Nikon 800PF Review For Wildlife Photographers (Official Discussion Thread)

If you would like to post, you'll need to register. Note that if you have a BCG store account, you'll need a new, separate account here (we keep the two sites separate for security purposes).

Member's gallery
Coolbob said:
I too would love to see a comparison between the 800PF and the 500PF + TC14EIII + FTZII on Z9 camera.

500mmPF + TC14EIII + FTZII = Already own: 700mm, f8, ~1lb lighter, can be used as 500mm VS 800mmPF = 800mm f6.3, $6,500. What I don't know is how they compare in terms of focus capabilities and optically.

I have preordered the 800PF from my favorite brick and mortar camera store and received NPS priority on the order, but I'm still on the fence. I'm hoping to make up my mind before 800mmPF arrives at the camera store. My camera store is sympathetic to my situation and is happy to sell 'my' 800mm to next person in line if I don't buy it.
Click to expand...
I considered that strongly as I also have the 500pf TC 1.4III and FTZ ... 500 x 1.4. Performed well on my Z6II with BIF limitations related to the Z6II not the lens. Howver it is still only 700mm. Being a Birder/Photographer the extra reach is important to me. It will still be available to me, sometimes, since my wife finally decided to try it on her Z50 and now it is "hers" :cool:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Hut
Member's gallery
Hut2 said:
and with less disturbance to the subject
Click to expand...
One of the big reasons I use the 600 f/4E so much on the D850 (very crop friendly). So I am less likely to have that bird "I have never seen before" take off before I get the shot. I do that by blundering into them enough as it is :) And yes it does give the flatter angle.
 
Member's gallery
I waded through that technical discussion. What the guy was saying is that IQ is now limited by lens diffraction, not sensor density. He showed a chart that showed the 800pf only having 36MP of resolution (in the red zone) because of lens diffraction. (D-500/500pf 17mp).
 
Member's gallery
Ken Miracle said:
I considered that strongly as I also have the 500pf TC 1.4III and FTZ ... 500 x 1.4. Performed well on my Z6II with BIF limitations related to the Z6II not the lens. Howver it is still only 700mm. Being a Birder/Photographer the extra reach is important to me. It will still be available to me, sometimes, since my wife finally decided to try it on her Z50 and now it is "hers" :cool:
Click to expand...
Exactly, Ken. Except, my wife has not co-opted the 500PF ... yet.
 
Last edited:
Member's gallery
NorthernFocus said:
I guess my attempt at humor was too subtle judging by the rebuttals from you and @Hut2 . Or maybe you guys are single? At any rate sorry to have bothered you :(
Click to expand...

I wasn't bothered at all, sorry you took my reply in that way.
I think the humour is still going over my head as I still don't get the joke about 1/2 of your next worth. But that is on me, not on you.

My reply was just to address the last line in pointing out that all of this only applies if one is just after an 800mm solution and has no interest in 600 or f/4.

My friends and I were discussing the 800PF a lot today while we stood around waiting for swallows to fly at the correct spot. My one friend who just switched to Sony this past year (gave up D500 and 500PF) is now eyeing that 800PF with maybe a 100-400Z or future 400PF as a way back to Nikon. However, he will only do it if Nikon brings out a non-gripped Z9 capable (or close) body. Otherwise he isn't saving too much weight from his ungripped A1/600GM combo which he also uses a 3D printed short hood to save even more weight.

If I was a dedicated 800mm shooter in a place with good light more days than not then I think the Z9/800PF is an amazing value and I'm certainly jealous of that lens.
 
Member's gallery
NorthernFocus said:
I've got a feeling that a couple of years down the road there are going to be quite a few 800 PF lenses available on the used market from those who jumped too quickly.
Click to expand...

Not me…I’ve used the 509PF on my D7500 where it is essentially a 750 image wise…and it’s still too short sometimes. I’ve got the Z00-400 and both TCs…and still sometimes it’s too short. Since I ordered both the 80p and a Z9 because I don’t think a gripless Z9 is coming any longer…I’m thinking that the perfect wildlife setup for me is the 800 and 100-400 with the Z9 and Z7II along with the TCs in case. If that works, the 50pPF might get not that much use any longer even though I love the lens as the other two are a more flexible combination. I’ve not used it much anyway since I got the 100-400 anyway because that goes to 560 with the 1.4 and is both longer and more flexible. The 2.0 is also good albeit not as good but the extra stop of light loss makes it iffy for golden hour.

