Nikon Releases Z 800mm at 1/3 Cost of Canon’s

AlanF

Desperately seeking birds
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I would rather have two systems than switch. There will always be lenses on both sides that I want or that are so specialised that the other wont make. Canon is all but required for photographing jumping spiders for instance. And Nikon have the best wildlife lenses with the 400 f/2.8 TC, 500 PF, and 800 PF. I will be using my 100-400 S with my 800 PF, though that 100-400 S could just as easily be a RF 100-500 on a R5. At the end of the day it is CF Express cards full of images getting dumped into Capture One, edited, then printed. And no one is going to tell between two pictures I am selling if one was from Canon or the other was from Nikon.
I happily shot with two systems for the first year of covid when I wasn't travelling. The advantage of a single system is that when we travel abroad, my wife and I can take two bodies, types of lenses, shared battereis, a pair of back up chargers, cables etc, so our lenses and cameras back each other up if a lens or/and a camera fails in the middle of nowhere. Usefully now with in-body charging, our computer chargers are back ups.
 
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entoman

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May 8, 2015
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I’m surprised that this many users here are interested in PF lenses. I’ll give them their due, they’re light but they have weird bokeh against foilage, really weird and so far they have been optically inferior.
Can you post some images demonstrating the "weird bokeh against foliage" please?

My experience is that bokeh against foliage often looks very weird even with normal optics, such as my EF 100-400mm. The reason for this particular weird bokeh usually has nothing to do with the optical construction, it's caused instead by heat haze, which can cause major deterioration in image quality when photographing mid-distance subjects on warm days.
 
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photographer

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Personally, I don't need a ring control and data reporting. Canon's top portrait lenses (RF 85 & 50 1.2) are not stabilized either. And for example, a lighter and smaller (or/and 1.2) Sigma Art lenses would be welcome. Especially 105 mm. :)
 
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I would rather have two systems than switch. There will always be lenses on both sides that I want or that are so specialised that the other wont make. Canon is all but required for photographing jumping spiders for instance. And Nikon have the best wildlife lenses with the 400 f/2.8 TC, 500 PF, and 800 PF. I will be using my 100-400 S with my 800 PF, though that 100-400 S could just as easily be a RF 100-500 on a R5. At the end of the day it is CF Express cards full of images getting dumped into Capture One, edited, then printed. And no one is going to tell between two pictures I am selling if one was from Canon or the other was from Nikon.

No, but I will be able to tell the difference between the bad shots I make as I seem to always take some time to get up to speed with a new system, let alone switching back and forth. I did switch a few times earlier on, and Im much more reluctant to do so now, even new cameras within a system can take me a while.

But Im by no means a professional, and for me the main advantage of weight would also be negated with it also needing the camera etc.
 
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ISv

"The equipment that matters, is you"
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You can adapt EF lenses to Z and it would be possible to adapt RF lenses to Z. It is not possible to adapt Z lenses to RF due to the mount being larger and closer to the sensor. If you want/need a 800mm lens and this one appeals to you then you might as well get a camera to go with it... with a camera to go with it, it's still cheaper than the RF 800mm f/5.6.
"If you want/need a 800mm lens and this one appeals to you then you might as well get a camera to go with it... with a camera to go with it, it's still cheaper than the RF 800mm f/5.6"

Exactly this point is doing this discussion to stay so long on the top of the "Trending....". Canon did what they did and Nikon did what they did. The judging will came from the market (and I don't think Canon has to "shiver" because of a single lens (or few - doesn't matter!).
BTW I'm a Nikon shooter as some of the guys here know for "a while". What I would like to say may not sediment well to some people here but Canon put such a price on that lens that made it so controversial! Bokeh? - is the quality of the bokeh doing that big price difference? And BTW - because the bokeh may not always make that big difference (but you still have some restrictions!!!) if you use the lens properly means that that technology is worth of it - it has it's advantages and for many guys they are important!
 
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No, but I will be able to tell the difference between the bad shots I make as I seem to always take some time to get up to speed with a new system, let alone switching back and forth. I did switch a few times earlier on, and Im much more reluctant to do so now, even new cameras within a system can take me a while.

But Im by no means a professional, and for me the main advantage of weight would also be negated with it also needing the camera etc.
I am very quick to pick up a new system. The only thing that’ll slow me down usually is finding some menu option but that isn’t something I’ll do out in the field as I’ll have the cameras set to my wildlife settings before leaving and test them on my snakes and cats before leaving the house.
 
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Because you know what to expect from your tools... And use them according to the situation.
Pretty much. I know with the 500 PF there is some light that looks naff so I take a step to the left or right and it solves the problem in the EVF. If the 800 has any problem with direct sun I can fix it with my position. I also know that even with a 800mm you can get bad bokeh if your subject is too close to the background, as before you just move and would need to do the same if it was PF or not.
 
