Nikon 180-600mm first shots

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Marcelo_R

Marcelo_R

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I've got my unit on Sat 9/30 and was out testing it on Sun 10/1. I honestly wasn't happy with the results.

I'd love to see som lab testing : what is the light transmission % (T-stop) on this zoom?

I suspect that on the 180-600 is on the lowish side. It looked to me (at least on my unit) that the ISO was 1 stop higher than what I usually see in (roughly) the same conditions.

I was shooting in good to great light, no haze, distances varying from 8 to 50 meters, wide open.

I miss the kind of texture I get with my 180-500TC or even with the Z800 (not to mention the 600FL)...

AF Speed was flawless, no doubt. Colors are as expected (similar or the same as with the Z800), but...

Here a couple of examples (dowsized to 2048 on the long side):

First picture: ISO 560 with the amount of light I had? Really?

Z91_6691-T.jpg
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1/1600s - ISO 1800 ....

Z91_6618-T.jpg
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1/1600s - ISO 2000... really? (BTW, I'm using Spot - Highlight measuring to avoid burning the whites and get a lower ISO value. Even so, ISO 2000 seems kind of high, right?

Z91_6340-T.jpg
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Original files can be seen here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAWRVQ

To obtain these results, I had to give a good run for the money to Topaz AI... So, long story short: I kept my solid performer 180-400 f/4 TC FL and I passed the 180-600 to a good friend that was on the waiting list.

I honestly had higher hopes for this one (I wouldn't have bought and pay for it if it wasn't the case)... My plan was to sell the 180-400 and cashe in the difference but no luck for me.
Besides, the weight and size would have been great for travelling but I know me and would have been cursing myself (with or without logic) during my next safari in Dec/Jan... So, I'll be taking again the same gear I took in June: The 180/400 on one Z9, the Z800 on the other Z9 and the 24-120 f/4 on one D6 and deal with the weight (again)...

If you are seeing some errors in my settings or comments, I'd love to learn about it to try getting better pics overall. Thank you!

Brgds, Marcelo
 
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Honestly it's a bit hard for me to judge these photos much because they look like they have strong artifacts of being Topazed. I notice now that you mentioned Topaz in your post, so I assume you did run them through? Either way, I'd assume these were Topaz from looking at them whether it had been mentioned or not. I'd love to see a version of a few of them (especially the shots of the heron) without it.
 
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Thanks for the input.

Yes, as I mentioned, I had to give it a good “washup” thru Topaz.

Will try to upload unedited (only resized) jpg’s tomorrow if not earlier.
Brgds, Marcelo
 
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SCoombs said:
Honestly it's a bit hard for me to judge these photos much because they look like they have strong artifacts of being Topazed. I notice now that you mentioned Topaz in your post, so I assume you did run them through? Either way, I'd assume these were Topaz from looking at them whether it had been mentioned or not. I'd love to see a version of a few of them (especially the shots of the heron) without it.
Click to expand...
Here we go with samples of NON-TOPAZ edited versions, resized to 2048px on the long side. These would have been the results of just editing the pics on NXS:

Z91_6340.JPG
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Z91_6691.JPG
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Z9F_6355_cropped.jpg
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Brgds, Marcelo
 
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Z91_6629.JPG
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Z91_6618.JPG
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2 more pictures, these had to be resized down to 1920px on the long side to get it below the 2Mb max server allowance.

Brgds, Marcelo
 
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Marcelo_R said:
I guess @Steve shouldn't be comparing any lenses or gear unless they are equally priced... why bother? We can simply say "since it's way cheaper, it can't be compared to the pricey ones" and save all the trouble... 👌
Click to expand...
He did, the Sony 200-600mm lens, a highly regarded lens. The Nikon was equal to or better than that lens. Did you compare the exposures with the 180-600mm to another lens when testing?
 
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aolander said:
He did, the Sony 200-600mm lens, a highly regarded lens. The Nikon was equal to or better than that lens. Did you compare the exposures with the 180-600mm to another lens when testing?
Click to expand...

Along with a nice collection of other lenses, including the $15k Z600 TC ... so that's my point:

I received a sarcastic answer about me commenting my impressions on 2 different price level lenses... that's where my answer comes from.

Krgds, Marcelo
 
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Ralph said:
Check out Lance’s shots of a falcon in flight using the Z180-600. They look pretty darn good to me. https://pbase.com/lance_b/32_shot_sequence
Click to expand...

Great pictures, no doubt! And awesome action! Thanks for the link Alan!

As I mentioned, conditions are not always the same for everybody, so different results are to be expected for each uncontrolled test...

Krgds, Marcelo
 
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Marcelo_R said:
I've got my unit on Sat 9/30 and was out testing it on Sun 10/1. I honestly wasn't happy with the results... I miss the kind of texture I get with my 180-500TC or even with the Z800 (not to mention the 600FL)...

...I honestly had higher hopes for this one (I wouldn't have bought and pay for it if it wasn't the case)... My plan was to sell the 180-400 and cashe in the difference but no luck for me...
Click to expand...

Marcelo_R said:
Along with a nice collection of other lenses, including the $15k Z600 TC ... so that's my point:

I received a sarcastic answer about me commenting my impressions on 2 different price level lenses... that's where my answer comes from.
Click to expand...
No, you didn't receive a sarcastic answer for the comparison. You received a sarcastic answer for thinking you would get the same results with a $1700 lens as a $12k lens and thereby "cash in" on selling the high dollar one. Objective reviewers like @Steve make the comparison to give people an idea for what they're buying/compromising by choosing one over the other.
 
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I really enjoyed seeing what you captured with this lens. I have the same lens but have not captured the same output so it’s very encouraging to see what can be possible with more time and practice in my hands.

Obviously came as a surprise to me that you were not happy with the results given what I feel are excellent images. That being said, my experience and what I consider acceptable are clearly in early stages of development compared to where you are in your photographic journey and that’s totally ok.

If you feel your previous lens does the job better for you, there’s no shame in that and hopefully your friend who has the lens now can find it works for their needs.

I appreciate you sharing your images and thoughts and look forward to seeing more of your work.
 
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Same here. I can’t connect to the 180-600. I’m spoiled with Nikon’s top notch offerings. I have the 400/4.5 and 800pf
400/4.5 I always crop in to at least 600’ish
Will wait and see what the 600/6.3 would bring.
 
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StevieJSmall said:
I really enjoyed seeing what you captured with this lens. I have the same lens but have not captured the same output so it’s very encouraging to see what can be possible with more time and practice in my hands.

Obviously came as a surprise to me that you were not happy with the results given what I feel are excellent images. That being said, my experience and what I consider acceptable are clearly in early stages of development compared to where you are in your photographic journey and that’s totally ok.

If you feel your previous lens does the job better for you, there’s no shame in that and hopefully your friend who has the lens now can find it works for their needs.

I appreciate you sharing your images and thoughts and look forward to seeing more of your work.
Click to expand...
Thank you Stevie for your reply. 🍻
 
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