lsquare wrote:
I'm convinced the 14-30mm and the 28-400mm is the better combo. It'll cover most range that anyone will use.
I will be shooting wildlife/birds at a distance and will also need something longer than 400mm.
To those who complain about the optical performance of this lens, has anyone tried using something like Topaz Photo AI? Apparently, it can further fix some of these lens imperfections to give a higher-quality image. Comments?
I don't have any complaints about the optical quality of the lens. For such a large lens it performs well. I'd never expect the performance of a 400mm prime at 400mm and whenever I can carry a prime, I will do so. This is a travel/family lens that you can always keep
Below picture cropped to 4700X3100 and processed to show details on the bird. I'm very happy with final image.
Couple of things to note.
1) The bird is very close to me (11 ft). Not sure we will get same performance at 30 ft
2) I didn't get all images sharp in the burst/sequence. I think it's because of less effective VR and less reliable AF due to f/8. Still trying to understand
Z8 and Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR @ 1/200sec, f/8, ISO 1100, 14.7MP(4701X3134), Focal length 400mm, Effective FL 700mm, Distance 11ft, AF Auto(Birds)
Up in Canada, these lenses aren't landing till end of September, and while having one on order, just got back from a work trip to Salt Lake City where - on a whim - decided to pass by a local camera store and they happened to have one in stock!!! That definitely was the easiest sale for them that month!
Already had a chance to do a sunset hike in SLC and another quick hike in Moab - that lens is da beast!
- yes it is big, but it's still a fraction of size/weight/cost of my "wet dreams" Z 100-400
- and it balances just fine with the ZF
- and it's a 1x lens solution for my main type of shooting (water sports)
- and it's a 1x lens solution for hiking
- and the reach is freaking incredible
- and its optical performance is more than good enough, finding it a lot better than the old F-mount 70-300VR
- and yes - i wish it was 24mm on the wide end, but 28mm is liveable enough if it makes the difference between having to switch lenses on a sandy beach or not
The bokeh in most of these shots is very pleasing on top of the other obvious qualities of this lens.
That really is remarkable with most Z mount lenses, including the 180-600mm, much smoother bokeh than the Sony 200-600mm for example. To me this is more important than ultimate sharpness.
Some more from the golden hour yesterday. The VR is really good on this lens. I took the last pic from the car through the sunroof. Also, the weakness, you can notice the purple fringing on the high contrast area in the last image.
NIKON Z 8NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens28mmf/5.61/320s125 ISO-0.3 EV
NIKON Z 8NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens105mmf/6.31/160s100 ISO-0.3 EV
NIKON Z 8NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens400mmf/8.01/80s250 ISO-0.3 EV
NIKON Z 8NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens400mmf/8.01/30s125 ISO-0.3 EV
NIKON Z 8NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR lens120mmf/14.01/6s140 ISO-0.3 EV
I gave up waiting for a sale and picked up the 28-400mm.
My initial impression of using it this weekend for some landscape and wildlife photos on my Z8 is it's a decent f8 zoom lens. If you are looking for a lens that is sharp edge to edge at 28mm f4 you will probably be disappointed. The 28-400mm is about as good at f8 as the 24-120mm f4 is at f4. But what sets the 28-400mm apart is the difference between 120mm and 400mm. You can go from a nice landscape to a zoomed in wildlife photo without changing lenses. This opens a whole new door of flexibility and creativity in good light. One nitpick I have with the lens is It would have been nice to have more zoom throw between 300 and 400mm. While the lens is not small, especially zoomed out, it's fairly lightweight, just a bit more than the 24-120 f4. I think it's going to be a fun and useful lens to have at times.
Personally, I would like to see Nikon put out a more premium version of this lens. Maybe something like a 24-400mm f6.3, that's sharper wide open and has the S lens features like nano crystal coating. Even if it was twice the size, weight, and price I feel like it would be an extremely useful lens.
Wow, Patrick! You are already getting great results! Looks like it will work really well
for you. Seems the results I am seeing from this optic is way better than one might have anticipated!
That definitely was the easiest sale for them that month!
