Just received the new Nikon AF-S 80-400 f4.5-5.6 ED VR - sample shots

[Lance B]

I had a play with the sigma 120-300 OS lens..and its a heavy beast..and slow AF..about the same speed as a 50-1.4G....I wouldn't want to carry it far

Thank you for the info, Steve. That wouldn't make it a good choice for sports or BIF.

[Tommo1965]

to be honest mate Im not too sure what its going to be good for unless they can improve the af..yes way too slow for sport and BIF....and Id say that FL would excel at touchline footy etc and its a quality built lens..so a real pity

[Tommo1965]

Lance..I meant to ask what if any noise reduction software you use..as the samples you have shown at 6400 ISo are super clean

[Lance B]

Lance..I meant to ask what if any noise reduction software you use..as the samples you have shown at 6400 ISo are super clean

Hi Thommo,

I use Noiseware Professional by Imagenomic, It is a brilliant noise reduction program.

http://imagenomic.com/nw.aspx

[Tommo1965]

Thanks for the reply Lance..Ill check it out...what workflow do you use with the noise reduction software ..from memory you're a capture one user..as am I...so how do you incorporate that with the noiseware ...? do you save as a tiff after you have finished with the Nef ..or a Jpeg..or neither ?....your images are the best bar none that ive seen at 6400 iso and id like to follow your lead ..

[Lance B]

Sorry for late reply, Steve.

Yes, I use Capture One Pro 7 to convert from RAW to 16bit TIFF. In Capture One Pro 7 (COP7), where necessary, I adjust saturation, exposure, WB, lens aberrations, keystoning, horizon level, etc. I leave any noise reduction in COP7 at standard as there is very little it uses anyway and it doesn't seem to affect the image. I have disabled any sharpening on the output from COP7, although, sometimes a very small amount of output sharpening can assist.

I then open up the 16bit TIFF in Photoshop CS6 and do a few tweaks there. First order of business is to apply noise reduction using Noiseware Professional plug in for photoshop but only if required. I then do other tweaks to the image that I find better/easier than Capture One Pro7, like lassoing to balance exposure or WB, colour balance, clone stamping etc. I then reduce for web size and then the last step I ever do is sharpen using Power Retouche plug-in for Photoshop. Only problem with Power Retouche plug-in is that it is only 32 bit, so I have two version available for Photoshop, 32bit and 64 bit. It is the best sharpening system I have ever used without going to lots of trouble.

I think that about covers it.

[Tommo1965]

Thanks mate that was very useful....Ill try try the plug in...

[Mitzy]

Lance, I have also been away & reason for my questions was to decide if the 80-400 would be best choice for my trip (birding mainly). Well I bought it and I am very happy. THe old rule of getting close as possible to your subject still applies but for birds in the wild this lens give me the range to capture some quite acceptable images. Of course the D7100 marries with it to provide greater potential to get that "perfect shot". When I have time to sift thru all of my efforts I will post some up.
Thanks for your comments.

[Lance B]

Lance, I have also been away & reason for my questions was to decide if the 80-400 would be best choice for my trip (birding mainly). Well I bought it and I am very happy. THe old rule of getting close as possible to your subject still applies but for birds in the wild this lens give me the range to capture some quite acceptable images. Of course the D7100 marries with it to provide greater potential to get that "perfect shot". When I have time to sift thru all of my efforts I will post some up.
Thanks for your comments.

I am very glad that the lens was a good choice for you. The more I use it, the more I really really like it and it is so darn close in sharpness to my 300 f2.8 VRII + 1.4x TCII from f8+ that I rarely miss using the 300 + 1.4xTCII. There is no doubt that the 300 (+1.4x TC) had the edge due to f2.8 (f4) and better bokeh etc, but as a zoom it is amazing.

I look forward to your results.

[mcdesign]

Many thanks for your excellent appraisal of this lens Lance, I have been looking at getting it for some time but have been unable to find a store that carries it for me to have a look, based on your write up and great images it is what I am looking for and is lighter than my current Sigma 120-400 mm, it is impossible to use beyond 360 mm! Have you used it with a TC? MC

[Lance B]

Many thanks for your excellent appraisal of this lens Lance, I have been looking at getting it for some time but have been unable to find a store that carries it for me to have a look, based on your write up and great images it is what I am looking for and is lighter than my current Sigma 120-400 mm, it is impossible to use beyond 360 mm! Have you used it with a TC? MC

Sorry for the late reply, but only just saw that you had responded, Margaret.

I have used the 80-400 with a Nikon 1.4x TCII and the photo results were very good with only minimal degredation in IQ. However, you need to stop down one stop past maximum aperture to get the best from the combo. So, at 400mm the lens is actually 560mm with a maximum aperture of f8, but needs to be at f11 for it to be decent. It is still quite good t f8, but is very good at f11. Only issue then is that you are shooting slow shutter speeds or quite high ISO to compensate.

Have you tried George's Cameras on George St?

[mcdesign]

Many thanks Lance, I live north of Newcastle so getting into Sydney isn't an option, based on your report I will get this lens in the new year, I doubt that I will need a TC, the D7100 has a 3.1x in camera crop that is great for bird photography, this lens will be faster than my current one.

Once again, many thanks. M

[rirakuma]

very nice!

[Lance B]

very nice!

Thank you very much!

[ROA44]

How do you find it compares with the Sigma 120 - 400 apart from weight/size.

[Lance B]

How do you find it compares with the Sigma 120 - 400 apart from weight/size.

I have never used the Sigma 100-400, so I can't comment on that. However, I find that the 80-400 is quite light.

[ROA44]

My apologies must have gotten mixed up with someone else. Reading so many post and reviews Ive' lost track of who's got what.

[bricat]

I don't come over to the "dark" side very often but was pleased to read this post. Not only were the shots excellent but the follow-up lens appraisal also. Well done cheers Brian

[Lance B]

I don't come over to the "dark" side very often but was pleased to read this post. Not only were the shots excellent but the follow-up lens appraisal also. Well done cheers Brian

Thank you very much for your kind comments, Brian!

[AVALANCHE]

Superb quality photos. Had to keep reminding myself I was looking at ISO6400 and wide open...enjoyed looking through the photos, thanks!