Nikon 600PF - Share Photos & Discuss!!!

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Anjin San said:
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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Makes sense, Anjin. For me, I'm on a 20 year mission to photograph backyard birds from my deck, and can lug an 800mm there from my office. For travel, I too would need a Sherpa, or a future Z 600mm PF :p. On the 800, my issue is deciding between Z 800mm PF or the 800mm f/5.6E FL ED VR. Given the short drag-lens-to-the-deck distance, I could do the F-mount tele King, which seems to offer a noticeable optical benefit. Am currently sizing up the cost of that used vs a new Z 800.

However, this thread is about the Z 600mm f/6.3. For Sherpa-less travel, I'm getting excited to give it a try!
 
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I'm hearing a lot of comparison between the Z600 PF and the Z800 PF. I have the 600. I like it a lot. I'm considering getting a 1.4x TC to use with it for longer reach when I need it. But, otherwise it's been great. I had been using a 500 PF before now.
 
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The 1.4 with the 600 gives me good results even with a fairly decent crop. Here are a couple more I got this week sans TC, these anre about a crop to 70% of the frame…excellent lens.

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And here’s one with the Zi, 60pPF and 2.0TC then cropped to about 25% of the frame (it was a test outing with the new 600 a couple of days after I got it and it’s in our eagle nesting area so getting closer isn’t legal). I will take that any day of the week.

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Just picked up the Nikon Z9 and 600PF 6.3 yesterday a got it setup and took a few back yard images this morning I did cropped them heavily. I'm very happy with the just the backyard bird and squirrel that I captured.
 

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robertrear said:
Just picked up the Nikon Z9 and 600PF 6.3 yesterday a got it setup and took a few back yard images this morning I did cropped them heavily. I'm very happy with the just the backyard bird and squirrel that I captured.
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Woooo! Look at those fingers razor blades. Sharp pictures.

Congratulations x2👏

Which camera did you have before?
 
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This has been a very helpful post in making a decision about buying my first Z lens. I bird and take wildlife pictures all handheld . The Nikon D500 and 500 PF have been my tools for 4 years with many great photos and memories. I have been using the 500 PF with a 1.4 TC on the Z8 and getting great images, but do not like the balance with the FTZ adapter.
I ordered a 600PF and paused at the time of purchase wondering if I should get the 800mm PF instead for better reach. Looking at the pictures in the thread reminded me of the sheer variety of birds and mammals I like to take pictures of. Also that walking outdoors with light gear is a priority given my increasing age etc. Yes to shoot small warblers, I will use DX mode and a 1.4 TC at times but as a less specialized "all wildlife lens", suitable for walking, overseas travel and use in a car while birding, I think the practicality of the 600mm PF for me wins hands down.
I do not see myself carrying the 800 pf with binoculars, food clothing etc all day whereas the 600mm PF will work for my daylong hikes.
Thanks to everyone who posted in the forum.
 
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Stavrosbbb said:
This has been a very helpful post in making a decision about buying my first Z lens. I bird and take wildlife pictures all handheld . The Nikon D500 and 500 PF have been my tools for 4 years with many great photos and memories. I have been using the 500 PF with a 1.4 TC on the Z8 and getting great images, but do not like the balance with the FTZ adapter.
I ordered a 600PF and paused at the time of purchase wondering if I should get the 800mm PF instead for better reach. Looking at the pictures in the thread reminded me of the sheer variety of birds and mammals I like to take pictures of. Also that walking outdoors with light gear is a priority given my increasing age etc. Yes to shoot small warblers, I will use DX mode and a 1.4 TC at times but as a less specialized "all wildlife lens", suitable for walking, overseas travel and use in a car while birding, I think the practicality of the 600mm PF for me wins hands down.
I do not see myself carrying the 800 pf with binoculars, food clothing etc all day whereas the 600mm PF will work for my daylong hikes.
Thanks to everyone who posted in the forum.
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I thought bout that as well…and decided that the 800 would be too much lens for a lot of situations down here in FL…and that meant carrying something else on outings, and that Something else needs flexibility…so the 600, 100-400 and the 2 TCs is an excellent combo for me..or possible the 400 instead of the 100-400. I need to examine my LR catalog and see whether 400/600/840/1200 limits too many of my situations…off the top of my head I think so but need to look at it.
 
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Over the last week we have seen a bunch of Canada Geese and Snow Geese move in next to the Sandhill Cranes. Hard to get close enough to them in the fields even with the 600 with a 1.4 tele on it. However, I have gotten a few other photos while watching the Cranes and Geese.

