Updated Nikon 80-400mm due

OldCarlos

OldCarlos

Messages
6,882
Name
Carl
Edit My Images
Yes
Looks like the new 80-400 could be announced this week & on sale in less than 2 weeks!
This lens has been due for updating for quite some time now, but wonder just how popular it will be?

I actually really liked the one I had, provided the light was good, but wonder what will be `new` about it. VR111?
 
As the Nikon rumours FB page states: It's dearer than the 70-200 2.8, it better be good!
 
Hope Stewart has seen this so I can hire it. Not sure I could get this past the long haired accountant at that price ;)
 
For £2450 it has to be pretty amazing. You could get a 70-200VR, a TC20 III and a TC14E II for less (yes RRP vs street price but shh).

I can't help but feel that the recent lenses, by everyone not just Nikon, have been priced up a bit. Are we seeing the effect of the Tsunami on prices?
 
Last edited:
never gonna be £2.5k though :) maybe £1599 then drop to £1400 ish, they wouldnt sell any otherwise, like you say everyone would just buy a 70-200 and tc, the IQ on that is hard to beat.
be interesting to see how it performs though, as a nice walkaround to go with a 16-35 on FF.
 
idigitize said:
never gonna be £2.5k though :) maybe £1599 then drop to £1400 ish, they wouldnt sell any otherwise, like you say everyone would just buy a 70-200 and tc, the IQ on that is hard to beat.
be interesting to see how it performs though, as a nice walkaround to go with a 16-35 on FF.
Click to expand...

I think £1400 is optimistic. I can see it dropping to about £2000 maybe 1900 at most. That's for genuine UK. Grey will be cheaper again but not by as much as in the past looking at current lenses.
 
Think I'll just stick to the current version, rather than upgrade
 
I wonder how much different it would be to my Sigma 120-400. Admittedly I lose 40mm at the short end, but have Vr and same aperture. Would my pictures with the Nikon really be £1,800 better??
 
For the suggested prices, I would have thought VR III too!
 
Not a Nikon shooter but I thought that Nikon nomenclature meant that this was the 2nd generation of this lens with VR (of any generation) not that this was 2nd generation VR?
i.e. if they were to bring out a VR version of a lens that had previously only been available in an unstabilised form then even if it used 3rd generation VR it would be named as "lens" VR not "lens" VR III?
 
wonder if it will be as sharp as the sony 70-400??
 
Interestingly it sounds like this lens has internal focus and zoom which makes it a very compact item. Also people who understand mtf charts seem to think its up there with some of the best in sharpness.

Depending on why happens to the price over time my opinion of this lens is slowly changing from too expensive back to this could be interesting. Maybe it is a cheaper, slower 200-400 after all.
 
Matt-P said:
Wex list it as having a barrel lock, would it need that if it was internal focus and zoom?
Click to expand...

Was a comment on NikonRumours, seems they where wrong, internal focus not internal zoom. Also just checked nikon.co.uk which states "Lens barrel lock (when the barrel is collapsed at 80mm position) prevents the barrel extending under its weight when the lens is not in use." My appolgies.

I'm still to see a picture of it zoomed to 400mm though. All images I've seen are at 80mm, even Nikon doesn't have a 400mm image.
 
No worries, writing on phone means no "hmm, I wonder" smileys. If it was a cheaper 200-400 I'd be very excited!
 
The price is ridiculous. I know Nikon are not performing as well as they would like financially but over pricing products won't help.
 
ryanyboy said:
The price is ridiculous. I know Nikon are not performing as well as they would like financially but over pricing products won't help.
Click to expand...

There's only one logical explanation.

Whoever confirms the RRP must have got it wrong and that the new lens is constant f4 :)

That's what I would expect for this price. All's will happen now is someone like sigma will stick a good bit of glass in the front of their 80-400 (which also needs a revamp) and sell it for the proper price.
 
Phil Young said:
There's only one logical explanation.

Whoever confirms the RRP must have got it wrong and that the new lens is constant f4 :)

That's what I would expect for this price. All's will happen now is someone like sigma will stick a good bit of glass in the front of their 80-400 (which also needs a revamp) and sell it for the proper price.
Click to expand...

I can't see many takers at that price. I looked at the sigma 120-300 f2.8 and even that is now about £2500 for the new version, maybe nikon saw that price and thought this lens could go for about the same as its a nikon. Im going to stick with the 300 f4 and 70-200 f2.8.

