Nikkor Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S

Nikon’s first super-tele Z zoom

The Z 100-400mm features high-tech attractions and handling exotica aplenty. The autofocus system is driven by two linear stepping motors. Unlike the other lenses, this gives smooth autofocus transitions.

The VR system is equally impressive, based on voice coil motors that deliver 5.5-stop effectiveness. There’s no holding back in optical quality either, with no less than six ED elements, two Super-ED elements and both ARNEO and Nano Crystal coatings, plus a fluorine coating on the front. There’s a multi-function OLED display, one primary L-fn (Lens-function) button and four secondary L-fn2 buttons.

Performance

Autofocus speed and accuracy coupled with the effectiveness of VR guarantee an excellent hit rate, even when shooting tricky subjects like birds. Sharpness itself is impressively consistent from the centre of the frame to the extreme edges and corners.