AlphaPhotography wrote:
Beautiful shots. It's good to see the ZF getting great results as I'm looking to pick up the 600PF or 180-600mm for mine. How was tracking the caracara with the non-blackout free EVF? Did you use mechanical shutter? How significant are the differences in sharpness between the 180-600mm and 600PF (at 600mm f6.3)? Do you own the Z8/Z9 and notice the significant drop in resolution when switching to the ZF?
JustShootMe wrote:
Let's try this again .... Crested Caracara
Thanks.
The blackout is only noticeable if you have something to compare it against. If you are coming from a DSLR it is normal , if you are coming from Z8/a9 then of course you will notice the difference. I'm still kind of new to wildlife photography , I have shot reptiles for many years but never birds who are super fast. So to me once I see a fast moving bird in the viewfinder I am anything but calm and collective , and if I miss the shot it is more likely my fault than the camera. I need to work on panning etc with longer lenses. I shoot with the mechanical shutter , I don't think the sensor readout is fast enough to use the E-shutter with fast moving birds. The ZF does fine tracking , as quick to acquire the initial focus as the Z8 (that I no longer own) probably not , but good enough. I don't really miss 47 megapixels , that is the reason I gave up the Z8. It's just to much data that I don't need , I try not to crop if at all possible, if I do it's for composition or to straighten things. I got tired of the amount of photos I had to go through , and the never ending archiving of files to clear disk space on my Mac.
As for the 180-600 vs 600PF , I don't notice a drastic difference in sharpness , but I do think I have a great copy of the 180-600 . To me the size and weight difference are quite noticeable, in particular the placement of the tripod foot as well as its design. The 600 PF has the foot placed more towards the center of the lens , when carrying by the tripod foot it just handles better. The 180-600 foot is all the way towards the mount , maybe with a heavier body like the Z9 that would balance well , but with the ZF it wants to lean forward. That annoys me , it actually makes the lens feel heavier to me. I still don't know if it's worth 3x the cost just because it's easier to handle , image quality will be close, and both handle the TC's well. I think the 600 PF focus a little quicker , it's a little snappier. The 600 PF has more controls, better tripod foot etc, is that worth the cost? Guess it depends on what you shoot, how you shoot, and how you transport/support your gear while shooting.
Mar 11, 2024 at 10:39 AM
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