At this price its going to push current nikon users to sigma and new users to cannon with their 100-400.
 
Martyn... said:
There are some image samples on Nikon site HERE
Click to expand...

Looks on paper to be a brilliant update, albeit an expensive one!
It's a shame Nikon couldn't be bothered to put decent size images up on their site. :wacky:
Granted they show the composition benefits but they don't illustrate sharpness.

The other thing I've noticed with top drawer lenses is very high residual values. If you have the money it's not a waste.
 
Last edited:
rob-nikon said:
At this price its going to push current nikon users to sigma and new users to cannon with their 100-400.
Click to expand...
The Canon is an old design though & should be behind this new Nikon, it's already behind the Sony 70-400 G SSM.
Not to mention that it must be due an upgrade (& this new Nikon may force it) & going by recent examples how much do you think Canon would like to charge for a new 100-400 L IS II?
 
Hi,

They had the new 80-400 down at the Focus On Imaging show.

To answer some of the questions above, yes there is a barrel lock on it and yes the lens extends out when you zoom.
As to be expected, I could not really test it, but it did acquire focus very quickly in the exhibition hall.
(It was on a D800E, so I don't know how much that influenced things!)
The staff said it is due to go on sale around March 21st.

They did not know the price it would launch at. :shrug:
 
rob-nikon said:
I can't see many takers at that price. I looked at the sigma 120-300 f2.8 and even that is now about £2500 for the new version, maybe nikon saw that price and thought this lens could go for about the same as its a nikon. Im going to stick with the 300 f4 and 70-200 f2.8.

At this price its going to push current nikon users to sigma and new users to cannon with their 100-400.
Click to expand...

That new Sigma 120-300 2.8 OS is pre-ordering at £3600! :wacky: The old one while still not cheap was a possibility with some effort, the new one not so much.
 
I've waited for a replacement for Nikon's 80-400 for a long time. Nikon seem to be producing products I don't want to buy anymore and the price of this has put me off pre-ordering it which I have been waiting to do with the 80-400 replacement. For this price I will have to wait for the reviews. The sample images on Nikon's web site do not sell the lens to me.

I have the money waiting but for this price I would expect better apertures and internal zooming. I'll wait for the market to decide what it is worth. Nikon pricing seems way out these days but the market will soon bring anything down that isn't worth the money. If it does turn out to be worth what they are asking then I will buy it but somehow I suspect it will drop in price. I hope Nikon prove me wrong but I just don't crave their products anymore.
 
Seems its 2449 from WE:

http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-nikon-80-400mm-af-s-nikkor-f4-5-5-6g-ed-vr-lens/p1536507

Given the pre-launch excitement about several other recent Nikon f4.5-5.6 glass (24-120 etc) I remain somewhat sceptical about its performance and certainly at that price its not a gamble worth taking.

On the other hand, this lens is one that Nikon users have been demanding for many, many years - to equal the Canon 100-400.... which it might well do because to be brutally honest, despite being a very flexible zoom, the optical performance of the Canon 100-400 has never set the world on fire, but for half the price of the new Nikon, it does at least offer reasonable value for money at the critical price point of ~1k.
 
In think many just want the old lens with afs. The old one was supposed to be pretty sharp but the AF speed was poor for most tele uses (sports and wildlife). Essentially a 100-400L with a Nikon mount.

What we seem to have is a lens more aimed at super tele owners who occasionally need something lighter and more compact. As such the optics are much better but also have a "better" price.
 
No, I think this probably is a Canon 100-400 - the weight and everything else are similar, the only difference is that Nikon have missed the price point in a big way.

The old Nikon 80-400 was 1000 quid (the same figure as the Canon 100-400), the new ones pretty much two and a half times more expensive.

Ok, so thats comparing two old been around for ages lenses with a pre-order price, but even allowing for it to come down a fair bit (probably landing at around 1800 quid in 6 months) thats still wide of the mark for a lens which I'll put money on is just a bit meh still.

You can buy other meh long zooms from Sigma that represent better VFM than this.

Wonder how long it will be before someone hooks this new 100-400 to a D800 and says "blurgh"
 
desantnik said:
the new ones pretty much two and a half times more expensive.
Click to expand...
& if/when Canon get around to replacing their 100-400 going by recent form so will theirs be ...

Obviously we still have to wait for independent tests but currently I suspect that Canon 100-400< Sony 70-400 G II < Nikon 80-400 VR II both in terms of pricing & performance (although the Sony & Nikon performance could be a toss up).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top