Nikon 400mm f/4.5 VR S Full Review | 8 Months Later - Outstanding | 8K Video & STILLS | Matt Irwin

[@cesarm8811]

Matt great review. But I notice that most reviews if not all reviews on Nikon new lenses are always using the Z9. For us hobbyist photographer (Nikon user) who can't justify or afford the price on a Z9, it very frustrating and disappointing that Nikon continues to be one camera company.

[@telkirton]

At 70 years old I can't afford one but Wow! what a lens to have, Thanks Matt for your excellent review mate.

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Complete pleasure Tel.

[@keithleefotos]

Got the 400 4.5 a couple of weeks ago and it is great, but you can add me to the list of longtime Nikon customers (30 years) who would prefer a genuine lens case instead of an embarrassing black wrap that identifies as a case, particularly when Nikon is spending millions on stock buybacks and such, which do nothing to enhance the customer experience when buying Nikon products. The black wraps just scream “cheap”.

[@csc-photo]

I might be the outlier on this but I prefer to save some $ on something I’d never use anyway. It’s just as easy to get a nice(er) case from Ruggard or a similar brand for about $30. My tele’s are either in a dry cabinet, in my bag, or out and connected to a body.

[@keithleefotos]

@@csc-photo Understood. My angle is that Nikon (and virtually all manufacturers) is (are) gradually degrading the overall experience of buying their products by reducing the quality of (or eliminating entirely) certain supporting items that usually are included with it, such as cases and camera straps, for instance. The newer straps supplied with Nikon cameras are of much lower quality - I resurrected the Nikon strap from an old N90 to use on my Z9 because the Z9 strap is so lame. If they had included the cloth wrap along with a suitable case, that would have been impressive. We’re talking about a $3300 lens here, and they can’t afford to include a case which probably costs $10-15 to make (if that)? I use the supplied cases for all my lenses, and now have to buy one separately. Bah, humbug! 🙂

[@RaymondParkerPhoto]

Great review Matt! You beat me to the punch 😀 Though I also am not primarily a sport or wildlife photographer, this has become one of my favourite lenses -- certainly better than any telephoto I've owned, for all the reasons you illustrate here. I'm going to include surfers in my review ... however, I'm not expecting waves like that! Awesome video as usual. Cheers!

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Cheers Ray, yes this video has been a long time in the making, but very pleased with this lens, and hard pressed not to add it to my collection when spending time with it again during the latest round of image editing for this video release :)

[@NikonDave]

I think the expectation for the 200-600mm is through the roof at this point. 400mm and 800mm pf is just too limiting for my work. Great pics and good video. Thanks.

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Cheers Dave, indeed the 200-600 is highly anticipated, and considering it has been on the roadmap about as long as the 85 1.2, I do hope that perhaps like the 85 1.2 it is not too far away. All fingers are crossed

[@williammarino3366]

Amazing video matt!! Keep up this quality always awesome to watch!

[@antonoat]

Really enjoy your enthusiasm Matt, good to hear someone singing Nikon’s praises for a change, seems like a cracking lens indeed, the Z9 killing it too 👏👍😀

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Thanks AoToGo, the images get me so excited, and the gear is allowing me to take things out to the limits and still get results, and that combination is so exciting

[@photogenius]

Great watch, and a great lens - nice one Matt 😀

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Thanks so much Paul :)

[@Vahagraphy]

Great work here Matt. Top notch as always. First time I picked this lens up I was floored by how light it was. The results HEAVY. as in, 🤘🏼🤘🏼HEAVY METAL 🤘🏼🤘🏼 Music to my ears. hehe. Great lens, sharp. colors. AF . just everything about the Z 400 4.5 is an instant HIT.

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Cheers, yep it was a long time in the making, but worth it for such a useful and spectacular lens. :)

[@ThomasRaskPhoto]

Great video again Mat! I have the lens. I do both landscape and wildlife with it. It's so small, light and compact. I have it with me everytime I'm in the field. If I had, say a 400 f2.8 which is a much lager and heavier lens, I would not have it with me all the time.

