Nikon Lens Sharpness for Birding: 400/f4 + 2.0TC or 600mm + 1.4 TC

[Sol Shamilzadeh]

I am conflicted about making a major buying decision about which Nikon lens will work best for me for birding without compromising on lens sharpness when paired with Nikon teleconverters. Lens to be coupled with the Nikon D800 on a Series 4 Gitzo & Promedia Gear Katana Gimbal. Birds to be photographed: from titmice to hawks.

The Nikon 400mm f/2.8 vs Nikon 600mm f/4--sharpness winner?

The Nikon 400mm f/2.8 + Nikon 1.4 TC vs Nikon 600mm f/4 + Nikon 1.4 TC --sharpness winner?

The Nikon 400mm f/2.8 + Nikon 2.0 TC vs Nikon 600mm f/4 + Nikon 2.0 TC --sharpness winner?

Both are very heavy. The 400mm more versatile. The 600mm more reach.

The 400mm an extra stop advantage.

For me sharpness will be the deciding factor.

Your experience is much appreciated. Thank you. Sol

[Randy Stout]

Sol:

I don't have the 400, do have the 600, but have read extensively about the 400. No question it is sharper than the 600 by a bit. Takes TCs very well. I use the 1.4 on the 600 fairly often, works well, the 1.7 isn't sharp enough for me except at smaller f/stops ( f/8 or so) even with fine tuning. I have only used the III series 2.0 TC briefly, but it is such a long focal length(on the 600) that everything has to be just right, tech., atmosphere, wind, etc. to make good images, at least in my hands.

But, for birds, unless you are shooting where they are very tame, I would take the 600 everytime. Large mammals, I would go with the 400. Brad Hill has written extensively about the 400, some about the 600, and how they tolerate all the TCs.

A good read. He is more of a mammal guy, bears and such, so keep that in mind. Here is a link to his field tests. You will have to poke around a bit to get all the stuff.


http://www.naturalart.ca/artist/fieldtests

Cheers

Randy

[Leon Besaans]

I shoot 400f2.8 and 1.4TC on a Nikon D7000, and I cant be happier. Its heavy, but the sharpness as Thom Hogan explains below is unbeatable. Autofocus fine tune is vital with a TC attached and lastly, get your shutter speed up. Some people are saying that 1/focal is no longer valid with the advent of high res sensors, claiming it should be 3 x that amount. How to achieve that I struggle to figure out as I hate high ISO.

Tough choice, but either way I think you will be happy.

http://www.bythom.com/nikkor-400mm-f28-lens-review.htm

Good luck with your choice

Regards,

Leon

[Sol Shamilzadeh]

Thank you Randy and Leon. As I thought this would elicit evenly split responses. I've spent a lot of time perusing many objective and subjective reviews.
In the end it really boils down to which will suit your personal style of shooting. I've come to the conclusion that I will need to rent each of these lenses before purchasing them.

[ericbowles]

The 600 f/4 VR is a bit of a monster, but it is a remarkable lens. The bare lens is exceptionally sharp on the D800E - significantly sharper than on the D7000. There is a bit of drop off in sharpness as you add teleconverters to the D600. I willingly use the TC14E II and see a very small drop in sharpness. But the TC20E III does have a drop off in sharpness - plus the loss of light is a killer. Now part of that is comparison with such a sharp image using the bare lens. I've got mixed feelings on whether I want to use the 2.0 teleconverter.

I don't think 400mm is long enough for small birds, so you are using a teleconverter for virtually all bird photography. I expect the 1.4 teleconverter will be fine, but question whether you would really be happy using a 2.0 teleconverter.

Keep in mind there are different results depending on the distance to your subject. Severe cropping is going to reveal any image flaws. I find that inside 100 feet, image quality is excellent but with long distances any optical issues are more apparent.

[David Stephens]

When comparing sharpness, realize that you'll crop to some degree in almost all of your bird photography. Effectiveness of the stabilization system and speed of the AF are just as important or more so than the lenses' relative MTF performance. Being able to hand hold would be an important factor to me also, since I find that my keeper rate is much higher when I hand hold my super-teles.

[Leon Besaans]

When comparing sharpness, realize that you'll crop to some degree in almost all of your bird photography. Effectiveness of the stabilization system and speed of the AF are just as important or more so than the lenses' relative MTF performance. Being able to hand hold would be an important factor to me also, since I find that my keeper rate is much higher when I hand hold my super-teles.

Are you serious??? You must have the strength of Sampson. I find a good tripod and Gimbal indispensable.

Regards

[David Stephens]

Are you serious??? You must have the strength of Sampson. I find a good tripod and Gimbal indispensable.

Regards

Yes, at 10 lbs, it's certainly a possibility for many of us. I know two women that now hand hold their Canon 500/f4s. With the new stabilization, it's much better for capturing birds in flight. Of course, YMMV.