The Z 28-400mm f4-8 VR boasts a huge 14.3x zoom range and is Nikon’s second super-zoom lens for Z-mount after the Z 24-200mm f4-6.3 VR. At only 725g weight and 142mm length the lens is easy to carry on extended trips. And with optical stabilization and a maximum magnification of 1:2.8 it should be a versatile lens for travel and nature photography. The lens becomes available end of March and sells for 1549 EUR / 1297 USD / 1399 GBP.

Facts and features

Let’s compare the new Nikon Z 28-400mm f4-8 VR (“Z 28-400mm” for short) to the Nikon Z 24-200mm f4-6.3 VR (“Z 24-200mm”) and Tamron 70-300mm f4.5-6.3 Di III (“Tamron 70-300mm”). I’ve also added some information about the Nikon Z 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 VR S (“Z 100-400mm”) which can be combined with the Nikon Z 24-120mm f4 S (“Z 24-200mm”) to cover a slightly larger zoom range. And there are also some comparisons with Nikon’s F-mount AF-S 28-300mm f3.5-5.6 G ED VR (“F 28-300mm”) from 2010 which is no longer produced but can still be used via FTZ adapter on Nikon’s Z cameras. As usual I’ve rated the features with a [+] (or [++]), when it’s better than average or even state of the art, a [0] if it’s standard or just average, and [-] if there’s a disadvantage.

Size (diameter x length): 85 x 142mm (3.3 x 5.6in.) plus approximately 28mm for the lens hood. The Z 24-200mm measures 77 x 114mm + 38mm lens hood, the Tamron 70-300mm is 77 x 150mm + 67mm lens hood, the Z 100-400mm is 98 x 222mm + 65mm lens hood. The older F 28-300mm is 83 x 115mm (plus 30mm for the FTZ adapter). All lenses in this comparison extend when zoomed to their longest focal length: The Z 28-400mm extends to a maximum total length (incl. lens hood) of 255mm, the Z 24-200 to 215mm, the Tamron 70-300mm to 277mm, the Z 100-400mm to 336mm. [+]

Weight: 725g (1.6 lb.) plus an estimated 30g for the lens hood. The Z 24-200mm is 565g + 22g lens hood. The Tamron 70-300mm is 577g + 62g lens hood. The Z 100-400 is 1355g + 63g lens hood. Combining this lens with the Z 24-120mm to cover the short end adds another 657g to your bag landing you at a total of 2.1kg – almost 3 times as heavy as the Z 28-400mm. But then the combo has on average a one stop brighter aperture. The F 28-300mm is 800g + lens hood + 133g for the FTZ adapter. [+]

Optics: The Nikon Z 28-400mm f4-8 VR has 21 optical elements in 15 groups including four special dispersion elements and three aspherical elements. But there’s no fluorine coating at the front nor Nikon’s special “ARNEO” anti-reflective coating which the Z 100-400mm and Z 24-120mm have. The Z 24-200mm has 19 elements in 12 groups, the Tamron 70-300mm is a 15/10 design, the Z 100-400mm is 25/20, the F 28-300mm is 19/14. [+]

Minimum object distance is 0.2m (7.9in.) at 28mm focal length and 1.2m from 300mm focal length onwards. Maximum magnification is pretty good at 1:2.8. But it is achieved at 28mm focal length and results in a very short working distance of only 42mm. In my full review I’ll test which magnification can be achieved at longer focal lengths. The other lenses in this comparison all achieve their maximum magnification at their respective longest focal lengths resulting in much more practical working distances: The Z 24-200mm achieves 1:3.4 at a working distance of 0.45m, the Tamron 70-300mm achieves 1:4.6 at 1.2m, the Z 100-400mm achieves 1:2.5 at 0.68m. [+]

Focal ratio: If the Z 24-200mm is any indication (it achieves its slowest focal ratio of f6.3 already at 80mm focal length) I wouldn’t expect the Z 28-400mm to stay at f4.0 for long once you zoom in. More on this in my full review. [-]

Filter-thread: All lenses in this comparison use 77mm filters – except for the Z 24-200mm and the Tamron 70-300mm which use 67mm filters. [+]

Image stabilization: The Z 28-400mm offers optical stabilization which works in conjunction with the body-based stabilization on Nikon’s full-frame Z cameras to achieve a claimed 5 stops of stabilization over 5 axes plus an additional 0.5 stop on camera bodies which support “Synchro-VR” (like Nikon Z6II, Z7II, Z8 and Z9). This is similar to the Z 24-200mm and Z 100-400mm. For the older F 28-300mm (on an FTZ-adapter) the Z cameras only add roll correction to pitch and yaw correction from the lens’s own image stabilization. The Z 24-120mm and Tamron 70-300mm solely rely on the sensor based stabilization of Nikon’s full-frame Z-mount bodies. [+]

Aperture ring and other control elements: The multi-function control ring of the Z 28-400mm (like the Z 24-200mm and Tamron 70-300mm) is located behind the zoom ring and can be assigned to operate the aperture, exposure compensation, ISO or focus. It automatically falls back to its customary focus control when the camera is switched to manual focus. The Z 28-400mm (like the Z 24-200mm) has a switch to lock the zoom at its shortest focal length but no lens function buttons or focus limiter. The Z 24-120mm and Z 100-400mm as well as the F 28-300mm have a dedicated focus ring. [+]

Autofocus: All lenses in this comparison offer autofocus with built-in focus drive. Manual-focus override is by simply turning the control ring – if MF is assigned to it. [+]

All lenses in this comparison cover full frame sensors or can equally be used on a cropped DX camera body. [+]

