Nikon 600PF - Share Photos & Discuss!!!

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I took advantage of the Nikon financing offer and bought the 600 6.3 I use it with my z6iii. Not very happy with how it seems to focus on the background instead of the bird. Spot focus seems to help a bit. Any ideas about working with this camera/lens combo? Does DX mode work better? Thanks.
 
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CJCrawford said:
I took advantage of the Nikon financing offer and bought the 600 6.3 I use it with my z6iii. Not very happy with how it seems to focus on the background instead of the bird. Spot focus seems to help a bit. Any ideas about working with this camera/lens combo? Does DX mode work better? Thanks.
Click to expand...
DX mode will help with Eye-AF activating if the subject is a bit small in the frame in FX.
But background focus is more a character of the camera's AF system than the lens. The only reason a given lens may contribute to an increase in background focus is a slower aperture (for a given focal length) which brings a larger DOF and more distracting things for the camera's AF system to "see" and maybe get distracted by. 600 at 6.3 may contribute to background focus more than a 600/4 but 600/6.3 still has pretty narrow DOF.
Distance to subject and then distance of subject to background combined with the inherent nature of a given camera's AF system (not sure how the Z6III AF is as I've only used Z9/Z8) are what would increase background focus more.

Some questions for you that maybe could help us troubleshoot:
1) Do you have experience with long lenses? Sometimes those new to long focal lengths struggle at first.
2) What AF mode are you using?
3) Can you post some examples so we can get an idea of size of bird in the frame and distance of subject to background?
 
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sounds like your Z6iii needs to be setup differently for your use. Have you looked at Steve Perry's new setup videos here ? https://backcountrygallery.com/4-new-z6iii-setup-videos/
Also consider purchasing his Z6iii setup guide. Once you understand the Nikon AF system it is great, very responsive and reliable. This is coming from a former Sony A1 user, that says a lot. Good luck


CJCrawford said:
I took advantage of the Nikon financing offer and bought the 600 6.3 I use it with my z6iii. Not very happy with how it seems to focus on the background instead of the bird. Spot focus seems to help a bit. Any ideas about working with this camera/lens combo? Does DX mode work better? Thanks.
Click to expand...
 
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CJCrawford said:
I took advantage of the Nikon financing offer and bought the 600 6.3 I use it with my z6iii. Not very happy with how it seems to focus on the background instead of the bird. Spot focus seems to help a bit. Any ideas about working with this camera/lens combo? Does DX mode work better? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Eric Bowles makes excellent recommendations regarding autofocus in the posting linked to below. Specifically, it refers to the Z8 and 180-600 lens but it’s applicable to your kit, too.

Post in thread 'Trouble with Nikon Z8 autofocus with the 180-600 lens'
https://bcgforums.com/threads/troub...focus-with-the-180-600-lens.38848/post-432148
 
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Waiting for cotton to get ready in the Texas panhandle so the wife and I took a trip to the Texas Coast. Gotten a few pics with the 600pf on my Z8 over the last couple of days.
Just a few of my favorites.

A couple of sunrise images from this morning plus a few other favorites.


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arbitrage said:
DX mode will help with Eye-AF activating if the subject is a bit small in the frame in FX.
But background focus is more a character of the camera's AF system than the lens. The only reason a given lens may contribute to an increase in background focus is a slower aperture (for a given focal length) which brings a larger DOF and more distracting things for the camera's AF system to "see" and maybe get distracted by. 600 at 6.3 may contribute to background focus more than a 600/4 but 600/6.3 still has pretty narrow DOF.
Distance to subject and then distance of subject to background combined with the inherent nature of a given camera's AF system (not sure how the Z6III AF is as I've only used Z9/Z8) are what would increase background focus more.

Some questions for you that maybe could help us troubleshoot:
1) Do you have experience with long lenses? Sometimes those new to long focal lengths struggle at first.
2) What AF mode are you using?
3) Can you post some examples so we can get an idea of size of bird in the frame and distance of subject to background?
Click to expand...
Thank you-I read the thread about similar problems with the 180-600. Lots of good advice there. I'll try DX mode. But changing the AF mode to "Full", actually helped since my subjects are usually pretty distant. I also tried "auto ISO" and that seems to help. I'm pretty happy now, though there are few birds around here at present. I live in a densely wooded area -mostly little birds hiding in the tops of trees.
I am slowly going through Steve's tutorial on the Z6iii. I'll look at the set-up menus too.
I have been shooting with my D500 and 500PF for a looong time. Love that combo. That lens also works very well with the adapter. Most of my confusion is working with mirrorless for the first time. I don't have any examples of the problem..all are in the trash!
 
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One thing that stands out with the 600pf, say vs. The 180-600 is the difference in resolving power. I can crop significantly more with the 600pf than I can with the 186. There is absolutely a difference in resolving performance between the two optics, no question. Yet it's rarely discussed ( most discussions are on sharpness). Sharpness and resolution are not the same. This was the first thing I noticed when taking the PF out along with my 186 (now sold). Tye Pf files could stand much deeper crops on the z8
 
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I have dubbed this Pheasant "George." He turned up in my neighborhood, the foothills of the Sierra Nevada range, way off base for a valley bird, and after a week or so let me get close enough to get some nice shots. As it turns out, he was in a cage at some neighbor's house and got out. There may be others in the neighborhood but so far I've only seen one. He really needs to take off and head for the valley! This is a bird I've been trying in various locations over the last couple of years to get a nice shot of and, as irony has it, I did that at home. The 600PF stays firmly attached to my Z8 at all times.

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Immature American Goldfinch. First attempt with the 600PF- auto ISO got a bot out of hand! Used Topaz Denoise to compensate. I don't know how to add text to the photo itself...
 
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