BM Premium High-Power 420-800mm f/8.3 HD Manual Telephoto 420mm
The 420-800mm f/8.3 zoom range provides extreme reach for distant subjects, using multi-coated optical glass and a fixed f/8.3 aperture on a Nikon F-mount body. Its fully manual focus and built-in stabilization demand deliberate handling, while the 62mm filter thread allows for protective or enhancing filters. This lens suits budget-conscious wildlife and sports hobbyists who prioritize focal length over autofocus speed and are comfortable shooting on a tripod.
Snapshot
The 30-Second Version
A dirt-cheap 420-800mm manual lens that delivers on extreme reach but sacrifices everything else. The fixed f/8.3 aperture and sloppy manual focus make it a struggle to use, but the built-in stabilization is a nice surprise. Buy it as a toy for moon shots, not a serious wildlife lens.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Insane 420-800mm reach for an absurdly low price. 82nd
- Stabilization is a genuine surprise at this cost. 70th
- The 62mm filter thread lets you use common, affordable filters.
- It's light enough to handhold in a pinch, despite the focal length.
Cons
- The fixed f/8.3 aperture makes the viewfinder painfully dark.
- Manual focus is sloppy and frustrating for any moving subject.
- Image quality is soft with noticeable chromatic aberration.
- Build quality feels plasticky and the mount is imprecise.
The proof
Performance
The reach is the whole story here. At 800mm, you can fill the frame with a bird from a football field away, which is genuinely fun. But that f/8.3 aperture is a fixed, dim tunnel. Your viewfinder will be dark, and you'll need bright sunlight or a tripod and a very high ISO to avoid a blurry mess. The multi-coated glass does an okay job with color, but sharpness is soft wide open and only gets passable when stopped down, which you can't do anyway. The manual focus ring is dampened but imprecise, making nailing focus on anything moving a real challenge. Stabilization helps a bit for static subjects, but it's not a magic wand for a lens this long.
Specifications
Full Specifications
Optics
| Type | Telephoto |
| Focal Length Min | 420 |
| Focal Length Max | 800 |
| Coating | multi-coated optical glass |
Aperture
| Max Aperture | f/8.3 |
| Min Aperture | f/8.3 |
Build
| Mount | Nikon F |
| Filter Thread | 62 |
AF & Stabilization
| AF Type | manual focus only |
| Stabilization | Yes |
Focus
| Min Focus Distance | 420 |
vs Competition
Stacking this against a Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 or a Sigma 30mm f/1.4 is like comparing a pair of binoculars to a microscope. Those lenses are sharp, fast, and built for professional work. The BM Premium is a one-trick pony for extreme distance. Even a basic Nikon 70-300mm kit lens will run circles around it in autofocus speed, sharpness, and usability, even if it can't match the reach. You're trading every ounce of image quality and convenience for raw magnification.
| Spec | BM Premium High-Power 420-800mm f/8.3 HD Manual Telephoto 420mm | Tamron Di III VC 28-300mm f/4-7.1 VXD | Sigma Contemporary 18-50mm f/2.8 DC DN | Nikon NIKKOR Z 17-28mm f/2.8 | Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit H-ES12035 | Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Focal Length | 420-800mm | 28-300mm | 18-50mm | 17-28mm | 12-35mm | 18-135mm |
| Max Aperture | f/8.3 | f/4 | f/2.8 | f/2.8 | f/2.8 | f/3.5 |
| Mount | Nikon F | Sony E | Sony E | Nikon Z | Micro Four Thirds | Sony E |
| Stabilization | true | true | false | false | true | true |
| Weather Sealed | false | true | true | true | true | false |
| Weight (g) | - | 590 | 290 | 450 | 306 | 326 |
| AF Type | manual focus only | VXD linear motor | stepping motor | Stepping Motor | Autofocus | Linear motor |
| Lens Type | telephoto | zoom | zoom | zoom | zoom | zoom |
| Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare |
| Product | AF | Bokeh | Build | Macro | Optical | Aperture | Versatility | Social Proof | Stabilization |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BM Premium High-Power 420-800mm f/8.3 HD Manual Telephoto 420mm | 13.3 | 47.7 | 54.8 | 62 | 44.6 | 49.6 | 69.8 | 8.6 | 82.4 |
| Tamron Di III VC 28-300mm f/4-7.1 VXD Compare | 98 | 78 | 65.2 | 85.8 | 96.7 | 66.1 | 97.7 | 55.5 | 82.4 |
| Sigma Contemporary 18-50mm f/2.8 DC DN Compare | 86.9 | 81.9 | 86.1 | 91.7 | 82.2 | 84.1 | 78.6 | 89.7 | 36.8 |
| Nikon NIKKOR Z 17-28mm f/2.8 Compare | 86.9 | 87.1 | 75.2 | 85.8 | 88.2 | 84.1 | 68 | 69.4 | 36.8 |
| Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit H-ES12035 Compare | 53.9 | 81.9 | 85.4 | 51 | 86.5 | 84.1 | 80.6 | 85.3 | 96.9 |
| Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Compare | 98 | 75.5 | 72.5 | 40.3 | 78.5 | 77.5 | 95.8 | 89.7 | 82.4 |
Price
Value & Pricing
For the price of a nice dinner, you get a lens that can technically take a picture of the moon. That's the value proposition. It's a toy for experimenting with extreme focal lengths, not a serious tool. If you accept that you're buying a novelty and not a precision optic, the fun-per-dollar ratio can be high. Just don't expect to sell any prints from it.
Read more
Overview
Let's be real, a 420-800mm zoom for around a hundred and fifty bucks sounds like a prank. The BM Premium is a manual focus, fixed-aperture telephoto that promises extreme reach for Nikon F-mount DSLRs. It's built to a price point, and you feel that in every part of the experience. The spec sheet is ambitious, but the shooting experience is a serious workout in patience.
Common Questions
Q: Will this lens autofocus on my Nikon D5600?
No, this is a fully manual focus lens. Your camera won't even recognize it's attached, and you'll need to focus using the ring on the lens barrel while judging sharpness by eye in the viewfinder.
Q: Can I use this handheld for bird photography?
Technically yes, but it's not recommended. At 800mm and f/8.3, even with stabilization, you need a very fast shutter speed to freeze motion and camera shake. A tripod is almost mandatory for sharp shots.
Q: Is the lens compatible with a full-frame Nikon D850?
It mounts to the F-mount, so it will physically fit a D850. However, the image circle coverage is unknown, and you may see heavy vignetting or soft corners on a full-frame sensor. It's best treated as a crop-sensor experiment.
Who Should Skip This
If you need to reliably track and capture anything that moves, look elsewhere. Sports and wildlife photographers will find the manual focus and dim aperture unusable. Anyone expecting sharp, contrasty images straight out of camera will be deeply disappointed. This is not a substitute for even a budget autofocus telephoto zoom.
Verdict
This lens is for the curious hobbyist on a Nikon DSLR who wants to dip a toe into super-telephoto without spending mortgage money. It's for moon shots, static wildlife at a feeder in bright sun, and understanding why good telephoto lenses cost so much. If you go in with low expectations and a sturdy tripod, you might just have some fun.
