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I let my close friend and amazing photographer, Chris Zak, borrow my 600mm f/4 lens that I got on loan from NPS and he has put together an awesome review for today’s Tech Review Tuesday article. He will be more of a familiar face around the inLIGHTin’ed Workshops so be sure to comment and make him feel at home! His review is very in-depth and informative.

BTW I love the format that he created for the review… Very clean and organized. Don’t you think?

Nikkor AF-S 600mm f/4D IF-ED II Review
By Christopher Zak
August 25, 2009

Introduction:

This past weekend my family and I headed out to Cape Cod for some relaxation.   While my wife’s idea of relaxation is to settle down with a good book, I tend to enjoy a good hike or drive in quest of a great photo opportunity.   I especially was looking forward to this trip since I was able to get my hands on a Nikkor 600mm lens for the journey.  Visions of close-up wildlife ran through my head the entire drive down to the cape.  I must confess that my primary objective was to simply get some hands-on time with this lens – actually capturing wildlife images would be a secondary consideration.  With an Alaskan trip planned for next summer, I really wanted to evaluate the 600mm lens to see if rental or purchase would make sense.  I must say, what I learned will definitely affect how I approach next summer’s Alaskan journey.  Hopefully my comments will help you in your gear selection as well.

Before we move on, it is important to note that this lens is not the newer ($10,000) 600mm VR lens currently being sold by Nikon.  It is the prior generation lens that can be found on eBay for half the price of the VR version. 

Image 1 – Nikkor 600mm lens and case

Features & Specifications:

No equipment review would be complete without the requisite technical specifications.  Since the specs for this lens can be found elsewhere, I will simply outline some of the major features that I found important. 

• f/4 (the largest fixed aperture you will find on a lens with this focal length)
• Silent wave motor for quiet high-speed autofocus
• Ability to focus down to 5.6m (5.4m in manual focus)
• 9 rounded diaphragm blades that provide blur for out-of-focus elements
• M/A mode to quickly switch between autofocus and manual focus operation
• Auto-focus range limiting switch to improve auto-focusing speed
• 4,750 grams – (think heavy!)
• 430.5mm long – (think long!)
• Rotatable tripod collar (the only acceptable way to tripod mount this lens/camera combination)
• Rear slip-in filter housing (for circular polarizer filter sold separately)

A more complete list of specifications can be found at: http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/lineup/lens/af/telephoto/af-s_600mmf_4d_if_2/index.htm

First Impressions:

Before I even laid my eyes (and hands) on the lens, I was impressed with the moderately-sized Anvil-style case that housed the lens (see Image 1 above).  Even before opening the case I got an inkling that the lens was going to be impressive.  And impressive it was.  As soon as I opened the case, I blurted out a “wow” when my eyes saw this big boy.  This is one big lens, clearly not for the casual photographer.  As I lifted the lens out of the case, it immediately became apparent that this is one heavy lens.  I knew immediately that a tripod was in order.  The sheer size of the front glass element was quite impressive.  I felt as if I had a small telescope in my hands.

As quickly as I could, I connected the lens to my Nikon D700 and snapped a few photos.  Here’s what I immediately noticed:

1)      The minimum focusing distance of approximately 16 feet means you need separation between you and your subject.

2)      The bokeh, or quality of the blurred image, was incredible.  Out-of-focus background elements were rendered smoothly.

3)      Very sharp edge-to-edge images.

4)      My TC-17E teleconverter worked and looked good (providing 1020mm of focal length).

5)      Auto-focusing wasn’t the fastest, but use of the AF distance limiting switch helped.

6)      I preferred to manually focus the lens most of the time.

7)      I immediately wanted Vibration Reduction (VR).

So with my quick first impressions out of the way, it was time to take the lens out into the field to see how it performed (or should I say how I handled it).

 

Image 2 – Illustration of  bokeh
Shot with Nikkor 600mm f/4 lens with Nikon TC-17E teleconverter.  ISO 800, f/6.7, 1/1600 sec. 

