Nikon Z 400 f4.5 with 1.4x TC vs 500 pf questions!?

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
For me taking the 100-400mm on one body is a given and it comes down to the other lens which is going to be a super telephoto prime lens. On my last trip to Costa Rica I had the 80-400mm, 500mm PF, 600m f/4 and TC-14 and TC-20 teleocnverters. I used the 600mm for roughly 10% of my shots. At a place like Yellowstone the 500mm PF would not have been used at all and the 600mm with a TCC-14 would be used the most.

I was doing some test shots of small songbirds at my house with the 100-400mm and it was barely adequate with such small subjects. With the lack of sufficient image magnification the autofocus struggled. The 100-400mm really needs the 1.4x teleconverter to be effective with small subjects.

A push pull type of zoom is more prone to outside contaminents entering the barrel. This was a common problem with the first Nikon 80-200mm lenses. With my digital gear I have become much more of a neat freak with a cloth to clean the outside of the lenses and priodically using a vacuum on my camera bags.
 
Member's gallery
500 PF for me over 400 4.5

For me its hard to rationalise buying a lens and not being able to use it as intended…bare…or having to use it with some compromise (TC)….as well buy a longer lens.

For birding use, the TC 1.4 will be permanently stuck to 400. Tests confirm that 500 bare is sharper than that set up, even enlarged to 560mm. But most of all, 500mm is the “bare minimum” (pun intended) that one needs for birds. Doesn’t hurt that it can become a 750 on DX, and i am not even counting TC 1.4.

I will think about it when a Z 600 PF lands up.
 
Last edited:
Member's gallery
BLev65 said:
I think that the running VR is the one thing that bothers me most about any adapted F-mount VR lens. If the 400 f4.5 was a 500mm f5.6 (or 4.5) Z-mount lens, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. Because the 500PF is my longest lens, I do not want to step down to 400mm just to add a converter and turn it into an f6.3 lens.
It is unfortunate that we can not turn lens VR off while maintaining IBIS. While you might only gain one stop of VR, I'd take it and shoot my 500mm lens at 1/300 or faster.

bruce
Click to expand...
Can VR wear and tear result from this? What are the downsides?

Z lenses on Z bodies: here also VR is continuously on?
 
Member's gallery
NorthernFocus said:
I've shot the 500PF since it first came out and adapted to the Z9 since January. And I've had the 400 4.5 since release. There's no practical difference in IQ. It's all of the misc things mentioned above that you have to decide on. One thing that really bothers me about the adapted 500PF is that the VR runs continuously when the camera is awake. I don't have a Z mount TC yet so can't speak to how the 400 is at 560mm.
Click to expand...

Hi, trying to understand this…how is this different from when you mount 400/4.5? As I understand, in that case also VR is constantly engaged…?
 
Member's gallery
Garuna said:
Hi, trying to understand this…how is this different from when you mount 400/4.5? As I understand, in that case also VR is constantly engaged…?
Click to expand...
No. When using f mount lens on DSLR or Z mount on MILC the VR is only active when AF ON or shutter button is engaged. When f mount are adapted to Z mount it runs continuously until the camera is shut off or goes to sleep.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top