I've always been impressed by the 500 PF, I don't know why I never bought one. Probably the price scared me away. It is certainly a great lens. You made lots of great photos, I enjoyed the owls, the chipmunk and the cropped version of the palm warbler the most. The other unidentified warbler is a yellow rump I'm pretty sure. I was out yesterday with the 200-500 and my new used D850 and I agree, 45mp is very cropable! I'm happy to see you using the Z8. It is certainly a great camera. I'm waiting on the Canon R5 Mark II announcement. R5 cameras have the same resolution as a D850, Z7, Z7II and Z8. If the R5 Mark II doesn't have a stacked sensor like the Z8, I might just get a Z8 instead!
Phil, Dave, let me borrow his a couple of years back and I must say that it is the best lens I have ever used! It is so light and tiny and the AF speed almost happens faster than your eye can detect. One thing I noticed as well was the detail in the birds feathers and the color changes but what impressed me most was the very small details like in a reflection of a bird over water..It definitely punches way above its weight!!
Been shooting that combo for about 6 months now. Great combo! Rarely miss focus & love light size/weight as I walk/hike quite a bit. I do use 3 different auto focus modes for different environments - I.e. forested area vs. beach, etc. enjoy the combo!
Great video, as a D500 & 500 PF owner I have been dithering about buying the Z8. I can’t part with the rig but I am interested in adding the Z8. Apparently the 500 PF is long enough to be useful on the Z8 for you and this was a question I’ve been debating, so thanks for answering that. I also have the OM-1 & Olympus 300mm with both teleconverters and they work very well so I have plenty of reach available. Keeping the weight to about 90 oz or less is important to me and this looks about right with the Z adapter. Thanks for the review.
Ron, I’m right handed and Left eye dominate. It makes things challenging with a range finder. I’m always surprised at how compact the PF 500 is for a 500mm.
Thanks Ron for the sharing. The video is great & help! But I'm curious how does it work with 2x or 1.4x teleconverter? (either the F mount or the Z mount) did you try it?
When buying this lens you should know that it is optimized for shooting at 5.6, it is nonsense to use closed diaphragms as this will increase the iso a lot, just as you don't need speeds of 1/1600 unless the bird is in flight
Not only is the Z 180-600 a lot heavier, it is also poorly balanced. It is very front heavy. As for sharpness, no comparison. The F 500 PF is far sharper. Far faster AF, better VR. Both tripod collars suck in a different way.
I've always been impressed by the 500 PF, I don't know why I never bought one. Probably the price scared me away. It is certainly a great lens. You made lots of great photos, I enjoyed the owls, the chipmunk and the cropped version of the palm warbler the most. The other unidentified warbler is a yellow rump I'm pretty sure. I was out yesterday with the 200-500 and my new used D850 and I agree, 45mp is very cropable! I'm happy to see you using the Z8. It is certainly a great camera. I'm waiting on the Canon R5 Mark II announcement. R5 cameras have the same resolution as a D850, Z7, Z7II and Z8. If the R5 Mark II doesn't have a stacked sensor like the Z8, I might just get a Z8 instead!
Phil, Dave, let me borrow his a couple of years back and I must say that it is the best lens I have ever used! It is so light and tiny and the AF speed almost happens faster than your eye can detect. One thing I noticed as well was the detail in the birds feathers and the color changes but what impressed me most was the very small details like in a reflection of a bird over water..It definitely punches way above its weight!!
Thanks Phil. Hope Canon comes thru for you with a R5ii. I would love to see what a Z50ii would look like from Nikon at this point.
Been shooting that combo for about 6 months now. Great combo! Rarely miss focus & love light size/weight as I walk/hike quite a bit. I do use 3 different auto focus modes for different environments - I.e. forested area vs. beach, etc. enjoy the combo!
Thanks for stopping by. I use mostly 2 focus modes. Bird/Eye Detect with 3d and Single point when shooting Wildlife
Is the focusing speed and accuracy good vs F-mount body? I have the 200-500mm and am planning to get z mount + ftz in the near future.
Great video, as a D500 & 500 PF owner I have been dithering about buying the Z8. I can’t part with the rig but I am interested in adding the Z8. Apparently the 500 PF is long enough to be useful on the Z8 for you and this was a question I’ve been debating, so thanks for answering that. I also have the OM-1 & Olympus 300mm with both teleconverters and they work very well so I have plenty of reach available. Keeping the weight to about 90 oz or less is important to me and this looks about right with the Z adapter. Thanks for the review.
Your welcome. I love my Z8 and with the 500pf it is very lightweight and I think it produces Excellent Results. I wish I could afford the 600pf Z Lens
Loved the shots of owl, my favorite. Thank you, Ron
Glad you enjoyed it
Ron, I’m right handed and Left eye dominate. It makes things challenging with a range finder. I’m always surprised at how compact the PF 500 is for a 500mm.
The 500pf is so light it's crazy. It is a great hand holdable lens on any body. Even the Z8.
Thanks Ron! You got some good shots! I have been wanting to hear your opinion on this combo!
Hope you like it! I did this video just for you and another D500 Shooter way out in California. www.youtube.com/@forced_perspective
@rdphoto2 yes, it was good
@rdphoto2 yeah, I have been watching him for a while..He is a fellow D500 shooter
great shots, great video sir.... keep shooting and keep up the great work...
Thank you appreciate the comment.
Good job, Ron, Thank you.
Thanks for listening
Thanks Ron for the sharing. The video is great & help! But I'm curious how does it work with 2x or 1.4x teleconverter? (either the F mount or the Z mount) did you try it?
Great Video Ron,was wondering why you used f8 and f9 on your images? I use 5.6 to 6.3 with my 500pf for birds on the d500
I normally use f5.6 with this lens. But I was trying to see if I could gain some more dof.
That’s a pretty impressive combination!!!
Thanks Tim
Nice video. Thanks for sharing so lovely footages. New Friend from India.
Thanks for visiting. And welcome to the channel
Are you shooting in manual with Auto ISO and you use back button focus?
Exactly.
Did you get same *autofocus speed* by using 500pf+d500 and 500pf+z8.
Kindly answer
Greetings. I would say it was too close to call. But overall I think it might have been a little better on the Z8. Hope this helps.
you are always shooting without lens hood?
That was a Yellow-rumped Warbler
Thanks Roger. I sometimes get challenged and have to use Merlin to help me out.
When buying this lens you should know that it is optimized for shooting at 5.6, it is nonsense to use closed diaphragms as this will increase the iso a lot, just as you don't need speeds of 1/1600 unless the bird is in flight
Not only is the Z 180-600 a lot heavier, it is also poorly balanced. It is very front heavy. As for sharpness, no comparison. The F 500 PF is far sharper. Far faster AF, better VR. Both tripod collars suck in a different way.
I am the same as far as eye dominance and right-handed,
It's just the way I have always shot. Glad to know there are others out there that shoot the same way;
I got my 500PF for 1500 bucks Like New in Box 😉
The only ones I am seeing for $1500 are beat to crap, lens plus hood and caps only, and early serial numbers.