Hands-on Experience:

First and foremost, I cannot imagine using this lens handheld.  Its weight and size make it difficult to hand hold effectively.  So I decided to lock it down on my tripod.  Problem number one arose – my carbon fiber tripod uses a ball head equipped with a Really Right Stuff clamp.  Although the 600mm lens included a rotatable lens collar mounting foot, it didn’t fit my RRS clamp.  So for me to use this on my tripod, I had to pull out an older style clamp and swap it out on my tripod head.  While this wasn’t the end of the world, it was a pain every time I wanted to change lenses because I needed to swap tripod clamps.  Lesson learned – remember to purchase the necessary RRS lens collar foot replacement if you buy or rent one of these lenses.  I’m glad I figured this out now rather than on my upcoming Alaska trip.

My next issue arose as soon as I locked the lens down on the tripod.  Lens movement.  As I mentioned, I have a light-weight carbon fiber tripod that I carry with me when I travel.  Simply stated, this tripod failed to provide the support that this lens requires.  Even when this lens was mounted on a more beefy tripod, there was still some movement/vibration.  This is where I found myself wishing for vibration reduction technology.  Had this lens been equipped with VR, my problem would have been solved.  Since it wasn’t, I found that I needed to wait for the lens to stop vibrating and use a high shutter speed to get crisp images.  Since even the slightest amount of wind caused some lens movement, I probably never really got this lens to stop moving.  The problem I have with using really high shutter speeds is that I like to keep my ISO settings as low as possible.  Once I put a teleconverter on the lens and sucked up two more stops of light, I pretty much was ensured of having to raise my ISO settings to be able to shoot with high shutter speeds.  While this wasn’t the end of the world (since the D700 has great high ISO capabilities), it wasn’t ideal for me.  Yes, a more stable tripod would have helped to a degree, but to me the real answer was vibration reduction.  So, needless to say, I will only consider long focal length lenses that have VR from this point forward.  And, if I’m using a lens of this size, I will bite the bullet and carry a heavier sturdier tripod with me.  Hey, if I’m going to lug this beast around, what’s another 4 pounds in tripod weight?  Oh, one last thing here, to keep the camera stead when triggering the shutter, I always used a wired remote trigger.  Whenever possible, I also engaged mirror lockup.

Image 3 – Night photo of the moon
Shot with Nikkor 600mm f/4 lens with Nikon TC-17E teleconverter.  ISO 3200, f/6.7, 1/6400 sec.

 

 

Image 5 – Same image as Image 3 above but cropped to 200%.  Notice the crater visibility.

Now I don’t want to sound too critical of the lens (it’s sweet), but I do want to share my issues.  My next problem came with locating subjects in the lens.  This of course is strictly a user operator issue and not a fault of the lens.  But, I did find myself having to search around to get the lens targeted on my subject.  The lens is so powerful (especially when coupled with a teleconverter), that it sometimes took me a few seconds to find the object I was planning on shooting.  This became problematic when I was trying to take photos of a bird that kept moving (to purposely evade my photo taking efforts).  Unfortunately, the bird’s movements were quicker than my ability to relocate and track the bird in the viewfinder.  So, ultimately, the bird won – I gave up – he didn’t get photographed.  So what lesson did I learn?  Well two.  First, more work with the lens would make me better at using it.  Second, that I would typically use this lens for photographing less robust creatures.  For example, I can see locking this lens down on a tripod aimed at a bird house.  Then, I could simply click the shutter when a bird entered the frame.  Similarly, it would work well for photographing slow-moving or stationary bears eating salmon out of a river.  I can’t envision me using this to shoot Nascar races or football games.  At least not without some serious practice time.  Oh, by the way, it takes some time to un-box the lens, attach the lens hood, mount it to your camera and tripod, and find and focus on your shooting subject.  So consider this if you are planning on doing some run-and-gun photography.  You might be better served with a 70-200mm or 200-400mm lens that is more suitable to handholding or monopod mounting.  

Image 6 – Shot from a distance of approx. 3700 feet away.
Shot with Nikkor 600mm f/4 lens with Nikon TC-17E teleconverter.  ISO 400, f/4.5, 1/4000 sec. 

