OwlsEyes
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 p.8 #20 · Nikon Z 100-400S discussion thread | |
Hello,
The following is the first of what will likely be many field reports about the 100-400S lens. I'd like to begin with (1) Background info (2) Lens Info, & close with (3) In the field thoughts.
(1)Background: I am a wildlife and landscape nature photographer. Some years I focus on landscapes more than wildlife, in other years it is the reverse. The focus is often situational. If I have travel that is landscape heavy, or the local light and weather conditions support landscapes, then I do this more than wildlife. The reverse, of course, is true as well. My last two years have been more focused on wildlife.
I began with film in the 1980's and adopted digital late (2004 or so). I am late to embracing a mirrorless only system, but have recently sold my last DSLR, and now have only 2 F-mount lenses remaining. I will not get a Z9 unless I find a way to leverage gear sales to buy one. My wife and I both shoot (me way more than she), and we have a gripped Z7II, gripped Z6II (mine), Z7, and Z6II (hers).
I spent 2014-2021 shooting primarily with the 200-400VR on a D500, Z6, & Z6II and have used the 500PF since its introduction acquiring it in October 2018 via NPS.
I leveraged my NPS membership to pre-order that lens, and did the same for the current 100-400S.
(2)Lens Info: I received notification from NPS that my lens was shipped on Wednesday and picked up my lens from West Photo on Saturday 12/18. They told me that they received 6 lenses. This suggests that Nikon was prepared to send out more than a few, as MN has a relatively small population with 2 brick and mortar stores.
I own the 70-200S w/ ZTC14 and use these two regularly on my Z6II. The 100-400S was purchased to replace my prior 200-400, as well as the 70-200 + 1.4x, as the latter was used as the tweener between my 24-70s and 500PF. I will probably mate the 100-400 to the Z6II and it will do about 50% of my wildlife and landscape photography.
The lens build is outstanding with really nice construction that reminds me of my 70-200S. It has the same fit and finish, and the zoom ring is very smooth. However, you need to apply more pressure to move than zoom ring than with the 70-200S or my now sold 200-400. Unless I am working from a tripod, I will not be able to use one finger to move the zoom. When zooming, the lens does not extent much, and I cannot feel a shift in balance. This is an amazing feature. While the lens feels solid, it does not feel as massive as the 70-200S... it actually has a bit of a hollow feel. My wife commented that it felt light to her.
(3) In the field: Today is Sunday and I picked up the lens on Saturday following a call from West. The morning was pure ugly with cold overcast skies. It was 12 degrees F with a cold wind, and I really did not want to shoot, as I recognized that the conditions were bleak. Despite my hesitancy, I went to e regular spot where I knew I'd find trumpeter swans.
I used the Z6II and wide area AF with animal recognition. I found that the AF was snappy on my Z6II, and follow focus was better than I expected. I found the AF to be better than when using my 500PF on my Z7II. I shot the two side-by-side in similar situations. The Z7II + 500PF took longer to lock onto subjects and almost never recognized the animal (that is.. no box within the wide area af rectangle). In contrast, the 100-400 used the second box and even eye-AF from time to time. This was not expected, but as I think about it,... this makes sense. The lens was designed for the mirrorless platform and probably has hardware and software that allows it to communicate with the cameras more efficiently.
Optically, the lens seems to be excellent, but I will reserve my judgement on this for now.
Below are two images from the frigid shoot.
bruce
Edited on Dec 19, 2021 at 02:54 PM · View previous versions
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