NIKKOR 400mm f/2.8 TC Z S Review - A Look at Why It Has Become My Main Field lens

As a multi-themed pro photographer with over thirty years of experience, adding the Nikkor 400mm f/2.8 TC Z S to my bag was the right choice. It’s the lens I have been waiting for my entire career; it has all the bells and whistles. But before I delve into how the NIKKOR 400mm f/2.8 TC Z S and my thoughts on the lens, I will briefly discuss a few of its predecessors and other gear, outlining our unforgettable journeys.  

Some gear is akin to family and next to impossible to part with, such as the Nikon F, Fm2, F3HP, F100, F5, F6, Linhof Technika 70 V, Mamiya Pro TL 645, Wista-Field 45, and a variety of lenses. All my gear is in working order, plus I have a fridge dedicated to storing film and sheet film.

As for DSLRs, I have hung onto the Nikon D4, D5, D810, D850 and various lenses. In all honesty, it would be next to impossible to hang onto all my previous gear, so my solution is to donate it to photographic institutions I am affiliated with; this gear goes towards student use, and, in some cases, I gift gear I no longer use to students in need. I have never traded in my used gear for new gear, but on a few occasions, I sold high-end exotic lenses to good friends at a steal of a deal. 

My first super-telephoto lens was the NIKKOR 600mm f/4 ED IF AIS MF. This is a brilliant lens that I took on assignments to the four corners of our planet. It is one of those lenses I could never part with. And, it so happens that my sister is a pro commercial photographer who is an amateur birding photographer, and it’s in her capable hands in the polar bear capital province in Canada.

My second super telephoto lens was the NIKKOR 800mm f/5.6 ED IF AIS MF. Again, this lens travelled with me to the world’s four corners; I donated it to a college for student use, and it’s still in working order. Next is one of my all-time favourite super telephoto lenses, the Sigma 300-800mm f/5.6 EX DG APO HSM; this lens was a game changer for wildlife photography, a versatile lens with the ability to zoom from 300mm to 800mm while maintaining the same aperture. I mainly used this lens for birding across Japan, and it is an excellent lens for spotting and photographing smaller wildlife, plus Red-crowned cranes (Grus japonensis) and Steller’s sea eagles (Haliaeetus pelagicus) from land.

Today, this lens is a permanent fixture in my bird hide at my beach home in Niigata, Japan, on one of Japan’s busiest birding migration routes. Next, the NIKKOR 800mm f/5.6E FL ED VR. It’s a fantastic lens, but not a practical all-in-one field lens. Today, I use this lens primarily for my private bird hide at my cottage in Hokkaido, and I use it for other bird hides across Japan’s northernmost island. Next, the NIKKOR 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4 FL ED VR is an outstanding lens, but I only used it for a year, due to my needing a telephoto f/2.8 lens, so I sold it to a friend who often works with me on wildlife photography assignments and adventures.

My go-to field lens for ten years will surprise most: the Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM Sports, coupled with Sigma’s 1.4x Teleconverter TC-1401, but mainly I used the 2.0x Teleconverter TC-2001, with a focal range from 240-600mm f/5.6. This lens captured countless images of Steller’s sea eagles, White-tailed eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla), Blakiston’s fish owls (Bubo blakistoni), snow monkeys (Macaca fuscata), and hundreds of other wildlife species.

Sigma was arguably the first to produce a workable X2 teleconverter that was sharp and reliable. The Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 is handholdable for me for extended periods, unlike the NIKKOR 600mm and 800mm lenses. I am mainly a tripod shooter anyway, but tripods are almost useless on boats in some field conditions, and sometimes we photographers have no choice but to handhold.

A few years ago, when I first got my hands on the NIKKOR 400mm f/2.8 TC Z S and the Z Teleconverter TC-2.0x to test before its release, I did not immediately add it to my bag when they became available to purchase by the general public. I was hoping Nikon would release the 120-300mm f/2.8 TC Z S or Sigma would release the equivalent. Nothing happened for two years, and I got tired of waiting while others around me benefited from Nikon’s newly developed Z lenses and various functions only available when coupled with Nikon Z cameras.

I had the Z9 in my bag, and I was losing out on the Z9’s high-speed autofocus system with wildlife eye detection by using a 3rd party lens manufacturer as my primary field lens. This new AF drive actuator combines a VCM SSVCM (voice coil motor) and a new guide mechanism developed by Nikon, which has a higher speed, higher accuracy, and a silent AF operation, hundreds of % more advanced than my primary field lens.

