Nikon Z 800mm - member results when adding a Z 1.4 TC and use cases

[Unscript]

Just out of curiosity, how hard / easy is it to get your subject into the viewfinder with a prime lens of that length? With a zoom, it's relatively easy by starting with a wider angle, finding the subject, and zooming in, but you can't do that. Is that something you get used to by getting better at aiming, or do you always have to find landmarks and "get there" in the viewfinder?

 

[DougC]

Just out of curiosity, how hard / easy is it to get your subject into the viewfinder with a prime lens of that length? With a zoom, it's relatively easy by starting with a wider angle, finding the subject, and zooming in, but you can't do that. Is that something you get used to by getting better at aiming, or do you always have to find landmarks and "get there" in the viewfinder?

If you are new to 500+ mm lenses, it takes a bit of practice. Steve mentions a method in one of his videos but I don’t remember which one. Someone here is bound to though.

 

[PhilG]

Just out of curiosity, how hard / easy is it to get your subject into the viewfinder with a prime lens of that length? With a zoom, it's relatively easy by starting with a wider angle, finding the subject, and zooming in, but you can't do that. Is that something you get used to by getting better at aiming, or do you always have to find landmarks and "get there" in the viewfinder?

When I used the 500mm + 1.4 TC (700mm) I would often have problems with fast moving subjects that were close that I didn't already have in focus as stationary objects. It's pretty much the same with the 800mm. I got to try someone else's 800mm with a 1.4 TC (1120mm) and even on a tripod I was having trouble picking things up. That was a year ago, maybe now I wouldn't have so much trouble. I will let you know in a week or two.

 

[Mark_Laidlaw]

Your comment about just being closer to distant objects was made by someone else and unfortunately, it’s most likely the case. I think the 1.4 TC could still help me in a number of cases besides the one I pointed out. I would hate to have to use that lens at f11. I’m going to get the TC and try it out and see what happens. I wanted to get some feedback to set my expectations.

At those apertures, just imagine you're shooting Canon RF lol

 

[Steve Waycott]

I purchased a Nikon Z 800mm a little over a month ago and have been using it without a TC. I wanted to get used to it and see what I should expect from an image quality perspective without one. There have been a few situations where more reach would be nice, in particular photographing eagles at Rocky Mountain Arsenal Mational Wildlife Refuge, where most of the really interesting action is farther away than is desirable with just the Z 800mm. I can still get images without the TC, but in some cases the eagles look quite small. I realize atmosphere could play a role, but heat isn't an issue for me right now.

I've read some people indicating they had good success with a TC when it was needed. I would be interested in people's opinions about the TC and to see some forum members best photos when using it.

I'm enclosing two photos that are about the same distance away (I estimate 700 - 800 feet from looking at my position on a map and where I judge the eagles were). I can live with these even though they are cropped to 6000 x 4000. The third photo is what I'm talking about, and I'm not sure a TC is going to help much because the subjects are so far away.


Nikon Z8, Nikon Z 800mm, f6.3, 1/3200, ISO 2000

The photo that follows was cropped to 3829 x 2154. I'm guessing the eagles were between 1,200 and 1,400 feet away.

I have the 1.4 TC but I've not used it with the 800PF very much. On the occasions I do use it, I am generally pleased with the results, although it takes a very bright day to wrangle the shutter speed and ISO into usable range for moving subjects. Forget about getting some extra pull for those dawn and dusk shots.

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[cr_wildlife]

Five issues with the 800mm plus a TC. Even if you are not seeing any heat refraction at 800 mm, you might see it at 1120 mm with the 1.4x TC, and you have a high probability of seeing it at 1600 mm with the 2x TC, at least in my experience. Remember, your are shooting through a lot of air, and the TC magnifies any heat distortion just as it magnifies the subject. Second, your field of view gets so small that one has to be a real expert at finding birds in flight in the viewfinder to find your subject with the TC on. Third, I have enough trouble hand-holding the 800mm and getting sharp images. I simply cannot do so with a TC attached, so I must use a tripod at 1120mm or at 1600mm. Fourth, I am not entirely satisfied with the TC images. To my eye, the edges are sharp, but fine detail is lost, which gives the images a peculiar look. Fifth, of course, is the f stop. With the 1.4x TC, the largest aperture is f/9 and with the 2x TC the largest aperture is f/13. When photographing fast moving birds, like peregrine falcons, the ISO starts getting high at f/9 with the shutter at 1/3200 seconds and really high with the 2X TC. I know, noise reduction software, etc. But one still needs lots of light at these f stops. Full sun often equals heat distortion. With slower birds, like the bald eagles, you might get away with 1/2500 or even 1/2000, but the ISO will still be high. You can tell that I am not a fan of the 800mm. I purchased it to photograph peregrine falcons to which I cannot get very close and have all the issues mentioned above. Realizing the cost difference is a huge issue, I find myself leaving the 800mm at home and using my 600mm f/4 TC almost all of the time. Maybe it's time to sell the 800mm!

