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

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ricardo00 said:
Thanks Luke! Yep that was my first guess. Just wondering if a smaller hood or even shooting without a hood would have helped. Guess not.
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Hard to say - in my experience it's very situational & I'm not sure if hood would make any difference in this case (looks like a sunny day over a meadow). I think at 800mm you'll end up with it more often (one of my worries with this lens).
 
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ricardo00 said:
Problematic photos with my Z9 and 800mm PF: I was driving around looking for subjects to photographic with my 800mm PF with the 1.4TC on. It had been a cold night for this area (in the high 30s) but now the sun was out full blast at around 10:30am and had been out for several hours. I came across a bobcat in a field and was taking its picture. Since it was hunting, I stayed in the car and shot from the window. The focus was on the eye but the grass behind the cat and the cat all seemed "funky". Is this due to heat waves rising from the grass? The possible heat inside the lens hood (had kept the windows open in the car but maybe it was warmer than the outside air)? Or an effect of the PF lens? This is the JPG non-process from NX Studio of one of the photos.
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I agree with Luke... this is classic atmospheric distortion. Everything looks mushy and lacks crisp detail. Living in MN, I find shooting distant subjects (>20 meters) out a vehicle to be a major barrier to making crisp images. Everything from the heat differential inside the car v outside &/or the re-radiation of the sun's IR energy simply messes up the clarity one expects.
I have experience this exact situation at the same location, shooting the same species, on a cold March morning. I was using a 500PF with a D500 and was disappointed with the mush I brought home with me... sometimes we just need to sit back and enjoy the opportunity to simply see the wildlife.
regards,
bruce
 
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Could also be heat emanating from the hot exhaust pipes under your car, causing distortion. Then the sun heating up the long expanse of grass between you and the subject. Those would be my first guesses, followed by the lens hood causing distortion.
 
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BLev65 said:
I agree with Luke... this is classic atmospheric distortion. Everything looks mushy and lacks crisp detail. Living in MN, I find shooting distant subjects (>20 meters) out a vehicle to be a major barrier to making crisp images. Everything from the heat differential inside the car v outside &/or the re-radiation of the sun's IR energy simply messes up the clarity one expects.
I have experience this exact situation at the same location, shooting the same species, on a cold March morning. I was using a 500PF with a D500 and was disappointed with the mush I brought home with me... sometimes we just need to sit back and enjoy the opportunity to simply see the wildlife.
regards,
bruce
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Thanks Bruce for your thoughts. Guess nature likes to through up obstacles to our wildlife photography.
PS. I also had this happen one time when I was outside the car photographing, with the 500mm PF lens.
 
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MatthewK said:
Could also be heat emanating from the hot exhaust pipes under your car, causing distortion. Then the sun heating up the long expanse of grass between you and the subject. Those would be my first guesses, followed by the lens hood causing distortion.
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Thanks Matthew for your thoughts. Guess I could have gotten out of the car but that would have possibly spooked the cat.
 
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If you're carrying your 800 PF with a strap, I would be very interested in seeing (perhaps with attached photos) how you're attaching it to the camera lens in order to avoid strain on the mounting plates. Currently I have my PD strap connected to 1) the eyelets of the camera on the left side and 2) a QD Connector on tripod collar. I think I am distributing the weight evenly but would be interested how others are handling (no pun intended) this matter.
 
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fotogrob said:
If you're carrying your 800 PF with a strap, I would be very interested in seeing (perhaps with attached photos) how you're attaching it to the camera lens in order to avoid strain on the mounting plates. Currently I have my PD strap connected to 1) the eyelets of the camera on the left side and 2) a QD Connector on tripod collar. I think I am distributing the weight evenly but would be interested how others are handling (no pun intended) this matter.
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I'm just a simple minded mechanical engineer so I'm trusting the lens foot to do what it was designed to do. Which is to carry the combined weight of lens and camera. My strap is attached only to the foot.
 
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fotogrob said:
If you're carrying your 800 PF with a strap, I would be very interested in seeing (perhaps with attached photos) how you're attaching it to the camera lens in order to avoid strain on the mounting plates. Currently I have my PD strap connected to 1) the eyelets of the camera on the left side and 2) a QD Connector on tripod collar. I think I am distributing the weight evenly but would be interested how others are handling (no pun intended) this matter.
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From what I’ve read, attaching to camera and lens is not good, as it creates the most stress on the mount.

