Photography News Issue 57

Photography News | Issue 57 | photographynews.co.uk

First tests

Nikon 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4 FL EDVR II £10,999

Specs

Price £10,999 Mount Nikon F Format 35mm full-frame and APS-C Focal length Full-frame 180-400mm (without teleconverter), 252-560mm (with teleconverter) Construction 27 elements in 19 groups, built-in teleconverter has eight elements in five groups Special lens elements Eight ED lens elements, one fluorite element, and one protective glass element with fluorine coating Angle of view 6°10’-13°40’ (4°30’-9°50’ with 1.4x teleconverter) Filter size 40.5mm drop in Minimum aperture F/4-32 (without teleconverter), f/5.6-45 (with teleconverter) Aperture blades Nine, rounded Internal focus Yes Manual focus Yes Minimum focus distance 200cm Image stabilizer Yes, 4EV claimed benefit Maximummagnification 0.25x (without teleconverter), 0.36x f/5.6-45 (with teleconverter) Distance scale Yes Depth-of-field scale No Tripod collar Yes Lens hood Yes Dimensions 128x362.5mm Weight 3500g Contact Nikon.co.uk

The 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4 is Nikon’s most versatile pro-level super telephoto zoom; it beats the range of the older 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II a little at the wide end, and adds a built-in teleconverter – Nikon’s first – making it an effective 252-560mm f/5.6. It also costs almost twice as much as that lens, and about the same price as Nikon’s 400mm f/2.8E FL ED VR, at £10,999. The first question to ask is: do youneed such a zoom? ThoughNikon’s 200-400mm f/4G has won praise, it’s not blown away the long primes of wildlife and sports shooters, and if you’re using one of those but need more versatility, couldn’t you add a second body with a 70-200mm f/2.8 for closer subjects? On the other hand, a zoom does give more flexibility; you’ll travel lighter, and be able to react faster – there’s no denying cranking the zoom ring is quicker than switching camera bodies.

You’d expect it at the price, but it handles well, and is built like a tank. I spent a week with it, and wasn’t disappointed. The lens is optically excellent at 180mm, very sharp wide open at f/4 and only falls off slightly at the edges; it’s sharpest at f/8-11, still very good at f/16, and softens, as you’d expect, at the smallest apertures. There’s some vignetting, but it’s not serious and gone by f/5.6 or so. It’s a similar story in the middle; at 280mm, results are again excellent wide open, topping out around f/11 where there’s the best balance of

middle and edge sharpness. It’s still very good at f/16, falling off from there; though f/32 is a bit mushy, but still usable. At the long end – surely where everyone is most interested – it’s still excellent wide open, with the corners catching up at around f/5.6 to f/8. This is an excellent performance for a zoom. With the 1.4x teleconverter engaged, and measuring sharpness at similar stages in the zoom, performance only suffered slightly. At 240mm and 390mm it was still excellent, and almost indistinguishable from shots without the TC. At 560mm I noticed more of a drop off in sharpness, but it was still very good. Corner sharpness with the teleconverter seemed less good throughout, but never a problem. Throughout my test shots, fringing and flare seemed well controlled with or without the teleconverter, even shooting into the light. Handling wise, the lens is well balanced with large bodies, though I found its weight – 3500g – did drag after an hour’s shooting or so. There’s no doubt it’s more comfortably operated on a gimbal head. Button placement is excellent, and everything is within easy reach, especially the teleconverter lever, which can be operated with a flick of your right middle or index finger, so you can keep track of a subject. The zoom and focus rings are broad and easy to locate

You’d expect it at the price, but it handles well, and is built like a tank

180mm

400mm

560mm

Images From left to right, the 180-400mm f/4E in action: at 180mm, 400mmand 560mm, wherein the built-in 1.4x teleconverter is engaged. It really is a very versatile range for lots of subjects, mainly sports andwildlife.