Nikon 600PF - Share Photos & Discuss!!!

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Got out today to see if we could strip cotton. Woke up to fog and 100% humidity. Takes a while for the cotton to dry so we can harvest. Gave me a little time to go to a playa at mid day. First time shooting cranes with the 600 f6.3. It was heads above the 500 pf.
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I use the 600PF every chance that I get, such a blast to shoot with. It's a lens that gets out of your way and lets you concentrate on catching the image. Haven't had this much fun shooting in a good long while.

Almost all of the leaves have fallen, except for the oak trees, which keep their leaves much longer. When that late afternoon Autumn sun hits them, they turn into liquid gold.
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MatthewK said:
I use the 600PF every chance that I get, such a blast to shoot with. It's a lens that gets out of your way and lets you concentrate on catching the image. Haven't had this much fun shooting in a good long while.

Almost all of the leaves have fallen, except for the oak trees, which keep their leaves much longer. When that late afternoon Autumn sun hits them, they turn into liquid gold.
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Nice shot. (y)
The 600PF is a fun lens to use. I'm still wanting to try it out with birds but they are very few and far between (accept for some geese that fly overhead occasionally). I do wish they'd cut the corn down in the field next to me, that will bring some subjects out and also decease hiding spaces.
I'm still amazed at how incredibly fast the AF is.....
 
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Geoff_G said:
Nice shot. (y)
The 600PF is a fun lens to use. I'm still wanting to try it out with birds but they are very few and far between (accept for some geese that fly overhead occasionally). I do wish they'd cut the corn down in the field next to me, that will bring some subjects out and also decease hiding spaces.
I'm still amazed at how incredibly fast the AF is.....
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Where are you located? They just cut the last corn here, so all fields are desolate and waiting for that first snow cover. Benefit to that is Snowy Owls will return (they like sitting in open fields over the winter), and we get flocks of Snow Buntings/Lapland Longspurs that hang out along the roadsides beside empty fields (where the snow plow turns over some soil). Bah... :cautious: listen to me trying to make it seem like there's any redeeming qualities about the wasteland this place will soon become.

AF on the 600 is insanely quick and quiet. Part of what makes shooting with it so effortless and "not there". I was shooting the 800PF first yesterday, then switched over to the 600, and that change in weight is silly, as is the AF speed jump. I had the option of going with the 186 instead, but since my arms were a bit gassed from the 800, decided to go as light as possible.

((On a separate note, what's up with the Emojis?))
 
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MatthewK said:
Where are you located? They just cut the last corn here, so all fields are desolate and waiting for that first snow cover. Benefit to that is Snowy Owls will return (they like sitting in open fields over the winter), and we get flocks of Snow Buntings/Lapland Longspurs that hang out along the roadsides beside empty fields (where the snow plow turns over some soil). Bah... :cautious: listen to me trying to make it seem like there's any redeeming qualities about the wasteland this place will soon become.

AF on the 600 is insanely quick and quiet. Part of what makes shooting with it so effortless and "not there". I was shooting the 800PF first yesterday, then switched over to the 600, and that change in weight is silly, as is the AF speed jump. I had the option of going with the 186 instead, but since my arms were a bit gassed from the 800, decided to go as light as possible.

((On a separate note, what's up with the Emojis?))
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I'm about 30 minutes South of Buffalo (NY). We've had crap weather for the last couple of weeks that undoubtedly delayed the corn harvest. There should be plenty of opportunity this week tho...🤞🤞
I would rank the 600PF as my all time favorite Nikkor to use (and I've had a lot of glass over the years). It is fairly light, definitey easy to handhold, superb VR, blazing fast AF, and stunning optics. It's almost easy to forget you're using a 600m lens and not something shorter.
 
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MatthewK said:
I use the 600PF every chance that I get, such a blast to shoot with. It's a lens that gets out of your way and lets you concentrate on catching the image. Haven't had this much fun shooting in a good long while.

Almost all of the leaves have fallen, except for the oak trees, which keep their leaves much longer. When that late afternoon Autumn sun hits them, they turn into liquid gold.
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Beautiful shot.
Nice to hear the lens really does it for you!
 
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MatthewK said:
Thank you, Chris!

You going to jump on the Sony 300 2.8 then? Looks like it's the one you've been waiting for!
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Honest?
I am not sure yet. I love the 600GM and have no intentions of a system switch. It comes along on all dedicated birding trips.
But I know the 500PF, and I know what a lightweight combo can do to enhance your enjoyment in shooting when you want to move light.
I think I will have to wait and see what the 300GM produces with the 2xTC. If it is really good, then yes I will probably go the route. But even if that would be by far the most convenient, I will not want to fool myself.
Thing is, a lightweight 600mm combo is ideal in the sense that it, as you rightly say, get's out of the way. I really enjoy shooting the 600GM on the A1, but for dedicated trips.
I guess it is hard to get across right, but I am just not álways in the mood for such a big lens.

Knowing what the 500PF produced, the Sony 300GM will have to meet a high bar if it wants to satisfy with the 2xTC. I would love to see it happen, but otherwise, I want to stay open to the option, however impractical, of a Nikon Z600PF. But yes, first I will see how the 300GM comes through, I mean to rent one if the reviews with 2xTC are very good.

In the mean time, I will follow this thread with interest!
 
