Costa Rica: 600mm f/4 + Z 400mm f/2.8?

[Michael Wagner]

Will be going this summer on Steve / BCG’s Costa Rica trip. For my Z8, have been planning to bring my 105 mm Macro, buy Nikon Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S lens (with built-in 1.4x teleconverter), and bring the 600mm f/4 I’ve been using with my D850. (Will use the adapter so the 600mm f/4 works on the Z8).
Steve’s videos recommend 600mm f/4 + 300mm Prime + 105 Macro for Costa Rica. Does it make sense to bring both the 600mm f/4 and the Nikon Z 400mm f/2.8 with the built in 1.4 teleconverter (which = 560 mm)? The Z 400 f/2.8 will be great in low light but without coverage of wildlife at closer distances where a 300mm or a 100-400 zoom would work. Don’t have those. Can always bring the 70-200mm, of course, but that still leaves no coverage of wildlife from 200-400.
Welcome your suggestions. First time to CR. Thanks.

 

[John_DE]

I’m sure it will be a great trip. The 400/2.8 TC has a fairly good close focus distance. It’s not small, but compared to the f-mount 600/4 it is quite a bit smaller and lighter. Traveling by air with both lenses seems like it could be challenging.

My trips to Central America have involved traveling in a van with other photographers, and mostly hand-holding or using a monopod with my bigger lenses. Steve would be the best person to know how easily you could travel and use both the 400 TC and 600 f-mount.

Enjoy the trip!

 

[nmerc_photos]

I've never been to CR, but am in the middle of planning a trip for 2026. Even if I had access to both the 400 f2.8 and 600 f4, I would only take one. And from my research, that would be the 400 f2.8.

From what I've seen in CR, the two most valuable things are MFD and light gathering ability. The 400mm has 8.2' MFD vs 13.1' for the 600. and 1 extra stop of light. it's also much smaller and lighter.

When I go, I'll probably bring the 105 macro, 100-400, and 400TC.

if Nikon comes out with a lightweight 300mm f2.8 like Sony has, I'd probably switch to the 300 f2.8 + 600TC. but we'll see what happens

 

[Michael Wagner]

Thanks very much to both of you for your helpful replies and suggestions! Much appreciated.

Steve, as the guru and seasoned expert on these CR trips, your advice is also welcomed. Love the idea of faster glass, lighter weight and handheld ease of use with the Z 400mm f/4 but wondering if that will be enough length even with the built-in 1.4TC taking it to 560. Your videos and gear suggestions list make clear how important the extra focal distance is, so welcome your wisdom on whether to bring both lenses (seems like a lot to bring) or just one of them. Thanks!

 

[wotan1]

I concur that you don’t need both the 600 f/4 and the 400 2.8 tc. Just throw the tc switch and you are at 580 already.

For shots wider than 400mm the 70-200 f2.8 is a great lens. You can extend the range either through a tc, crop or dx. I often work the 70-200 with the 400 f4.5 and the combination works well together. The 70-200 can easily be extended to cover shots short of 400.

 

[jerrylwatson]

The 400 f2.8 also takes the external tc1.4 quite well for more reach at f5.6.

 

[BillW]

I did a trip to the Osa Peninsula in 2018. Great trip. Wonderful wildlife.

Most of my photos were taken with a D500 and 200-500 mm zoom (a 750 mm FOV at the long end in full frame terms), usually near or at the long end. I also had a Df with the 300 mm PF and used that for subjects that were closer (f4 was nice, both to lower the ISO and blur the background a bit better); the Df also had a great sensor for low light, a common situation on the peninsula. I had a D7200 and 16-80 mm lens along that I used for scenics.

I like to photograph birds and so longer focal lengths were nice for me. I have since re-edited a few of the photos from the trip, as current noise reduction software is much better than what I had in 2018.

If I went back now (and I hope to some day), what would I take? Two bodies: Z9 and Z8 (or maybe 2 Z8s).

As to lenses, the Z 600 mm TC might be ideal for your long lens, especially given the built-in TC. And the F mount 600 mm lens, plus the F 1.4x TC as needed, would be good too. But I do not own either of these lenses.

