Pre-ordered too. This is going to be my airshow lens. I won't need to use the 600 GM+ 1.4X TC for the longer reach anymore. My copy of the 200-600 is a very sharp copy but I like the 800mm reach.
I rarely use zooms but I ordered one anyway for ships and giggles. It will be a good lens for certain types of shooting that I do and it seems like an interesting wildlife macro option--800mm and short MFD have some very interesting use cases.
Douglas L wrote:
Pre-ordered too. This is going to be my airshow lens. I won't need to use the 600 GM+ 1.4X TC for the longer reach anymore. My copy of the 200-600 is a very sharp copy but I like the 800mm reach.
That was my thought as well. I think it’s gonna make an excellent air show lens
Douglas L wrote:
Pre-ordered too. This is going to be my airshow lens. I won't need to use the 600 GM+ 1.4X TC for the longer reach anymore. My copy of the 200-600 is a very sharp copy but I like the 800mm reach.
My copy of the 200-600 is very sharp as well. I'm looking forward to the 800mm as I live at the long end of the 200-600. My only real concern and it might not be a big issue is, F/8 or 600m at F/7.1. I had a look over my images from the past couple of years and the majority have been taken at 600mm in bright daylight. So, it could be a nonissue in the big scheme of things. I was contemplating trying the new Sigma but frame speed limitations, no TC, etc and it weighing about as much as a baby rhino, took that option off the table. I rented the 300 f.2/8 and enjoyed shooting it with the TCs, but it doesn't get me to 800mm (excluding crop mode). Hopefully this lens is a winner, dual AF motors, supposedly sharper than the 200-600 from some of the videos I've viewed, and just a little more weight.
Douglas L wrote:
My airshow setups had been A1+200-600, A1+600GM+1.4. This year I will have the 400-800, and maybe 100-400 GM on another camera for wider FL shots.
Sounds like an ideal setup!
I was thinking that or the 400-800mm plus the 300GM. Although I don’t think I have a bag that’ll carry a 400-800mm and a 300mm 😄
webmstrk9 wrote:
Steve Perry did a review and noted the lens with hood reversed and body attached fits in the Gura Gear 30L
The Gura Gear 30L looks interesting... but when I looked it up, its a $430 item! And... it's not a holster.
As I sat here looking at my Slinger Dry Cabinet, it also just occurred to me that my 200-600mm also just barely fits inside it on a shelf as well, on the diagonal! Dag-nab-it!!! Being over 100mm, my shelf spacing won't work, and being an inch or so longer, it's not going to fit even on the diagonal like the 200-600...
I suppose I could pull the shelves and stand the 400-800mm up vertically and put a bunch of other lenses standing up on the floor around it, and have room left for 1 shelf at top for bodies and small items, maybe... would have to re-organize everything or still might just need a bigger dry cabinet. Shoot, the cost of getting this beast keeps going up. Logistics suck the fun out of everything, pull that thread and everything unravels, dang it. It's like when your wife wants you to just replace the dishwasher, and it turns into a full kitchen remodel.
hatch1921 wrote:
My copy of the 200-600 is very sharp as well. I'm looking forward to the 800mm as I live at the long end of the 200-600. My only real concern and it might not be a big issue is, F/8 or 600m at F/7.1. I had a look over my images from the past couple of years and the majority have been taken at 600mm in bright daylight. So, it could be a nonissue in the big scheme of things. I was contemplating trying the new Sigma but frame speed limitations, no TC, etc and it weighing about as much as a baby rhino, took that option off the table. I rented the 300 f.2/8 and enjoyed shooting it with the TCs, but it doesn't get me to 800mm (excluding crop mode). Hopefully this lens is a winner, dual AF motors, supposedly sharper than the 200-600 from some of the videos I've viewed, and just a little more weight.
I love my 300 GM+2XTC but like you said, it doesn't get me to 840mm. If the rumored Sigma 800mm f6.3 is till capped at 15 FPS, it's a no go for me. I hope Sony will make an 800 F6.3 like the Nikon. I am not too crazy about the size/weight of my 600 GM, even though it's already very "light" compared to the old 600 f4 lenses.
