Wildlife & Landscape Day Hikes in Snow?

[tigger4t]

I have used my Sigma 500 f4 for just over a year now which gives me great results and works well with the TC-1401 and I'm quite happy going for half-day walks carrying my D850 and 500 f4. I am however about to go on a trip to the Scottish Highlands where I will be hiking daily in snow with everything that I might need for wildlife and landscape photography. A "long telephoto, general purpose zoom and wide-angle lens, tripod and/or monopod" is the recommended kit list for the trip. I have therefore been wondering whether to (a) try a Nikon 500 PF to trade a stop of light for nearly 2kg in weight (b) just take along my Sigma 150-600 Contemporary to fulfil two of the lens requirements or (c) take my 500 f4 and use an older but very much lighter Nikon 70-300 f4.5-5.6 G ED VR as the zoom option although I'm not convinced of the quality of that lens. I have a Think Tank Glass Limo backpack with various add-on pouches as needed.

If I'm honest, I'm reluctant to give up the speed and quality of the 500 f4 and it also seems a bit counter-intuitive to leave your best lens at home on such a trip. I've never done anything more than a few hours walking with my D850 & 500 f4 and D7200 & macro combo though and would welcome any shared experiences of hiking in snow with multiple setups - I'm 67 and reasonably fit and healthy give-or-take the odd arthritic thumb.

Obviously I know that 'only take you can comfortably carry' is the sensible approach but just wondering what 'sensible' looks like to other members in terms of lens combinations.

 

[ButlerKid]

Not only will lighter gear help you enjoy the hike, you will also be more agile and quicker in responding to pop up photo ops.

What do they consider a "long telephoto" ? Probably not an f4. Based on the recommended list which includes a tripod, it doesn't sound like you will be doing much hiking or very strenuous hiking.....

 

[bleirer]

I guess for a trip like that I would take my best lens.

 

[tigger4t]

Not only will lighter gear help you enjoy the hike, you will also be more agile and quicker in responding to pop up photo ops.

What do they consider a "long telephoto" ? Probably not an f4. Based on the recommended list which includes a tripod, it doesn't sound like you will be doing much hiking or very strenuous hiking.....

Many thanks - the organisers don't specify what lenses are appropriate - I believe that there are only one or two days where we will be in the mountains all day where they describe the hiking as strenuous. Maybe it's a case of the f4 for days with mainly hide photography and the 150-600 for the strenuous days

 

[pomkiwi]

I'd push for a bit more guidance from the organisers and in particular the nature of he mountain days. If they are for wildlife then it will likely be an approach hike and then a long period of observation. I'd tend towards the 500pf on the 850 and a wide angle on the 7200 for those days.

 

[tigger4t]

I'd push for a bit more guidance from the organisers and in particular the nature of he mountain days. If they are for wildlife then it will likely be an approach hike and then a long period of observation. I'd tend towards the 500pf on the 850 and a wide angle on the 7200 for those days.

Thanks, I'll do that. I don't actually own a 500 PF and would be interested to know how the IQ compares with the Sigma 500 f4

 

[abc123brian]

Other than giving up a stop of light, i don’t think the 500mm PF is going to lose much if any image quality. It really is a fantastic lens for what you are describing. I’d say the biggest con to it is that it doesn’t sound like you have one and would need to get one. I do a lot of hiking and cycling with my gear and the occasional trip where I am really limited to what I can bring and convenience is just as important of a factor. Because of this, the 500mm PF was a big selling point for me when deciding to go with Nikon even though I was going with Z cameras and not F mount. It really does make carrying the gear less of a burden. I did get the 70-300mm AF-P to temporarily fill the gap between the 24-70mm F/4 and 500mm PF and was pretty happy with the quality from it. Unfortunately I don’t know how it compares to the version you have. If it is nearly the same, I’d go with that so you can bring your 500mm. If it is significantly better than yours, maybe you could get it and trade yours. Buying the 500mm PF would make sense if you thought you would get enough use from it, but if not it wouldn’t make sense. Maybe renting is an option.

 

[aolander]

The 500mm PF has excellent image quality. What would you rather carry, a 3# 500mm PF or a 7# Sigma 500mm?

 

[RichF]

since you have an FX camera (vs Z) I would pick the 500 PF. With the 1.4 TC it is slow to focus but otherwise okay.

