Well, FINALLY we get an updated 80-400

autofocus

http://www.flickr.com/photos/americanphotoshoot/8570527746/
Received my lens this evening and had to take it out for a spin. Evening, low light, and overcast so I had to bump up the ISO. Lens focused almost as fast as my 70-200 VRII. Bokeh looks good. The cattail was 10 feet from camera, hand held, Treeline behind subject. Gotta tell ya, I'm likin it. Snappy focus on the D4. I'll try it on the D800 tomorrow.

autofocus

Here's a 100% crop of the above. Looks sharp to me. Crop with no PP. http://www.flickr.com/photos/americanphotoshoot/8569431297/

adamz

full size jpg from dpreview forum: http://forums.dpreview.com/files/t/2f10eb8650e244b3b0791a752d16dd44

adamz

looks promising. can't wait to play with it.

Msmoto

@adamz

Looks pretty sharp to me. Tomorrow morning I am testing a friends new 80-400 and we will compare it with the old one I have (an original edition). Will post a couple to show any differences.

Golf007sd

@adamz: Very promising.

Hmmm....maybe I need to re-think my mind set on variable aperture lenses...specially towards this lens :-?

I'm very pleased in what I'm seeing \:D/

Msmoto

Just a note...the new 80-400 is at least 25% larger all around than the old version. And it looks very sharp in the preliminary shots this morning. Another NRF member and I used his D800E as a test bed and did some preliminary shots using Elinchrom strobes. The results will be posted when he finishes processing....but it really looked nice in the rear screen.

One notation...the old lens in manual focus/ live view was very "sloppy" and almost impossible to get on focus. The new focusing mechanism in manual focus was precise and absolutely right on.

AF with both on the D800 was extremely good, but the new lens is quicker and seemed to grab focus much easier. There is no similarity between the two lenses except the focal length and aperture.

Results to follow.

ricochet

Looking forward to your results. I have no need for the lens myself but I have a couple friends who use the old 80-400 for wildlife and if this lens is good enough maybe they'll purchase it and quit trying to steal my 200-400.

adamz

I also look forward to Your results. Unfortunately, it will take some time until I'll be able to get one as once again Nikon Poland set the price too high: $3300

Edwardwoods

Just got my lens and the image quality is amazing.

I had a very good copy of the old version but the new one is in a class by itself - especially with the D800.

Msmoto

Hey folks. I put my first version of the 80-400 up against the new one. Another member here set up two Elinchrom strobes and a very unscientific target (Bookcase) then shot at 80, 200, and 400mm, all wide open. I have looked carefully at the RAW images and have come to the following conclusions.

In examining the images, the new lens is much better contrast, has less CA,
and is sharper in almost all areas. While my old version is very sharp,
IMO, the new one has it beaten. Additionally, the focus on the new one is
much quicker, and seems to grab the focus more quickly. The focus mechanism
on the new lens is smooth, precise, while the old lens has a very sloppy
feel to the manual focus ring. Additionally, the internal mechanism has
what might be interpreted as "play" on the old lens, the new has none of
this.

Thus, I would conclude there is a marked degree of improvement, so much so,
it becomes obvious the new lens is a total new design being similar only in
focal length and f/stop

If I get some time to post a couple example images on Flickr, I will do this.

JJ_SO

Not everybody finds the lens worth it's price: Lensrentals concludes, a very good lens, but for that price Roger expected more. It's never a problem to expect more, problems usually start if one wants to deliver more.

sevencrossing

, but for that price Roger expected more.

???
what exactly does he want ? a 50 -500? and as fuzzy as the crappy sigma ?

its is the best lens of the 3 he compared

If you want more there is the 200 -400 f4

I only use one lens at a time, so buying the sigma AND the old 80 -400
rather than just one new 80-400 does not seem to make sense

JJ_SO

@sevencrossing: Don't ask me, what he wants - ask him

Also, a "very good lens" doesn't have to be a bad thing.

DaveyJ

@squoop: Great Bluebird photos. They arrive here in a couple of months. What camera did you use with the new 80-400VR??

adamz

so another day has passed over here, and still no new snaps in the thread seriously guys, get to work and start posting some of them

autofocus

Yes it's been edited but I don't have time to dig the Raw photo up. Just thought some might want to see what you can expect. Nikon D4, ISO 400, 1/500 sec, 400mm @ f5.6

adamz

nice one

rmp

I love the foreground blur and the background bokeh! Oh the birds looks good too. >-

Msmoto

And, now, the results of the comparison test.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Open each link in a new window so you can move them around and compare The link goes to a more than 100% crop and is then enlarged further so one can really see the difference.

Old at 400mm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fantinesfotos/8579239824/sizes/o/in/photostream/

New at 400mm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fantinesfotos/8579243760/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Old at 220mm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fantinesfotos/8578137875/sizes/o/in/photostream/

New at 195mm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fantinesfotos/8579244902/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Old at 80mm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fantinesfotos/8578139307/sizes/o/in/photostream/

New at 80mm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fantinesfotos/8579246288/sizes/o/in/photostream/

NOTE: The D800E was back focusing slightly with the new lens, something we (unfortunately) did not correct before the test). I think with AF Fine tune we would have gotten even better results

In any case, as stated earlier
In examining the images, the new lens is much better contrast, has less CA,
and is sharper in almost all areas. While my old version is very sharp,
IMO, the new one has it beaten. Additionally, the focus on the new one is
much quicker, and seems to grab the focus more quickly. The focus mechanism
on the new lens is smooth, precise, while the old lens has a very sloppy
feel to the manual focus ring. Additionally, the internal mechanism has
what might be interpreted as "play" on the old lens, the new has none of
this.

Thus, I would conclude there is a marked degree of improvement, so much so,
it becomes obvious the new lens is a total new design being similar only in
focal length and f/stop

And, thanks to rmp for the use of his lens, D800E and office.

squoop

@DaveyJ: thanks! I'm very pleased that they've decided to nest here again. Those were with D800.

@autofocus: nice! glad to see you're enjoying your new lens

Has anyone tried this lens with the TC-14?

Yetibuddha

Thank you autofocus, rmp and msmoto for the test images. This is very helpful to me in terms of setting some priorities for what would be my next lens.

adamz

TY for this comparison, even with this slight BF it looks very promising. can't wait to put this lens to my bag.

Lockon

100% crop of my daughter's eye ... you can see her contact lens!



Cropped from this photo :



D800 w/ internal flash, 80-400 @ 400mm 1/60 sec @ f5.6, ISO 1250

PB_PM

Not bad, at least they aren't cat pictures.