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Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread

fredster
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p.7 #1 · Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread

George DeCamp wrote:
I was away when it shipped so my camera shop held it and shipped so I would get it today. I got home at 12;30pm, lens came around 2 and I went outside for a couple hours and took a few. Not many birds, it was 91 and felt like 102. More tomorrow but so far I can say it is slower than 400/2.8TC (no kidding) and 800pf. Not bad though I would say so far close to the 100-400 in speed but this is up to 600mm so that's nice. I think so far it's a keeper!

Here's a...Show more →

Real nice George! I was suppose to get mine the beginning of the week the credit card I used was compromised so Nikon had to cancel the order and I had to reorder it they are going to priority ship one to me now. Good luck with the new Lens

Sep 13, 2023 at 08:14 PM

OwlsEyes
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p.7 #2 · Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread

snapquacky wrote:
Plain and simple I wanted Nikon to go all in, no better time for them, I feel they didn't, my opinion of course. Here was their chance to beat the Sony 200-600 in all areas, in my heart I knew they wouldn't, mostly to protect their primes, again, personal opinion. Could they have made it sharper than the Sony, maybe, could they have added faster focus motors, of course, better tripod mount, yes. It is what it is, I own Nikon primes and zooms, I've shot thousands of mallards, static and in flight. When Sony produced the 200-600 they had...Show more →

Are you making these judgements based on your use and the images you are producing, or are they based on technical charts published by some website? I have no skin in this game, as I am not buying the lens, but I'd say that Nikon did go all in.. they just prioritized something different than what you've described as all in.
It appears that the 180-600 is very sharp and contrasty throughout its range, though maybe not as sharp as the Sony.
From what I've seen, it appears that the Nikon lens has the best bokeh when compared to Sony, Canon, and Fuji super zooms.
It appears that the Nikon has better VR/IS than the other manufacturers.
It appears that the Nikon is less expensive than the other manufacturers.
Now, if absolute sharpness is what you are looking for, then base your system on either the Canon or Sony. If, you are looking for the best lens/body system based on the money you're spending, you'd be hard pressed to beat what the Z8 and 180-600 can do.
cheers,
bruce

Sep 13, 2023 at 08:17 PM

CanadaMark
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p.7 #3 · Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread

Funny reading all the negativity from people who haven't even tried the lens

Also, consider that there aren't profiles out for this lens yet, especially if you're looking at comparisons that don't disclose how they were processed. For example, if you are comparing images from this lens to something that has been fed through DXO Pure RAW (which I have already seen a couple of popular YouTubers do), it doesn't tell us anything.

One thing I like about this lens that I don't see mentioned in too many places is it has essentially zero CA, so those bird shots against a white/blue sky that we commonly see aren't going to have any significant fringing.

Here are a few more samples - just a squirrel I found in my trees out front, and a pretty bad shot of the only bird I could find. ISO is pretty high but the detail still holds up well:

430mm, 6.3, 1/200, ISO 3,200:

600mm, 6.3, 1/1250, ISO 12,800

600mm, 6.3, 1/500, ISO 2,500

And a quick VR test down to 1/15sec @ 600mm, F6.3, obviously handheld (just over 5 stops from a 1/600 base assumption). I could have probably gone a bit lower but I'm not sure it would have been as tack sharp as I don't have the steadiest hands:

Sep 13, 2023 at 10:57 PM

Kasper6188
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p.7 #4 · Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread

One Great Egret

600 / 6.3

Sep 13, 2023 at 11:09 PM

Kasper6188
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p.7 #5 · Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread

Another shot of the same Egret, this one is uncropped and I stood up a little to get an idea of how the 180-600 renders oof transition over water. Also 600mm 6.3

Sep 13, 2023 at 11:26 PM

sonamair
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p.7 #6 · Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread

Great great fun and an absolute joy of a lens to use.
I don�t think many will be disappointed .
I will try to post some photos soon
It�s a blast!!

Sep 13, 2023 at 11:53 PM

ingekj
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p.7 #7 · Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread

maverick777 wrote:
You expected the 180-600 at 600mm to get over 3,000 on center sharpness (test results were 1750)? Even the primes don't get that high of a rating.

The 600mm TC gets 2700 wide open at F4
The 400mm TC gets 2,400 at 560mm F4
The 400mm 4.5 gets 1800/1900 at 400mm wide open, 2200 at F5.6
The 800mm 6.3 gets 2,600 wide open at F6.3
The 500mm PF gets 1400 wide open at F5.6

Based on the results of this website the 180-600 tested better than the 500mm PF, but slightly worse than the 400mm 4.5. That's an excellent result for a zoom at this...Show more →
Either these test results are on different sensors, or they are inaccurate. The 400 4.5 is not 25% off the 800PF in sharpness, if anything it is sharper. Same with the 500PF, Im guessing that number is tested with a 20mpix sensor and the others on a 45.

Sep 14, 2023 at 02:05 AM

snapquacky
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p.7 #8 · Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread

OwlsEyes wrote:
Are you making these judgements based on your use and the images you are producing, or are they based on technical charts published by some website? I have no skin in this game, as I am not buying the lens, but I'd say that Nikon did go all in.. they just prioritized something different than what you've described as all in.
It appears that the 180-600 is very sharp and contrasty throughout its range, though maybe not as sharp as the Sony.
From what I've seen, it appears that the Nikon lens has the best bokeh when compared to Sony, Canon,...Show more →

Purely based on internet feedback at this moment in time, believe me I want Nikon to succeed, I own enough of their kit. Other than some sharpness and cost, I agree on the above points, VR is a key difference and goes well in Nikon's favour. Price in my country is actually 30% more than the Sony 200-600. Lets see how it plays out given some more time and user experience. What makes it harder is that this lens really requires a Z8 or Z9 to shine for wildlife, other brands might allow lower cost bodies to work quite well, as usual, a balancing act with price vs performance to some degree

Also forgot to add that the Nikon is potentially looking like a true 600mm where as Sony 200-600 is looking closer to 550mm depending on range to subject, another plus for Nikon

Edited on Sep 14, 2023 at 03:03 AM · View previous versions

Sep 14, 2023 at 02:52 AM

snapquacky
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p.7 #9 · Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread

CanadaMark wrote:
Funny reading all the negativity from people who haven't even tried the lens

Also, consider that there aren't profiles out for this lens yet, especially if you're looking at comparisons that don't disclose how they were processed. For example, if you are comparing images from this lens to something that has been fed through DXO Pure RAW (which I have already seen a couple of popular YouTubers do), it doesn't tell us anything.

One thing I like about this lens that I don't see mentioned in too many places is it has essentially zero CA, so those bird shots against...Show more →

Keep them coming, VR is a huge plus for this lens and Nikon in general, 5 stops is a big deal for me, often shooting in low light. Background rendering also looks very good no doubt, not trying to be negative if aimed at me, just analytical as a potential buyer! it's tough with Nikon at the moment since Z8 is minimum requirement to play with this lens for me at least. I'm cheap

and prefer to keep costs down for 'hobby' use. I guess a Z6II or Z7II would do the job but I'm sensing Z8 or Z9 really will make it shine.

Great to see some really slow shutter speeds being used handheld or resting on something other than tripod, this gives great opportunities to catch shots you would otherwise miss.

Sep 14, 2023 at 02:59 AM

Lance B
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p.7 #10 · Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread

maverick777 wrote:
You expected the 180-600 at 600mm to get over 3,000 on center sharpness (test results were 1750)? Even the primes don't get that high of a rating.

The 600mm TC gets 2700 wide open at F4
The 400mm TC gets 2,400 at 560mm F4
The 400mm 4.5 gets 1800/1900 at 400mm wide open, 2200 at F5.6
The 800mm 6.3 gets 2,600 wide open at F6.3
The 500mm PF gets 1400 wide open at F5.6

Based on the results of this website the 180-600 tested better than the 500mm PF, but slightly worse than the 400mm 4.5. That's an excellent result for a zoom at this...Show more →

These results just simply do not make sense.

Owning the 500 PF and the Z 800 PF and having extensively used the Z 400 f4.5, I can assure anyone that they are all idiotically sharp wide open. You'd be hard pressed to pick a difference between them and I think their results are very suspect.

Sep 14, 2023 at 02:59 AM

ilkka_nissila
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p.7 #11 · Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread

snapquacky wrote:
Price in my country is actually 30% more than the Sony 200-600. Lets see how it plays out given some more time and user experience. What makes it harder is that this lens really requires a Z8 or Z9 to shine for wildlife, other brands might allow lower cost bodies to work quite well, as usual, a balancing act with price vs performance to some degree

I don't think it's a question of "allowing" lower cost bodies to work quite well, but simply the cost of the technology required (stacked sensor, fast processor). Nikon actually offer high resolution full-frame stacked sensor cameras at lower prices than their competitors. Nikon will also be introducing Z9 technology into lower priced camera bodies as they revise those cameras with new versions.

Many Sony users posting on FM seem to use A1 and A9(II) with the 200-600 anyway, so there is no cost savings there. A lower-priced option such as R6 II or A7IV or A7CII can out-autofocus the Nikon Z6II but this is likely a temporary situation and they'll catch up in this price class eventually. The first lower-cost body with Expeed 7 is rumored to be the Z f which might be launched this month, though it's unlikely to be the camera body of choice for wildlife photography but it'll likely outperform the Z6 II and Z7 II.

Sep 14, 2023 at 04:15 AM

snapquacky
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p.7 #12 · Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread

ilkka_nissila wrote:
I don't think it's a question of "allowing" lower cost bodies to work quite well, but simply the cost of the technology required (stacked sensor, fast processor). Nikon actually offer high resolution full-frame stacked sensor cameras at lower prices than their competitors. Nikon will also be introducing Z9 technology into lower priced camera bodies as they revise those cameras with new versions.

Many Sony users posting on FM seem to use A1 and A9(II) with the 200-600 anyway, so there is no cost savings there. A lower-priced option such as R6 II or A7IV or A7CII can out-autofocus the Nikon...Show more →

Thank you, this is a very balanced and excellent summary of the current situation I feel. Some frustration on my part that Nikon got a bit behind in the mirrorless body market, sure it will correct itself with new releases as you mention.

Sep 14, 2023 at 04:31 AM

groob
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p.7 #13 · Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread

Sep 14, 2023 at 07:15 AM

snapquacky
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p.7 #14 · Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread

Sep 14, 2023 at 07:42 AM

Max Power
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p.7 #15 · Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread

groob wrote:
As far as I can tell, this is all abstract non-speak, and based on your other comments, your frustration lies in the bodies below a Z8, not with this lens. I would still love for you to show me where another lens would produce a markedly sharper image in the same circumstance and after being processed. Seriously, shoot a 600mm f/4 next to it and compare the results. How many more hairs do you think you'd see on Mark's squirrel?

Even on the body subject, I am confident my Z6 would do just fine with this lens, within its AF limitations. Seriously, every lens "shines" on a Z8 or Z9.

Looking at the results of actual images on this thread, this conversation has become stupid. Flippin charts and nonsense like "25% sharper". How does the human eye even measure that?

And who stocks Galiano in their home liqueur cabinet....

Sep 14, 2023 at 09:11 AM

SCoombs
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p.7 #16 · Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread

Alistair1 wrote:
Yes, and there are images on the same page of wires and and other fine detail at the edge of the frame against strong backlight showing acutance and a paucity of CA that other brands could only dream of.

I'm afraid this thread has followed the same path as all recent Nikon Board discussions of new product releases by Nikon; it gets hijacked by the usual suspects, spittle-flecked advocates of another brand, who comb the internet for spurious data showing the Nikon product in a poor light. Usually augmented by their own dodgy "tests" and idiotic declarations of x% inferiority....Show more →

I don't know. I'm an exclusive and strictly loyal Nikon shooter so I have no desire to stir up trouble regarding the brand, but personally I feel like most examples I've seen so far just don't seem that sharp to me. This thread has the best I've seen anywhere, but even here I think the only photos I've seen that I'd call truly sharp are Mark's squirrel shots just above and the heron closeup from page one of this thread.

I've seen many shots across the various forums that look really great when I see them on my phone when I'm browsing during downtime somewhere, but almost in all cases when I get home and view them at a more reasonable size on my computer the flaws really show through.

At least for some of the shots on this forum, I suppose part of it may be that many seem to be unprocessed and still have high levels of noise. Maybe I'd feel differently if I saw finished versions.