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Fantastic point Thomas, yeah it is a great performer :)

[@AndyMillerPhotoUK]

Well said Matt - I agree, but for me the 400/2.8TC is essential. Yes it is the f/2.8 and the TC. The question for Nikon, now we have the 600/4TC, is will they fill out the range over time by adding a 600 PF a f/5.0-6.0 possibly - to bridge the gap between 400 and 800. Obviously many appear to be waiting for the 200-600, but since this is not an S-line lens it will not be as high a quality/performer as the S-line lenses. So after Nikon delivers its new bodies (hopefully this year) and more short focal length ultra bright lenses lenses -- including the 20, 35, 105, 135 etc.. , what is next in the long lens line-up --sure for delivery in 2024 or 2025 -- will we see a more affordable 600 and what about the 500/4 update for the Z mount -- a PF or a f/4. With or without a built in TC. I love my 400/2.8TC and 600/4.0TC and will be working them hard this year during my safari season. I briefly owned the 800/6.3PF, but sold this when my 600 arrived. Lots of choices but still there are gaps at the very high end for indoor sports shooters in fixed primes and ultra high quality bright zooms. You indicated 1 1/3rd stops -vs- cost is a big issue -- but it is less of an issue for pro-sports and other indoor event shooters. Sure - as it always was cost/value is the biggest issue for hobbyists, but not for working pros -- but still the 180-400/4.0 sold relatively well to pros; so did the 120-300/2.8 and even the 200/2 (stubbie) did ok. The mid term question is will Nikon replicate the best of the f-mount primes and ultra high quality zooms. But since this took 30 years in f-mount I am sure Nikon has a lot of time for the z-mount versions. The level of impatience with Nikon on youtube/SM continues to be high - I guess this is part of clickbait and the latest are the demands to know what if anything will be delivered by ~Nikon at CP+ BEFORE the event has happened. Just wait and see and when we see wait for the production versions have been in working pros hands for a while before forming a view on your own buying decisions. I make this point because already some folk are asking questions about the Z-85mm f/1.2 and casting about negatively at its sharpness a f/1.2 -- NO ONE has had or tested a production version of this lens yet, so why be so vexed. Your own review was great and very positive -- I hope that when you obtain your own production version you will observe some improvements. But even if there are none - it is still a great lens (great performance and great price).

[@josephsworkshop75]

Great vid Matt. Really good memories of a fantastic trip. If only we could keep all the lenses you get sent!!! :-)

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Amazing memories, great shots, amazing outcomes from harbour, to ocean, to airport

[@ronaldpollard8990]

Very Thorough review Matt!! Thank you for posting as this review was worth the wait!! I too love mine and am excited about using it as often as I can!!

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

I got there eventually Ronald, it was a big piece :) And I am so glad you enjoyed it :) Cheers Matt

[@mitchallen55]

Matttttt Irrrwinnnn. Love your videos. Keep up the good work.

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Thanks so much Mitch

[@RetiredEE]

It's an absolutely splendid lens! Nice review 👍

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

It really is, thanks Craig :)

[@ludovicgrignou]

Superbe vidéo ! J'adore cet objectif .

[@ronscarbel5062]

Thank you, as always, Matt. Great shots as usual and great information to go along with it.

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

My pleasure!

[@andpenn]

Great review Matt. An excellent test for that lens would be the Australian International Air show at Avalon in a couple of weeks' time, especially the evening fighter jet displays.

[@johnhjic2]

So good to see you, Matt, it does look so good? But trust my I just got my 100-400mm should I switch No. but I am tempted. I think that I am saving for the 85mm and may be the 800mm. After that. Keep well, keep safe, and enjoy your images

Nice review and helpful demonstration of the capabilities of this lens. Definitely a big winner from Nikon!

[@chipsrafferty8362]

Lucky to have the 400,and coupled with the 1.4 and 2.0 tc gives more than acceptable results with both.400+2Xtc gives 800 f9 but will not cause me to cancel my 800 6.3 ORDER,i will wait you out NIKON,now make my lense already,in two weeks it will be full term and ready for birth…

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

For sure it is very capable at all sorts of things, what do you mostly capture Chips? :)

[@chipsrafferty8362]

@@MattIrwinPhotography My first love is wildlife,however summers in Florida chase wildlife into hiding but we have surfing,race cars and bikes and a heavy air show schedule starting with the USAF Thunderbirds opening the Daytona 500 with a flyover. Cheers Mate,stay safe.

