NPS?
Official Nikon 600mm TC Info + My Full First Look Review
- Thread starter Steve
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Yeah. I am the first one to get it in Montreal and Quebec province. Maybe I am the only one who ordered it here.
Midway
Well-known member
deleted
Steve W
Well-known member
agrumpyoldsod
Well-known member
Matt Irwin -- that well known Wildlife shooter - posted his review as well Yesterday
But you won't likely do these days, especially for a brand new, shiny one. Or even for a not so old shiny one; at least in these parts! Last year, I paid more for a three-year-old used car as I did the last time I bought a new one.
Alistair
Well-known member
His footage is rather beautiful though.
Bajwas1
New member
I picked mine on Thursday from BJ photo, Waterloo. I was told only two came to Canada in first shipment.
going to pick up mine on tuesday 
We are the two lucky one
RDD
New member
Great review Steve. I order my Z 600 the day it was offered and, at the same time, cancelled my order for the Z 800mm. I will probably sell my 600mm f/4 after the new Z 600mm arrives. Now we can just hope for the Z 8, so I can have a second mirrorless body and get rid of the rest of my DSLR equipment. Keep up the fine work and I hope to see you in another workshop. Maybe Africa this time? RDD
Marco74
Well-known member
Here in Italy, some lenses will arrive in the middle of this month, and others are already delivered.
I just placed an order for one, and the delivery of mine is estimated in January. I hope for that.
Probably this Saturday, I will sell my 600 FL to a good friend.
I just placed an order for one, and the delivery of mine is estimated in January. I hope for that.
Probably this Saturday, I will sell my 600 FL to a good friend.
fcotterill
Well-known member
PL has finally released their review
photographylife.com
Nikon Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S Review
This hands-on review covers everything you need to know about the Nikon Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S, including extensive field and lab tests.
photographylife.com
ChrisM
Well-known member
The best super tele on the planet right now I would say.
I totally agree. The 400 tc and the 600 tc are the best of the best
ChrisM
Well-known member
If the switch were not so costly, I would trade in my Sony 600GM in a heartbeat.
I think Nikon innovated in 2 essential areas with the 400 and 600TC.
The built in TC is obvious, but another brilliant move has been to design these lenses without a filter in the dropin filter holder.
I have experimented with the Sony 600GM by removing the stock neutral filter, and the increase in fine detail and contrast is very noticable, but the lens has not been designed that way, so the overall look of the images is a bit off without the glass filter in place.
Nikon was very smart to implement the dropin filter this way, it gives their 400 and 600TC a clear edge i.m.o.
arbitrage
Well-known member
If this lens could mount and function on a Sony body I'd have swapped my 600GM and 400GM in a heartbeat.
There is no way to argue against the fact that Nikon is dominating the lens market for wildlife photographers.
There is no way to argue against the fact that Nikon is dominating the lens market for wildlife photographers.
Jaylabj
Member
Can you show an example of the increase in contrast and fine detail and explain what you mean by the image being a bit off?
And they carried the no filter in the holder through on the Z800pf.
ChrisM
Well-known member
I try not to engage in efforts to try and prove my own findings by posting images or examples.
It has simply been my finding over the years with various high end super telelenses, that the filter in the drop-in filter holder has an impact on the image rendering.
The worst offender was the gel filter in the Canon 400DOII that slightly veiled the images.
Once removed, clarity and fine detail on the 7DII improved considerably.
But this is a controversial topic so I would not even encourage people to endeavour in experimenting, because the filters are part of the design.
If you leave it out, results can vary per lens.
With the Sony 600GM, my assumption is that a careful balance between image sharpness/contrast and image smoothness/bokeh, was targeted.
If I remove the filter, the contrast goes a bit over the top and I have to dial back clarity because sharpness is too aggresive.
It does show however how much resolution and contrast the 600GM packs, and I dislike it that the filter does a job of veiling part of it.
The effect is the least in low soft light, just as was the case with the Canon 400DOII.
But as the light get's stronger, the slight haziness and softness quickly increases.
Removing the filter get's rid of most of that, providing very high clarity.
This is something you can easily try out yourself if you have the 600GM, but is rather useless, because the lens was designed this way.
The only way to get it right, is by the manufacturer to design the lens without a filter, and make it an optional addition.
Nikon was the first to see the sense in this, and I think that is a great thing.
I don't have the optical knowledge to theoretically build a case on what exactly happens in these expensive lenses in strong light (meaning anything outside of dawn and dusk) that have a flat glass filter in place, but I have grown to dislike them quite a bit over the years, especially with the arrival of higher resolution cameras that invite substantial cropping.
