Two weeks with the Nikon Z 180-600mm (vs Sigma 150-600mm Sport) for Wildlife Photography
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- čas přidán 11. 07. 2024
- A semi-review of this new Nikon lens I've had for the past two weeks, tested on a Nikon Z9.
Buy the Nikon 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 from:
- Adorama (USA): adorama.rfvk.net/rQeYQv
- WEX Photo Video (UK): tidd.ly/46DIOq0
00:00 - Intro
00:33 - Weight and handling
01:18 - The tripod foot sucks
02:56 - Other external features
03:54 - Lens performance/sharpness wide-open and copy variance
04:44 - "Test chart" shots
05:56 - Focusing speed
06:46 - Example photos
07:07 - Blue fringing
08:11 - More pigeon
08:43 - Video performance
09:57 - Conclusion - Věda a technologie
Thanks, I own the Sigma sport and I’m waiting for the Nikon to arrive so your comments were really useful
Thanks for your review. I have also noticed a blue fringe on subjects when using this lens.
Very nice review. Thank you!
Super shots.
like the presentation style
Many thanks, esp the part about the tripod "bracket"
Just bought mine this afternoon.....have been waiting for so long. My first telephoto zoom was 200-500mm f5.6 for D780, loved it....until I switched to Z mount
Thanks for your review! i own 150-600, 200-500 and now 180-600! The best!
Great Video
Now I have a sigma 60-600 which I received 4 months ago and I’m still wondering whether it’s worth changing it to a new Nikon. On the one hand, there is a lot of weight and poor stabilization, but on the other hand, it’s so nice to have these additional 60-180, which allow you to use the sigma lens much more universally, including for landscapes.
I was very tempted by the new mirrorless 60-600mm for L-mount when I was considering an S5II for wildlife (which didn't work out), because yeah that focal range is amazing and super useful if you do combined wildlife/landscape photography.
Tough choice!
@@robert_may yes, really, I use the mirror version for Nikon F through a native adapter with z50 and z6_2.
I'm very pleased with my 180-600, especially when combined with 2xTC. I've not had a problem carrying the camera using the tripod foot
I always use it, The lens hood is a big improvement to that on the 200-500.
Ooh I’ve not seen anyone try out the TCs so far - how’s the AF with the 2x attached? I quite fancy the 1.4x at some point but ideally want to try one out first
I originally bought the 2 x TC to use on the 70-200, but it's of more use on the 180-600 for wildlife. The AF seemed pretty good even though I was taking photos at 1/2000 sec. The light was good though, and the Z8 handles high ISO very well.
Great review, wondering what lens feet arca Swiss options are out there? Currently using 200-500 5.6 with z8
I know Kirk now do one, although I couldn't figure out how to import it to the UK 🤔
Perfect thanks, with regards to the blue fringing or CR/bleeding and a little orange fringing this is due to the VR system. I had this issue but much more severe with my Nikon 80-400mm when VR was set to ON and it was the first thing I tested with the 180-600mm. 1. It occurs mostly when moving the camera with VR set to on, the more the movement and change of direction will cause this, blue in front of the movement and slight orange behind the direction of movement. 2. The first shot in the sequence with continuous shooting will not show the fringing but the rest in sequence may show it, when set to normal VR, if you just take one shot then it won’t really show up.
Try zooming in on some leaves with a sky backlit and move camera from left to right and around - you will see it a lot more - if Vr is OFF it is hardly noticeable. BIF was my main issue when VR is set to sport. However like you say it is removable to an extent though, depending on how much movement there was in the original shot. I am not concerned about it now that you have mentioned it so I know my copy of this lens is not faulty. The fringing is soo much better than my 80-400 which I never used with VR ON because of it that I am satisfied with my copy. BTW it can also be seen in video also.
Ooh that's really interesting, thanks! I wonder if it's possible to reproduce it reliably 🤔 It's not in a large number of my shots so I'm probably not regularly triggering it with how I normally move. Oddly the gull I used as an example was probably a slower movement than some of my subsequent shots, so perhaps sun angle also plays into it.
Yes you are right, it may be CA due to backlit and angle of sun, out of focus regions etc…but you will over time be able to distinguish the difference. The more movement to one side and then moving back the other way, like tracking a bird at that moment it seems more prominent. - sometimes hard to remove in Lightroom alone, I have to use Nikons software to remove most when it’s bad. The built in lateral CR in nikon cameras works great, I just feel it’s not dealing with CR as well with VR ON, maybe nikon can have more info on why VR causes this.
