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The largest of Nikon's zoom
lenses, the 200-400mm is built for the professional
and amateur photographers for grueling field use
while still delivering superior optics and super
fast and responsive auto focus. Coming in at a
little over $5,000 bucks this lens is well worth the
price and you get far more than just superior optics
for the cost. The 200-400mm is equipped with the
latest in lens technology including a brilliantly
responsive and accurate silent wave motor, vibration
reduction, a focus lock buttons, an environmental
rubber seal, and a focus memory button towards the
front of the lens that will instantly recall a
memorized focus point. Just recently I had a chance
to put this lens to test while shooting at
Chincoteague Island National Seashore. I would like
to share some of the images I produced and how the
lens handled the task.
I found this Double Crested
Cormarat perched on a fallen tree sitting in the
shallows of the small canal running the length of
refuge drive. By getting low to the ground along the
bank of the canal, I was able to line up a nice
tight shot at 400mm of the bird. After getting my
focus set, I simply locked focus using the “focus
lock button” and waited for the cormorant to strike
an interesting facial expression and then banging of
several shots in burst mode to catch the pose.
This shot of snow geese in
flight was preconceived and the Nikor 200-400mm
allowed me to perfectly execute my vision. I took
the lens of the tripod and set my focus on a set of
birds that I had observed repeatedly landing and
lifting off. I set the focus limit to ensure when
the snow geese took off again the focus would not
track something in the distance. I made sure to
activate the VR (vibration reduction) to combat any
lens shake from hand holding this beast. This image
was captured at 1/15 of a second at F/8 while
panning in along with their take off and is one of
my favorite images from the past year.
One of the greatest features
of having a super telephoto zoom lens is the ability
to pull back for a wider view when shooting
wildlife. While set up on the banks of this marsh
shooting the great abundance of snow geese flying
across the colorful sky, a Silka Deer began to cross
the marsh lands. I would never have had enough time
to switch lenses if I were shooting with a fixed
telephoto like a 500mm to get this shot. I simply
swiveled the lens around and zoomed out to 200mm and
took the shot. Voila, I had the image thanks to the
200-400mm’s versatile zoom.
While exploring the
small village on Chincoteague Island, I came across
this scene of colorfully painted house reflected in
a pool of frozen water. The Nikor 200-400mm is
compatible with both the Nikon Tc-14E II and TC-20E
II tele-convertors. Using the TC14E at 400mm with my
Nikon D300 (DX crop sensor) it gave me an equivalent
focal length of 730mm which was really allowed me
reach into the scene and pick out the perfect
composition without having to crop in post
processing and lose image quality.
This lens with all of its
capabilities also has the advantage of macro focus.
At 400mm it will focus down to 6.5 feet (2 meters)!
That’s ¼ life size capture. I lay down on the soft
beach waiting for this piping plover to walk towards
me as it was fishing along the breaking water of the
beach. Activating the VR function ensured there was
no chance of lens vibration and a soft image. As you
can see, I was able to fill the frame with this tiny
shore bird resulting in a striking image.
Once again, the long reach of
the 400mm focal length in conjunction with the crop
factor of my DX body and a TC-14E tele-convertor
allowed me to frame this Great white Egret against a
much darker background resulting in a dramatic
portrait of this elegant creature. I also used the
focus lock button to hold focus while waiting for
the bird to strike its pose.
The silent wave motor in this
lens is awesome! I wanted to produce an image that
conveyed the concept of the ancient ritual of the
Snow Geese following magnetic fields, seasonal
patterns and moon and sun positions to navigate to
their winter grounds. A crescent moon was present
just after sunrise one morning and I positioned
myself to record the geese as they lifted off and
headed south. I simply framed the moon and waited
for a flock of geese to fly through the frame. As
you can see, the silent wave motor accurately and
sharply focused on the geese and tracked them
through a series of images. I simply picked out the
nicest composition later in post processing.
In closing, I would highly
recommend this lens to any photographer who is
serious about creating great wildlife and natural
history images. It of course would also be a great
lens for sports photographers and photojournalist,
but I will leave that write to someone with a bit
more experience in said fields than I. Coming in at
$5,000 bucks, it’s a hefty investment, but one hell
of a lens and it will net you tons of super images
for years and years to come. |
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