Nikon 28mm -400mm Lens Review

 

Nikon have Just released the rather interesting 28mm-400mm zoom lens, which I can see as being pretty useful in a number of situations.

I had some doubts about firmare match with my Z7, but when I was reassured that everything would work well, I took the plunge and bought this lens. I wanted something with a bit more reach for detail shots and also travel. I tried my Sigma 100-400 on my three legged monopod to see if it was usable a 400 at long shutter speeds, but it did not work out, The VR in the Sigma is pretty lame. So it is out for Architectural details

I skived off this afternoon, to see what this lens can do. Nothing artistic. I had an hour to shoot some stuff in town with the 28-400. I like to test out new gear in real life situations. I have done some minor tweaking and some keystone correction. I did not find the aperture limiting in the old church. I just used a higher ISO. I did not find F8 limiting for this sort of photography.

Wow, the first try-out pictures just to see how this lens handles impressed me. This lens like the 24-200 before it has already exceeded my expectations. The pictures are nice and crispy sharp and the IBIS/VR let me get some sharp shots at 400mm with a 1/30 shutter speed. Distortion is corrected in camera and is done well.

My Z7 with this lens is not particularly heavy and I do not think carrying it around over my shoulder for a few hours will present any problems. Certainly nicer than carrying a camera bag with two or three lenses around.  

I think this is going to be very practical for hiking in the mountains, as it is quite light, when combined with the 14-30. For my more specialized photography, like Architecture, I will still be using a bag full of specialized lenses, as this lens does not do everything well  .

On my big screen they look nice and sharp with lots of detail. I think optically it is better than the 24-200 even in the corners. Im sure if I made some 100% enlargements of the corners I might see something less than sharp. But like most modern lenses they look fine on a big screen at normal viewing sizes. Things like contrast can be tweaked in post.

For those interest in photography rather than pixel peeping, this is a great lens for when you do not want to carry a bag full of gear. 

Here are some examples.

I had a chance for a quick walk along the River Po. The light was not perfect and I was with my wife, who gets impatient if I stop too long to take pictures. Here are the pictures I took. I have done a bit of quick post processing on these shots.