Recently converted to nearly all Z lens so I can not comment on the other choices. but for me I would try to keep the weight down

 

[Abinoone]

I have used my Sigma 500 f4 for just over a year now which gives me great results and works well with the TC-1401 and I'm quite happy going for half-day walks carrying my D850 and 500 f4. I am however about to go on a trip to the Scottish Highlands where I will be hiking daily in snow with everything that I might need for wildlife and landscape photography. A "long telephoto, general purpose zoom and wide-angle lens, tripod and/or monopod" is the recommended kit list for the trip. I have therefore been wondering whether to (a) try a Nikon 500 PF to trade a stop of light for nearly 2kg in weight (b) just take along my Sigma 150-600 Contemporary to fulfil two of the lens requirements or (c) take my 500 f4 and use an older but very much lighter Nikon 70-300 f4.5-5.6 G ED VR as the zoom option although I'm not convinced of the quality of that lens. I have a Think Tank Glass Limo backpack with various add-on pouches as needed.

If I'm honest, I'm reluctant to give up the speed and quality of the 500 f4 and it also seems a bit counter-intuitive to leave your best lens at home on such a trip. I've never done anything more than a few hours walking with my D850 & 500 f4 and D7200 & macro combo though and would welcome any shared experiences of hiking in snow with multiple setups - I'm 67 and reasonably fit and healthy give-or-take the odd arthritic thumb.

Obviously I know that 'only take you can comfortably carry' is the sensible approach but just wondering what 'sensible' looks like to other members in terms of lens combinations.

Is this primarily a hiking/landscape tour or do you expect to be shooting wildlife? If mainly the former, then I wouldn’t lug the 500 f4 along. While a great lens, it’s heavy, and unless it will be well exercised, I’d just leave it at home. On the other hand, if you want a quality, light weight lens to take, I’d just rent the 500 PF. At $319 for two weeks at Lensrentals.com, it’s a lot cheaper than plunking down $3300 for a lens that you’re not sure you’ll like. Sounds like a dream trip - enjoy!

 

[tigger4t]

The 500mm PF has excellent image quality. What would you rather carry, a 3# 500mm PF or a 7# Sigma 500mm?

Thanks - ultimately I'd rather carry the lens that gives me the best image quality but the 500 f4 is my limit for weight (I tried a Nikon 600G and found it unmanageable) and it sounds as if I need to try the 500 PF before my trip. I would assume that the IQ with a Nikon TC-14E III would be no worse than my Sigma and maybe even better?

 

[tigger4t]

Is this primarily a hiking/landscape tour or do you expect to be shooting wildlife? If mainly the former, then I wouldn’t lug the 500 f4 along. While a great lens, it’s heavy, and unless it will be well exercised, I’d just leave it at home. On the other hand, if you want a quality, light weight lens to take, I’d just rent the 500 PF. At $319 for two weeks at Lensrentals.com, it’s a lot cheaper than plunking down $3300 for a lens that you’re not sure you’ll like. Sounds like a dream trip - enjoy!

Many thanks - it's primarily wildlife with landscapes to fill in. I'll investigate rental of a 500 PF in the UK

 

[cchuck]

I have used my Sigma 500 f4 for just over a year now which gives me great results and works well with the TC-1401 and I'm quite happy going for half-day walks carrying my D850 and 500 f4. I am however about to go on a trip to the Scottish Highlands where I will be hiking daily in snow with everything that I might need for wildlife and landscape photography. A "long telephoto, general purpose zoom and wide-angle lens, tripod and/or monopod" is the recommended kit list for the trip. I have therefore been wondering whether to (a) try a Nikon 500 PF to trade a stop of light for nearly 2kg in weight (b) just take along my Sigma 150-600 Contemporary to fulfil two of the lens requirements or (c) take my 500 f4 and use an older but very much lighter Nikon 70-300 f4.5-5.6 G ED VR as the zoom option although I'm not convinced of the quality of that lens. I have a Think Tank Glass Limo backpack with various add-on pouches as needed.

If I'm honest, I'm reluctant to give up the speed and quality of the 500 f4 and it also seems a bit counter-intuitive to leave your best lens at home on such a trip. I've never done anything more than a few hours walking with my D850 & 500 f4 and D7200 & macro combo though and would welcome any shared experiences of hiking in snow with multiple setups - I'm 67 and reasonably fit and healthy give-or-take the odd arthritic thumb.

Obviously I know that 'only take you can comfortably carry' is the sensible approach but just wondering what 'sensible' looks like to other members in terms of lens combinations.

Before I got a Z9, I used my 500PF with a D500 and got excellent results. One reason, I think, was that I did Micro Fine-Tuning of the lens/body combo using @Steve's instructions. I still use the 500PF with my Z9 and it continues to amaze me with its sharpness, alone and with the 1.4 TC. I have also cycled in Scotland so know that it is hilly. Leaving some weight at home sounds like a wise decision.