It's so nice having gear reviews from somebody who actually is a photographer banging out incredible photos and not just a youtube influencer taking pictures of brick walls.

Such a beautiful place to photograph birds, and we loved how your images came out with both lenses. We're glad somebody is asking the Top Gear-style questions to make these types of videos happen.

Matt, you are the real MVP! I've been waiting sooo long for this comparison :D Thank a lot! A little feedback. Would be great to see the images side by side, preferably the same image. That way the viewers could easy see the difference, even with the compression of youtube.

I’ve shot the 800 with a 2x TC, then switched to DX mode. Like 2400. Spongebob loved it.

Cool ultimate long lends shootoout between the Nikkor Z 800mm and the Z 400mm lenses. You got great images from both the lens and they sure got really good colors and sharpness for it's size. Great video.

Impressing and beautiful picture. Thanks for that great comparison.

You and them Birds.... Cracks me up everytime.

Any Chance of seeing Nikkor Z 800mm f6.3 VS 400mm f4.5+ 2X TC for those of us that that wont be considering a 400mm f2.8 or 600mm f4 and may be choosing between the lower priced options? Perhaps adding in 500mm f5.6 w 1.4TC F mount for comparison.

I always enjoy these long lens tests, great work. The 400 2.8 with a built in 1.4 TC seems like one of the best lens designs I can think of for sports, impressive to hear that it also delivers outstanding image quality! As my mate Spongebob Squarepants once told me, "The inner machinations of my mind are an enigma." I have no idea why he said that to me, I was just trying to shoot sports!

Matt beautiful shots of those birds!

Great SpongeBob video! My 400 2.8 TC just arrived here in Oz. It is really stunning. Unless you know you will be shooting 800+ - the 400 is much more versatile. It has the reach if needed with the 2x but means you don't miss the shot if the subject is close. I have also stacked the 2x behind at 560 and with a bit of sharpening it still takes stunning shots

Another great video! Love the Skydweller looks good on you Matt. Hope you still have the Batgirl as well. Cheers 🙂

BIG GUNS. AMAZING CAMERA LENSES!!!

Love it! Of course these are dream lenses for almost everyone. But , the 800mm PF does give a lot of us hope. Glad to see it is such a great lens. Way to go Nikon, and thank you Matt for the review. Let me know if you get tired of either one of them? Ha Ha.

Man I love this video especially all the shots of SpongeBob amazing detail, thanks for producing this informative video.

Great video as always you do a fantastic job. I have the 400mm f2.8e fl ed vr that I use on my z9 with the ftz2 and I have the 800mm f6.3 pf z lens, the f mount 400 2.8 works great with my z9 and the 800 is outstanding my thoughts is that with the problems getting the new 400mm f2.8 z I would be ok sticking with my current lenses. my image quality with the f mount 400 and z9 is great. Do you think it would be worth the money to upgrade to the new 400mm f2.8 z lens will I see that much difference in image quality?? Thank you Robert

I saw spongebob hiding in that tree. Couldn't miss those square pants, and that great yellow block. Cheers Matt.... :)

Hi Matt amazing video. thanks for doing this comparison test. could you please share what model of shoulder strap you are wearing?

I have the 800 PF and am waiting for Nikon to allow me to order the 400 TC... so I am exactly that crazy person you were talking about. Love the interaction with the bird! And your images of SpongeBob were sublime!

Fun comparison.

Nice job! Have you used the Z9 with the Z 800mm with the TC-2.0X? if so how is the auto-focus response? Thanks in advance

Absolutely amazing work matt. I was wondering how the 400 tc performs against a Sony tele prime. maybe between 560mm nikon and the 600mm Sony.

Thanks for this, Matt. It helps in my decision. Now let's see them ship these lenses to Canada.

Great video! Too bad that neither one can be ordered and if you can order there's a long, long, long wait time. I heard that the external 1.4 tc with the internal engaged perform better than just the plain 2.0 tc.

Great test, Matt! My Leica 100-400 on Panasonic GH5 can't compete with your 800! 😅What is that white cable that comes out of the Z9? Do you use the Samsung T5 to record videos? Post scriptum. I have never seen, here in Italy (I am an Italian) a Bugatti with a caravan.

The 400 f2.8 is just out of reach of many. Yes, it's a cracker from Nikon. The 100-400 in my opinion is a good compromise. For any telephoto, whatever the range , also relies on ambient lighting as well and that's where the challenge lies. Good review Matt

it looks like the quality of the images from both are exceptional, my question is, how is it hand holding those larger lenses?

Spongebob would LOVE a 400/2.8 comparison with the 400/4.5.