Plus, the Z 400mm lens’s VR system, combined with the Z9’s, gives 5.5 stops of vibration reduction even when used with the built-in TC-1.4x teleconverter, and the VR function works flawlessly with the Z Teleconverter TC-2.0x. Then the Z 400mm weighs 6.5 pounds (2,950 grams) while the Sigma 120-300mm weighs 7.47 pounds (3,390 grams). These lenses are handholdable and balance nicely with the Z9, which weighs 2.95 pounds (1,340 grams). But everyone will have a different opinion and experience with handling.   

The Nikon Z 400mm f/2.8 lens layout is simple; most of the switches of past generations are thankfully gone. Nikon has placed the A-M (Autofocus-Manual) switch on the left side of the lens. The autofocus range limiter is just below that; in front of this is a customizable L-Fn button.

On the lens barrel towards the front of the lens are four L-Fn2 customizable buttons; these buttons are nicely placed over and under, and left to right. 

On the right side of the lens is the lever to activate the built-in TC-1.4x, which is easy to reach without taking your eyes away from your subject and viewfinder. In front of this is a Memory Set button to save your focus point, but it’s too far to reach without taking your hand off the camera. Thankfully, Nikon has added an Fn rotor ring switch onto the lens, which I will discuss next.

The Nikon 400mm Z f/2.8 lens barrel has three rings, from the camera to the front of the lens. First is the focus ring. Second, the control ring can be programmed to change your aperture or ISO, among other functions. This ring is easily activated by mistake, and many photographers keep it turned off. Third, Nikon added a newly equipped programmable Fn ring, a two-way rotor ring switch. Most photographers set it to “set focus point” and “recall focus point,” instead of using the hard-to-reach Memory Set button. 

Other function switches that were once on Nikon lenses and were a “pain to locate,” such as VR and several others, are now easily activated in the camera by pushing the i-button on the Z camera. And the best part is that you don’t need to take your eye off the viewfinder—hats off to Nikon for fully embracing the latest technology in Z cameras and lenses and thinking of us photographers by doing away with those annoying lens barrel panel switches.

In 2024, what many considered the sharpest super telephoto lens Nikon has ever produced, the Z 400mm f/2.8 lens, went into my bag as my primary field lens. The main point of adding this lens is that the TC-1.4x is built right into it. With my index finger, I can activate the lever from a 400mm f/2.8 to a 560mm f/4 lens without taking my eye away from the viewfinder; the image quality is clear, crystal, tack-sharp; it’s so sharp that you can count the bristles, hairlike feathers on a bird’s head.

Adding the external Z Teleconverter TC-2.0x gives you an 800mm f/5.6. The image quality remains tack-sharp, especially so at f/8 and f/11, thanks to Nikon’s advancements in their new Z teleconverters and the phenomenal build of the NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 Super telephoto lens and Nikon’s flagship camera, the Z9.

When adding the Z Teleconverter TC-2.0x and engaging the built-in TC-1.4x, the focal range is 1120mm at f/8. The image quality is very good, but image degradation becomes noticeable.

The Z 400mm f/2.8 is an out-of-this-world, dreamy, remarkable lens, especially with its focal range configurations on hand; this is four lenses in one with the Z 400mm f/2.8,  560mm f/4, 800mm f/5.6, and 1120mm f/8. Suppose you need or want more magnification than 560mm f/4 and don’t want to add an external teleconverter.

Switching the Z9 from FX to DX mode is another option, providing a 1.5x magnification. I have not tested this configuration enough to give my full opinion. Still, on the Z9, I have dedicated one of my custom function buttons to change from FX to DX quickly without removing my eye from the viewfinder. But remember that the Z9 in FX mode has 45.7 megapixels and 19 megapixels in DX mode.

I am all about the print, and I print large in high definition, so I am an FX shooter. But if you are not printing large or not at all and viewing your images on a computer screen, 19 megapixels should be enough.

Initially, switching my primary wildlife field lens from the Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM Sports to the NIKKOR 400mm f/2.8 TC Z S a fixed 400mm lens was somewhat problematic, as I often photograph wildlife in low lighting up close and personal, such as the Blakiston’s fish owl between 150mm-200mm at f2.8.

Also, when leading workshops in Hokkaido, we get so close to the Steller’s sea eagles and White-tailed eagles on drift ice, photographing them at 200mm-400mm, anything longer and you will only be getting portraits, or the odd raptors flying at a distance.

So, to solve my problem, I added another lens to my bag, the NIKKOR Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S. I have never been a fan of the 70-200mm f/2.8, since I was using a 120-300mm f/2.8, but that has all changed, and this summer I will write a full review of the NIKKOR Z 70-200mm f/2.8, along with other Nikon Z lenses that are in my bag.