I see this fringing too, especially in challenging light. I’m always on VR Sport, and shooting at pretty fast shutter speeds. I noticed it on the first outing with the lens, as it was unexpected. I didn’t see it on my previous 200-500mm.
I also shoot the 400 4.5, and don’t see the same effect (the 400mm costs twice as much, so no surprise there).
I find DXO lens profiling and fringe or CA removal in LR do a pretty good job of dismissing it.
All in all, I really like the lens and will probably keep it, despite the fact that the 400mm is exquisite.
@@tomdearie5165Thanks for confirming, the weird thing is it shows more with Vr on and moving with subject, I don’t know if that’s the way things work - I tested this by focusing on a tree branch/leaves against bright background and the just moving the lens left to right continuously and capturing a sequence I did the same with VR off and those seemed better almost no CA.
@@Photographersforyou Interesting. Some difference in the VR response of the three channels. Wonder if that’s been documented anywhere else. Anyway - thanks for the info.👍
Robert: "This is shit."
Yep, that's a sub! 🤣
Have the sigma, did struggle a bit at an airshow recently due to its weight. Looking for an alternative, is the nikon significantly lighter ?? Thank you
Yep! It’s actually even lighter than I thought - 1955g compared to 2860g for the Sigma 150-600 Sport. It’s actually almost identical to the Sigma 150-600 Contemporary (which is 1930g).
Personally I find it muuuuuch more comfortable than the Sport. I can deal with the Sport but it’s just a bit much when holding it up for a long time - especially pointing high up like at an air show. The new Nikon’s much more comfortable all around 😀
@robert_may Yes ì had the sport at Duxford, was really a strain, have it on sony but also have nikon but thinking the new zf with the better af ? Z8/9 still overkill for my needs. Sony af still spot on even with third party
I've had my 180-600mm for a week now and my experience so far has been very similar to yours, including my frustration with that shitty excuse for a tripod foot. I bought a 120mm arca-swiss plate from amazon that has both a 1/4" and 3/8" screw in it so I can be absolutely sure it is secured to the foot with no twisting or movement. It is a little easier to use as a carry handle with the longer plate on it. Like you, I'm on the lookout for a third party replacement for this terrible foot.
The strong plus side of Sigma lenses is ability to micro adjust auto-focus. That would increase the sharpness significantly. It can be done in Z9 itself or, via F-mount usb dock, in the Sigma lens on every focus length. I believe Sigma can beat Nikkor lens in that game.
Genuinely curious - how do you think that is more advantageous than calibrating the Nikkor lens while it is attached to the Z9? And given that it is already sharp at the center in the test shots how would the calibration improve the center-to-corner falloff?
@@pseudoryx9284Because in-camera calibration gives you ability to assign a single value where in-lens calibration allows to define six values per a focal length.
Wow.. everyone is receiving theirs, I pre-ordered day one and my shop still doesn't have a shopping date. Had the z8 for 3 months now without a wildlife lens. I'm going crazy.
I may have gotten up at 5am on the morning of the announcement specifically to place my order as fast as possible 🙈They do seem to be getting through the orders fairly quickly so hopefully it won't be too long until yours arrives!
@@robert_may Hope so. The day this lens was announced I ordered a Z8 and pre-ordered this lens, to replace my X-H2 Tamron 150-500 setup. With Nikon claiming a release date of august, I wasn't expecting to still have no shipping date mid September... Anyway, I'm glad you're happy with the lens. Was a bit concerned about the sharpness wide open myself, but it seems to be pretty good.
@@cy9nvs Yeah I was a bit annoyed at the confusing release date, although the summer is basically rubbish for bird photography here so it's the least-worst season to be missing a new lens in 😅
And yeah I was a bit concerned about the sharpness wide-open after a bunch of other reviews. If it is down to copy variation then at least that's usually solveable by sending it off to Nikon for calibration.
At least you got the z8… i am waiting for both 😞
Are you NPS?
I have a copy of the Nikon 200-500 F5.6 now and I'm definitely eyeing this down the road. Do you feel the loss in aperture affects much for wildlife/distance shots? I like the idea of the longer reach and internal zoom, but I've been quite pleased with the results I've gotten as well. (Airshows in my case, but similar concept to birds, I'd imagine)
Ooh tough one. The 200-500 is really nice. When it comes to aperture differences, at 600mm I think the loss from 5.6 to 6.3 doesn't really matter as you're getting additional subject separation due to the extra magnification. Where I normally notice it would be in focusing speed/low light performance, but it's only 1/3rd of a stop so it's very marginal, and I believe this lens focuses faster due to the new motors anyway (though I don't have both to compare) 🤔
Might be worth seeing if you can try one out at a store or event to compare!