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Chappy said:
Over the last week we have seen a bunch of Canada Geese and Snow Geese move in next to the Sandhill Cranes. Hard to get close enough to them in the fields even with the 600 with a 1.4 tele on it. However, I have gotten a few other photos while watching the Cranes and Geese.
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Beautiful work! 👍
 
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Carmel Nikon said:
You had earlier mentioned enjoying better backgrounds, faster AF, and sharper images with Z 600 vs 500 PF ...still the case after more experience with the lens?
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Yes. The AF is faster and the images are sharper however I do find that sometimes it is difficult to get very sharp pics at a distance with the 1.4 in the combo. Take for example the Cranes, at distance to get the eyes in focus and my keeper rate goes way down. I know some of that is that I am pushing to get more distance when I should probably give up. It is even worse if you have foliage or something like cotton stalks around the birds. these distances also give you trouble with the background making it more nervous. Again, I think it is me trying to push to hard on the distance.

Overall the lens is really good in most aspects. AF continues to be very fast on BIF and most cases very sharp. I will mention that the first shot of the coyote was while the camera was in bird tracking. I thought about it as i was shooting and quickly put it in mammal detection.
 
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Chappy said:
Yes. The AF is faster and the images are sharper however I do find that sometimes it is difficult to get very sharp pics at a distance with the 1.4 in the combo. Take for example the Cranes, at distance to get the eyes in focus and my keeper rate goes way down. I know some of that is that I am pushing to get more distance when I should probably give up. It is even worse if you have foliage or something like cotton stalks around the birds. these distances also give you trouble with the background making it more nervous. Again, I think it is me trying to push to hard on the distance.

Overall the lens is really good in most aspects. AF continues to be very fast on BIF and most cases very sharp. I will mention that the first shot of the coyote was while the camera was in bird tracking. I thought about it as i was shooting and quickly put it in mammal detection.
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Super helpful. It's so cool to learn from both your observations and your photos. You make me wish I was living in your part of Texas! Though I am sure your capturing this range of wildlife is mainly due to your skill, experience and wildlife photography strategies, not the geography.

My sense from yours and others' experience with the Z600 is that it's incredible for what it can do as a native lens, but for situations that need more reach, it may help to be paired with an 800 for longer distance work vs counting on teleconverters. Great to know both what the Z600 shines at, and where it hits the edges of full capability. Does that seem like the right mindset on this lens?

Thank you Chappy!
 
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Carmel Nikon said:
Super helpful. It's so cool to learn from both your observations and your photos. You make me wish I was living in your part of Texas! Though I am sure your capturing this range of wildlife is mainly due to your skill, experience and wildlife photography strategies, not the geography.

My sense from yours and others' experience with the Z600 is that it's incredible for what it can do as a native lens, but for situations that need more reach, it may help to be paired with an 800 for longer distance work vs counting on teleconverters. Great to know both what the Z600 shines at, and where it hits the edges of full capability. Does that seem like the right mindset on this lens?

Thank you Chappy!
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Yes it is a good mindset. However, I really don't know how much the 800pf would help as I think atmospheric distortion would hurt it. In many of my photos I can see the atmospheric distortion in the background or even on the subjects. This morning when i took the Crane shots the sun was out but the temp was about 38 degrees. Even though I could see the distortion at the long end in the backgrounds of the Crane photos. Just the heat of the sun on fields rising. With my experience with the Sigma 150-600 and the 500pf I have wondered how much use I would get out of and 800pf lens except for shooting tighter and less cropping on the same targets i shoot with the 600pf.

Our land is very flat and it is the plains where you can see for miles and miles. At night I can see the lights of the small towns and wind farms over 20 miles away. There are no trees except around houses and such. The joke around here is you can stand on a dime and see your dog running away for two weeks. Another is there is nothing between here and Canada to stop the wind of a Blue Norther.
 
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Below are two pictures I am posting that show the vastness of the South Plains of Texas. The windturbines at sunset were not taken with the 600pf.

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Chappy said:
Our land is very flat and it is the plains where you can see for miles and miles. At night I can see the lights of the small towns and wind farms over 20 miles away. There are no trees except around houses and such. The joke around here is you can stand on a dime and see your dog running away for two weeks. Another is there is nothing between here and Canada to stop the wind of a Blue Norther.
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Chappy, that sounds like SE Michigan, where I used to live. I'm now in western PA where people have a hard time with the concept of looking across a field and seeing for miles and miles.

We get sandhill cranes here, while they can be a distance away it's not so drastic to not photograph them with either a 500 PF or the 600 PF. Our Bald Eagles are another story since most times we can't get closer than 600-700 feet of them. I'm considering getting the 1.4 TC to go along with my 600 PF for that reason. I never considered the 800 PF just due to its size and weight, and the many times I prefer to handhold.
 
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