600mm pf reach vs 500mm pf on d500 vs 800mm pf

[EricBowles]

This may be off topic a bit, but at what point does a camera outlive it's usefulness, forcing the sale of it?

I owned the D850. I loved the IQ/DR it produced. I did dump it to get the Z9/8, as these cameras have feature sets (better focus capability,high fps, 100% electronic shutter, auto capture, etc...) that I do take advantage of. btw - I am not a video person and could care less about it, and as much as these new cameras have great video capabilities it was never part of the motivation to buy a camera.

You just named a number of features of new cameras that are not found in the D850. The more cutting edge you are with your photography and videography the more likely you are to reach effective limits for older gear. A landscape photographer might be perfectly happy with a D850, but a pro wildlife photographer would probably find the electronic shutter, frame rate, AF performance, pre-release capture, and EVF are compelling enhancements that make the D850 obsolete. That plays out in real life. You see people like Tony Sweet still using a D850 today for wonderful landscapes, but virtually every sports and wildlife photographer has partially or fully transitioned to mirrorless. Of course, with new cameras comes a need to learn how to use the new capabilities.

 

[S⊕TA]

You just named a number of features of new cameras that are not found in the D850. The more cutting edge you are with your photography and videography the more likely you are to reach effective limits for older gear. A landscape photographer might be perfectly happy with a D850, but a pro wildlife photographer would probably find the electronic shutter, frame rate, AF performance, pre-release capture, and EVF are compelling enhancements that make the D850 obsolete. That plays out in real life. You see people like Tony Sweet still using a D850 today for wonderful landscapes, but virtually every sports and wildlife photographer has partially or fully transitioned to mirrorless. Of course, with new cameras comes a need to learn how to use the new capabilities.

Thank you Eric.

Rob

 

[viper699]

Some say, there is no replacement for displacement. In our hobby or line-of-work, probably best off not going with a TC, meaning buy the 800mm vs getting a TC of some sort.

Having said that, I'll say this - I purchased a TC anyway, for use with the 600 PF. The TC 1.4 to be specific. I am more than satisfied with the results. see attached photo - as shot with the exception of cropped. Nikon Z8, ISO 64, f/10 1/100 on a 600 PF with TC 1.4 (=840mm)

One of the reasons I picked the 600mm PF vs. the 800mm, was the filter support. Had the 800mm PF had filter support I would have snarfed that up in a heartbeat, especially knowing the 800mm was f/6.3.

Sidebar: I purchased the 600mm PF in prep for the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse. I did not suffer the "PF" flare issue even though I was pointing the lens directly at the sun. I attribute the issue-free experience due to the fact I was shooting at infinity, no out-of-focus area.

View attachment 107352

re displacement, my motorhead friends and I, always say that.

For lenses- I've seen enough to know that generally the 600 + 1.4TC would suit my needs. Everything is a tradeoff. Great moon image!

 

[S⊕TA]

re displacement, my motorhead friends and I, always say that.

For lenses- I've seen enough to know that generally the 600 + 1.4TC would suit my needs. Everything is a tradeoff. Great moon image!

Thank you so much.

 

[Calson]

Can you help me with the math here? If I divide 800/600 I come up with 1.33. Isn't that just 33% larger in size?

That is a common mistake as the image is larger on both x and y axis and so focal length is not the same as image magnification. Going from 2x2 to 4x4 results in an increase from 4 to 16 and so not a doubling of the area but an increase of 4x and not 2x.