Nikon 600PF - Share Photos & Discuss!!!

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Patty15 said:
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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I rarely use a tripod either and that is one of the great things about the 600pf as it is so light. We are sometimes called the biggest cotton patch in the world as there is about 3.5 million contiguous acres that are all flat. The 1.4 tele works better with the 600pf than any lens Ive used a TC with before.
 
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Not my pics but this is a picture I pulled off the net to show what this country looks like when the playas are all full of water.
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Chappy said:
I rarely use a tripod either and that is one of the great things about the 600pf as it is so light. We are sometimes called the biggest cotton patch in the world as there is about 3.5 million contiguous acres that are all flat. The 1.4 tele works better with the 600pf than any lens Ive used a TC with before.
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I occasionally use a monopod mostly because I need something that's small and easily portable. I agree with you on the weight of the 600 PF since I'm a bit smaller. The size is nice too.
 
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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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Chappy, part of the issue in the distance shots is heat haze. The camera has a tuff time locking on. I experience it a in lot late morning as things start to heat up. Doesn’t matter if it is summer or winter. Somewhere around 10 am.
 
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robertrear said:
Great images guys!! I'm still getting a bit more familiar with the Z9 and the 600PF 6/3 second day coming from a D850 500PF and 600 f4 but I like what I see.
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Robert, excellent photos. Love them all but I especially appreciate the kingfisher shot knowing how difficult they are to get close to. Well done.👍👍👍
 
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I can't get over how brutally sharp this lens is, along with a nice, clean rendering of detail that adds some subtle dimensionality. This is hands-down my favorite lens to use now.

First actual snow today! Juncos, Cardinals and other winter birds are using my crabapple tree for sustenance, makes for easy testing of lenses.
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NIKON Z 8untitled_20231126_165.jpg
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MatthewK said:
I can't get over how brutally sharp this lens is, along with a nice, clean rendering of detail that adds some subtle dimensionality. This is hands-down my favorite lens to use now.

First actual snow today! Juncos, Cardinals and other winter birds are using my crabapple tree for sustenance, makes for easy testing of lenses.
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View attachment 75194
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That's an awesome shot with the detail, color, and snow. But you're killing me with your comments in addition to the imagery. I've got to stop following this thread. I've made my decision not to buy this lens and that's final.... for now... maybe :confused:
 
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A few of mine, taken over time trying to get used to the lens and settings. The eagles were 600+ feet away, across a river. The Merlin close by the road but high in a tree, and the Pheasant well, why did the pheasant cross the road? I've not been able to get it out much due to weather and other circumstances but I'm looking forward to a long time playing with this lens. Planning on getting a 1.4TC after the new year.
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ronnieboy said:
Thanks. 7.1 was not my intention….I had been shooting wide open and must have accidentally turned the front dial.
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Yep, The Z8 does that. My wife had it in studio, and on live events. She is back to the Z9 just for that reason. The ergonomics of the Z9 is amazing.
Z8 is a great backup or a walk around camera.
 
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Not usually one to be contrarian, but the Z9 has a terribly designed vertical grip lock switch that always got accidentally switched on when carrying at my side. I lost count of how many times I’d return home with hundreds of shots of the ground.

Z8? Have never once had it accidentally change any setting on me or fire off random strings of photos.
 
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MatthewK said:
Not usually one to be contrarian, but the Z9 has a terribly designed vertical grip lock switch that always got accidentally switched on when carrying at my side. I lost count of how many times I’d return home with hundreds of shots of the ground.

Z8? Have never once had it accidentally change any setting on me or fire off random strings of photos.
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That lock switch for vertical shots on the Z9 is awful for getting bumped and turning on. I keep saying I'm going to put tape over it or something.

The only time I've had issues with setting changes is the wheel on the Z lenses to change aperture. I always set that to None in the controls. When I got my first Z lens I couldn't figure out how my f-stop kept getting changed on either camera. When I discovered it was on the lens and turned it off, no more problems with that.
 
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I'm happy with my initial test shots using the new 600pf strapped onto my Z9. Clarity on most of the test shots came out great.

This picture of a White-Crowned Sparrow taking a bath on my backyard fountain (my static test subject) is cropped in intentionally to view the eye. Minimal LR adjustments.

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MatthewK said:
Not usually one to be contrarian, but the Z9 has a terribly designed vertical grip lock switch that always got accidentally switched on when carrying at my side. I lost count of how many times I’d return home with hundreds of shots of the ground.

Z8? Have never once had it accidentally change any setting on me or fire off random strings of photos.
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Gaffer tape solves that problem for me since I never use the grip.
 
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