The Nikon AF-S Nikkor 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II is a hefty, expensive lens, but its telephoto reach and wide aperture make it a great choice for wildlife and sports photography. The Nikkor 200-400mm is not a small lens. It measures 14.4 by 4.9 inches (HD) and weighs in at 7.4 pounds. The front element is huge—Nikon doesn't include a traditional lens cap, instead opting for a soft pouch to cover the front—so a rear drop-in filter holder is included so you can use less expensive 52mm filters. Nikon includes its own strap with the lens, and there are two attachment points for it on the tripod collar. And, as you'd expect, the collar can be adjusted and locked in portrait or landscape orientation via a knob control. 

There are a number of switches on the lens itself. The AF-L/Memory Recall/AF-ON toggle switch works in conjunction with the function button at the front of the lens barrel. Depending on the position of the switch the button will lock focus, move focus to a set position, or engage the autofocus system directly via the lens rather than via your camera body. A chime toggle switch controls whether or not your camera beeps when Memory Recall is activated. The remainder of the control toggles rests between the tripod collar and zoom ring. A focus mode switch allows you to select M/A  (autofocus with manual override using the focus ring), A/M (the same, but with a delayed reaction to avoid accidental manual override), and full manual (M). There's also a toggle switch for the lens vibration reduction system, and a switch to change VR between Normal mode, which you'll use most of the time, and Active, which should be enabled when you're shooting from a moving vehicle.

The minimum focus distance is a bit different depending on whether or not you are focusing manually. With autofocus enabled the lens can focus to 6.6-feet throughout the entirety of its range. At 200mm f/4, it is quite sharp, bettering the 1,800 lines per picture height we look for in an image by a wide margin.  It scores 3,339 lines on our center-weighted sharpness test, with fairly even performance from edge to edge. At 300mm the lens scores 2,851 lines on the same test, showing about the same image quality at f/5.6, and improving to 3,175 lines at f/8. Edge performance is strong. Image quality is still strong at 400mm. At f/4 it scores 2,947 lines and is just as good at f/5.6 and f/8. It's sharp enough to shoot at f/4 throughout its zoom range, which is the main reason to pay a premium and carry a heavy zoom. 

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II Specifications