Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR Review

As usual, I’ll do a detailed comparison of lens sharpness on this page of the review. I want to warn you that it’s going to get very long this time – there are a lot of focal lengths to compare. Before showing detailed Imatest figures, I first want to show a real-world test that Libor captured between the Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 and the Nikon Z 24-120mm f/4 S.

Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 vs Nikon Z 24-120mm f/4 S

The 24-120mm f/4 S is one of Nikon’s best midrange zoom lenses available today, and it maintains great image quality throughout the full zoom range. Would the Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 look much weaker by comparison? Judge for yourself.

We’ll start with a full photo for context at 28mm, followed by 100% crops:

The Nikon Z 24-120mm f/4 S is a little sharper there, especially in the corners, but not by a tremendous amount. 28mm is definitely a sweet spot for the Z 28-400mm f/4-8.

What about as you zoom in? At 120mm, the differences are more noticeable. The 24-120mm f/4 S is both sharper and has more contrast.

This difference is reflected in our lab tests, but it goes to show that many of the advantages that people agonize over when comparing sharpness can be relatively small in practice. The Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR is hardly a blurry mess even in the corners above – it’s just a little duller at high magnifications.

That goes to show what you gain and lose depending on your choice of lens. Now let’s show a series of lab tests from wide angle to telephoto to put the 28-400mm’s results into context

24-28mm

This is a selection of some of the main lenses that you may be comparing against the Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR. It’s hardly the only lenses that cover these focal lengths, so check out our full lens review list to compare against any other lenses that you’re curious about.

At the wide focal lengths, here’s how I’d rank these eight zooms in sharpness. Bear in mind that this ranking is a little subjective; each lens has different weak points, best apertures, best portions of the frame, etc.

1. Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S
2. Nikon Z 24-120mm f/4 S and Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4 S (tie)
3. Nikon Z 28-75mm f/2.8
4. Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR
5. Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR and Nikon Z 24-50mm f/4-6.3 (tie)
6. Nikon AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G VR

As you can see, the Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 is definitely not the sharpest option even at its best focal length of 28mm, but it puts in a very respectable performance here. It’s significantly sharper than its F-mount predecessor, and it even beats two Nikon Z zooms here.

35mm

The rankings shift a little at 35mm, and a ton of lenses have similar performances here, but the general story is the same:

1. Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S
2. Nikon Z 24-120mm f/4 S, Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4 S, Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR, and Nikon Z 28-75mm f/2.8 (tie)
3. Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR
4. Nikon Z 24-50mm f/4-6.3
5. Nikon AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G VR

I have no complaints about the Nikon Z 28-400mm’s performance at 35mm – it’s still totally respectable here.

50mm

Here’s how I’d rank the same eight lenses at 50mm:

1. Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S
2. Nikon Z 24-120mm f/4 S and Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4 S (tie)
3. Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR and Nikon Z 28-75mm f/2.8 (tie)
4. Nikon Z 24-50mm f/4-6.3
5. Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR
6. Nikon AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G VR

Things are starting to look worse for the Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 as you zoom in to 50mm, where it finishes last among the mirrorless lenses. If it’s any consolation, the differences aren’t massive. Upon stopping down to f/8 or f/11, it would be difficult to tell most of these lenses apart.

70-75mm

At 70mm, the Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 has lost some of its punch. The ranking looks like this at 70-75mm:

1. Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S and Nikon Z 24-120mm f/4 S
2.  (tie)
3. Nikon Z 24-70mm f/4 S, Nikon Z 28-75mm f/2.8, and Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR (tie)
4. Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR
5. Nikon AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G VR

100-105mm

As you zoom beyond 70mm, you’re clearly in telephoto territory, so I wanted to add a pair of telephoto zooms to the comparison – the higher-end Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S, and the inexpensive Tamron 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3. With those lenses included, here’s the ranking around the 105mm mark:

1. Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S
2. Nikon Z 24-120mm f/4 S
3. Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR and Tamron 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3 (tie)
4. Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR
5. Nikon AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G VR

Unlike at some of the previous focal lengths, the drop-off from the best to the worst lenses here is pretty steep. In particular, the top two lenses are noticeably sharper than the bottom four. What about zooming in even further?

180-200mm

(I elected to skip the 120-135mm range because we didn’t test a lot of these lenses at these focal lengths.)

At 200mm, the Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR is at its worst, and it continues to rank poorly against the competition:

1. Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S
2. Tamron 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3
3. Nikon Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR
4. Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR
5. Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR
6. Nikon AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G VR

Even at its worst, the Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR is clearly sharper than its predecessor, especially in the corners. However, that’s the only bit of good news you can take away from its performance at 200mm, which is otherwise on the weak side.

300mm

At 300mm, the ranking is as follows:

1. Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S
2. Tamron 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3 and Nikon Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR (tie)
3. Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR
4. Nikon AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G VR

The drop in each of these four spots is pretty meaningful every time. That said, the 28-400mm’s sharpness has picked up a little compared to its 200mm performance. Central sharpness is reasonable at any aperture, and the corners aren’t bad at f/11.

400mm

At 400mm, the Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 no longer has the F-mount 28-300mm to save it from taking last place. The order goes like this:

1. Nikon Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S
2. Nikon Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3
3. Nikon Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S
4. Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR

Still, I find the lens’s sharpness at 400mm to be acceptable. Sure, it’s the worst among these four, but all of the others are much heavier, more expensive, dedicated telephoto lenses. It would be a big surprise if a superzoom beat even one of them. The 28-400mm hardly falls off a cliff at 400mm and actually turns in a reasonable performance.

Conclusion

The Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8 VR doesn’t win any of these comparisons, or even close. But it’s clearly sharper than its F-mount predecessor (the AF-S 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR) and remains usable at every focal length. Often, it’s not far behind lenses like the Nikon Z 24-200mm f/4-6.3 VR or Nikon Z 24-50mm f/4-6.3, occasionally even beating them at the wider focal lengths.

Considering the high standard that the Nikon Z mount has set for sharpness, one of the least sharp Z lenses like this one is still capable of producing good prints or allowing a bit of room for cropping. But if you’re after maximum sharpness and don’t need the utmost flexibility of a 28-400mm zoom, most other lenses will resolve more detail than this at a pixel level.

The next page of this review sums up everything and explains the pros and cons of the Nikon Z 28-400mm f/4-8. So, click the menu below to go to “Verdict”: