I recently contracted bird photography disease with my Z8 + 180-600. The performance of this combo is more than sufficient for my needs (and skills) but the bokeh often leaves me wanting, not surprised.
I don't want to spend what the Z f/4 exoditics cost but have found a 500 f/4E in great condition under $3000. Throw in $500 for a FTZ2 and TC-1.4e3 and one gets a theoretically very nice combo.
There have been a few discussions here and elsewhere of the performance of the 500/4E on a Z8 but they tend to focus on optical quality, which unsurprisingly is great.
However a review or two mention a noticeable degradation in focus performance with the FTZ on Z8. One thing that is particularly called out is the far to near focus transition, which was stated to be problematic.
Could current users of the 500/4E comment on their AF experience? How is the compatibility with some of the niceties of recent Z firmware, specifically button programming, say focus save and recall?
Anything else I should be considering? No the 6.3PF lenses are not of interest to me. I am specifically after that 500/4 bokeh. I have not done even 1 second of video on a dslr in my life, so I don't need silent AF. But if I sacrifice significantly in terms of focus acquisition and tracking I may need to rethink it.
tabishshaikh wrote:
Are we talking about the FL version or the earlier one?
FL - the latest one.
Amazon had a copy in "very good" condition from a third party seller with excellent reviews both on Amazon and Ebay for $2280, shipped by Amazon. Given Amazon's return policy there isn't any downside, so I ordered it together with a used FTZ ii for $175. Arriving Friday, will take it for a spin over the weekend and decide whether to keep or return.
At that price it may very well turn out to be a scam attempt... or the deal of the year
Amazon had a copy in "very good" condition from a third party seller with excellent reviews both on Amazon and Ebay for $2280, shipped by Amazon. Given Amazon's return policy there isn't any downside, so I ordered it together with a used FTZ ii for $175. Arriving Friday, will take it for a spin over the weekend and decide whether to keep or return.
At that price it may very well turn out to be a scam attempt... or the deal of the year
I recently picked up the 400 f/2.8 FL from Map Camera for $4k shipped. Dream lens! I've actually only used it on my Fuji GFX 100SII so far, though, haha.
reggieb wrote:
I recently picked up the 400 f/2.8 FL from Map Camera for $4k shipped. Dream lens! I've actually only used it on my Fuji GFX 100SII so far, though, haha.
MAP can always be relied upon you understate the quality of their merchandise. I bought a 180-600 from them they was described as "visible scratches on body". Whatever scratches are there or the ones that I put there. The lens look pristine when I received it.
That looks like a good deal. $2900-3300 in the last two weeks on Buy & Sell. Good luck.
It should work very well on the Z8. The occasionally sticking to the background is a Nikon Z thing (on-sensor pdaf?). You should be able to work around that with some alternate focus mode button assignments. In general all the F glass works better on FTZ due to losing the fine tune needs. The benefits of on-sensor PDAF far outweigh the quirks.
If its the FL lens then its much better. I use the earlier version which a bit soft at f4, but still a good lens. The FL version is optically a better lens and at the price point its a bargain. The only nitpick that I find of using these lenses is using the FTZ adapter, which is the weakest point of contact and can fail mechanically. But this is rare and you have to be thoughtful on how you handle your setup.Also native lens is quicker to focus.
Good point regarding handling. With these bigger lenses the camera is just an attachment. Even the camera mount itself will not hold up if you use hold the camera like you would with a 70-200. There is a reason the super-teles have strap lugs.
tabishshaikh wrote:
If its the FL lens then its much better. I use the earlier version which a bit soft at f4, but still a good lens. The FL version is optically a better lens and at the price point its a bargain. The only nitpick that I find of using these lenses is using the FTZ adapter, which is the weakest point of contact and can fail mechanically. But this is rare and you have to be thoughtful on how you handle your setup.Also native lens is quicker to focus.
The 500, FTZ, and TC is a great setup! The Z lens will give you slightly faster focus acquisition. I have been happy with the FL version with and without a TC on my Z8. I can get slightly more keepers using a Z lens due to faster focus. The light weight of Nikons FL lens are really nice when out birding.
Alas the price was indeed too good to be true. The lens I received was the G version, not the FL version. Amazon took it back without question. Now that my appetite has been wetted I need to find me a sub $2900 500 f/4 FL
GroovyGeek wrote:
Alas the price was indeed too good to be true. The lens I received was the G version, not the FL version. Amazon took it back without question. Now that my appetite has been wetted I need to find me a sub $2900 500 f/4 FL
MPB has 3 under 3k 1 under $2900 the other two are $2949 and the last one is $2659 and they are the FL version
Thank you for the reminder, I had seen this. All listed in excellent condition, but one reduced significantly likely due to some hood scuffs. Grabbed the cheapest one, 6% cashback from the "top" referal site
Now the question is Zemlin or Bioluminous cap. I have an angle on a nicely priced TC 1.4eIII
Dpedraza wrote:
MPB has 3 under 3k 1 under $2900 the other two are $2949 and the last one is $2659 and they are the FL version
I haven't used the 500 f4 E FL VR on a Z camera using the FTZ, but I have used the 400 f2.8E FL VR, 500 PF and a few other F mount lenses with absolutely no issue whatsoever. In fact, the 400 f2.8 and 500 PF worked better than on a DSLR as far as speed and accuracy was concerned.
Have you tested the lens ?
How is the AF performance ? My feeling with my copy AF is that it is jumping more then z lenses. it could be a problem with my copy. I may test it more abs try to send it to nikon for review.
I had 500/4e FL for quite awhile but never tried it with Z system though. By the time Z9, came out, I had 600/4e FL instead. From what I remember, far to near focus was a significant weak point in Z8/Z9 when it first came out. That was actually where D6 excelled over Z9 when I made the switch. However, as new firmwares came out, this became less of a problem but even now, far to near performance is still not as good as near to far even on 600/4s TC or 400/2.8s TC but much much better than earlier on.
I think you should do fine and any limitation you might find is going to be more because of the Z AF system rather than FTZ or 500/4e FL itself in my opinion.
Before I got my Z 400 F2.8, I was using The 500 FL with Z9 and as Lance mentioned, the AF works better with the Z9 and Z8 than on the DSLRs. The performance even with a 1.4TC is excellent. The problem with the AF transition from far to near distance is a general mirrorless problem and exists even on the Z lenses.
Thanks everyone for the comments. I took my copy for a trip and used it they way I use for any lens. I think the AF is a half step down from 800 pf or 400 mm z lenses.
My 500/4E FL arrived from MPB today, looks to be in great shape, especially for the $2700 I paid. However it came with the C-PL405 drop in polarizer filter. Will contact MPB tomorrow since I am pretty sure they listed the lens as coming with the NC filter.
I don't want the 1+stop loss from the filter. However, I am having trouble locating a 40.5mm drop-in filter holder with threads for the screw-in filter.
I see some 40.5mm gel filter holders on eBay for not a lot of money. The Z8 will compensate for the focus plane shift but I am reading that the flat NC filter is essential for harsher conditions - backlit scenes, high contrast wildlife, subject and infinity focus, etc. Are these noticeable?
Final option is to attempt to hack the C-PL405 and remove the CPL filter and replace it with a 40.5mm NC filter 3624. Anyone done that?
