With a versatile zoom range, it’s a step up in reach and quality from the Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED without going into a different league for the pricey professional sports and wildlife lenses.
With a maximum aperture ranging from f/4.5 at the 80mm end of the zoom and f/5.6 zoomed in, it’s by no means the fastest of Nikon’s lenses. But the built-in vibration reduction (VR) helps compensate for that and makes the lens usable indoors and in low-light conditions.
While it’s not perfect, this lens has earned a regular place in my travel kit. For its reach, it’s relatively small and light. And the extra reach of 400mm lens me bring out details that I otherwise wouldn’t be able to.
So here’s a collection of various images I’ve shot with this lens in the hope it gives you some sense of how it performs. For more information take a look at my detailed review. And you can click on each image to open up a full-resolution version if you’re want to see the results up close.
Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G Sample Images
Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 400 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 400 mm and f/5.6. At the U.S. Army’s Twilight Tattoo in Arlington, VA.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 135 mm and f/5.0. A hazy morning in Panama City.
Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 400 mm and f/5.6. This shot, taken in a cathedral in Granada, Nicaragua, was in relatively low indoor light and hand held.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 290 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 380 mm and f/5.6. As the sun disappeared behind the mounts around Athens, Greece, I used a tripod to catch the fading glow.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 400 mm and f/5.6. At events like the U.S. Marine Corps Sunset Parade at the Iwo Jima Memorial, the extra reach of this lens helps bring the action in closer even when you can’t physically move closer.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 80 mm and f/4.5. The Jefferson Memorial before sunrise.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 340 mm and f/6.3.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 400 mm and f/5.6. The dome of the Jefferson Memorial has seen better days, but I liked the way the blues worked together.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 400 mm and f/8.0. This shot, taken from on top of Teotihuacan’s Pyramid of the Moon, is of the people climbing the Pyramid of the Sun about 3/4 of a mile away.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 400 mm and f/5.6. Another shot taken at Teotihuacan, Mexico, this one used the reach of the lens to get some detail that is fenced off and you can’t get very close to.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 310 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 92 mm and f/8.0. The Centennial Bridge over the Panama Canal.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 400 mm and f/8.0. A closer shot of the same bridge.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 400 mm and f/5.6. The Moorish Castle in Sintra, Portugal.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 400 mm and f/5.6. The sun was setting and casting these statues on the front of the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels in a golden light. But the light wasn’t especially bright, so the VR really helped.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 200 mm and f/5.3.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 80 mm and f/4.5.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 400 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 320 mm and f/8.0.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 400 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 400 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 165 mm and f/5.6. At certain times of the year in the right conditions, the statue of Abraham Lincoln inside the Lincoln Memorial catches the direct light of the rising sun. The zoom lens helps cut out the other people standing in front of it.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 80 mm and f/4.5.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D810 at 380 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 270 mm and f/5.6. Even pointed directly at bright light sources such as the sun there’s no real issue with lens flaring.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 360 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 130 mm and f/4.8.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 400 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 260 mm and f/5.6.
Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 80 mm and f/5.0.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 160 mm and f/5.0.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 400 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 400 mm and f/5.6.
Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 120 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 112 mm and f/4.8.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 155 mm and f/5.0.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 80 mm and f/8.0.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 400 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 200 mm and f/5.3.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 165 mm and f/6.3.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 380 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 400 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 400 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 400 mm and f/6.3.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 400 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 400 mm and f/6.3.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 165 mm and f/6.3.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 400 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 240 mm and f/5.3. Some of the detail of the mosaics in the relatively low light inside Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 116 mm and f/6.3.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 260 mm and f/5.6. Another hand-held, low-light shot, inside the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 350 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 400 mm and f/5.6. This one was using a tripod.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 102 mm and f/8.0.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 280 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 220 mm and f/6.3.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 310 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 110 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 400 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 400 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 400 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 200 mm and f/5.3.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 400 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 175 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 400 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 300 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 400 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 165 mm and f/6.3. Another low-light shot, this one in Brudges. It was shot hand held.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 370 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 220 mm and f/5.3.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 280 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 220 mm and f/7.1.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 400 mm and f/5.6.Photo taken with a Nikon 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens on a NIKON D800 at 400 mm and f/5.6.
Images and product information from Amazon PA-API were last updated on 2023-05-29 at 18:27. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon Site at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
David Coleman
I'm a professional freelance travel photographer based in Washington DC. Seven continents, up mountains, underwater, and a bunch of places in between. My images have appeared in numerous publications, and you can check out some of my travel photography here. More »