I'd much rather see actual results like this than test charts, but I also notice that Nikon's MTF seems to show the 200-500 with higher center sharpness, which maybe doesn't mean much on its own but when it's consistent with what I'm seeing in samples it makes me pause.

On the other hand, it seems fairly odd to see one of those charts putting the 500pf so far behind most other lenses. That doesn't mesh with its results, so these tests don't always mean everything.

It's the results, though... I'm just surprised by how uimpressed I've been with most of the samples I'm seeing and that is what really makes me unsure if I should add this lens or try to go for a different option to fulfill this 500-600mm range on my Z body.

Sep 14, 2023 at 09:43 AM

Kasper6188
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p.7 #17 · Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread

SCoombs wrote:
I don't know. I'm an exclusive and strictly loyal Nikon shooter so I have no desire to stir up trouble regarding the brand, but personally I feel like most examples I've seen so far just don't seem that sharp to me. This thread has the best I've seen anywhere, but even here I think the only photos I've seen that I'd call truly sharp are Mark's squirrel shots just above and the heron closeup from page one of this thread.

I've seen many shots across the various forums that look really great when I see them on my phone when...Show more →

Everything I've posted is full resolution, no downsampling. So the photo isn't optimized for viewing small on a forum. If you right click and download the image it will show the actual output. I tend to leave some noise in my images, i'm not a huge fan of topaz, they don't look real to me. There is an image of a grey catbird that I ran through topaz, try to download that one and peep.

Sep 14, 2023 at 10:42 AM

SCoombs
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p.7 #18 · Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread

Kasper6188 wrote:
Everything I've posted is full resolution, no downsampling. So the photo isn't optimized for viewing small on a forum. If you right click and download the image it will show the actual output. I tend to leave some noise in my images, i'm not a huge fan of topaz, they don't look real to me. There is an image of a grey catbird that I ran through topaz, try to download that one and peep.

I agree: Topaz doesn't usually look right. I think it's often obvious when a photo was run through. I think I prefer noisy images to it. I think Adobe's looks a lot better, or even just the "old" standard noise reduction.

In any case, I always open the full res version if it's available to try to evaluate a photo's image quality. I think almost everything posted here by everyone looks great at a downsampled, "forced small" size. It's when you look at the photos in their full glory that they start looking noticeably soft to me. Like I said your heron "portrait" holds up. It's one of only a tiny handful of examples of this lens that have made me say, "I wish I had a lens that could take that photo."

Sep 14, 2023 at 11:05 AM

akul
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p.7 #19 · Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread

I salute to all people posting their wonderful samples here. Such generosity should not be taken for granted. It is rather disturbing when some posts start to stir up with doubts from other sources, some may have some credibility, some may not, but all these 'noises' are treated with equal weight of 'legitimacy' and all of a sudden, some new 'norm' is born without many posters even have seen or touched the actual lens. Saying 'this lens is not as sharp as XX' as a fact, and states that Nikon did it wrong, a strategic failure or whatever, seems way over the top. It seems to me, at that point, it is more about someone is trying to make argument to support ones position, or simply trolling than truly interested in figuring out how this releatively lower priced new lens performs.

Luka

Sep 14, 2023 at 11:09 AM

George DeCamp
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p.7 #20 · Official Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR Image Thread

A set from this morning in the back yard using Z9.

Brown Thrasher

NIKON Z 9 NIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR lens 600mm f/6.3 1/2000s 6400 ISO -0.7 EV

Blue Jay

NIKON Z 9 NIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR lens 600mm f/6.3 1/2000s 7200 ISO -0.7 EV

Ruby-throated Hummingbird on Firecracker plant

NIKON Z 9 NIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR lens 600mm f/6.3 1/2000s 800 ISO -0.3 EV

Ruby-throated Hummingbird on Firecracker plant

NIKON Z 9 NIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR lens 600mm f/6.3 1/2000s 1600 ISO -0.3 EV

Gulf Fritillary butterfly

NIKON Z 9 NIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR lens 600mm f/6.3 1/2000s 1100 ISO 0.0 EV

Dragonfly

NIKON Z 9 NIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR lens 600mm f/6.3 1/2000s 4000 ISO 0.0 EV

Sep 14, 2023 at 11:16 AM

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