Nikon has been rapidly expanding their telephoto options for Z mount shooters, and the Nikkor Z 600mm F4 TC VR is its latest professional lens. Chris Niccolls was able to bring one to a secluded park for a few hours to see what this pricey but powerful optic can do.
Integrated TC needs to become the new standard in these exotic super telephoto lenses. The advantage is so obvious there is no reason to not do it.
It's like having two lenses in one...almost giving a prime lens the flexibility of a zoom.
It could even save one some money. Buy the Nikon 400 f2.8 w/ TC and you don't need to buy a 600. Buy the new 600 with TC and you don't need to buy an 800.
Canon, back then a true innovator, once built a huge lead over Nikon thanks to the USM in lens motors.
The lead Nikon is currently taking in super teles over Canon and Sony is kind of similar. And we are talking about brand new Canon RF super teles just released a few months ago.
nikon doesn't have anything comparable to the fe200-600, and they never will, because if they ever do actually release the mystical z200-600 that's been in their timeline for years now it will have a slow stepper motor in it... and of course it'll be two years before they have stock on it ;-)
same problem with the pf lenses; $6500 for a stepper motor in the 800pf lens is ridiculous, when nikon has stated how much better the linear voice coil af motor in this z600 is.
The Sony are fine classic super teles, the huge game changer is the built-in TC. The Nikons fo focus a tad faster and have slightly nicer rendering too but that is insignificant compared to the TCs.
As far as stepper motors they do a great job on the PF lenses and new 400mm f4.5 used on the Z9. The elements that move being smaller it’s a total non issue.
For the 200-600mm, yes it’s taking longer than expected but we all know it will be the such lens on the market when it comes out, don’t we?
Nikon currently has taken the lead on super tele lenses for their mirrorless. The built in TC's are indeed a game changer and now the gold standard. It's such an obvious solution I don't know why others didn't also replicate that.
The Nikon 800 PF is another game changer; no other brand offers such an excellent 800 that is that small and light and for what it is, inexpensive.
That new 400 f4.5...another winner in terms of performance, size, weight and price.
Then add in the excellent F mount lenses, like the 180-400 w/ TC, the 120-300, the 300 PF and 500 PF. Also one can get all sorts of excellent Nikon F mount glass at a good buy now.
If one is hanging one's Sony hat on only the 200-600...well, that's a nice consumer lens, but it doesn't make up for all of the other Nikon advantages. And as PL notes, we know the Nikon equivalent will also be excellent.
@Thoughts R Us - "It's such an obvious solution I don't know why others didn't also replicate that"
i suspect that others aren't doing it because the market for a $16k+tax supertele prime is so small that it's not worth it to 'em.
sony knows that there is more overall profit to be had with the best 600mm supertele zoom on the market, and i can see why others aren't attempting to replicate that... for instance the 200-600 has a linear ultrasonic af motor in it, and nikon has apparently never developed that technology.
sony covered 600/4 & 400/2.8 at much more realistic pricing, and they have a ready-made market for it with all of those press agency contracts that they won... sony has what the clients want.
The Nikon new 400 and 600 super tele's with built in TC's are the new gold standard and worth the price. If someone is buying lenses at this level the money is worth it. Those built in TC's will literally make the difference between getting the shot or not in certain situations. Nikon users will have an advantage that will be seen.
Also many who use any of these lens rent them, and so there is no effective cost difference.
Every Sony shooter would love to have those TC's built in due to the flexibility in shooting it provides.
If we are talking cost, then Nikon has the midrange priced PF lenses and that really great new 400 f4.5. No other company offers high quality super tele's at these mid range prices, with small size/weight to boot. If you care about size and weight with your super tele's then Nikon is now the way to go.
Up and down the range, Nikon is now the king of super telephoto lenses.
BTW, if one is talking cost then the Nikon super tele's with built in TC can actually save you money.
With Sony many buy both the 400 f2.8 and the 600 f4. With Nikon you could buy the 400 f2.8 w/TC and be done. Far less expensive.
With Nikon you can buy the 600 f4 w/ TC and also have your 800 range covered. No need to buy an 800 lens. Of course Sony doesn't offer an 800 lens so Sony shooters have to add the TC. But Nikon shooters get two lenses in one with the flick of a switch and can still add on TC's. So Nikon shooters have a real advantage in the field. Some pro's will get shots with Nikon that Sony users will not.
m43 only has 20-ish MP, so suffers vs 45-60MP FF cameras who can crop to zoom closer with sharp lenses like this, but with m43 you need almost the same focal length to get the same detail on the subject... alas (I'd really like a few more pixels on m43, say the RX100 pixel size)...
A shootout between this and the Oly 300mm (600mm) Pro would be interesting. The Nikon will likely win, but $3000 vs $15000 and 1.3kg vs 3.25kg are some pretty big advantages in M43's favour.
Putting the Oly 300mm on my GH5 would give me the equivalent reach of about 360mm on a 50MP FF body, tho the FoV of a 600...
Find a 20MP FF and then it's 2x...
Of course the question is whether the m43 lenses are up to 32-38MP sensors? (RX100 pixels would be around 38MP.) Pretty certain the Oly 45/1.2 is, provided don't shoot stopped down below f/5.6, but the others may show smaller improvements...
What an odd thing to say, The Sony A1 was launched and readily available 9 months before the heavy Z9, I've been using the 200-600 for 2 years, where is Nikons equivalent? Sony have just launched the A7RV, where is Nikons Z8? It is widely commented on that Nikon is way behind Sony and Canon and sales figures demonstrate this. Nikon are just trying to catch up but for many they are too late.
I can barely carry a Z9 + 500 f/4 VR (not the FL version) with one hand, let alone sling it around like Chris is doing. Kudos to Nikon for keeping the weight down.
I can't justify buying one of these, so I'll have to settle for renting one when they become available.
Actually, I would like to see some explanation about the comment at the end of the video about how Nikon was able to make this lens "smaller and lighter" by customizing it for mirrorless. As far as I know, physics doesn't help you at all in optimizing super telephoto lenses for mirrorless compared to SLR mount.
I see the lighter part, but the Z-mount is longer by 5mm than the F-mount version.
Thom Hogan wrote in his review of the 400mm f/4.5 about how its optical design features larger elements in the rear that if I interpret it correctly function as a sort of teleconverter that contribute to the smaller size. I'm not sure that applies to the 600mm, but if you compare the lens diagrams of the F and Z, the Z has large rear elements that the F doesn't.
Great video. Thanks for the "Flock of Seagulls" joke. (Speaking as someone who both likes Flock of Seagulls and photographs birds mostly...)
Obviously there's more versatility with 600mm/1.4x, but I'd love to see how this directly compares (in terms of image quality) with the 800mm/f6.3 PF, especially considering the price difference. Or even the 500mm PF F mount - which works pretty nicely with the Z9.
" 800 f/5.6 is designed as 400 f/2.8 + integrated 2x TC" - that's very interesting, thanks.
It would be fascinating to see how the Z 400mm f/4.5 + separate 2x TC compares. (Not saying it would be better, but maybe "close enough" when you factor in the lower cost.) I've been fiddling around with a used 1.7 TC + 500 PF + Z9 - the combination does not help with sharpness or focusing speed, but some shots are ok. Maybe all native Z mount would help.
To be fair you get a video with a great overview for free. Does that mean you need a pro shooter in all disciplines for each type of lens. Go pay someone to review it for you 🤣
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