I wait to see you use the 2xTC with the new 180-600 Matt

Matt - nice test. I own both lenses and shoot them with a pair of the Z9. I agree the 400/2.8TC is nuts. AND yes it is sharper and quicker than my AF-S 400/2.8E-FL and 600/4.0E-FL, which is why I sold both the f-mount lenses when I got my Z400/2.8TC. I also got the 800/6.3 since it was relatively cheap, I needed a back up lens and there was no sign of the new Z 600/4.0TC. I am a little surprised you did not test the 400 with its internal TC and an external 1.4TC. This provides a 784mm that at f/5.6 AND is much sharper than using the ZTC20.

Like to see some comparisons of the 400 and 600's with built in TC. - Gotta give it to Bob SP!

Oh my god the scratch on the lens when you let it bite it! Great video, thanks...

How does the 400 f4.5 compare to the big guns? How about 400 f2.8, plus built in TC, cropped to match the 800?

I don’t think I recall any comments regarding VR. How much of an impact does that have on usability of images?

Thanks for the comparison and it's great to see SpongeBob taking part in it! I'm happy to see how well the 800 performed, considering its price and weight.

Ordered the 800 April 6, 2022 ….. impatiently waiting !!!!!!

Thanks Matt. Curious if you did a test with the built in TC and using an 1.4 external TC giving one 760mm....

I wish you had tested the f mount 800 5.6 along with these. It can be had for close to the same price as the new 800 now.

Thanks for the comparison, Bob and I would really like to know if the sharpness of the sponge detail from the 400mm + 2x TC can be brought up to the level of the native 800mm by stopping down to f/6.3..?

Interesting also 800mm + 2X TC

The lead Nikon has taken this past year is just incredible. The value for Nikon photographers is simply unheard of, enabling the capture of images easier than ever before. I was shooting a very challenging dance rehearsal on Sunday with the Z9 and 50mm f1.2 S and the speed of AF is just insane.

Thankyou for doing this video, the 400 2.8 vs 800 6.3 is a current dilemma for me and this was very helpful. +1 Spongebob

I just ordered the 800 PF. While for the most part, people seem to be happy with the sharpness, I've also read some complaints about it on forums, and in a test on "Photographylife", where it's barely sharper than the 180-600 @600mm and quite a bit less sharp than the old 500 PF. Either way, I guess it's best to figure that out myself, even if it's a bit less sharp, in terms of price, weight and reach there's just nothing like it.

Im ready, Im ready, Im ready!

I would love to see the 400f4.5 used for some fast moving action type photography. It would need to be way faster than sponge bob square pants moves.

At 8:00 I would’ve swapped to a wide angle or fish and shot the bird for a totally different perspective than the compressed telephoto look. No idea of that would’ve looked good, but might be interesting to see.

Since I'm not in the Z system and am waay to broke for this expensive gear, I'm more amazed by the nice filming quality! Do you have now a professional filmer? Also that colour grading is on point! 💪🏼

It is necessary to use a CPL filter for this kind of super telephoto lens. I would like to hear your experience and suggestions about using filters at super telephoto.

Amazing video... Really grateful for the amazing content as always... I am planning to get the 800 myself... Doing a little more research on whether the reach is overkill for me or not... Your videos have been a tremendous help... Like you helped me take the plunge to get my Z9 as well... I also have a question... Yesterday I was shooting with my Z9... It was in AF-C. 3D tracking and People only detection... I was shifting between horizontal and portrait orientation... Was moving my focusing point around as well... 3-4 times my focusing point wouldn't move around or even centre when I would press the ok buttion... There were 2 remedies... 1. turn the camera off and then on... 2. I have AF-C single point setup on fn2 button. Toggle that and then centre the point, shift back to 3D autofocus and it would work... Has something similar happened to you where you haven't been able to move the focusing box???

Hey - can u do a review (or comment on) the 400m z lens vs 400m f lens? With discontinuation of DSLR, I assume f lenses would be on discount. But how does it stack up against z lens - keeping in mind f mount has to use the adapter.

8 months and still waiting for this lens… ordered on B&H second it went live for purchase…. Grrrrrr

Hi Matt, i have a Nikon 500/5´6 PF. lens, as you can see if i sell it and buy an 800/6´3 lens, it is for taking birds.I have a team made up of a Nikon z9 camera and the following lenses, a 24/120, a 180/600 and the 500/5´6 PF. .What do you think?. Thank you.

OK Spongebob, how about a comparision of the 400 4.5 to the 500PF. That is one I will eventually need to contemplate as I have the 500 but the 400 is tempting for native Z

Sponge Bob Square Pants has dreams. Great review - thanks.