[@johnd5244]

Outstanding images Matt! I could use that in my line up for wildlife and things here on my Z6II,. I have the 70-200 f/2.8 S and a 2x teleconverter.

[@merkin22]

Every Z lens you review moves me a step closer to giving up my D6 (and two long -- 500 and 180-400 f mount lenses) as my backup camera and going to duo Z9s (or waiting for the Z9s equivalent if it's coming for cam 2). That is remarkable performance from that lens (in your qualified hands, certainly!). Simply aching from the wait for my 600 z :) Thanks for another excellent review video. Cheers!

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Thanks so much Steven, let’s hope for more Expeed 7 sometime this year. 😀

[@smallbatchsessions6892]

Nikon historically can build some phenomenal 400mil. lenses. I’d love to have this lens . I use 200-600 range a lot . I have an old Nikkor 400mm ais f/3.5 I use for live music videos all the time . It has a low element count rendering that’s sharp but filmic . This lens is a modern-ish version of it . I may get this lens or wait on the 200-600. A zoom is handy handy . Then again the 400 prime will have a special rendering. It’ll focus faster and track better ( I believe) not sure .

[@patrickmolloy6994]

great review Matt, probably one of your best. I rented this lens for a couple of weeks. What a great lens too. As you said, I can get by with my z70-200 with the 2x TC. I totally enjoyed using it, but for my style, I confirmed to me that I much prefer the zooms. I don't have your creativity alas :-( ... so come om, bring on the 200-600!!

[@jackmarkham1516]

I guess my purchase of the 400mm f/4.5 is the only way that I can actually thank Nikon for making this lens. I wish that I could think of more ways.

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Seems like an awesome place to start Jack

[@pathfindercod4638]

Great review. Best I've seen.

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

THanks so much

[@cbmilne]

I am waiting for the 200-600 but if Nikon dont hurry up I will look at this lens event though it will not tick all of the boxes for me.

[@Gr1ff1D0]

“Wow, just wow!”

[@leric4205]

Pour info Matt, Nikon vient de proposer un nouveau firmware pour le Nikon z5, qui "révolutionne" son autofocus qui n'était déjà pas si mauvais que çà..... Nikon has just released a new firmware for the Nikon z5, which "revolutionizes" its autofocus which was already not that bad..

[@koenpijpersphotography]

Awesome lens, can’t justity it over the 100-400 for me. Just more usable.

[@ytr8989]

Enjoyed the review. Can you do an early review of the Z90? 🙃 (Just kidding)

[@mikedavis1110]

Great review on the 400 4.5 and the S line up offers a lot. I am surprised that the rumored 200-600 isn’t a S lens. One might wait for 500/600 f4 versions for the higher quality for wildlife photography. What type of back pack are you using??

[@tedk2814]

Love your videos, so well done! I am a highschool photographer and if I didn't need a 2.8 I would sell them off and get this 4.5 lens. I'm using a 400 mm 2.8 VR with a FTZ for my Z9. This combo works just fine but boy is that lens heavy. I would like to purchase the intro song, if you don't mind where can I find it and what is the title? Thanks again.....

[@donmcpheephotography]

Matt, just re-entered the business after taking 4 years off to take care of my mom. That being said, I sold all my gear and now have to re-invest. I purchased the Z9 as it seems as It will fill my needs and picked up a 24-70 2.8, Micro 105 2.8 and a 20mm 2.0 (Astro fun!! ). The 400 4.5 is on my next to buy unless I talk myself into another "Chubb"....The 200 2.0 is amazing and with a 1.7 or 2.0tc may rival the 400 4,5. Question.=: is your choice of raw editor Capture 1? If so why???? Cheers

[@billygarrett3911]

Thanks for another great video!! Question and its not about the lens..What backpack are you using? I am looking to upgrade mine and yours look like something that may work for me. Thanks again for you time and great videos.

[@exert2020]

Another interesting fact since you mentioned the 1 stop difference. I'm sure you're aware Matt, each camera has its own noise to iso pattern, and it's not always constant. For instance, on my Z6 it's better to jump from 200 iso straight to 800 iso, as those iso jumps in-between actually create more noise than at 800. Crazy stuff. I'm not sure what the testing has found with the Z9. I'm sure it will be along the same lines. So really, if you know your cameras iso to noise specs, the 1 and a bit stop difference literally makes no difference. The only possible downside then is less bokeh...judging by what I've just seen I see no issue there either. I may consider this lens if the 200-600 turns out to be poor. Addition: Just checked the chart for the Z9 and you're best going from 100 iso straight to 500 iso. Then it's pretty consistently gets worse as you go higher. Believe it or not but 125 iso has technically more noise than 500 iso. More light!

