Nikon NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S Lens

NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S

A new pinnacle of performance for sports, action and wildlife shooters.

For those who bring us legendary moments from the field, we present the ultimate lens for the job. The reach to put you in the middle of the action, plus a built-in teleconverter to get even closer.

The speed, versatility and accuracy of an f/2.8 aperture to ensure you don't need a second chance. Masterpiece optics that capture intense moments with immense details. All in a balanced, lightweight, brilliantly designed lens made possible by Nikon's Z mount. Pair it with the Z 9, and you have the most formidable sports, action and wildlife kit in Nikon history.

Key Features:

• S-Line Premium Optics
• 400mm Super-Telephoto Prime
• 560mm 1.4x Teleconverter Built-In
• f/2.8 Maximum Aperture
• VR Image Stabilization (5.5 stops)
• FX Full-Frame Z Cameras

Built-in 1.4x teleconverter

Without ever taking your eyes off your subject, breaking posture or losing focus position, flip the smooth teleconverter switch and transform the NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S to a 560mm f/4 lens. Extra reach is right at your fingertips.

The speed and versatility of f/2.8

Shoot wide open at 400mm to freeze action with faster shutter speeds, isolate your subject against a compressed background, gather more light indoors or outdoors under lights or just to create truly spectacular bokeh.

The speed and silence of Silky Swift VCM

Nikon’s new Silky Swift Voice Coil Motor (VCM) uses magnets instead of gears to move the lens focus groups. This design simultaneously delivers higher initial speed, higher accuracy and the smoothest, most silent operation of any Nikon AF drive system. Additionally, vibration within the mechanism has been reduced with an innovative guide bar and minimal space between moving parts, allowing for maximum speed during autofocus.

Absolute accuracy

The NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S uses a specialized sensor often seen in high-precision robotics, an optical ABS (absolute) encoder, to detect and communicate lens position information with extreme accuracy—key to fast, accurate autofocusing.

Groundbreaking anti-glare performance

Experience the highest anti-reflection performance and backlight tolerance in NIKKOR history. Nikon's innovative Meso Amorphous Coat blocks the utmost limit of incident light from any direction, while ARNEO Coat adds extra protection against vertical incident light. Shoot into direct sunlight with virtually no ghosting or flare.

Powerful optical VR gives you the edge

Even the smallest vibrations can soften details. Nikon's powerful in-lens optical VR compensates for vibrations—an effect equivalent to shooting at a shutter speed up to 5.5 stops faster. When used with the Z 9, Synchro VR combines the in-lens and in-camera VR image stabilization systems for maximum results.

Immense details for intense moments

Light dispersion is the enemy of sharpness. The NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S combats it with six specialized lens elements: Two Extra-low Dispersion (ED) and one Super ED glass elements, two lightweight Fluorite (FL) elements and a Short-wavelength Refractive (SR) element. Color fringing, coma and chromatic aberration are all but eliminated.

S-Line optics. Ultimate image quality

Perhaps no lens embodies Nikon's pursuit of optical excellence more than the NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S. Bearing the S-Line designation, it combines the most superb optics, precision design and robust weather-sealing.

Outstanding for video

Focus breathing is suppressed to maintain a consistent angle-of-view as focus position moves. Use the click-less control ring to make iris adjustments that create a natural shift in brightness. And all the while, the Silky Swift VCM is operating in near silence to preserve your audio integrity.

Built for hardworking pros

20% lighter

Approximately 6.5 pounds and a full 20% lighter than our F-mount 400mm f/2.8 prime lens. And it includes a built-in teleconverter.

Smooth panning

The center of gravity is at the tripod ring for smoother panning on monopods and tripods and more stable handheld shooting.

Carry-on approved

Carefully designed to meet airline carry-on size requirements. Keep it safely with you—and out of checked baggage—when flying.

Advanced weather sealing

Rubber gaskets keep dust, dirt and moisture out of all moving parts, including the lens mount. The barrel is robust magnesium alloy, and an ideal balance of strength and low weight. The front and rear elements have Nikon's nonstick Fluorine Coat, which repels oil, moisture and smudges and easily wipes clean. This is a lens built for foul weather, dusty sporting events and the road less traveled.