Let me be honest “initially” the main reason I added the NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 to my bag, coupled with the Z9, was not for raptors or other large wildlife; it was for super-fast small wildlife such as the elusive Shima Enaga long-tailed bushtit (Aegithalos caudatus japonicus) also known as the silver-throated tit or Japanese snow fairies, they are a petite bird measuring just 12-16 cm in length, including its long tail (7-9 cm).

Both males and females look identical, and you will often hear their constant high-pitched calls before you spot them. The Shima Enaga is extremely popular in Japan; they are tiny, fluffy, adorable birds, described as “bouncing miniature snowballs” due to their pure white faces and cotton-ball appearance. They are a must-see for birding enthusiasts and wildlife photographers.

However, over 95% of photographers visiting Hokkaido will not spot these birds; they are elusive. However, we local naturalists who know their habitat can find them, but sometimes it takes a couple of days, and it can be a journey to locate them.

In March, with a client from Eurasia, I spotted a flock of them in the Kushiro wetlands two days in a row. We spent over three hours each day photographing these adorable little agile birds. Their flock of about twenty flew around us in circles from tree to tree, sipping the oozing sweet watery sap and searching for insects caught in hard tree sap from the previous season.

The Z 400mm f/2.8, laser-fast autofocus VCM (SSVCM) motor coupled with the Z9, eye detection made it seem as if the Heavens Had Opened And a Bright Light Shined Upon Me; I now had the perfect setup to track and photograph a tiny, super-fast, jittery bird among other subjects, at 400mm, 560mm, 800mm, and 1120mm all in one lens.

The Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM Sports will enter semi-retirement. It’s one of those lenses I don’t think I could part with, and it’s still an excellent one that I would highly recommend. 

Creature comforts and add-ons for the NIKKOR 400mm f/2.8 TC Z S.

• The 400mm f/2.8 Z comes with a sling bag; it’s okay, suitable for those who pack gear into a suitcase or use it as carry-on luggage. But I already had the Think TANK Street Walker Pro V2.0, and the lens fits perfectly into this bag. I can add cleaning clothes, covers, and extra gear, and it’s still airline carry-on size. Having a bag for the lens with the camera attached would be nice, but that would be too big for carry-on luggage. 

• The 400mm f/2.8 Z comes with a padded lens strap that is comfortable to carry in the field for extended periods. A rubber layer in the middle of the strap prevents it from slipping. 

• This winter, Mitch, a client from the USA, introduced me to BLACKRAPID, the Sport-X camera sling. This is a great add-on. Now, it’s super easy to carry my lens with the camera attached to my body in the field, with free hands for my tripod. 

• Nikon’s stock lens cover is well-made and padded, embroidered in front with NIKKOR and on the velcro strap side with 400mm. I am no stranger to harsh climates, and I am no stranger to wet or smudged glass, even with lens hoods on, I want to keep my Z 400mm f/2.8 front element pristine and the fluorine coating so I added the Kase UV Filter Kit, which comes with a 150mm multicoated ultraviolet filter, Schott B270 super white glass, a 150mm front adapter and a lens metal cap, the lens cap is well made and will protect the filter, but the lens cap comes off easily, so I am cautious to have it attached in the field. 

• The Nikon lens Hood HK-42 NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S does precisely what it’s made to do. And I use all my lens hoods 100% of the time. 

• The Nikon Tripod Collar does precisely what it’s made to do, and it’s well-made.  
• The high-quality Nikon C-PL460 slip-in circular polarizer removes unwanted reflections and gives me cleaner images when shooting through glass. 

• Z Teleconverter TC-2.0x is Nikon’s highest quality TC 2.0x to date.

• I added a RolanPro lens cover to protect the NIKKOR 400mm f/2.8 TC Z S in the field from bumps and scratches, as I hope to get well over ten years of use out of this lens. However, due to slippage-none activation, I removed the sleeve that goes over the Fn ring switch on the barrel. Also, I had to remove the sleeve that goes over the drop-in filter at the back of the lens, as there is no slot-hole to turn the dial on the C-PL460 slip-in circular polarizer. But I will attempt to cut out a slot myself, or have a seamstress friend make the slot and sew a hem.   
• Because I mainly shoot on tripods, I changed my lens foot to a Leofoto NF-06, which is Swiss Arca compatible.

I hope you enjoyed this article; I would love to hear your comments. And if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me. You can find more of my work at blaininjapan.com. See you next time on the Luminous Landscape.

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