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SOME HIGHLY CROPPED IMAGES TAKEN WITH Z8/600PF

Here are some images taken today with a Z8/600mm PF lens, hand held. Both pictures are cropped to less that 5% of the entire pixels in the image. There were no adjustments except direct conversion of Raw NEF files to PSD and subsequent cropping/conversion to JPEG.

The image of the female Cardinal was at 50 ft and the Blue Jay at 55 ft. Both images were at 1/500th, f/6.3 iso 1600. Since I photograph mostly songbirds/warblers was curious of lens performance at distances of 50ft and more (which are encountered frequently). I have found images at this distance extremely difficult with other lenses, especially in low light. This includes my D850/500mm PF combo (which I still highly recommend). These are not finished images, however, I am delighted with the excellent starting point the Z8/600mm PF provides

Still on a learning curve with the camera/focusing. Glad these were stationary subjects.

Many thanks for Steve for his helpful videos that got me started.

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Full image, Taken at 55ft.









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Full image taken at 50ft.









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crop (less than 5% of area)
 
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😳 proof is in the pudding, great detail captured under rough conditions, at distance. This 600 holds together really well, allows for you to rescue shots you’d otherwise be deleting. Good part of that is the great sensor performance as well. Good times!
 
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The photo's in this thread demonstrate the 600PF optical qualities but Brad Hill also has some nice comments on this lens

How is it optically? Really, really good. In all my optical testing the Z 600mm f6.3S was very, very close to as sharp as the amazing Z 600mm f4 TC VR S. And in saying this I am referring to central region sharpness, sharpness halfway to the edge, and at the extreme edge of the frame. The quality of the out-of-focus zones is really good in this lens...and in my eyes I think its the best of any of the PF lenses. Of course, you don't have as much "subject isolating ability" as you do with the Z 600mm f4S.​
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Not to forget....Steve has an excellent video on this lens which is well worth watching.
 
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Seeing Brad’s initial review is yet more confirmation this lens is something special.

In real world shooting between the 186 and 600PF, I don’t notice a difference after post. What I do notice though is that upon import the 600PF is noticeably sharper, with a little bit more clarity; I have LR import sharpening set to 0, and there are times the 600PF’s files are already crisp as a baby razor’s bottom 😅 After noise reduction, the 600PF files require ~+20 Sharpness to get where I want, while the 186 takes about +50 to match. In the end though, files from both lenses are indistinguishable to my eye.

Copy variance is a real thing though, so my individual results can't truly be indicative of gen pop experiences.
 
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You folks have me seriously thinking of going 600PF rather than the 800PF I assumed would be my first 2024 lens purchase. I'm currently using a D850/500PF combo, and am getting a Z8 for Christmas. Other than the obvious focal length difference, my sense is the 600 has snappier AF and, though close, a bit better performance than the 800. The photos posted here in this thread are certainly impressive!

Mechanical question - does the 600PF fit in a CL-M5 case? If not, what do y'all use for home storage between outings? I assume the CL-C6 wrap stays in the box in case of resale...
 
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Both lenses are S-Tier level, so It really comes down to whether or not your intended use case is satisfied by 600mm or 800mm. Personally, the 600PF is a much easier lens to shoot with, especially if you expect closer in subjects and need a wider field of view. Seems as though the 600 doesn’t get caught up with AF distractions as bad as the 800, namely in more dense foliage. Yet, when the situation calls for it, for example you have cleaner lines of sight and room to work, or can deliberately plan out shots, the 800PF is exceptional.

If you can’t tell, I like them both ☺️
 
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MatthewK said:
I can see where you are coming from, but from my experience, the 800 is more challenging to use in cluttered environments.
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Oh, correct, 800mm in general is a learning curve to use to keep up with the target. You need good marksmanship. I never thought or experience AF issue with it more then the 400/4.5 500pf (both sold now) 600pf of 800pf. Could be I haven’t encountered your specific situation
 
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I returned my 180-600mm (too heavy and too big for my small, old hands) and got the 600mm pf. I only had a short time to test but I can tell it is a keeper. This little Northern Mockingbird landing just in time for me to snap a picture.



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Crr008 said:
I returned my 180-600mm (too heavy and too big for my small, old hands) and got the 600mm pf. I only had a short time to test but I can tell it is a keeper. This little Northern Mockingbird landing just in time for me to snap a picture.
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Cindy, that is a beautiful image! Very cooperative of the mockingbird to pose for you. Well done.
 
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Carmel Nikon said:
You folks have me seriously thinking of going 600PF rather than the 800PF I assumed would be my first 2024 lens purchase. I'm currently using a D850/500PF combo, and am getting a Z8 for Christmas. Other than the obvious focal length difference, my sense is the 600 has snappier AF and, though close, a bit better performance than the 800. The photos posted here in this thread are certainly impressive!

Mechanical question - does the 600PF fit in a CL-M5 case? If not, what do y'all use for home storage between outings? I assume the CL-C6 wrap stays in the box in case of resale...
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I personally would love to have the 800PF…but I need a Sherpa if I had one and my wife won’t. The issue is that unless you’re only interested in a particular subject when you go out it just isn’t flexible enough because of the length…and taking another lens along with it makes the Sherpa problem worse. Down here in SW FL…it is just too much tech for most of what I do…and taking something that big on a hike for 10% of my shots that day is too much. Most of the places I go 600 is fine and allows me to carry another lens for closer targets. I don’t do blind shots where it would be more easily used…
 
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