Nikon Z 28-400mm Lens Review for Wildlife Photography

[@zumaboy57]

I bought this lens and a Zf a few weeks before going to Kenya and Tanzania in September. What a great combination and I got some memorable wildlife and other photos with it!

[@RayHennessy]

That's great you got that setup for that trip, I'm sure it was a joy to shoot!

[@peterm.2501]

Great review and it comports with my experience. I was at Big Bend NP in October and wished that I had the 28-400. After I got back, I was getting ready for a trip to Maine and Acadia NP, and traded my 24-200 for the 28-400. It rarely left my Z8. Birds, lighthouses, scenic vistas, close-ups, and more were all within a twist of the zoom ring. It works great for travel and “walk-around” use. It does struggle a bit in low light at dawn and dusk, but otherwise the image quality is excellent (better than the FX 28-300 or the DX 18-300) and the versatility is amazing.

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks for watching and I'm glad you have had the same experience. It sure is incredible how much variety you can capture with the lens. I appreciate hearing your experience with it

[@ken9576]

I’ve got this lens and use it with my Z50 for travel. I find it excellent. The slow aperture isn’t a big a draw back as you’d think as the VR works great. It doesn’t kill you to carry around all day too. Very flexible. Thanks for the awesome video. Merry Christmas 🎄

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks for watching and for the feedback. Glad you enjoyed it and that you enjoy the lens.

[@stanobert3475]

I took this lens with my Z6III to our road trip to Minnesota (from Colorado) and it worked great! It is sharp enough and very convenient and light weight. I t was great to not constantly change lenses.

[@RayHennessy]

So nice it worked out well for you and yes it sure is hard to beat the convenience!

[@MooseManNaturePhotos]

Hello Ray, how are ya man? Wanted to chime in, well done review. Great job explaining it's value. For MooseMan, we've transitioned to mostly video for $$$ these days. Your viewers should know the lens can and does shoot exceptional 4K video, It lives on my Z8 in Alaska. It is far sharper than most give it credit for. It's actually been a game changer for our 4K footage at 400mm giving us those tight close ups we sometimes need, but the 28-50mm end of the lens is the workhorse. Libby stays on video constantly, but we still need stills for the daily posts, and again, the lens rocks in that regard. Well done review buddy, big thumbs up for us.

[@RayHennessy]

Hey there, I'm doing great, nice to hear from you and thanks for sharing your experience with this lens as well! It's great to hear it's been working well for video, I haven't done much video myself with it yet but I'm sure like you said it works great.

[@victorlim5077]

Amazing review. Really inspiring what you can do with a superzoom lens, Ray.

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks so much, I'm still being impressed by it!

[@jimbarth506]

Hiking and landscape photography is so much fun when you can minimize the weight of your gear. Z6ii + 28-400mm + 14-30mm covers everything I need. Amazing versatility and amazing picture quality.

[@RayHennessy]

Yeah that certainly will cover all your needs!

[@yurisilvadesouza3059]

That is a really nice review! My wife just bought this lens and is trying to unlock the required skills to take some of these shaper photos. Quick question: Are you using a Z7? Thanks!

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks for watching! Check out some of our "Travels and Wildlife" series to see more images shot with this lens. We are using it on a Nikon Z63, Z8, or Z9 so we do have the subject/eye tracking which helps out a lot for wildlife. But overall we have found the lens really sharp when there is enough light and enjoy using it for certain scenarios.

[@peterlooper7956]

I said no to this lens, then I sold my 24-200 and bought it. It's everthing you say and is an excellent choice for hiking/holidays etc.

[@RayHennessy]

Glad to hear you felt the same about this lens. It's a surprising little thing isn't it!

[@gertjakobsen2267]

A really inspiring review !

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks!

[@fasteddy3661]

Beautiful pictures! This lens has quickly become my favourite. After having used a 70-400mm with my old Sony 77II APSC, I noticed that this 28-400mm has way nicer bokeh than that Sony lens. For holidays on the motorbike I pair it with the Zf, 14-30mm f/4 and a 9mm 7Artisans lens. In another sidebag I keep a Nikon Z50II for extra reach and bird eye recognition. I was able to get sharp images with 0.5sec at 100mm hand held using the Zf without any support. Great IBIS.

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks! That's great you have enjoyed the lens so much. 1/2 second exposures are amazing to get hand-held. Sounds like a wonderful setup you have!

[@labalia30]

impressive results, congratulations! It reminds me a bit of my 18-200mm DX which I use on my D500 when I go hiking because it can do everything, even kind of macro (flowers, mushrooms portraits) and the results are astonishingly good - I never expected it! It is also not heavy at all. The FX 28-300mm could also be in this category. As you said, if it is for social media, a website or even a standard photo size, the results are amazing, especially with the VRs.

[@RayHennessy]

Yes, I had tried a wide-zoom Tamron for F-mount many years ago and the lens was unfortunately never sharp. It's nice to see these types of lenses can be plenty sharp.