 
Because this lens is an AF-S style lens, it accepts any of the Nikon teleconverters (1.4x, 1.7x and 2.0x).  Only the 1.4x will preserve the ability to autofocus the lens since the 1.7x and 2.0x suck up too much light and exceed the f/5.6 aperture required for the autofocus to be effective.  This didn’t turn out to be much of a problem for me since I preferred to manually focus any way.  But, the autofocus did work well when given adequate light and time.  I guess I can’t really call the autofocus slow, but the range limiting focus switch did improve focusing speed when used.  Hey, it’s 600mm – I’m not expecting lighting fast focusing.  
 

Image 7  – Image of an osprey atop a utility pole shot from ground level approx. 100 ft. away.
Shot with Nikkor 600mm f/4 lens with Nikon TC-17E teleconverter.  ISO 800, f/11, 1/500 sec.

 

Image 8  – Cropped Image of an osprey atop a utility pole shot from ground level approx. 100 ft. away.
Shot with Nikkor 600mm f/4 lens with Nikon TC-17E teleconverter.  ISO 800, f/11, 1/500 sec. 

If you plan to travel with this lens, you really need to consider its size and weight.  Most airlines will probably nail you with an additional bag charge if you send it through with the baggage.  This lens simply won’t fit in most camera bags/back packs.  The lens and case weighed in at 24 lbs.  I personally would consider shipping it to my destination via UPS or FedEx.  Also, once on location, you need to remember that you need to transport the lens out to your shooting location.  If you’re alone, it’s probably going to be an issue on long hikes.  Personally, I found carrying all my gear and this lens to be acceptable for short distances, but  not too desirable when I had to hike a distance.  Keep this in mind before setting out on a hike through the desert!  Working out of the back of your car shouldn’t be an issue.

Things I liked.  Well, the lens is really sharp.  Especially for a 600mm.  In optics, you get what you pay for, and with this lens you’re getting top-notch clarity.  The build quality of the lens was also substantial.  The lens felt solid and not cheap.  Even the case it comes in is well built.  Autofocus switches were large, well marked, and conveniently located.  The lens hood was easy to secure with a single screw and flipped around nicely for packaging.    The way out-of-focus backgrounds were rendered was outstanding.  It is easy to get object-to-background separation with this lens.  Aside from the addition of VR, there’s not much more I would want from this lens. 

 

Image 9  – Image of a water lilly
Shot with Nikkor 600mm f/4 lens with Nikon TC-17E teleconverter.  ISO 800, f/6.7, 1/1250 sec.
 

 

Image 10  – Same as image 9 above but cropped to 100%

 

Image 11  – Same as image 9 above but cropped to 200%
 

Summary:

So, would I buy this lens? No.  I wouldn’t consider this (or any other super telephoto) lens without integrated vibration reduction (VR) now that it exists.  That said, if cash wasn’t a consideration, I would absolutely buy the newer VR version of this lens for those once-in-a-while shots.  The one problem that I continued to notice while using this lens was that even the slightest movements (caused by the wind) required me to use high shutter speeds to get the sharpness I wanted.  VR would certainly have helped in this area.  Since VR technology exists, and works well, I absolutely would spend the money to purchase a lens so equipped. 

Now, since cash is obviously a consideration for me, and since I am not a professional nature (or bird) photographer, I would probably opt for a VR-equipped high power zoom lens (that I can occasionally handhold) instead.  I think the versatility of variable focal length, combined with reasonable long reach capability would serve me better.  Couple this with the fact that a lens like the Nikkor 200-400mm f/4 VR is 1475 grams lighter than the 600mm, it would probably make a better traveling companion for me and would work better on a monopod.  While I would sacrifice some focal distance, I feel that the other gains in flexibility and cost savings will be beneficial for my shooting style (think my kids sporting events and nature photography).  Since I plan to use my Nikon teleconverters, I will of course need to stay with an AF-S lens (since they don’t work with other lenses).  For those few times where I will really need the reach of the 600mm, I will rent a lens.  I can’t imagine this happening too often.

So in summary a great lens (especially if VR equipped), sharp with great bokeh, big and heavy, expensive, and tripod-dependent.