 

[JAS]

I use the TC14Z exteensively with the Z800PF and am pleased with the results. As others have noted, hear distortion with distance, and especially over water, are an issue. I find that most of my better shots are to get something that is not to far away and make it a bit closer. This is especially true with smaller birds and critters that will let you get only so close before they skitter off. Shooting across water very often introduces heat distortion so there are fewer keepers.
I found this combo incredibly effective with prairie dogs around McIntosh Lake in Colorado and capturing closer photos of the prairie dogs. The walking path goes right through their area, but they still like to keep a bit of distance. This combo allows me to get nice closeup framing. I use a monopod since I have some issues with shaky hands. I also use this combo for backyard birds to better fill the frame. This shot is uncropped.
I will be keeping this combo because I can handle the weight with a monopod and still walk around. Anything heavier would require I remain stationary and use a tripod.

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[ricardo00]

Yep using the 800mm with the 1.4TC allows one to stay further away from wildlife and with most birds/animals, their behavior is more likely to be effected (ie. runs away) the closer one gets. So for this bobcat, I was using the 800mm plus 1.4TC to stay back as it hunted:

https://flic.kr/p/2pysp7y

 

[PhilG]

I purchased a Nikon Z 800mm a little over a month ago and have been using it without a TC. I wanted to get used to it and see what I should expect from an image quality perspective without one. There have been a few situations where more reach would be nice, in particular photographing eagles at Rocky Mountain Arsenal Mational Wildlife Refuge, where most of the really interesting action is farther away than is desirable with just the Z 800mm. I can still get images without the TC, but in some cases the eagles look quite small. I realize atmosphere could play a role, but heat isn't an issue for me right now.

I've read some people indicating they had good success with a TC when it was needed. I would be interested in people's opinions about the TC and to see some forum members best photos when using it.

I'm enclosing two photos that are about the same distance away (I estimate 700 - 800 feet from looking at my position on a map and where I judge the eagles were). I can live with these even though they are cropped to 6000 x 4000. The third photo is what I'm talking about, and I'm not sure a TC is going to help much because the subjects are so far away.

I purchased the 1.4 TC. On Sunday January 5th I went out to test and was lucky to find several decent photographic subjects. The conditions were plenty of sun, late morning, temperature of around 20 degrees, and some frost/snow on the trees from the night before. The results were about what I expected given the examples that many of you provided.

The first subject was a Kestrel spotted in a short tree along the road in Cherry Creek State Park.
Nikon Z8, Nikon Z800PF, 1120mm, f9, 1/1600, ISO 1250, cropped to 6600x4400.

The second subject was a Red-tailed Hawk (maybe a Swainson's) in a tall tree a decent distance from the road in Cherry Creek State Park.
Nikon Z8, Nikon Z800PF, 1120mm, f9, 1/1600, ISO 1100, cropped to 6000x4000.

The third subject was a Merlin sitting on a post on the Wildlife Drive in Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. I hadn't seen a Merlin in a while, and it was nice enough to let me photograph it for 15 minutes, which let me try some different things and take lots of photographs.

Nikon Z8, Nikon Z800PF, 1120mm, f11, 1/1250, ISO 900, cropped to 6900x4600.

Nikon Z8, Nikon Z800PF, 1120mm, f9, 1/3200, ISO 1250, cropped to 6900x4600.

 

[ajrmd]

Phil, your images with the TC are typical of the results I've seen and have achieved with this lens. The first image appears to be front focused on the tail rather than the eye, though the subsequent captures appear to be in focus. Did you have the system on a mono/tripod? As I think you've realized, stopping down will improve the IQ somewhat, though I'll leave it to you to decide how it performed and whether it meets your requirements.

 

[Ed Erkes]

I don't hesitate to use the 1.4 converter on the 800mm f6.3 when needed. You'll get a lot of differing opinions online.The best thing to do is shoot with it and decide for yourself. Set up for some test images with a stuffed toy animal. Crop the images to the same subject size. Process and sharpen them and then compare them.
I find the 800 with tc relatively easy to handhold. I'm a Sony user and bought a Z8 and 800 just because of its ease to handhold compared to the Sony 600mm f4. If I'm not walking long distances I carry both the Sony A1 with 200-600 and the z8 with 800. When I need a little more reach, I add the 1.4 tc.

 

[PhilG]

Phil, your images with the TC are typical of the results I've seen and have achieved with this lens. The first image appears to be front focused on the tail rather than the eye, though the subsequent captures appear to be in focus. Did you have the system on a mono/tripod? As I think you've realized, stopping down will improve the IQ somewhat, though I'll leave it to you to decide how it performed and whether it meets your requirements.

I was handholding when I shot the kestrel and the red-tailed hawk. I surprisingly am not seeing a lot of shake when I'm handholding which can be largely attributed to the vibration system, the big issue is getting the subject into the viewfinder. The prairie falcon (not merlin - I've been corrected on that) was shot from my car with me supporting the camera on my hand that was on the top of the door. The lens barrel was outside the vehicle with the windows open on both sides of the car. I know that when shooting the Z800PF without the TC is tests better at f8 than f6.3, so I have assumed that shooting at f11 vs f9 would be slightly better although diffraction might negatively impact the results. The sharpest image I got was at f9, but I didn't include it because I framed in horribly. I had a lot of images that weren't quite good enough for me. What I did seem to notice was that (not surprisingly) more of the prairie falcon was in better focus at f11. I need to take more photos with both settings to get a better feel for it. The light was bright, and the bird sat there a long time so I could take my time and test different settings. In some situations using f11 just isn't feasible because of the resulting ISO.

I also have noticed that even though I see a green box on an eye, that may not be where it is focusing, or focusing well. I'm sometimes surprised by the number of slightly out of focus images I get when I think I'm dialed in.