@@robert_may That's a good idea! Once Lens Rentals gets some of the 180-600s I'll see if I can snag one for a weekend to give a try.
The internal zoom is one of the big pulls for me. I love the images I get, but anytime I zoom in to 500 it gets even more front heavy, haha (Although the better tripod shoe helps)
@@KidWiz3 Haha yes the shifting weight balance on the Sigma is one of its biggest downsides. It's not too bad on the Z9 but that video I did with it on the F-801 damn near killed me 😆
@@robert_may I'm on a Z8 now and I'm already keeping my hand out well past the shoe, I can't imagine how goofy it was on the even lighter film camera, haha. Although, still seemed like a fun experiment! (Fun to watch, at least)
Very good commentary especially I do have a sport to be sold to 2nd hand shop to swap to this I think.
Robert, I would be interested to know if the fringing you got was with VR on as I feel the images you show do not really show the kind of fringing I’m getting. Would you be able to include the outcome you get in your next review. Thanks.
I did have VR on (Sport mode). I’ll check through my other shots and see how many others are exhibiting it aside from the sequence that one’s from 🤔
@@robert_may great! Thanks - FYI it normally shows in BIF shots on mine.
Taken a lot more photos since - I have seen the blue fringing on a few of the shots, but not a very high proportion. It mostly seems to show up when the bird has very highly exposed sections and I think it's tied to certain movements of the camera. I haven't managed to reliably reproduce it though and it doesn't seem to happen enough for my shooting to be a worry!
@@robert_may Thanks, I am still debating on keeping mine, I have found fringing mainly on the right side of the frame especially near edges for static shots, you can easily check that on the same subject. Also regarding VR movement it’s mostly when panning from right to left and it’s definitely present but not when VR is OFF, I checked that by moving the lens on a static subject from right to left and back - I even turn off Chromatic aberration reduction in Lightroom so I can see how bad it was prior to correction.
thank you
I have a sigma 150-600 sport (as well as a nikon d7200). And the sigma is so heavy with a long shot from my hands that I had to buy a monopod. Now, after your video, I seriously think about switching to z, and in particular about z8 and z180-600 (I really don’t know when finances will allow it :) )
I assume the test shots are at 600mm? And assuming the same shooting distance, the Nikon seems to be a lot more zoomed in -> The 150-600 maybe more of a 580mm at the long end?
Correct, both at 600mm. And yeah the Nikon seems more true to the advertised length than the Sigma, at least at this focus distance (which was about 4m). The Sony 200-600 is even shorter, from comparisons I’ve seen 🤔
Nice comparison. May i know what microphone u used to capture ur voice?
Ooh yeah, it's a Sennheiser MKE 600, and I picked it up a bit cheaper on MPB secondhand: prf.hn/l/vwjXqMZ. I then run it into a Tascam Model 12 mixer, usually with a 100hz low-cut rolloff to prevent excessive booming from my voice (the mic has this built-in but I usually use the one on the mixer).
It's a good mic for lower voices but also emphasises sibilance, so I use the equaliser on my mixer to tweak that a bit, and further EQ it a little in my editor later.
It's been really good for me so far and as the next step up is the MKH50, which is like 5x the price, I doubt I'll be changing it any time soon 😅 I like how Sennheiser mics tend to make the voice sound more "open" than other options like Rode mics, as that suits my voice better.
Hope that helps!
@@robert_may thank you 😊 u've treated the voice really well. It's clean and also ur room sounds good. Not many over head voice overs are this clean and clear. 👌
@@thilipdhev The room is kinda awkward because the ceiling is high, but I treated the corner behind the mic and that seemed to prevent too many reflections. The only problem is that I have a huge monitor just to the side of the mic and that used to cause me problems until I moved the mic further in front of it 😆 I’d like to treat the room further at some point so I can use more of it, but overall it seems to work alright!
@@robert_may nice. What monitors u use? I use ATC near fields and neumann tube mic.
@@robert_may spending on acoustics will yield the best results with almost any gear today.
Check again, LRC have a lens profile... Mine using it...
A lot of whining about the foot! I attached a somewhat longer Arca-Swiss plate on it and it works great. Problem solved:-)
Your enthusiasm is contagious,please calm down.
Get over the tripod foot….good grief…..and you have this lense over others….HOW
My years of computer skulduggery furnished me with the skills I needed in order to type my billing details in faster than anyone else.
@@robert_may I was referring to your whining skulduggery,not you elite computer skills.
@@chipsrafferty8362 Bah, poor effort. Come back with a thesaurus.
@@robert_may boring,dull,monotonous,cloying,dead,blah blah blah.