I have had mine for 2 1/2 years!  I can handhold down to 1/50 of a second for still subjects .  I have hiked with it all day.  I am going to remote Alaska next summer to photograph bears and have been told it might be too much lens as the bears come really close.  I’m going to have a very hard time leaving it behind. Extra dreamy is the best way to describe the look! Even with the same settings at 400, it just has a different rendering than the 100-400. I am a small frame 61 year old female.  I sometimes feel like I have had a workout after a day of carrying and shooting but I will still reach for it any day!

Your photos are some of the best on YouTube! They are also varied nicely in style.

I used the 400 2.8 Z mount and I loved it and now that I watch this video I want to get it no matter what so I will

Thanks for taking the time putting this together and sharing.

Great review of a spectacular lens! I was always a 400mm shooter for wildlife ever since my first film cameras, but I often had to choose whether to use a teleconverter or not, so now having it integrated has been a total game changer! The clunk is mega satisfying too :)

Great photos! I have this lens and also love that thunk! Any 400 f2.8 is amazing, they have such a special look. For me, the built-in TC makes it the best wildlife lens on the planet! Even better for some sports.

Now that first image goes so hard.

Very nice way of reviewing the lens !! Thank you Ray!!.👍🏼

This video was very timely, Ray.  I’m taking delivery of a like new 400 2.8 early next week.  I traded in 3 very good lenses and some cash to obtain it.  For me it’s all about the extra light gathering capabilities.  I loved seeing your beautiful work with this lens, Ray!

I’m gonna own this lens someday.  Til then I have the 400mm f/4.5 and the 100-400mm.

7:58 that's exactly how I feel owning a super sharp lens, it doesn't really matter and normal viewing. Only yourself will ever get a sense of fine details captured but it's fun and I enjoy zooming into the raw files. A couple benefits I have found is a greater ability to crop, when it comes to close up portraits you are looking for as much detail as possible so every bit helps. Also it helps with post processing, just a couple less steps involved because the default sharpening in camera-raw is usually enough, sometimes too much!

Dream lens, wish the other brands would follow suit with the built in TCs! (Not that I could justify this purchase just yet 😆)

Went through a process, a costly one! Had the  Z600 TC, was finding that 840mm was too much and if I was needing that focal length, I was just too far away from the subject, plus atmospherics would usually be more accentuated. Traded in for a new Z 400TC, Now I get the benefit of a (near as damn) 600 F/4 and what I now realise is far more important, nearly double the light gathering at the important ends of the day, dawn/dusk with the 2.8. Plus living in the UK  it's nearly always overcast...

I love your videos. Curious are you sitting in a travel trailer for this video? I was thinking of getting a small RV and traveling around shooting pictures leaving the wife and kids back home. 😊

Just ordered the 600 f4 TC to replace my 800 PF, can't wait for it to arrive.
Would love to use the 400 f/2.8 instead, but where I live, 400mm sadly isn't going to cut it, most of the time.

Great lens! Thx for the review. A good alternative regarding image quality is also the 2.8/400mm VR G . You can get that at least in Germany altready for about 4-5k€ in good status. And it’s optical better than the successor based on some MTF Charts and reviews of  owners I’ve seen.

Dream lens.. But.. Money.. Maybe some day z 800mm f6.3

Do you use the DX Mode with this lens too ?

heart attack moment dropping that beauty! 🙈 glad it's OK.

Very convincing. My problem is I have the pig 600mm f/4 of a lens that has allowed me to get shots others do not get. However, it's hard to use due to its weight. As the lens has never paid for itself, as much as i would love the 400mm TC, it's hard to justify it. Until such time, I will soldier on with the boat anchor.