Have been shooting welcome swallows a bit lately. Tricky but fun. Still not getting them when they are in close though. One day!
Tried with both bare lens and with 1.4x. These are all with 1.4x. Cannot see much difference in focusing ability between the bare lens and with 1.4x.
Two hunt sequences, approx. apsc crop. In awe of how fast these guys are, the first is four consecutive frames at 20fps - there is a case for higher fps for this type of shooting. Man a 400/2.8 would be nice for these, ISO's get a little high for my liking:
I had my first outing with the 400mm f4.5 today. I had really wanted the 1.4x converter, but my dealer did not have any in stock. They did have the 2x, so I took the gamble and bought it. I really want to like the 400 + 2x combo, as it is such a light way to get to 800mm... so far, I am on the fence.
Today was brutally cold for mid November (17 degF... 5 degF w/ the wind). In MN the cold comes out of nowhere... one day it's 55 degrees, and the next it's well below freezing. These conditions really tax the body and gear.
All of the pictures presented were w/ the 2x converter. The deer was shot from my little van w/ a bean bag. The heat change from a vehicle and air can cause a bit of distortion. The deer shot was a DX crop, so this is a FOV of 1200mm!
The eagle photos were taken while on a walk. I saw a pair on a branch, but they buried themselves in the branches of an oak. One of the two flew off when it saw me coming and the other stayed put. It took a lot of creeping in crunchy cold snow to get a clean shot. The horizontal was an FX image w/ 10% crop for leveling, the vertical was made from a horizontal... about 20MP.
Overall, I'd say the 2x is a viable option, as this was a pretty unforgiving situation with white snow, overcast skies, and wind.
Bravo Nikon!
regards,
bruce
NIKON Z 9NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S Z TC-2.0x lens800mmf/9.01/1250s4000 ISO+0.7 EV
NIKON Z 9NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S Z TC-2.0x lens800mmf/9.01/1250s4000 ISO+0.7 EV
NIKON Z 9NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S Z TC-2.0x lens800mmf/9.01/320s4000 ISO+1.0 EV
OwlsEyes wrote:
I had my first outing with the 400mm f4.5 today. I had really wanted the 1.4x converter, but my dealer did not have any in stock. They did have the 2x, so I took the gamble and bought it. I really want to like the 400 + 2x combo, as it is such a light way to get to 800mm... so far, I am on the fence.
Today was brutally cold for mid November (17 degF... 5 degF w/ the wind). In MN the cold comes out of nowhere... one day it's 55 degrees, and the next it's well below freezing. These conditions really tax the body and gear.
All of the pictures presented were w/ the 2x converter. The deer was shot from my little van w/ a bean bag. The heat change from a vehicle and air can cause a bit of distortion. The deer shot was a DX crop, so this is a FOV of 1200mm!
The eagle photos were taken while on a walk. I saw a pair on a branch, but they buried themselves in the branches of an oak. One of the two flew off when it saw me coming and the other stayed put. It took a lot of creeping in crunchy cold snow to get a clean shot. The horizontal was an FX image w/ 10% crop for leveling, the vertical was made from a horizontal... about 20MP.
Overall, I'd say the 2x is a viable option, as this was a pretty unforgiving situation with white snow, overcast skies, and wind.
Considering the conditions and 2x TC, these look great, Bruce. I would certainly say these are what you would call a bit of a torture test for the 400 + 2x TC combo! I have used the 400 f4.5 + 2x TC and like you, I would say it is a viable option if you need to travel light and are in decent light etc.
Lance B wrote:
Considering the conditions and 2x TC, these look great, Bruce. I would certainly say these are what you would call a bit of a torture test for the 400 + 2x TC combo! I have used the 400 f4.5 + 2x TC and like you, I would say it is a viable option if you need to travel light and are in decent light etc.
Thanks Lance...
I know that I lost some detail to the nature of the light and cold. In addition, I find that the Z9 loses some of its magic whenever I shoot above ISO 3200. The low light noise robs the pictures of fine feather detail. Given the magnification, I'm not sure that the 500PF would have given me anything better than this. I can say that eye AF grabbed the eagle eye in spite of the foreground clutter, and held onto it very well. I took about 400 pictures of the Eagle and most were in acceptable focus. Had I dropped my ISO to 2400 or so, I would have been at 1/400 sec I would have lost a few shots but possibly held on t a bit more detail.