The Z 28-400mm comes with the usual flimsy pouch with no strings to pull it close. The lens hood is included and reversible for transport. [0]

Sealing: The Z 28-400mm is fully weather sealed like all Z-mount lenses in this comparison. [+]

Price: The Nikon Z 28-400mm f4-8 VR costs 1549 EUR (incl. 19% VAT) / 1297 USD / 1399 GBP. The Nikon Z 24-200mm f4-6.3 VR currently sells for 864 EUR / 800 USD / 764 GBP, the Tamron 70-300mm f4.5-6.3 Di III is 600 EUR / 600 USD / 560 GBP, the Z 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 VR S is 2620 EUR / 2500 USD / 2500 GBP, the Z 24-120mm f4 S is 1150 EUR / 1100 USD / 1080 GBP. So the new Z 28-400mm is the cheapest way to reach 400mm focal length with a Z-mount lens and costs around 60% less than the combo of Z 24-120mm and Z 100-400mm. [+]

Use with teleconverters: None of the lenses in this comparison can be used with Nikon’s teleconverters for Z-mount – except for the Z 100-400mm. [+]

The score of 1[-]/1[0]/12[+] shows that the Nikon Z 28-400mm f4-8 VR is well featured: It is a compact and lightweight 14.3x zoom lens reaching 400mm focal length at an adequate prize. It’s fully weather sealed, can go really close, and has optical image stabilization. It’s major draw-back is the meagre focal ratio: It may start at f4.0 but I expect it to become darker real quick once you zoom in. And there might be the issue that 28mm is not wide enough for the scenery you’re trying to capture. Still, if the new lens produces decent image quality it should be a very interesting addition for customers looking for a versatile zoom lens. Combine it with the Z 14-30mm f4 S if you need to cover the (ultra-)wide end.

Above: Nikon Z 28-400mm f4-8 VR

Coverage

With its 14.3x zoom-range the Z 28-400mm covers angles of view from 75 degrees to 6.2 degrees (diagonally) while the 24-200mm starts at 84 degrees. This is visibly wider at the short end as you can see below. And on the long end the difference between lenses reaching 200mm (12.3 degrees), 300mm (8.3 degrees), 400mm (6.2 degrees) is also significant. But at least you could crop an image shot at 300mm by 1.33x to achieve the same angle of view of the lens reaching 400mm albeit at a loss of 43% of the image pixels resulting in a 25MP image from a 45MP sensor. Which might well be sufficient for the intended purpose. But cropping 2x from a 200mm shot to achieve the same angle of view as the 400mm shot means throwing 75% of the pixels away resulting in an 11MP image. This starts to become borderline in quality if you want to view/print big.

Above: Simulation of Nikon Z 28-400mm f4-8 VR coverage on a full-frame camera at 28mm (left) and 400mm (right); shot with Z 24-200mm f4-6.3 VR and Z 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 VR S

Above: Nikon Z 24-200mm f4-6.3 VR coverage on a full-frame camera at 24mm (left) and 200mm (right)

Above: Tamron 70-300mm f4.5-6.3 Di III coverage on a full-frame camera at 70mm (left) and 300mm (right)

Above: Nikon Z 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 VR S coverage on a full-frame camera at 100mm (left) and 400mm (right)

Using the Z 28-400mm f4-8 VR on a cropped sensor results in a further reduction in angle of view equivalent to 42-600mm focal length.

So the Z 28-400mm f4-8 VR is very versatile with its broad zoom range easily covering situations which so far needed a two lens set. But starting at 28mm makes the short end a little restricted especially when you’re shooting with a cropped sensor body. But then you could cover the wider angles with the Z 14-30mm f4.0 S and get an enormous 29x zoom range with just two lenses.

Sharpness and contrast

Let’s have a look at the theoretical performance of the new Nikon Z 28-400mm f4-8 VR and compare it to the alternatives:

Above: Nikon Z 28-400mm f4-8 VR, 28mm f4.0 (left), 400mm f8.0 (right)

Above: Nikon Z 24-200mm f4-6.3 VR, 24mm f4.0 (left), 200mm f6.3 (right)

Above: Nikon Z 24-120mm f4 VR S, 24mm f4.0 (left), 120mm f4.0 (right)

Above: Nikon Z 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 VR, 100mm f4.5 (left), 400mm f5.6 (right)

Above: Tamron 70-300mm f4.5-6.3 Di III, 70mm f4.5 (left), 300mm f6.3 (right)

Above: Nikon AF-S 28-300mm f3.5-5.6 G ED VR, 28mm f3.5 (left), 300mm f5.6 (right)

These MTF charts show the computed lens-performance of lenses wide open without influence of diffraction at 10 line-pairs/mm (red/yellow) and 30 lp/mm (blue/grey). Higher values are better (more contrast) and the closer the dotted and solid lines are together the less contrast dependents on the orientation of the test-pattern (less astigmatism). The x-axis displays the distance from the optical axis (=center of the sensor) in mm.

From the charts the Nikon Z 28-400mm f4-8 VR should be so much better than its AF-S 28-300mm predecessor on F-mount. Which simply shows how far lens design has come in the last 14 years. Comparison with the Z 24-200mm from 2020 shows more subtle differences: The Z 24-200mm even seems to produce finer details up to 10mm image height. At 400mm focal length the Z 28-400mm almost holds up to the Z 100-400mm. But don’t forget: The Z 28-400mm is shown at f8.0 (without influence of diffraction) while the Z 100-400 is at f5.6. So the Z 100-400mm should perform better at the long end.

I’m curious to see how this theoretical performance translates into real life results in my test shots on a 45MP Nikon Z8. Check back soon for my full review.