No-look controls

Every button and switch on the NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S is carefully placed for comfortable, no-look operation. Activate the 2 Fn buttons, a new Fn ring, the Memory Set button, control ring, focus ring and teleconverter switch without breaking shooting posture or taking your eye off the viewfinder.

Recall stored focus positions

When you know where the action will occur, like the moment a bird on a perch spreads it's wings, you can save a focus position with the Memory Set button. As your subject approaches the decisive moment, instantly snap back to the saved position by rotating the Fn ring—a comfortable, no-look action to ensure you land the shot.

Technology

Silky Swift VCM

The Silky Swift VCM is utilized for NIKKOR Z lenses as an AF drive motor. This system simultaneously achieves higher speed, higher accuracy and quieter operation. Each of these factors far surpasses conventional systems, and as for the “quietness” specifically, drive sound is intensively suppressed to an almost-silent level. Even heavy lenses can be controlled accurately at high speed, with minimal noise or vibration, enabling users to reliably capture sharply focused images. Extremely quiet AF operation is specifically advantageous for shooting in places where silence is required and for video recording.

ED (Extra-Low Dispersion) Glass

An optical glass developed by Nikon that is used with normal optical glass in telephoto lenses to obtain optimum correction of chromatic aberrations.

Super ED Glass

Nikon has also developed Super ED glass featuring even lower dispersion properties and extremely high performance in reducing the secondary spectrum, to minimize chromatic aberration even further, as well as other lens aberrations.

Short-Wavelength Refractive Lens

SR is a high- and specialized-dispersion glass lens that refracts light with wavelengths shorter than that of blue. By controlling short-wavelength light, the lens is able to achieve highly precise chromatic aberration compensation so that the colors in your images are more accurately reproduced. It also allows for more flexible optical designs, which allows for compact, lighter lenses to be designed.

Fluorite Lens Element

Fluorite (FL), a lightweight mono-crystal optical material, has excellent optical properties while reducing overall lens weight to improve balance and handling, especially useful in longer focal length lenses.

Vibration Reduction

A Nikon in-lens technology that improves image stability by automatically compensating for camera shake. Lenses that offer VR will feature the abbreviation VR on the lens barrel.

Meso Amorphous Coat

Meso Amorphous Coat realizes the highest anti-reflection performance in NIKKOR history. Meso Amorphous Coat provides an effect superior to that of Nano Crystal Coat for diagonal incident light, and an effect equivalent or superior to ARNEO Coat for vertical incident light. With its superb performance, ghost and flare caused by incident light from various directions are noticeably reduced, delivering clear images even under harsh conditions.  *With this coating system, amorphous particles, that are even smaller than nano particles, are utilized to create even more gaps within the coating to form an ultra-fine mesoporous structure, attaining a lower refractive index. In addition, a higher-precision base coat is employed to further enhance the anti-reflection effect.

Fluorine Coat

Photographers need gear that can withstand the elements. Nikon’s fluorine coat effectively repels dust, water droplets, grease or dirt, ensuring easy removal even when they adhere to the lens surface. Nikon’s fluorine coat endures a high frequency of lens surface wiping and its anti-reflective effect also contributes to the capture of clear images.

ARNEO Coat

An anti-reflective coating developed by Nikon and used in conjunction with Nano Crystal Coat to further reduce ghost and flare effects caused by incident light entering the lens vertically. This allows for the outstandingly clear capture of images even when a light source is located within the frame.

IF Lens

A NIKKOR lens in which only the internal lens group shifts during focusing. Thus, IF NIKKORS do not change in size during AF operation, allowing for compact, lightweight lenses capable of closer focusing distances. These lenses will be designated with the abbreviation IF on the lens barrel.

Electromagnetic Diaphragm Mechanism

An electromagnetic diaphragm mechanism in the lens barrel provides highly accurate electronic diaphragm or aperture blade control when using auto exposure during continuous shooting.