Agree! Using it even with the TC engaged is marvelous. Dare I to say that at 840mm is a tad cleaner and offers softer backgrounds than the Z800 PF? Yes, I do (I own both).
Krgds, Marcelo
DRM
Well-known member
The lens is magical. I think this is the first review I’ve seen that stressed just how good the lens is with the TC. Most of the previous reviews I’ve seen put the lens on par with or slightly behind the 800 PF. But this review puts the TC slightly ahead and it‘s 840 mm at f/5.6. Whatever the case, you certainly aren’t going to suffer a drop in quality choosing the 600 TC, TC engaged, over the 800 PF. I would also make some additional points I didn’t see, or weren’t stressed enough, in the PL review.PL has finally released their review
Nikon Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S Review
This hands-on review covers everything you need to know about the Nikon Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S, including extensive field and lab tests.
1) The lens is a great sports lens. The backgrounds it delivers, in addition to the sharpness and AF speed, results in fantastic people oriented action shots. It’s not just a wildlife lens.
2) The VR when paired with the Z9 is unbelievably good. It’s like having an invisible tripod, allowing sharp shots at unthinkable shutter speeds when subjects are mostly stationary. The article stresses size and weight quite a bit, but the VR negates that if you don’t have to keep the lens on the subject for multiple minutes at a time and have nothing to rest it on, like your knee. The weight and size remind me of carrying around a scoped rifle on a sling. For me, it’s not a burden at all.
3) The article stresses the $15K + price quite a bit but the lens has appeared multiple times now in Nikon’s refurbished sales for $11,159.95 USD. Sale prices for the 800 PF ($6000) and 600 PF ($4300) are nearly there anyway. Given how much everything else in the world has shot up in price so much, $11,159.95 for a like new 600 TC lens directly from Nikon is a steal!
fcotterill
Well-known member
This S Line 600 TC is definitely in the Excellent league, as Thom Hogan's confirmed in his review of the 600 PF, just published.
fcotterill
Well-known member
I was reminded of this Technical article published in the most recent Nikon Research Report.
Development of the ‘NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S’ ‘NIKKOR Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S’
Yuji IHARA, Masashi YAMASHITA and Yusuke SAKAMOTO
The Nikon engineers summarize how they improved both of these Z-mount TC Exotic primes..... This account illustrates how the innovations and materials making up an excellent Z Nikkor succeed or fail in the optical glass(es), but top class performance equally depends on optimizing key aspects of the mechanics and electronics.
Certainly impressive - never underestimate Nikon!
Link in a primary 400 f2.8S TC thread
bcgforums.com
Development of the ‘NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S’ ‘NIKKOR Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S’
Yuji IHARA, Masashi YAMASHITA and Yusuke SAKAMOTO
The Nikon engineers summarize how they improved both of these Z-mount TC Exotic primes..... This account illustrates how the innovations and materials making up an excellent Z Nikkor succeed or fail in the optical glass(es), but top class performance equally depends on optimizing key aspects of the mechanics and electronics.
Certainly impressive - never underestimate Nikon!
Link in a primary 400 f2.8S TC thread
400 f2.8S TC VR
https://www.nikon.com/news/2021/1028_lens_04.htm * The appearance of the actual product may differ from the photo shown above. TOKYO - Nikon Corporation (Nikon) is pleased to announce the development of the NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S super-telephoto prime lens for full-frame (Nikon...
bcgforums.com
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This is a great read. Just goes to show how difficult it is to design these lenses as there is so many compromises and considerations that go into a lens's make up.I was reminded of this Technical article published in the most recent Nikon Research Report.
Development of the ‘NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S’ ‘NIKKOR Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S’
Yuji IHARA, Masashi YAMASHITA and Yusuke SAKAMOTO
The Nikon engineers summarize how they improved both of these Z-mount TC Exotic primes..... This account illustrates how the innovations and materials making up an excellent Z Nikkor succeed or fail in the optical glass(es), but top class performance equally depends on optimizing key aspects of the mechanics and electronics.
Certainly impressive - never underestimate Nikon!
Link in a primary 400 f2.8S TC thread
400 f2.8S TC VR
https://www.nikon.com/news/2021/1028_lens_04.htm * The appearance of the actual product may differ from the photo shown above. TOKYO - Nikon Corporation (Nikon) is pleased to announce the development of the NIKKOR Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S super-telephoto prime lens for full-frame (Nikon...