p.5 #1 · Official 800PF image and discussion thread
suteetat wrote:
Very nice images.
I agree that in general bokeh is perfectly fine. I think it is only in specific situation like
leaves or sticks close to the subject with strong sunlight that sometimes double edge lines occur that
is distracting. Good to see like in your pictures that when all the sticks are further back,
they looked perfectly fine.
400/2.8S with TCx2 is almost 2.5x more expensive and around 30% heavier so
any deficiency on 800PF has to be considered in that context.
While AF is a bit slower than 400/2.8S, it is lighter and easier to handhold
for a long time. What's not to like about 800PF ...Show more →
I don’t have the 400S to compare the AF but I’m content with the AF of this 800pf. My NPS order of 400S is still waiting to be fulfilled. However, it just seem crazy to me to spend 14k on a lens and to use it with 2xTC all the time. I’m going out tomorrow again and I think I will cancel the 400S order because I always seem to need reach. The really good thing about the 400S is that it’ll be easier to travel with to places where I don’t need all that mm. I will likely cancel the order until I know for a fact that I can travel to shoot wildlife and birds. Gear like these seem to have an expiration date. I just can’t have $14k lens to sit around since I definitely be picking up the 800mm when I go shooting around here.
p.5 #2 · Official 800PF image and discussion thread
this is me wrote:
I don’t have the 400S to compare the AF but I’m content with the AF of this 800pf. My NPS order of 400S is still waiting to be fulfilled. However, it just seem crazy to me to spend 14k on a lens and to use it with 2xTC all the time. I’m going out tomorrow again and I think I will cancel the 400S order because I always seem to need reach. The really good thing about the 400S is that it’ll be easier to travel with to places where I don’t need all that mm. I will likely cancel the order until I know for a fact that I can travel to shoot wildlife and birds. Gear like these seem to have an expiration date. I just can’t have $14k lens to sit around since I definitely be picking up the 800mm when I go shooting around here. ...Show more →
True. For birds, I use TC1.4 with 600/4e FL in the past almost as frequent as without TC.
I rarely use 400/2.8S without TC for birds.
In Thailand, for birds, I can still see 400/2.8S being very useful especially for Pittas and a few other birds that
live in dense forest and hardly ever come out in bright condition. I also will go to Botswana in June
and that will be where 400/2.8S will be useful.
If I can only have one lens and not taking price into consideration, I would pick 400/2.8S just because I am shooting
more 400-800 range rather than 800-1600 range but I am glad to have both options available to me.
p.5 #3 · Official 800PF image and discussion thread
suteetat wrote:
Very nice images.
I agree that in general bokeh is perfectly fine. I think it is only in specific situation like
leaves or sticks close to the subject with strong sunlight that sometimes double edge lines occur that
is distracting.
I don't disagree with you on the distracting bokeh in certain situation but I also think maybe we're expecting too much from the gear to correct our poor judgement on when to shoot or not to shoot. Yes, sometimes I just want to get the image even though I already knew the situation is not ideal.
Shooting with a busy background with strong backlight is a struggle for any lens I think. This was shot with the darling of bokeh 600mm f4. Double/triple vision bokeh galore. THIS IS NOT AN 800PF IMAGE
p.5 #4 · Official 800PF image and discussion thread
Seems like swallow shots are the thing now with the Sony A1. Well, the A1 might get just one swallow in the shot but my Z9 can get 3. That makes the Z9 3x better. I kid I kid.
Given that today was my first day shooting swallows, I probably got lucky.
Those are stunning, well done. Perfect in every way, starting with the colors.
Are these with the Z9 converted with C1 Pro?
And the bokeh is outstanding here.
Cheers,
Bernard
Thanks a lot! Just raw file imported into LR and adjusted from there. I'm really really enjoying this lens. I didn't think it would impress me this much.
p.5 #10 · Official 800PF image and discussion thread
JJacob wrote:
Has anyone had any issues with lens flare?
I converted nef file to jpg and resized only. The afternoon sun through foliage was in the background.
So far shooting against strong sunlight seems to show lost of contrast only but I have not notice any significant flare problem just yet.
p.5 #11 · Official 800PF image and discussion thread
I love the crane shot and the colt on the nest...
I am super jealous that it is already spring in Michigan (assume that's where these were shot), as MN is in 2nd winter. We can't buy a warm day here. The photography has been uncharacteristically miserable where I love.
I look forward to seeing more images from your 800PF
. I haven't tried it on anything other than a z9 myself. 
