I use zemlins cap, two piece hood and eyepiece on the 600tc and z9. I highly recommend all three. I like the two piece hood for a variety of reasons, maybe chief among them is when the camera is in my lap in my vehicle. It fits better between the door and gearshift with the shorter hood and I run into things less often.Last Saturday I got my new Z 4/600 TC. I haven’t used it yet as I am waiting for the insurance company to confirm coverage, I expect an email this week.
I have never broken any expensive equipment but with this one, I am leaning towards the paranoid
I have a few questions.
1). Do you use a third-party lens cap? For my 800PF I have a lens cap from a German manufacturer. The cap from Nikon is not the best in my opinion. Removing it can be quite the faff and I can see myself losing a shot if things have to happen fast in the field and I am fumbling around with the lens cap, especially with the cord. Maybe I am just clumsy. For the 600TC the lens cap seems to have a much better design and I can remove it very quickly. Not sure why Nikon hasn’t used the same lens cap for both lenses, they are both about the same price. It’s the lens hood where the price difference is huge (about 199 Euros vs. 679(!!!) Euros).
Do you use the Nikon lens cap with the 600TC or did you get a separate one? I think in North America the ones from Zemlin are popular(I can’t find them anywhere in Germany but there are similar solutions). Expensive piece of plastic but at least for the 800PF it’s a huge difference in speed when removing it.
2) In the manual, Nikon says: “After changing focal lengths, be sure to latch the teleconverter switch lock to prevent unintended operation of the teleconverter switch.”
To me that sounds like a good way to miss a shot if I shoot at 840mm and the animal suddenly gets closer and the TC is locked. It seems that it’s not easy to slide the switch by mistake. In my Canon DSLR times, I had the 4/200-400 TC for a while and I never accidentally switched the TC on or off.
Do you lock the TC?
3). Have you used the lens with the Lens Coat Jr. bean bag (the lightest and smallest one). I think it should be enough, even though there is a bigger one. The reason for the small one is hiking, especially in the mountains but also longer distances in flatter terrain. If I am already carrying the 600TC or the 800PF and maybe a shorter lens like the 100-400 and a 2nd Z8, I do not want to carry a heavy bean bag weighing several kilograms, the lighter the better as long as it is good enough should I need one. I can always shoot handheld but for longer sessions, this becomes painful, even with the 800PF and more so with the noticeably heavier (and much bulkier) 600TC. Another photographer recommended buckwheat to fill the bean bag to keep the weight down a bit. I will try that.
The beanbag should be lighter than my Gitzo 3540L + Flexshooter Pro, otherwise I can just carry the tripod, but sometimes, especially in rocky terrain, a bean bean is easier to set up.
4) Anything else you would recommend for that lens that maybe is not obvious for someone who has not yet used it in the field?
I think Steve mentioned that sometimes it can be helpful to find a subject with 600 and then switch to 840. That makes sense to me, especially if the subject is moving around a lot.
I never use the lock and it’s never been a problem except when I accidentally lock it.
I never use a bean bag. I have a piece of pipe insulation in my vehicle, but I hardly ever use that.
I do often use a monopod with the z9 and 600mm lens, but I can handhold it for limited periods.
The ability to switch between focal lengths is rather remarkable for shooting flexibility. The switch is in a very convenient location.
I think you’ll love the lens.
