p.42 #1 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
eorlando wrote:
I will have to look into that. Any idea what that does to battery life?
Big difference....I ran mine on infinity the first few days and got down to 16% with only a morning of shooting. Then went into the 2nd battery the next day.
My LCD and EVF were always off when not shooting but VR was running constantly when it couldn't standby. Maybe if I'd switched off VR the battery would have been better (I'm sure it would). I changed my timer down to a shorter time the next weekend and never got close to the 2nd battery.
p.42 #3 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
arbitrage wrote:
And to think I didn't even leave the camera setup with my magic settings when I handed it over to him....this reminds me I need to go cash that cheque
Thank you for a super smooth transaction in which you didn't try to make a buck (staying true to your word).
p.42 #4 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
arbitrage wrote:
And to think I didn't even leave the camera setup with my magic settings when I handed it over to him....this reminds me I need to go cash that cheque
Quite a testament to the Z9 and Luke.
Btw I appreciate your time, energy and feedback in shooting the Z9. And I have a sneaky suspicion down the road when the S line teles are readily available you will be tipping your toes in Nikon water again.
p.42 #9 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
Geoff I would have thought the new Nikon 400 would be the perfect lens. f/2.8 and f/4 at the flick of a switch. 560 vs 600 is negligible difference. The Nikon kills two birds with one stone and their is no weight penalty. I can see if you need to use the 1.4x TC even with the 600, the IQ should be better than the 400 + 2x, but the 400 + 2x still has excellent IQ.
I can't see Sony offering this built-in TC tech, anytime soon if ever. Sony will never offer PF lenses either IMO. I'm saying this as someone that will being staying with Sony despite having the Z9 on order. Sony A1 is still massively compelling and I will update my A9 ASAP, but probably not until Q3.
If Sony would publish a damn lens roadmap it would make it easier to decide if sticking with one system is the best path. If I knew for sure they had a 500 f/4 and maybe 800 f/6.3 on the horizon, that might sway me. But their progress on superteles is glacial, IMO they still don't take this area seriously enough.
p.42 #10 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
Pixel Perfect wrote:
Geoff I would have thought the new Nikon 400 would be the perfect lens. f/2.8 and f/4 at the flick of a switch. 560 vs 600 is negligible difference. The Nikon kills two birds with one stone and their is no weight penalty. I can see if you need to use the 1.4x TC even with the 600, the IQ should be better than the 400 + 2x, but the 400 + 2x still has excellent IQ.
I can't see Sony offering this built-in TC tech, anytime soon if ever. Sony will never offer PF lenses either IMO. I'm saying this as someone that will being staying with Sony despite having the Z9 on order. Sony A1 is still massively compelling and I will update my A9 ASAP, but probably not until Q3.
If Sony would publish a damn lens roadmap it would make it easier to decide if sticking with one system is the best path. If I knew for sure they had a 500 f/4 and maybe 800 f/6.3 on the horizon, that might sway me. But their progress on superteles is glacial, IMO they still don't take this area seriously enough.
It will be a killer lens, I'd love to own it. For over $19K CAD it would need to be a total switch off of Sony if I got that lens. Not just an addition to Sony. I'd have no problem ditching the 600GM for the 400S. But I will not ditch the A1 for the Z9. I'll use my Z9/500PF money to buy a Sony 400GM and have both options...I'll just have to make do without the super convenience of the built in TC.
As far as PF lenses go....the direction Nikon is going with them is not the direction that interests me (same goes for Canon's DO releases). I want something like a 600 f/4 or f/4.5 PF or maybe a 400 f/2.8 PF. Maybe that upcoming 400PF will be interesting. As I've said before, I don't have much interest in the 800PF (even more so once the real size was shown).
p.42 #13 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
arbitrage wrote:
It will be a killer lens, I'd love to own it. For over $19K CAD it would need to be a total switch off of Sony if I got that lens. Not just an addition to Sony. I'd have no problem ditching the 600GM for the 400S. But I will not ditch the A1 for the Z9. I'll use my Z9/500PF money to buy a Sony 400GM and have both options...I'll just have to make do without the super convenience of the built in TC.
As far as PF lenses go....the direction Nikon is going with them is not the direction that interests me (same goes for Canon's DO releases). I want something like a 600 f/4 or f/4.5 PF or maybe a 400 f/2.8 PF. Maybe that upcoming 400PF will be interesting. As I've said before, I don't have much interest in the 800PF (even more so once the real size was shown)....Show more →
To me the 800 will come in at least half a kilo lighter than the 600, possibly 3/4 kilo. I think for the 1/3rd stop less light than the 600 + 1.4, it's a small compromise. It's still smaller than the 400 f/2.8 and a lot easier to get onto plane carry-on than a 600 f/4. I think the 400 will be f/4.2 based on my measurements that led me to say the 800 would be f/6.3, but possibly it could be f/4.5. I like to handhold my lenses as much as possible, and I would still tire pretty quickly with the 600 f/4 at eye level, but if we are talking ~2.3kg for the 800 PF, that would make keeping it a eye level much easier for longer stretches.
