Reed Hoffman in April wrote an article on PetaPixel titled “Why Buying a US$14,000 Lens Made Sense for Me.” It’s well worth a read. I basically concur with his comments.
I recently spent a month in Africa with two Z9s and basically two lenses: a 35-150mm f/2-2.8 and that 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S that Reed wrote about. I was already planning on writing a short article about the 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S before his article appeared, so instead I’ll supplement what he wrote.
Basically, on a Z8 or Z9 that 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S is a 400-840mm f/2.8-4 quad-focal length lens (Leica once made tri-focal length lenses):
- Do nothing, and you have a superb 400mm f/2.8.
- Flip a lever and you have a still excellent 560mm f/4.
- Next, press a button (assigned to FX/DX switch) and you now have and excellent 840mm f/4, but only ~20mp.
- There’s also a superb 600mm (equivalent) f/2.8 at ~20mp option: button press but no lever flip
I’m fine with only ~20mp (assuming my frame is filled). Not having to take the lens off and mount a teleconverter while on safari in dusty places (or sports assignment) is a big benefit. Moreover, flipping and pressing is fast: you can’t change lenses or mount a teleconverter that fast.
As did Reed, I used to own the F-mount 400mm f/2.8 and 500mm f/4 lenses. Those were two expensive lenses that together cost (new) way more than the 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S by itself. Moreover, carrying both around was a pain, so I never did that: I had to figure out which lens was best for the circumstances I was likely to encounter.
Now I own one lens. And that lens is lighter than either of the two lenses it replaced, plus it’s sharper into the corners than those two earlier exotics, plus it has that focal length flexibility built in. Win, win, win.
Yes, US$14,000 is not insignificant, but I I sold my older lenses at a decent price and this new one is likely to last me the rest of my career (disclosure: I’m 71).
If 400mm isn’t your base telephoto need, Nikon has replicated the same capabilities at 600mm (600mm f/4 TC VR S):
- Do nothing, and you have a superb 600mm f/4.
- Flip a lever and you have an excellent 840mm f/5.6.
- Next, press a button and you have and excellent 1260mm f/5.6, but only ~20mp.
- There’s also the superb 900mm (equivalent) f/4 option via button only.
I questioned whether or not I needed the 800mm f/6.3 PF VR S when it came out, and basically, I believe I was right to question that. Not that the 800mm isn’t a great lens, but note that both the exotic lens TC-inclusive solutions get you to 800mm with a faster aperture in a lens that’s more flexible on camera (assuming a Z8 or Z9, of course).
My problem with the 800mm works the other way round: if I’m positioning myself for 800mm perspective, I don’t have any recourse when the subject moves closer, or a bigger subject comes along. There’s no 0.7x lever on the lens, nor is there a MX/FX switch on the camera ;~). As you probably realize by now, I work hard to get quite close to the animals and players I photograph. To me the 800mm is more a “just can’t get close enough” lens, a problem I don’t usually have (and now have some answers for via a lever/button). Moreover, if 800mm is the best I can do for getting close, I’m always worrying about what the air is doing between me and the subject (e.g. heat waves).
Note that if I have time to add a teleconverter, I have two more useful options on my 400mm:
- Add a 1.4x teleconverter and I can now reach a good 1176mm f/5.6, 20mp.
- Add a 2x teleconverter and I can reach a decent 1680mm f/8, 20mp.
While the first options I outlined with the fast TC VR S lenses produce exceptional images optically, these latter two show some degradation. However, 1680mm? Yikes that is long. I’d be happy to do some post processing to bring such an image up to my standards if 1680mm was the right focal length choice.
Okay, you don’t have US$14,000 in your pocket. Do you have US$3900? You won’t be able do the lever flip thing on the 400mm f/4.5 VR S, but you can add a teleconverter when necessary. Which means that you’d have:
- Do nothing and you have an excellent, possibly superb 400mm f/4.5.
- Add the 1.4x teleconverter and you have a still-excellent 560mm f/6.3.
- Press a button and you have an excellent 840mm f/6.3 at 20mp. (Hey, that’s basically an 800mm PF!)
Moreover, that 400mm f/4.5 VR S is 41 ounces (1160g), while the 800mm f/6.3 PF VR S is double that at 84 ounces (2385g). Also, the 400mm f/4.5 VR S is in stock, while the 800mm f/6.3 PF VR S is still on serious backorder (and twice the cost).
Z System users are living in a world of excellent options for telephoto choice. Yes, I know many of you are holding out for the 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR (note the lack of an S) because you’re, well, cheapskates and love convenience lenses. But as I’ve outlined several times on this site, Nikon has already given you excellent telephoto options.
