z9 better for bigger lenses?

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ThomasJohansson

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Hello!
Today I have Nikon D850 and D500 with a 500 PFE lens. I'm thinking to upgrade to a z8. I also dream of the 600 mm lens.... But I heard the z9 is a better combo with the 600 mm because of a better balance between the lens and the camera. Anyone that have experinces with z8 together with th 600 mm lens? Shoud I go for the z9 instead?
kind regards
 
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i don’t know because i don’t have anything that big/heavy, but shooting the z8 and z9 i’m struck that the big difference is if you want/like the vertical grip

i’ve been shooting the z9 for quite a while and now that i’ve added the z8, i find it’s weird not having the grip and gravitate towards the z9 for that reason

conversely, i ran a d500 for many years and didn’t have a grip and never felt i needed a grip so it’s more an issue of what you’re used to probably

the z8 definitely carries easier on a strap though. so as a travel body i’d definitely go gripless
 
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I have a Z9 and Z8. My heaviest/largest lens is the Z 800 PF. I think it balances better on my Z9 than on my Z8. But that may be personal preference. And not as heavy/large as Nikon’s Z and F 600 mm lenses. Any way you could try them both? Say at a Nikon dealer?

I’ve had the Z9 since January of 2022. Got the Z8 more recently, when it came out. So I am more used to the Z9. But I like the lighter weight of the Z8 in many cases and it balances very nicely with lighter Z telephotos lIke the Z 100-400 mm and Z 400 mm f4.5.
 
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i find the 180-400 F/4 TC works very well on the Z 9. a bit better than on the Z 8. Not exactly a 600 but somewhat close (in both weight, size, and $$$)
 
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I have a 500/4E and I use it almost exclusively with a Z9 on a tripod. I like the Z9 vertical grip for this job. The Z8 obviously works too. But I will keep mine grip less and use it with my Z mount lenses. I prefer to use the lighter camera with the lighter lenses.
 
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Thanks for your answer! All Nikon dealers that I have seen have the 600 mm only as an order item. I prefer lighter gear so that make the decision harder when I hear the big lens balances better on the z9.
 
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ThomasJohansson said:
Thanks for your answer! All Nikon dealers that I have seen have the 600 mm only as an order item. I prefer lighter gear so that make the decision harder when I hear the big lens balances better on the z9.
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I’ve used my Z 400mm VR TC S extensively with my Z8 and I thought it was great. Easy to hand hold. It has pros and cons vs the Z9. I prefer the lighter weight when handholding but miss the vertical grip when the opportunity arises.
 
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I don’t think it’s any better…at least up through the 100-400 and 400/4.5 and I personally don’t think the 180-600 will make any difference. The Z8 is a pound or more lighter and total weight in your hands is important. I’ve used both of my teles on both bodies and find no difference…but then I’m on record here that I would gladly swap my Z9 for another Z8 straight up because I shoot portrait rarely to almost never and didn’t really want the grip anyway…and if I knew the Z8 was coming when I bought my Z9 in April/May of 22 I would have stuck it out with the Z7II for another year. I’ve got the nice big tripod…but I don’t hike with it…and rarely take even the travel tripod over a monopod (and usually not even that) on one unless there‘s a waterfall and 1/2 shutter speeds involved. Might have a different opinion if I had one of the $14K lenses…but I don’t because of weight more than any other factor.
 
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If you're solely concerned with balance on a gimbal (or other tripod head), Smallrig makes a small counterweight (50g, 100g, & 200g options) that attaches with a 1/4-20 screw, and will hang underneath the camera body. Here is a link to them on Amazon....

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NJC7JJF/?tag=backcogaller-20

I occasionally used the 100g on my D500 when it was attached to my 500mm F/4G. Later I purchased a vertical grip, and no longer needed it.
 
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On my 600mm f/4 lenses I used them with the 1.4x teleconverter 80% of the time for 840mm focal length. Each generation became lighter but not lightweight. The 600mm f/4 TC still would require my using a tripod and gimbal head. I chose to buy the 800mm PF lens instead which is light enough for me to shoot all day hand held and with the Z9 it is easy to lock focus on small subjects and get shots I would miss entirely if having to use a tripod.

For me it is whether to carry around a 5.2 lb lens or a 7.2 lb lens plus a 8 lb tripod/gimbal load, i.e. 10 lbs more of a load. I first experienced the freedom of being tripod free with the 500mm PF lens and am not inclined to going back for still photography in the field. When I heard that my ordered 600mm TC had arrived at the camera store I phoned back and told them to sell it to someone else as I could not pull the plug.
 
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Yes, the Nikon Z9 is better for bigger lenses. It has a larger mount than the Z6 and Z7, which means that it can accommodate larger and heavier lenses. The Z9 also has a faster autofocus system and better image stabilization, which are both important for using larger lenses.
 
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leoparker said:
Yes, the Nikon Z9 is better for bigger lenses. It has a larger mount than the Z6 and Z7,
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What? It's the exact same mount.
leoparker said:
which means that it can accommodate larger and heavier lenses.
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You can mount the 600 f4 on a z7 just fine.
leoparker said:
The Z9 also has a faster autofocus system and better image stabilization, which are both important for using larger lenses.
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This is also debatable, and it highly depends on what you're shooting and how. But yes, generally better af is more helpful

The ibis also doesn't impact lens vr, which will be just as good on any z series.
 