Rule of thumb is if a lens has mounting points, either a tripod foot or lugs, use them vs. the camera body for any sort of weight bearing. I personally use the lens lugs on the 800PF for my Peak Design Slide strap.
 
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MatthewK said:
From what I’ve read, attaching to camera and lens is not good, as it creates the most stress on the mount.

Rule of thumb is if a lens has mounting points, either a tripod foot or lugs, use them vs. the camera body for any sort of weight bearing. I personally use the lens lugs on the 800PF for my Peak Design Slide strap.
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Thanks Matthew. I carried my 500 PF that way as well. None of my lenses as lugs before. I give it a try.
 
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lukemeup said:
Just got the news that my 800PF will be arriving next week. I still have 600TC on pre-order but I'll probably cancel that when it's my turn. If I can somehow justify the cost of 600TC in a couple months I can likely easily sell the PF for what I paid for it considering the shortage in Canada. :)
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Congrats on finally getting the lens!!

Let me know if that 600TC order ever comes in and you don't want it. I think I could convince them to transfer it to me and skip the line🤫😇
 
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Picked up my 800 PF on Tuesday and was finally able to get some images with it after a few days due to rain.

1) Java Finch

Z9 + 800 f6.3 PF, 1/125s f/6.3 at 800.0mm iso3200

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2) Black-faced Monarch

Z9 + 800 f6.3 PF, 1/250s f/6.3 at 800.0mm iso1000

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3) Black-faced Monarch - Juvenile

Z9 + 800 f6.3 PF, 1/250s f/6.3 at 800.0mm iso320

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4) Golden Whistler

Z9 + 800 f6.3 PF, 1/250s f/6.3 at 800.0mm iso720

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5) Golden Whistler

Z9 + 800 f6.3 PF, 1/250s f/6.3 at 800.0mm iso2200

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6) yellow-faced Honeyeater

Z9 + 800 f6.3 PF, 1/250s f/6.3 at 800.0mm iso500

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First real outing today, in the field, not in my backyard. It looked deceivingly sunny and nice out, and after being trapped indoors for a few days, I diddy-bopped my way outside thinking I'd have a nice day of birding... in reality, it was absolutely frigid and miserable. Wisconsin is not a fun place to photograph in during the winter months. I've come to the conclusion that I abhor shooting with gloves and thick coat on, too much numbness and muted interaction w/ the camera, caused me to miss a key shot today. Oh, and somewhere along the way, the vertical controls got unlocked, so I got to cull through a few hundred blank frames :|

800PF was fantastic though, no complaints there. Z9, I'm still uncertain about my button setup (using Fn1 and AF-ON for AF, nothing on shutter. With gloves, hitting Fn1 is a challenge, so I just stuck w/ using the AF-On button.

Lesson from today: I'm not long for living in Wisconsin. Wife and are are exploring South Carolina as our next place to live.

Anyway... found a Northern Shrike, barely got a shot off because little fella wouldn't let me get anywhere within 50 yards, and seeing as it's winter, there's nothing to hide behind for cover. It's little more than an ID shot, probably shouldn't bother sharing it, but it just exemplifies how birding in the winter here is like squeezing blood from a stone.
NIKON Z 9untitled_20230217_60-Edit.jpg
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On my way back to my car, right as my fingers were about to crack and break off due to hypothermia setting in, I came across this Sandhill Crane chilling along water's edge, and only had a few seconds to react as he burst into flight:
NIKON Z 9untitled_20230217_88-Edit.jpg
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SEOs did not cooperate today, so my mission to capture some more photos of them was mostly a failure (they eventually showed up when the light was basically gone, Z9 had no trouble tracking them in the dim light (the focus really improved in fw3.01)).

Got to see some other species though & also randomly met @eft in person. :)

Coyote by Luke S, on Flickr

Northern Harrier by Luke S, on Flickr

Northern Harrier by Luke S, on Flickr

Rabbit by Luke S, on Flickr

Short-eared Owl by Luke S, on Flickr
 
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One of my biggest concerns in getting the 800 was the ability to capture the bird in flight (my favorite aspect of bird photography) in the frame. Happy to report I was able to follow this kestrel from the field to the perch. I came close to losing her at the end but just added a little canvas in PS.
Kestrel Coming Home_8537-Small-2.jpg
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Kestrel Coming Home_8535_Small-.jpg
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Almost There_8538_Small-.jpg
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