Let’s see how this theoretical performance translates into real life results in the sharpness test based on Siemens-stars shot on a 45MP Nikon Z7. Processing for all images up to 200mm focal length was done in Lightroom 11.1/CRAW 14.1 from RAW to Adobe Color profile with the built-in lens profile for CA, vignette control and distortion compensation applied. Noise-reduction is set to 0, sharpening to 50/0.5/36/10, with no extra tone, color, or saturation adjustment. The images at focal lengths of 300mm and longer (except for the Z 70-200 + TC-2.0x) were shot in JPG normal with standard picture control which applies a stronger sharpening. It’s not my preferred settings but it will have to do for this comparison. White-balance was adjusted to a neutral white and I did some exposure compensation to make the brightness of all crops match. So you will not see light fall-off in the corners.

Handling is refined and the oversized AF/MF and dual-mode static/panning stabilization switch are easy to operate even with gloves on. The flipside is that you can find yourself nudging the switches out of position accidentally. Autofocus range limiting is available for both the short and long sectors of focus distance.More samples throughout this review at Bokeh, Lateral Color Fringes, Macro, Spherochromatism and Sunstars. Built to do full justice to Sony’s prestigious Alpha A7 and A9 series full-frame mirrorless cameras, this lens also works a treat with APS-C format E-mount bodies, where it gives an effective zoom range of 150-600mm. Build quality is fabulous, with a really solid yet refined feel to the construction and a more comprehensive set of weather-seals than is fitted to Sony’s 70-100mm G-line lens for it’s A-mount cameras.

Other features on the lens include a programmable control ring, an L.Fn customizable button, and a different set of four L.Fn2 custom buttons. These can all be set to do various different things as programmed in the menu, but for simplicity’s sake and to avoid accidental settings changes I’ve always just disabled all of them on lenses that feature similar configurations. It’s important to note you can’t make these controls do everything available in the regular camera menu, only a select few, and this artificial limit put in place by people on the other side of the world on my behalf peeves me. Sony figured this out years ago to stop trying to predict what the user wants their buttons for and made it a free for all. With Sony, I can press a lens button to send an image to my phone if I want it to. Maybe someone truly does, and they should be able to. The RF 100-400 doesn’t have a continuous aperture, which means the aperture closes down as you zoom in. At 100mm, the largest aperture you can get is f/5.6 – not the last word in telephoto f-stops but not a disaster. If you want to see all the details and comparisons read on. Or you can fast-forward to the performance at long distances. Performance at 400mm:

Above: So at the long-end of 400mm, I measured reproduction of 86mm across the frame. That’s still not amazing, but opens-up the possibility of capturing some smaller subjects – just make sure you zoom the lens in rather than attempting it at the shorter end. In my tests the lens also looked to be parfocal.

The rotational direction of the zoom ring is the same as in Nikon lenses. The electromagnetic diaphragm control makes aperture adjustment impossible with some older Nikon DSLRs, however. However, one downside of a 400mm lens is that it can be quite heavy and bulky, making it difficult to carry around with you. The Nikon Z 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 VR S produces very usable results when stopped down to f8.0 or f11 even in a larger image circle. And there’s almost no field curvature. At lower magnifications the results should even be better. If this 1,200×900 pixel crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at a mammoth 55×82½″ (1.4×2.1 meters) at this same extremely high magnification! The best protective filter is the 77mm Hoya multicoated HD3 UV which uses hardened glass and repels dirt and fingerprints.lenses also offer great compression, making distant objects appear closer together. What is a 400Mm Lens Good For? All-in-all the Nikon Z 400mm f2.8 TC VR S zoom lens is extremely sharp when used at 400mm focal length even wide open at f2.8. Evidence to its superior performance are the very good results when used with the built-in 1.4x TC or in combination with a Z TC-2.0x as any fault of the lens is magnified by 1.4x or 2x. Only using both teleconverters at the same time shows the limits of this lens. There are also a set of in-camera aberration corrections available with current and recent Canon and Nikon bodies, curbing peripheral illumination, distortion and lateral chromatic aberration. From the charts the new Z 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 VR S should be clearly sharper than its predecessor. The Nikon Z 70-200mm f2.8 VR S looks even better (without teleconverters) although it is shown here at f2.8 – a disadvantage of 1.3-2 stops.

Above: Zooming-into the middle again shows the lens can capture fine details without issues and again there’s no benefit in the middle to stopping-down to f11.

Canon RF 100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM Image quality

So, which one should you choose? It really depends on what kind of photography you’re doing and what your needs are. If you’re shooting landscapes or other wide-open scenes, then the 600mm lens will give you better results. Canon's brilliant RF 100-400mm IS sells for sells for one-quarter the price, is a stop slower (f/5.6~8), is equally ultrasharp, has the same stabilizer performance, is smaller and much lighter, and focuses much faster.