Now that I’ve ordered new toys I will have some Z9 questions…as soon as I figure out what the6 all are I will post. Got the book update and with that and Hudson Henry’s setup videos I wonder if spending the bucks for Thom Hogan’s book is overkill…but then it’s only 50 bucks so probably worth it overall. I need to figure out what cards to buy as well…but there’s another thread here I will review to check.

I actually offered my wife my 500PF for her Z50 on our last outing and she turned me down because she didn’t want the weight. I keep telling her that as my Sherpa she’s supposed to carry things for me…but she beggs to differ.
 
Member's gallery
arbitrage said:
I wasn't bothered at all, sorry you took my reply in that way.
I think the humour is still going over my head as I still don't get the joke about 1/2 of your next worth. But that is on me, not on you.
Click to expand...
No worries. I was just trying to lighten up the conversation. My attempt at humor was alluding to the typical 50/50 division of assets awarded by divorce courts in many states in the USA.
 
Member's gallery
Steve said:
Yes. It's snug, but totally do-able.
Click to expand...
It looks like a great backpack, but costly. I am also looking at the Mindshift Backlight 36lt, I have the 26lt Mindhsift Backlight at the moment and the larger one would be useful for those times when I need to take more gear. Anyway, thanks again for the video and tips. Very helpful!
 
Member's gallery
DaveR said:
I totally agree that you're paying for the f/4 max aperture but the post was about the two ways to get to 800mm. Either use the Nikon 800PF or use a 600mm with a 1.4 TC which gives you a max aperture of f5.6, just one third of a stop above the 800PF which I don't think is worth the considerable extra cost. I was pointing out the price difference.
If that f/4 max aperture is important to you then of course the choice is made for you but you're 'only' getting 600mm not 800mm. To get to 800mm with the Sony system is very expensive currently. I can't see Sony bringing out an 800mm lens at the Nikon price point but you never know.

For my photography I currently use a 500PF and 95% of the time I have a 1.4TC on which gets me to 700mm at f/8. So I reckon an 800 f/6.3 will give me 2/3rds of a stop extra light, 100mm extra reach and I would hope to get an improvement in focussing perfomance by using a native Z mount lens instead of an adapted F mount lens with a TC at a price I can afford.
Click to expand...


I think if one mostly shoots birds in places like Australia, Africa & to a certain extent some parts of North America, one can get away with an f6.3 due to the quality/intensity of sunlight. An f4 is always better in the tropics...
 
Member's gallery
Steve's probably the only one that can answer this question so far…besides the internal filter are there standard threads on the front so that you can put on a skylight or clear filter for less than optimum environments?
 
Member's gallery
Neil Laubenthal said:
Steve's probably the only one that can answer this question so far…besides the internal filter are there standard threads on the front so that you can put on a skylight or clear filter for less than optimum environments?
Click to expand...
Nope. Smooth as a baby's bottom.

800-front.jpg
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
 
Member's gallery
Except from a posting on Canon Rumors website. I like the third bullet point on the downsides of the lens :LOL:

There appears to be just three downsides to the Nikon lens:

-The aperture is 1/3rd stop smaller than most 800mm supertelephotos.
-While better than most previous 800mm offerings, its minimum focus distance is still pretty far out, at more than 5 yards, giving the lens a 0.16x magnification ratio. This means that shooters have to back away from close subjects to get them in focus.
-You have to affix it to a Nikon body.

The good news about the new Nikon release is that the price difference between it and the new Canon equivalent is so wide, that you could buy two flagship Nikon Z9 cameras with the difference. The new Canon is 32 percent heavier; about two inches longer; and the image quality appears to be significantly impaired relative to the new Nikon.
Click to expand...
 
Member's gallery
I read something about 21. of April here but my dealer was told by his Nikon sales rep, end of April too...
But to be honest, I am not fully convinced that it will be end of April anyway. Current global logistic environment is more difficult than ever before.
 
Member's gallery
Thank you Steve and Arbitrage.

Like everyone else here can hardly wait to get my grabby hands on it 🤩

Am i reading these MTF charts wrong? it looks to me like the 800mm 6.3S is sharper than the 400mm 2.8S ?

If that is the case it is really mind blowing. That 400 is so sharp you can cut yourself just by looking at it.

MTF Charts.jpg
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top