I do have the longer Z telephotos except the Z 600 mm TC. I’d certainly be tempted to take the Z 400 mm TC and the Z 800 mm PF along with something shorter (maybe the Z 100-400). But if you have small plane flights in country, that might be an issue for weight or size or both. (When I went, the stated weight limit on the small plane flight from San Jose to Puerto Jimenez on the Osa was very low. I understand from fellow participants on the trip that it was not particularly enforced. But it worried me, so I hired a driver to take me from San Jose to the lodge we were staying at. Long drive, but pretty.) So I might consider using the Z 400 mm TC with external TCs and skip the Z 800 mm PF. It makes a very good 800 mm f5.6 lens with the Z 2x TC. And I might also try the Z 400 mm TC with the external Z 1.4x TC, giving me the choice of 560 mm f4 and 784 mm f5.6. One of the leaders of a trip I recently took to Botswana used that combination (Z 400 mm TC with the external 1.4x TC and internal TC) at times and liked it. Brad Hill has noted on his website that the DxO optical modules (applied through DxO PhotoLab or PureRaw) improve the results from this combination; I have not tested it yet.

If I was worried about weight, I might take the Z 400 mm f4.5 and the Z 600 mm PF (and again, something shorter, like the Z 100-400). I’d throw in the Z TCs. I might do 2 Z8s instead of a Z9 and Z8. Certainly modern software makes higher ISOs more useable than in the past.

Good luck. It’s an amazing place.

 

[jerrylwatson]

 

[CoyoteCreationsNW]

I just returned from a trip to Panama. Z9 with 400 TC 2.8 was my primary kit. Hnad the TC20 along. I found little need for the longer length but had it available with little weight penalty. Back-up camera was a Z6 ii with 70-200 2.8. Ihad the TC14 available if I needed to get to 280 mm but I used the bare lens almost all of the time. I had the 105 mm 2.8 macro but I did very little with it. With more time, it would have been very useful for reptiles and amphibians. I took along my ThinkTank rain covers and used them often. Your location may give different opportunities.

 

[Calson]

It depends on where you go in Costa Rica as subject size and camera to subject distances varies greatly. Overall I have more often encountered a problem with having too long a focal length with its minimum focus distance as with the 500mm PF lens. On my last trip I took the 600mm f/4 along with a 80-400mm and the 500mm PF and the 600mm lens was used for fewer than 10% of my images.

I would take the 400mm f/2.8 along with an external 1.4x teleconverter. I would also take the 100-400mm to use with or without the 1.4x TC. The 105mm macro is too short in most situations with small frogs and poisonous vipers. The 70-200mm f/2.8 might be the best macro option with a Z camera. The f-mount 200mm f/4 was ideal but it will not work with a Z camera nor the Sigma 150mm macro lens that I tried with the FTZ adapter.

Many places in Costa Rica where a small boat is the best way to photograph many subjects and this is where the 600mm f/4 is unwieldy and actually has too tight a view angle.

 

[BillW]

It depends on where you go in Costa Rica as subject size and camera to subject distances varies greatly. Overall I have more often encountered a problem with having too long a focal length with its minimum focus distance as with the 500mm PF lens. On my last trip I took the 600mm f/4 along with a 80-400mm and the 500mm PF and the 600mm lens was used for fewer than 10% of my images.

I would take the 400mm f/2.8 along with an external 1.4x teleconverter. I would also take the 100-400mm to use with or without the 1.4x TC. The 105mm macro is too short in most situations with small frogs and poisonous vipers. The 70-200mm f/2.8 might be the best macro option with a Z camera. The f-mount 200mm f/4 was ideal but it will not work with a Z camera nor the Sigma 150mm macro lens that I tried with the FTZ adapter.

Many places in Costa Rica where a small boat is the best way to photograph many subjects and this is where the 600mm f/4 is unwieldy and actually has too tight a view angle.

The Z 100-400 has a nice close focus distance, so would be good for frogs and snakes. (I use it for butterflies, dragonflies, frogs and toads at home.) And you can add the Z 1.4x TC without changing the minimum focus distance.

 

[joe43]

When I went to CR in March 2019, I took two bodies, a D 500 and D810 and two pf lenses, the 500mm f5.6 pf and the 300mm f4 pf, extension tubes and a 24-85mm. And a series two tripod. I was in the mountains most of the time and not on either coasts. Many of my shots of hummingbirds were taken with the 300mm f4 that has a short minimum focus distance. And the 500mm f5.6 pf was used a lot too. With an extension tube, the 300mm f4 was my "macro" lens for poison frogs, flowers, bees, butterflies, etc.

Today with my Z9, I would take my 100-400mm S lens (that also focuses close) and my 600mm f6.3 pf and a second Z body, likely a Z8 that I would be renting.

Make sure you you have something long that can focus close if you will be doing hummingbirds.

Bring a power strip wit a good surge protector too, and leave your electronics on only as needed for charging.