It's another brutal morning (5 degrees F w/out wind)... I'm thinking about suiting up and giving it another go
bcaslis wrote:
Just to close this off, I was able to try another 400mm lens today. It's a little better than the first one but still feels looser than all my other lens. I decided to keep the second one, hopefully I will be able to take some real pictures tomorrow instead of just test shots.
My case is winding down, so after testing it, Nikon found it to be normal.
In mean time, I did some more testing, this time, I met friend of mine, he owes z7II and 100-400s.
There is a bit of a play in his combo too, and I could feel the clank when I drop my hand down, or I gently shake camera and lens, holding the grip only, pointing lens down.
It's little more pronounced with his lens on my camera, but that doesn't bother me much, camera won't last as long as 400f4.5 will.
It's weird, but this seems to be common for Z-mount.
I asked my dealer to tell Nikon to send it back, no need for replacement, to introduce some risk for optical quality due to copy variations, my lens is optically fantastic.
Little masking tape will make it as solid as the rock...😎
jmcfadden wrote:
Hey Bruce I dropped into the forum for the first time in probably a decade or so! I get to see your excellent work again my friend
Hey Stranger!... well not really ;-)
It's good to see you lurking about again. Many of the old timers like us are no longer here. I continue to enjoy the FM family, as I have a number of forum friends whose work is nothing short of inspiring.
You will find that the Nikon forum is mostly void of petty arguments, and filled with photographers interested in helping others realize their goals.
I would love to post something brilliant, but nature gives you what it gives you.
Only notable points is that these were taken with the 2X converter... I am still on the fence about whether to keep the convert, as f/9 is a stretch.
regards,
bruce
NIKON Z 9NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S Z TC-2.0x lens800mmf/9.01/160s4000 ISO+1.7 EV
NIKON Z 9NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S Z TC-2.0x lens800mmf/9.01/1600s10000 ISO+1.7 EV
OwlsEyes wrote:
I would love to post something brilliant, but nature gives you what it gives you.
Only notable points is that these were taken with the 2X converter... I am still on the fence about whether to keep the convert, as f/9 is a stretch.
regards,
bruce
I love that first image especially. Nice editing and beautifully composed!
During the past two weeks I have devoted myself to seeing if the 400mm f4.5 w/ 2X converter would be a viable option for me. At 800mm f9, I knew that I would find the lens to be a bit too slow and that the out of focus areas might have too many distracting details.
The 500PF is a great solution for wildlife photography especially when paired with the D500. The 750mm field of view on a crop body has been my go to for a long time. I, however, wanted to build out a native Z system.
So the following is my take on the 400mm f4.5... It is a great lens at 400mm and I can't imagine that the 400mm f2.8 would be any sharper at equivalent apertures. The lens focuses fast and picks up the eye even in pre-dawn light.
When you add the 2X converter, the f9 aperture translates into higher ISOs and thus more noise. Furthermore, the 2x introduces a hint of chromatic aberration especially when shooting against a bright sky. The AF with the converter is shockingly good. I was surprised by how well the 400mm lens tracked with a 2X converter attached. The sharpness is very good and this surprised me as well With that said, my 1.4x converter is arriving next week and I will be returning the 2X converter.
While the image quality is good, the f/9 aperture is well beyond my comfort. I am already giving up a 1/3 of a stop to the 500PF when I use a 1.4x on the 400 f4.5...
I am attaching some images taken with the 400 + 2x converter. The images where taken on Friday and Saturday at an Eagle's next that was 150 to 200 yards from my position. I was closer for the eagle portrait, but had to shoot with the lens pointing up. Note the high ISO translated into noise that robbed a bit of the detail.
cheers,
bruce
NIKON Z 9NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S Z TC-2.0x lens800mmf/9.01/1250s4000 ISO+0.7 EV
NIKON Z 9NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S Z TC-2.0x lens800mmf/9.01/2000s1400 ISO0.0 EV
NIKON Z 9NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S Z TC-2.0x lens800mmf/9.01/2000s2800 ISO+1.0 EV
NIKON Z 9NIKKOR Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S Z TC-2.0x lens800mmf/9.01/125s4000 ISO+1.0 EV
It was very windy and we're supposed to get up to 45cm of snow between Tuesday and Friday (which in Metro Vancouver means a total sh%$show). I hope that the forecast is wrong.