My Ideal lens would be a 500 f/4 +with built-in 1.4x TC, now we are at 45-50MP high speed FF, 500 comes into its own even more as the perfect compromise between reach, size and weight. Hopefully Nikon has this on the roadmap eventually. Even though a 600 f/4 PF would be awesome, I'd hate top think of the price. I think though 150mm PF lenses are probably several years away. The 800 will have a lens slightly larger than a 500 f/4.
p.42 #15 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
Awesome! Griffons are such majestic birds. I strongly recommend you visit Hemis National Park, India. Wonderful place to photograph Snow leopards and a lot of raptors. You find plenty of Himalayan Griffons, Lammergeier, Golden eagles etc. I visited Hemis in 2016 and was an unforgettable trip but i was short of focal length. At that time i was using a 300 2.8 VRII with 2X TC. 600mm native focal length with the ability to reach 800mm is the minimum needed. Look forward to visiting the park again with my Z9 and hopefully with longer tele lens.
Heat distortion is a huge problem particularly in high altitude and the TC makes it even worse. The new Z telephotos with superior coatings and the new Z TCs should do much better i guess.
suteetat wrote:
I was never happy with TC2.0 when used wiht D6 or D850 in the past with either 500/4e FL or 600/4e FL.
For some reasons, it just seemed to work better with Z9. I did calibrate all my TC with superteles on D6 and D850 but may be single distance calibration is just not good enough.
However, this is still an area where Sony has an edge. Compared to my friend's 600GM and TCx2, I think the Sony picture is sharper still. Can't wait to see how the Z mount supertele with Z mount TC will perform together. I am sure it will be great as the TC works with 100-400 better than I expected ( basing my expectation on past F mount TC experience)....Show more →
p.42 #16 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
gannis wrote:
Awesome! Griffons are such majestic birds. I strongly recommend you visit Hemis National Park, India. Wonderful place to photograph Snow leopards and a lot of raptors. You find plenty of Himalayan Griffons, Lammergeier, Golden eagles etc. I visited Hemis in 2016 and was an unforgettable trip but i was short of focal length. At that time i was using a 300 2.8 VRII with 2X TC. 600mm native focal length with the ability to reach 800mm is the minimum needed. Look forward to visiting the park again with my Z9 and hopefully with longer tele lens.
Heat distortion is a huge problem particularly in high altitude and the TC makes it even worse. The new Z telephotos with superior coatings and the new Z TCs should do much better i guess.
Hopefully once traveling is back to relative normal, I will go to India again. I only been there twice, once for scuba diving at Andaman Island and once for landscape trip to Leh and Zanskar. But it looks like wildlife will be a lot of fun as well.
I definitely want to photograph snow leppard one of these days. Recently I met a photographer from Singapore who went to India many many times and told me about all the raptors there. Also I was told that Rufous necked hornbill sighting is also very common in some area (forgot the name of the place right now). This hornbill is rare here and you need to spend days waiting to see one and most of the time they still wont show up. The guide that I used when I was in Leh did tell me about snow leppard but he said that best time is February when it is -30C and sighting is still incredibly rare However, he is really more usual Leh sight seeing guide rather than wildlife guide. However, I wonder if there is any specialized wildlife guide in that area? I am starting to plan 2023 as hopefully travel should be possible then.
p.42 #17 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
OwlsEyes wrote:
Well Hot Damn!
I haven't seen the names Trey Neal or Tom Hicks in a long while... all we need is John McFadden, and the band will be back together
Good to see your input again Trey. I loved the 100-400S on my Z7II & Z6II bodies. This and the 70-200 f2.8S perform very differently than my F-mount glass on the Z cameras. I'm now wishing that I plunked down some money to pre-order a Z9, but will now wait until I see the demand fall.
Good to see your name on FM again.
regards,
bruce
Thanks Bruce! Good to be back! I never put down the camera but drifted away from posting up here. Good to see familiar names.
p.42 #18 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
gannis wrote:
Heat distortion is a huge problem particularly in high altitude and the TC makes it even worse. The new Z telephotos with superior coatings and the new Z TCs should do much better i guess.
Uh, how could even vastly improved optics help with heat distortion? In my experience the reason TCs make it "worse" is simply that they enlarge the effect. In that sense cropping also makes it worse.
p.42 #19 · Z9 and Z8 ! : A thread for Z9/Z8 images and *discussion*
Just took some photos of our little Trixie. She's a Coton de Tulear and will be 1 on February 18. Probably should have use a little flash, haven't done this in a while but have to keep the wife happy!
However, he is really more usual Leh sight seeing guide rather than wildlife guide. However, I wonder if there is any specialized wildlife guide in that area? I am starting to plan 2023 as hopefully travel should be possible then. 