Douglas L wrote:
I love my 300 GM+2XTC but like you said, it doesn't get me to 840mm. If the rumored Sigma 800mm f6.3 is till capped at 15 FPS, it's a no go for me. I hope Sony will make an 800 F6.3 like the Nikon. I am not too crazy about the size/weight of my 600 GM, even though it's already very "light" compared to the old 600 f4 lenses.
"I hope Sony will make an 800 F6.3 like the Nikon"
This would be a fun option for us for sure! I've rented and shot with the 600F/4 a couple of times now, amazing lens, not all that heavy to deal with considering its size. but I'm not getting any younger. The 300 + TC option is pretty amazing.
I've shot a lot of Sigma glass over the years and this lens had me excited. The weight of the lens sucks but with a monopod it can be handled for long shooting sessions. Not having a TC and being capped at 15 frames stinks if this is the case.
I have no clue when it comes to lens design and the limitations behind it. Ideally, the 400-800 at a fixed f/6.3 or dare I say F/5.6, would have been amazing, add an internal1.4x TC and WOW what a dream lens. I'd pay double for something like this and likely would have based on manufacturing/engineering. To dream a little dream
As I mentioned earlier, it's a great time to be a photographer, so many options being produced with very high standards.
A9Lon wrote:
My pre-order was accepted at 6:02 also but it said delivery date was unknown.
Lon, maybe it is more a function of our browser or their website. When I checked their website just now, it still says estimated delivery to be March 21.
wordfool wrote:
Count me as someone else also intrigued by only losing 1/3 of a stop at 600mm equivalent compared to the 2-6, and also as someone worried about the bag situation
It took me months to find theright bag to comfortably carry the 2-6 mounted, so if the 2-8 won't fit in that then I dread the next search. I already have far more bags than I know what to do with
Hah! I thought I was the only one with that problem! I guess it's a thing. Picking a bag and loading it out before a shoot always takes a minute too, heh. The holster definitely is my favorite go-to for when I'm going straight up birding though, and the side pockets let me toss in a small prime in case I get skunked and want to stop for botanicals on the way home or something. I refuse to leave anything in the car except maybe tripods, because of theft and heat. Nothing worse than cooking the lube in your lens and finding it leaking into your aperture blades except having your window broken and your gear gone. (well, except being mugged I guess) So, I have to be able to carry it comfortably.
aCuria wrote:
The weakness of the Nikon 800mm PF is its whopping 5m minimum focusing distance and low 0.16x magnification. This means that if the bird you are shooting is smaller than 22.5cm long, you will not be able to fill the frame.
The 400-800 has a MFD of 1.7-3.5m, and the magnification is 0.23x. (fill frame with bird >15.6cm long)
The small birds are about 10cm long, so the closer the magnification is to 0.35x the better.
That's definitely a good point to keep in mind.
I usually end up with the opposite issue of my subject being too far away and no way to get closer. Currently, unless the light is really low, I keep the TC 1.4 on my 200-600. Since I am already used to being at 800mm f9, 800mm f8 with better sharpness and AF sounds great. Where I feel the 400-800 may fall short in my kit is being able to extend my reach. I have used the TC 2X on my 200-600, and f13 at 1200mm can get challenging unless the conditions are perfect. I am doubting adding a TC 1.4 to the 400-800 and being at 1,120mm at f11 will be much of an improvement with 1/3 of a stop improvement. I also don't see it being practical to add a TC 2x to the 400-800 for photos and be at 1,600mm f16, maybe this could be an option for video.
The 800mm PF would get me 800mm f6.3, + TC 1.4 1,120mm f9, + TC 2X 1,600mm f13, which seems a bit more practical. But I have learned to really enjoy the quick response zooms give when your subject suddenly decides to move, after years of using primes. To bad the Sigma 300-600 f4 can't take teleconverters, it would have probably been the perfect lens for me.
@DWOfPaul Have a look at this video, he has sample shots towards the end with the 1.4x on the 400-800. It looks promising, of course, we won't be convinced until it's on our hands
I didn't go back through the pages, if this has been listed, let me know and I'll remove it. The images he shared look fantastic!
Only issue he struggles with... higher ISOs in morning and evening situations. I think we all expect this from the lens. What was a little surprising, the 2xTC and the end results... promising, images looked sharp with a lot of detail. I only have the 1.4x, so I'll give that a try when the lens arrives.
Now we wait... it should be a fun lens to shoot. 
