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Lens review

Nikon Nikkor AF-S 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR

4 August 2015
Arkadiusz Olech

7. Coma, astigmatism and bokeh

The Nikkor AF-S 80–400 mm VR doesn’t have any serious coma problems. At higher focal lengths in the corner of full frame you can notice a slight elongation of the image of the diode but that effect is not very distinct. Still the tested lens remains slightly worse than the Canon 100-400L II which didn’t have any deformations at all.

Center, 80 mm, f/4.5 Corner APS-C, 80 mm, f/4.5 Corner FF, 80 mm, f/4.5
Nikon Nikkor AF-S 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Nikon Nikkor AF-S 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Nikon Nikkor AF-S 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh
Center, 200 mm, f/5.3 Corner APS-C, 200 mm, f/5.3 Corner FF, 200 mm, f/5.3
Nikon Nikkor AF-S 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Nikon Nikkor AF-S 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Nikon Nikkor AF-S 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh
Center, 300 mm, f/5.6 Corner APS-C, 300 mm, f/5.6 Corner FF, 300 mm, f/5.6
Nikon Nikkor AF-S 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Nikon Nikkor AF-S 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Nikon Nikkor AF-S 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh
Center, 400 mm, f/5.6 Corner APS-C, 400 mm, f/5.6 Corner FF, 400 mm, f/5.6
Nikon Nikkor AF-S 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Nikon Nikkor AF-S 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Nikon Nikkor AF-S 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh


The astigmatism, understood as an average difference between horizontal and vertical MTF50 function values, amounted to just 3.2%. It is a very low level so the performance of the lens should be assessed very highly in this category.


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The blur provided by the Nikkor AF-S 80–400 VR is nice to look at. Assessing defocused circles of light you can notice only one worrying thing: a lighter rim which appears on stopping down the aperture. The fact that the circle is noticeably truncated in the very corner of the frame can make you carp a bit but keep in mind that the latter doesn’t influence significantly the appearance of the blurry areas.

Center, 300 mm, f/5.6 Corner APS-C, 300 mm, f/5.6 Corner FF, 300 mm, f/5.6
Nikon Nikkor AF-S 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Nikon Nikkor AF-S 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Nikon Nikkor AF-S 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh
Center, 300 mm, f/8.0 Corner APS-C, 300 mm, f/8.0 Corner FF, 300 mm, f/8.0
Nikon Nikkor AF-S 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Nikon Nikkor AF-S 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Nikon Nikkor AF-S 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh
Center, 300 mm, f/11.0 Corner APS-C, 300 mm, f/11.0 Corner FF, 300 mm, f/11.0
Nikon Nikkor AF-S 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Nikon Nikkor AF-S 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh Nikon Nikkor AF-S 80-400 mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR - Coma, astigmatism and bokeh