[@solarman1238]

Do you think a Z50 II with this 28-400mm can handle airshow for fighter jet ?

[@RayHennessy]

I would say so, it's been tracking small and quick birds in flight so a jet would be rather easy I'd say.

[@ElementaryWatson-123]

I was planning on buying Tamron 50-400 but Nikon is now offering $300 of 28-400, the price is compelling. I'm still skeptical, but I decided to give it a chance.

[@RayHennessy]

I hope you are happy with your choice, I know we certainly enjoy the Nikon lens.

[@yesjustyes54]

In the exact same position. Hard to say no with the discount

[@amritgurung1473]

i recently jump back to nikon from sony and instead of adding 2.8, i went for 14-30 and 24-200 but since i had 12-400 range in sony, I stucked at 200mm so a little bit regression why i did not get 28-400 ? I wanna sell this 24 200 and get 28-400. Thank you for the honest review.Actually i was searching review for this lens and got it. Many thanks.

[@RayHennessy]

I think that sounds like a great idea, you will get more versatility in one lens for sure!

[@TheFlyingDogFish]

I dismissed this lens as I already have the 24-200, but now you got me thinking. If I take my 14-30 with me anyway, I got that missing 4mm at the lower end covered too.

[@RayHennessy]

And there is a big difference between 200mm and 400mm on the long end! I've certainly been enjoying the lens

[@Ben_Stewart]

F/8 is pretty slow for me and my preference but having a compact travel zoom with this kind of range is tempting. I think I would opt for the Tamron 50-400 as it tops out at f6.3.

[@RayHennessy]

I hear you. I've shot fast telephoto lenses (f/4, f/2.8) for years and I felt the same way but in the end the flexibility of this lens outweighed the aperture limitation. The Tamron sounds like a good option for you if that's a big concern like you said. For me 50mm wouldn't be nearly wide enough for a lot of the bird photography I want to do with a lens like this.

[@Ben_Stewart]

@@RayHennessy Unfortunately the laws of Physics don't let us have our dream lens but maybe through Nikon's DX lens line up we could get close to the weight/size preference but with the wide and zoom option. Maybe these 4/3rds guys are onto something.

[@RayHennessy]

@@Ben_Stewart yeah there certainly are limits! I don't know about the 4/3rds cameras though, from all the photos I've seen from those cameras they never have the sort of quality and depth that I enjoy in a full frame image. I know there are times where you basically can't tell the difference but in a lot of raw files I've seen from those cameras there is very often something about them that keeps me away.

[@Asgeir_W]

good review, might get this one for my new Z50II i`m picking up this week. Wouldn`t excactly call it cheap though..

[@RayHennessy]

Compared to almost any other tele-wildlife lens from Nikon I'd say it ends up being pretty low priced. I guess that's entirely what you compare it to though.

[@luisbalduino6811]

Very good review. I also love this lens. With a Zf I even shoot at night with it.

[@RayHennessy]

That's great to hear it works so well for you!

[@ericxin-lp7jd]

nice pictures. Thanks.

[@RayHennessy]

Thanks for watching!

[@KurtisPape]

16:16 it's always disappointing to pick the sharpest shot, downsize it and lose all the detail. It sometimes makes me go back and pick a shot with less sharpness but a better pose. It's still always important to aim for a sharp image though, definitely makes processing easier and gives you more ability to crop.

[@RayHennessy]

Yes it can be frustrating but I generally ignore the downsizing aspect and just view/edit for my larger screens and how I enjoy seeing the photos.

[@BroScro]

impressive review. thank you!

[@RayHennessy]

Sure thing, glad you enjoyed it!

[@mleczyk3077]

Wow thanks, now i want it for sony 😆

[@RayHennessy]

Haha, nice!

[@sergeyserdit2804]

В России обзоров на z28-400 практически нет. Видимо, диафрагма f4-8 фотографам не интересна. А я купил этот объектив, потому что люблю широкий диапазон фокусных расстояний. И, кстати, это сравнительно дорогой объектив (чуть более 1000 долларов). При хорошем освещении объектив замечательный! При плохом освещении я пока не умею фотографировать.

[@RayHennessy]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and I'm glad you are enjoying the lens.

[@andretim75]

Questionable rendering and inferior sharpness for sure, bad bookeh included, lame AF included, super strong distortion for sure and high vignetting, mechanically not build too last, will collect dust quite easily, but otherwise for sure super lightweight and cheap 😂. ( If you like to call more than 1000dollars cheap🎉) I guess it is all about compromises, or isn't it😜

[@RayHennessy]

Certainly about compromises you are correct. It's a reasonably priced lens that fits perfectly into the use I described in the video. To me none of the things you mentioned effect the final photos that I share in any meaningful way so the compromises are all acceptable me. I'm sure they are not for plenty of people and that's fine. I am also lucky enough to have the highest end glass Nikon offers as well for when those issues do matter to me.