Personally I'm not a fan of the Nikon 200-400 and I was disappointed when they released the mkII with no real world image quality improvements focusing instead on nano coating etc etc- at the end of the day it's sharp images at 400mm that count and it struggles to deliver that consistently- at least in the light here in Scotland- might be different in other light On a DX camera, it gives angles of view similar to what a 300-600mm lens gives when used on an FX or 35mm camera. Glad to see here that it does accept the 1.4x quite well at that distance. The details loss is not too bad. Resulsts are very good at f7.1 andf8. The AF-S Nikkor 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4 FL ED VR (180-400mm f/4E) and AF-S Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR SWM IF (200-500mm f/5.6E) offer a similar focal range for Nikon shooters after a telephoto zoom for sports and wildlife. Not for: It's too heavy for me. I'd consider the 300mm f/2.8 VR II instead, which costs less and is a stop faster, in exchange for one fixed focal length instead of the small zoom range of this 200-400mm. For bird photography and for shooting surfing from the shore, you never can be too close, so you'll want the 600mm f/4 instead.

Although these lenses basically cover the same focal range and offer similar features, there are some key differences. You're really pushing it with the oldest AF cameras like the N2020, N6006 and N8008. You'll have no AF, confused exposure modes, and no VR. Manual focus is fine, along with electronic focus indications. The 200-500mm f/5.6E is in the enthusiast camp in terms of build – that doesn’t mean bad, it’s perfectly well-built – but uses lighter and cheaper materials compared to the 180-400mm f/4E, which is built like a tank. Lens Description: This powerful super telephoto zoom lens offers incredible image quality. Enhanced Nikon VR II image stabilization, a constant aperture and Nano Crystal Coat make this lens an ideal choice for sports photography, wildlife and more.Unlike the manual focus super-teles, the 200-400m manual focus ring is geared for precise adjustments. It turns the full 360 degrees to get from infinity to 6.5 feet (2m)! Despite Nikon's warnings you CAN get AF with a 1.7 TC in good light but don't depend on it. It will start to hunt as light falls off. You CAN use a 2.0 TC if manually focusing. Having a manual focus screen - like Katzeye - helps.

The next set of switches are set further forward on the barrel, and deal with the image stabilizer. Mode 1 is the ‘standard’ setting that stabilizes in both dimensions. Mode 2 automatically detects panning and turns off stabilization in the direction of movement. Mode 3 only activates the IS system at the point of exposure. This mode is relatively new to Canon lenses and is especially useful for photographing erratic action because unlike in Mode 1 which can make for a jumpy viewfinder due to the constant activity of the stabilizer, in Mode 3 the stabilizer only initiates at the point of exposure. I tend to use Mode 1 if I am following a slower subject where I would rather have constant stabilization while I utilize Mode 3 when I am taking photos of more erratic subjects. Whether the 200-400mm f/4 is the right lens for you has to do solely with two things, I believe: is f/4 okay for you, and do you shoot at long distances? The right answers should be yes and no, respectively. Any other set of answers means you need to look at the alternatives. Both the 200-400 Mk 1 and 200-500 are prone to flare with the sun near the edge of the frame. The front miniscus of the 200-400 can be screwed off the Mk 1 in high flare situations. The lens comes with a pouch to put it in and a good "duffle bag" for transit. With one costing almost ten grand more, yes TEN GRAND, we were intrigued to see how much better it actually is. Armed with a couple of D5’s, we headed off to shoot some sport, wildlife and the odd event to find out where all that extra cash goes.The biggest detriment to sharpness is the reality that temperature variations in the atmosphere create constant shimmers. In extreme cases these shimmers appear as mirages, but when using any high-powered optics one sees these shimmers even in normal conditions. Looking through the atmosphere with heat shimmers is exactly like looking down into a swimming pool from above: you get waves which obscure details. There’s no getting away from the fact the 180-400mm f/4E is a big, heavy piece of glass. The build quality is immense, you can use it in the rain and shoot 400mm f/4 or 550mm f/5.6. That makes it versatile too, but it’s a big beast.