Nikon Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S Review: A 400mm Prime You Can Carry All Day
Fast 400mm primes used to mean f/2.8, three kilograms and a price like a small car. The Nikon Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S takes the other road. Nikon announced it on June 29, 2022 at $3,249.95, and it weighs about 1,160 grams without its tripod collar. That’s light enough to handhold for a morning of birds or a full football match.
Giving up a stop and a bit of light against the f/2.8 monsters buys you a lens about 234mm long that fits in a normal backpack. It’s Z mount only, full frame, and it takes Nikon’s Z teleconverters.
A fixed 400mm is a lens for patience: wildlife that won’t come closer, animals at the edge of town, the moment a subject steps out of cover.
Photo: Pixel Effects
TheCameraStoreTV took it into the field for their review, using a pre-production sample.
Video review: TheCameraStoreTV
Design
The optical formula is 19 elements in 13 groups, with one ED, two Super ED and one SR element. There are no Phase Fresnel elements. The aperture has nine rounded blades, and the filter thread is 95mm.
Vibration reduction is rated at 5.5 stops, or 6 stops with Synchro VR on the Z9. Focus is driven by a stepping motor, with focus-breathing compensation for video on supported bodies. Close focus is 2.5 meters, for 0.16x magnification.
Controls are thorough: four L-Fn2 buttons around the front, another function button behind the collar, a memory set button, a focus limiter at 6 meters and a control ring. The lens is dust and drip resistant with a fluorine-coated front element. With the TC-1.4x it becomes a 560mm f/6.3, and with the TC-2.0x an 800mm f/9.
How it performs
Camera Labs, Photography Blog and Lenstip all found it sharp wide open, and Lenstip called the center image quality sensational. Autofocus is fast and accurate: Camera Labs measured 98.2% repeatability, and Admiring Light and TheCameraStore praised it on moving subjects. VR is very effective, color fringing and distortion are low, and the bokeh is smooth.
The complaints are mostly about details. There’s no OLED display like on Nikon’s bigger primes. The tripod foot has no Arca-Swiss groove, and the collar itself doesn’t come off. Camera Labs measured about 9% focus breathing, close focus is only average, and the soft pouch is flimsy. With the 2x teleconverter, image quality drops noticeably.
Who should buy it
Nikon wildlife and sports shooters who want prime-lens quality without the weight of an f/2.8 400mm. On a Nikon Z8 or Z9 it makes a very capable, portable kit, and it suits the Z6III for sports.
If you want a zoom, the Nikon Z 180-600mm costs far less and reaches further, at the cost of speed and some sharpness. The Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S costs about $2,700. If you want more reach in a light prime, Nikon’s Z 600mm f/6.3 VR S is the next step. For the fieldwork side, see our telephoto fieldcraft guide.
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