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ThomasJohansson said:
Hello!
Today I have Nikon D850 and D500 with a 500 PFE lens. I'm thinking to upgrade to a z8. I also dream of the 600 mm lens.... But I heard the z9 is a better combo with the 600 mm because of a better balance between the lens and the camera. Anyone that have experinces with z8 together with th 600 mm lens? Shoud I go for the z9 instead?
kind regards
Click to expand...
I have the Z9 on the new 600mm Z TC & it balances perfectly. I don’t have the Z8 which is the smaller body but ended up putting a battery grip on my old D500 which is a similar size to the Z8 when I hired a 600mm lens which balanced it better.
This may or may not affect you, but I do find the Z9 & 600mm f/4 Z TC combo quite heavy & difficult to handhold for long periods so it spends most of it’s time on a tripod/monopod.
 
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This is also about price. What is the difference in price you are looking at? The Z9 has several key things that add up to much more than the price difference where I am. If you will benefit from things like GPS, battery life, better weather sealing, a grip and second fast card slot, then the Z 9 is possibly better value. I am guessing that with longer lenses birding and wildlife are likely so the GPS is very useful. The grip is handy for vertical shots, if you feel more comfortable with using a camera that way (I do) for vertical shots.
It depends how you feel about the advantages vs the price. There are some downsides too. The weight isn’t the only one. You need to be careful to turn that second shutter button on the vertical grip off when you go back to landscape orientation.
 
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I favor using a long lens plate on the bottom of the foot of the lens to have more range for balancing the lens with a camera body on a gimbal head. Then I do not worry about the weight of the camera. When I was shooting with the D850 I nearly always had the battery grip attached and using the EN-EL18 battery so the weight was very close to that of a D5. I would expect much the same with the Z8 and its battery grip when compared to the weight of the Z9.
 
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ThomasJohansson said:
Hello!
Today I have Nikon D850 and D500 with a 500 PFE lens. I'm thinking to upgrade to a z8. I also dream of the 600 mm lens.... But I heard the z9 is a better combo with the 600 mm because of a better balance between the lens and the camera. Anyone that have experinces with z8 together with th 600 mm lens? Shoud I go for the z9 instead?
kind regards
Click to expand...
The Z9 is better balanced on the 600mm than my Z8 (D850 sized).
My old D850 was less balanced than my D5.
But most gimble heads can adjust for the difference.
Lately I've been taking out the 400 f4.5 instead of the 600 f4 - I may be getting lazy ... 🦘
 
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ThomasJohansson said:
Hello!
Today I have Nikon D850 and D500 with a 500 PFE lens. I'm thinking to upgrade to a z8. I also dream of the 600 mm lens.... But I heard the z9 is a better combo with the 600 mm because of a better balance between the lens and the camera. Anyone that have experinces with z8 together with th 600 mm lens? Shoud I go for the z9 instead?
kind regards
Click to expand...
I have both the Z9 and the Z8. I have also the z600 mm tc that it is always attached to the 600 mm. the Z 8 is attached to the 400 mm 4.5. I use also the Z8 on my 70-200 f2.8 and the 24-70 f2.8 when I need less reach. For macro I use either camera attached to the z 105 mm f2.8.
I just came back from a 7 week trip Which was mainly to photograph birds nesting and in flight. I found this combination worked well for me. My 600 mm with the Z9 was installed on my tripod with gimbal head and my z8 with the 400 mm f4.5 was around my neck. It was so easy to switch between the two settings.
I found the 600 mm on the Z9 is better balanced and feels better for handhold photography than on the Z8. But it is still can be done On the Z8. Whatever you decide you can work it out. Even I have both cameras, I still prefer my Z9 because the way I can hold it. In fact I prefer bigger body camera over the small one. That is me. Not everyone prefer that.
 
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Similar comment to what several others have said.... I have both the Z9 and Z8. I prefer the feel of the Z9 with the 800 PF over the feel of the Z8 with the 800 PF. The Z9 allows for a more comfortable grip and balance, IMO. I do a lot of hand held shooting with the Z9/800PF combination. I use a shoulder strap so I can rest my arms as needed. When I need to quickly grab the camera for a quick shot, I find that my hand rests nicely into the contour of the Z9 as I lift the camera/lens combo.

PS the shoulder strap, be it with the Z8 or Z9, is attached to the lens foot using a QD connector. The tether to the camera is attached to an L-Bracket or to the base of the camera. I never use a lug for a tether.
 
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I have had the Z9 for quite awhile and love it. I shoot mostly handheld. I just added the Z8 and absolutely love it too. I find I now reach for the Z8 most days, but not when I shoot my 800 PF. I actually can handhold the 800 much easier and with less strain using the Z9. The balance is just much better. My arms and back don't get tired as fast. It is strange because that is a heavier set up. But for a hike, the Z8 rules especially paired with the 400 4.5. Dream light weight hiking set up.
 
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Yes, the Nikon Z9 is better for bigger lenses. It is a full-frame camera with a large body that can accommodate larger lenses without feeling too unbalanced. It also has a robust in-body image stabilization system that can help to reduce camera shake, even when using long telephoto lenses.
 
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