mm would mean I wouldn’t have to fit the TC to my 400mm FL. But the cost is just out of reach for me 😢

@Robin_Polarstern 2 years ago

Please Nikon do a new version z 105.1.4 version

@houlester 3 months ago

Flipping the teleconverter isn’t even that noticeable like I thought it would be. I would probably be just as happy with the crop mode. Thanks for the video.