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Del Paso

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I am very quick to pick up a new system. The only thing that’ll slow me down usually is finding some menu option but that isn’t something I’ll do out in the field as I’ll have the cameras set to my wildlife settings before leaving and test them on my snakes and cats before leaving the house.
Snakes?
I hope you are not speaking of pet-vipers!
 
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fox40phil

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It's a temptation to switch gear every time another manufacturer comes out with something better, but they leapfrog each other. It's taken Nikon 18 months to equal (better in some ways, worse in others) the AF on Canon's cheaper R5, and the Z 800/6.3 will have limited availability for quite some time. In 18 months time, Canon will undoubtedly have a new generation of bodies and new lenses. So jump to Nikon now and then jump again?
The lenses will stay way longer ;P!!
The Z9 sounds really great! Also there is this nice 200-500 5.6, and 500 5.6 PF and now the 800 6.3 PF.. and this crazy and expensive 400 + 1.4!
What are Canons options? WAY MORE EXPENSIVE and some of them are crippled (100-500 with 7.1).

Even the two new 20k€+ leneses doesn't have build in TCs!

If I could.... I would switch!
 
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SteveC

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I have a Ball Python(Arch Mage Empress Prime Minister Willow Hissington the Third) and a Burmese Python(Mr Cuddles). Looking for a carpet and blood Python next.
Not familiar with the blood python, the other three have excellent temperament. Some can find the sheer size of a Burmese python more than they can actually cope with, but you've obviously passed that test.
 
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Not familiar with the blood python, the other three have excellent temperament. Some can find the sheer size of a Burmese python more than they can actually cope with, but you've obviously passed that test.
Mr Curdles is huge but he has is very calm and chill. He is a excellent snake ambassador.

As for blood Pythons you should imagine a Burmese sized snake that is about 1/3rd the length but just as thick and with a guarantee that it’ll bite. They are not beginner snakes, but are beautiful and can be worked with into good pets.
 
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AlanF

Desperately seeking birds
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The lenses will stay way longer ;P!!
The Z9 sounds really great! Also there is this nice 200-500 5.6, and 500 5.6 PF and now the 800 6.3 PF.. and this crazy and expensive 400 + 1.4!
What are Canons options? WAY MORE EXPENSIVE and some of them are crippled (100-500 with 7.1).

Even the two new 20k€+ leneses doesn't have build in TCs!

If I could.... I would switch!
The RF 100-500mm crippled = pure nonsense.
 
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Also there is this nice … 800 6.3 PF.

What are Canons options? WAY MORE EXPENSIVE and some of them are crippled (100-500 with 7.1).
So the 1/3-stop slower than f/5.6 Nikon lens is nice, but the 2/3-stop slower Canon lens is crippled.

Are you really oblivious to how asinine that sounds?
 
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tron

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RF100-500 is not crippled! It is superb. And this comes from someone that does not trust the EOS RF system 100% for birds in flight but its IQ is excellent. It can also be used as a portable 1000mm when there is enough light. It is very versatile.

I could say the 200-500 is a little crippled since it is much bigger and heavier and its IQ is reported to be variable. I prefer to carry my R5/100-500 in the bag next to D850/500PF rather than getting this lens. Actually I have used this bag combination before for a few days.
 
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RF100-500 is not crippled! It is superb. And this comes that does from someone that not trust the EOS RF system 100% for birds in flight but its IQ is excellent. It can also be used as a portable 1000mm when there is enough light. It is very versatile.

I could say the 200-500 is a little crippled since it is much bigger and heavier and its IQ is reported to be variable. I prefer to carry my R5/100-500 in the bag next to D850/500PF rather than getting this lens. Actually I have used this bag combination before for a few days.
The RF 100-500 is so fantastic I would own it and a R5 instead of a 100-400S on a second Z9 body if it had been available at the time of ordering. That extra 100mm without needing a TC would make a fantastic second lens to the 800 or even a 600 f/4.0.
 
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Right. The one weakness of the diffraction technology is the loss of contrast against a strongly backlit subject. But, when you are doing nature photography you need on the whole the light behind you to bring out colour, contrast and detail.
Here is an example of the PF lens bokeh with the Nikon Z7ii, 500mm PF lens, a 1.4 TC and the FTZ adapter. As you can see, the specular highlights are a bit amoeba-like rather than round and pleasing as they are with my 600 f/4. This problem is pretty consistent with a backlit subject and specular highlights. There is also a small loss of contrast but that's easily fixed. I don't think this is a show stopper and have the 800mm PF ordered, but it does illustrate the challenge. It's not a problem at all with traditional frontlit subjects. Of course, the idea that the Nikon cameras struggle with birds in flight is BS.Jekyll Island_4-10-2022_370632.jpg
 
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