Nice video, all out of my price range though, just wonder if SpongeBob would be able to absorb the weight of those

400mm f2.8 with 1.4TC is my dream lens...it can be 3 prime lenses at 400 f2.8, 560 f4 and 800 f5.6

What's the cable in the camera for? power bank?

An interesting video. Very nice comparison and explanations. Don't know that I'd ever need anything that big, but still, if another Sponge Bob sighting comes up, you never know.

400 4.5 vs 200-500 5.6 would be interesting when cropping to same photo subject!

Z9+Z 800mm pf, my dream combo. I wish... One day...

That bird definitely took a chunk out of your 400mm 😂

Spung box, square pants?

400mm f4.5. vs. 100-400mm. Or more useful to me:: 105mm f2.8 macros from the Z and the F range. and the. 70-200mm at. 105mm. Sponge bob square pants it folds, I want it to squeaky, squeaky it won't

Interesting comparison.. too bad that KZfaq compression won't reveal much. And btw is NOT I.S.O. but ISO (in one go) as it's straight from Greek and not International Standardisation Organisation etc etc... we already discussed this ...

You’re not wrong Narelle (to quote TNV Show) Sponge Bob has it together.

That parrot was damn ❤❤❤❤❤❤

I rented the 400mm 2.8 and found it not to be the best lens, the built in teleconverter broke halfway through the week i had it for and refused to move out of the way and caused any images taken with the lens to come out blurry of just out of focus. im never going near a lens with a built in teleconverter again. (and yes i did it the correct way) So halfway through the week of using it the teleconveter refused to disengage. In the end my 70-200mm 2.8 F mount using the FTX adapter saved the day and was reliable as ever.

👍🏾🙏🏾 Never seen a Sponge Bob video so cannot comment!😂😂😂

Bikini Bottom photo shoot!

just decided and the 400 was the winner for me

Interesting comparison. Unless you are pro it is Hard to justify the 400 with the TC, you can buy an 800 and the Z9 together for less than the 400. Also, even for a pro, how many photos do you have to sell to pay off the 400?

I would have to land my bank account in the ICU to afford one of these. Maybe SpongeBob can give me a loan.

8:08 pretty sure the parrot permanently scratched the $14k lens

There was never a 2x TC making me happy at all. I do expect the Nikon 400 2.8 with the engaged internal TC plus an external 1.4 TC to outperform the 2x TC combo by far.

The 400/4.5 Z and 500PF +ftz (and converters) vs the 800PF Z would be helpful for those of us, SpongeBobs included, who can't swing the 400/2.8.

@3:30 you mentuon being able to flicknon the 1.4X and "still be at f8" ??? So the 2.8 goes to f8 with the built in 1.4 teleconverter? That doesn't seem right. Then @4.50 youbsay the 2.8 with a 2X goes to f5.6. Which makes sense but seems to contradict the previous statement. Surely a 1.4 would turn the 400 f2.8 to a 560 @f4? Which seems ideal if one can afford it

I live in a pineapple under the sea with my 400 2.8z 😂

So the lens that is twice the price has better image quality. No surprise. I have the 70-200/2.8, 300/2.8, 300/4, 180-600mm so I will be picking up the new 800mm.

not for nothing mr crabbs reminds me of someone i know!

Are you ready kids?

Size DOES matter! ©Der Ehrenwerte URock

Great content and I'm a Canon shooter. What's with the mask?

Sponge Bob rules. Wish list for lottery win now has 2 additional lenses.

I was more Bob the Builder than Sponge Bob...

Where's Patrick? 🤪☺️

Who shoots with a Nikonos under the sea?

Hey looks like you lost weight! Must be the healthy food in hk.

I wish you had taken photo's of a color checker to get a more objective review !

Who is yellow in exuberant as he? ...800 will do. Something farther than my 100- 400mm s amazing lens.

The Bokeh on the 800mm is a little more SPONGEy.

🦀 🍔

i would love to see a comparasion of iq, or if you just told me, how is the 400mm with external 1.4tc + internal 1.4 tc engaged vs the 800 IQ. that is the way i think i would use it, not with the 2x tc, the 1.4 is better, and also it could emulate the 600 f4 tc lens

I can't afford any

nah thats a lens with a camera on it

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?

Too expensive man

You can’t buy them anywhere because Nikon refuses to invest in manufacturing. Just like with the D850 supply issues way before COVID and chip shortages. It’s about making more profits rather than increasing customer satisfaction. Meanwhile I can go buy a Sony A1 and a 400mmf2.8. I’m very close to selling all my Nikon kit and switching. Not because I like Sony just because Nikon is all about announcing things it won’t produce. Very disappointed.

Thank u for this vid. Nice idea. Id like to see the 400 with tc vs. the 500pf with ftz piece. 🧽

Wow...you lose so much weight

SpongeBob