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Thanks Sunrise, indeed the Z 9 appears to have dual gain ISO's like the Z 6 and Z 7 do also. The numbers I choose as examples were just random. Mathematically representative but I agree not ISO optimal for this particular camera. They all differ. Based on the F mount 200-500, and my usage with that lens, I would be deeply surprised if the 200-600 is not a great lens and well worth the wait. :)

[@Ben_Stewart]

I just got the 1.4 tele for this lens and it's producing great results. I even put my Z50 on it and technically got 840mm @f/6.3 . Would you recommend I continue to use the Nikon UV/IR filter on it or take it off for sharper images?

[@tedkloske9273]

This lens looks amazing! Nikon has the technology to build in a 1.4x converter. Such a bummer they didn’t add that into the lens body of this 400. That would have been a game changer for versatility.

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Ultimately that would be a different lens, and would come in larger, heavier and more expensive, so I am glad this one exists, and perhaps a TC version might be something in the future. :) Who knows.

[@bngr_bngr]

That would be fat like a 400/2.8 with a built in 1.4.

[@pauldhoff]

Well, you know what I'm waiting for. :)

[@jackbrumby1892]

I also! :-) More than 199 & less than 601?

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Hmmm remind me?

[@Skye_the_toller]

I bought the100-400 before the release of this lens… almost using all the time at 400! Would like to compare the 500 pf with this 400 + tc1.4… selling my 100-400 & my 500 pf to buy the 400…

[@1946bike]

Use the Hood Matt!

[@TylerThomas]

I want to see those sun photos on the Z9 with the linear profile applied

[@thejohnnerparty]

Matt, have used the 100 - 400? If so, how does it compare image quality wise?

[@rickpinelli1586]

One Plane spotter at LAX uses a Sigma 600mm lens on a SONY A7RIII.

[@chrislekhavanija]

One of my favorite Z lenses.

[@erickylaw]

Should try this on the new Z8😅😅

[@rontopp]

Any workaround for setting one of the buttons to toggle VR on and off?

[@bngr_bngr]

Still waiting for the 300mm 2.8.

[@kennethmull6961]

I have the 100-400mm Z lens a 1.4TC and the 500pf. Would you sell the 500pf in favor of the new 400mm 4.5 and why?

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Great question Kenneth, I think the answer would be yes, for the speed, optical (near perfection), native Z mount. Lighter, and more light gathering than the PF. Yes it is 100mm shorter, but camera resolutions are pretty high these days. So if I had the budget, that is what I would do :) 400 4.5

[@Razzer0693]

I notice in the exif in camera at 4:40 section that your z9 is on firmware version 2.0, why didn't you update it to 3.0.1 ?

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

This video has been along time in the making. So with 3.0 and beyond we can expect even more performance I think. Great point. Thank you Razzer. 😀

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Is it a lens you are thinking about?

[@Razzer0693]

@@MattIrwinPhotography oh yeah the 400 4.5 is definitely on my eyes! sadly, to get my hands on trial for one , I need to travel about 400 miles (I'm from India, I need to travel to a metro city to try one :) ) Thank you for the excellent review ! I've been following you for all things Nikon for a really long time :D

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

@@Razzer0693 that is a long way, but it may well be worth it, if this is a lens you would use a lot as part of your use case :)

[@avnerbenzvi8757]

to replace my Z 100-400 with the Z 400 /F4.5 ??

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Hmmm tough question, what are you mostly shooting?

[@avnerbenzvi8757]

@@MattIrwinPhotographyPhotography I'm not a PRO Usually I shoot Landscape, Macro, Street Photography and Birds. I replaced my F 200-500 too heavy with Z 100-400 and after i watched this Video I think maybe had to wait to the Z 400???

[@DamonMoritz]

Sharp and all, but slow in the aperture. I just can't imagine buying something so dark. What I really want Nikon to make is a 300mm F/2 VR S lens. I'd even settle for a 2.8.