First test
“I WOULD BE VERY HAPPY SHOOTINGWIDE OPENAT ANY FOCAL LENGTH OFTHIS LENS”
A FLAIR FOR FLARE The 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6’s Arneo and Nano coatings help deliver excellent flare control, even when shooting directly into the sun. Shot on a Z 7II with the lens at 400mm and an exposure of 1/8000sec at f/10 and ISO 125
of-field, you could enjoy the benefit of a higher shutter speed or lower ISO without sacrificing lens performance. The picture at 135mm was remarkably similar in terms of the resolution of fine detail, sharpness and contrast. There was a slight benefit stopping down to f/5.6 and f/8 from maximum aperture, but the gain was marginal. At 200mm, the benefit of using f/5.6 and f/8 compared with the maximum f/5 was more apparent. Again, we are not talking night and day differences, but if you want to maximise detail, stopping down a little pays dividends. Optical performance takes a little dip at 300mm and 400mm focal lengths. Contrast remained high, but detail wasn’t as crisply defined compared with the shorter focal lengths. That said, image quality was still very good, just not quite as impressive compared with the shorter focal lengths. However, it was still the case that wide aperture performance was very good, gaining little with stopping down. The lens’ VR worked well with the Z 7II and Z 9. Both have in-body image stabilisation, and I didn’t have a non-IBIS body to hand. With the Z 7II, shooting indoors with the mechanical shutter, I was getting consistently sharp shots at 400mm with shutter speeds as slow as 1/6sec. That's impressive, which nicely sums up this lens. WC
Before we dig into lens performance further, let’s start with a very minor negative. Diffraction impacts on performance at f/22 and smaller values throughout the range. Images are less impressive compared with the wider values. However, such small apertures aren’t as important on a long zoom, so this is not a big thing. Optical performance was generally of a high order, and I would be very happy shooting wide open at any focal length of this lens, confident I would enjoy lovely quality. Wide open at 100mm, sharpness rated highly across the frame and quality improved little with stopping down. There was a marginal gain shooting at f/8 compared with f/4.5, but not much. This means, unless you a wanted a slightly deeper depth-
TESTPICTURES Our custom test chart was shot with the Nikon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 at a selection of focal lengths, 100mm, 135mm, 200mm, 300mm and 400mm at 0.3EV steps throughout the aperture range. The shots at the minimum apertures – f/32 at 100mm, f/36 at 200mm through to f/40 at 400mm – are not shown.
100mm
F/4.5
F/4.5
F/5.6
F/5.6
F/8
F/8
F/11
F/11
F/16
F/16
F/22
F/22
TWO, NOT ONE Lens function buttons are getting more popular – and are certainly useful. This lens boasts a couple, and both offer 30 different settings on the Z 9, including AF-ON, AF lock, and there’s even playback. There are 23 options on the Z 7II
135mm
F/4.8
F/4.8
F/5.6
F/5.6
F/8
F/8
F/11
F/11
F/16
F/16
F/22
F/22
200mm
F/5
F/5
F/5.6
F/5.6
F/8
F/8
F/11
F/11
F/16
F/16
F/22
F/22
300mm
F/5.3
F/5.3
F/8
F/8
F/11
F/11
CLOSE AND PERSONAL Pulling in distant detail and flattening perspective are key functions of a telezoom, and the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S does a great job. This Hastings beach scene was shot on a Nikon Z 7II, fitted with the lens set to 240mm. The exposure was 1/320sec at f/5.6 and ISO 100
F/16
F/16
F/22
F/22
F/32
F/32
Verdict The Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 S is a very fine lens, inspiring to use, delivering a high level of optical performance. If I owned one, I would be very satisfied with its output, especially at wider aperture values. You’d have to invest in a Nikon prime to get better and that, of course, means even more investment. So, while £2699 is a serious amount, you get a lot of lens – and the photo opportunities it brings make it worth the money, especially if action and wildlife are your main interests. PROS Optical quality, great to use, really useful minimum focus, L-Fn buttons with plenty of options (camera dependent) CONS No Arca foot, no VR switch
400mm
F/5.6
F/5.6
F/8
F/8
F/11
F/11
F/16
F/16
F/22
F/22
F/32
F/32
Issue 97 | Photography News 37
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