Nikon z zoom lenses for aviation?

[pmb968]

Hi, could I get some advice from those that have the switch to mirrorless Nikon z lenses?

I have been shooting with a D750 and the 200- 500 lens at airshows and it’s great but tis a long lens when sitting in a grandstand and sometimes I feel like I encroach into others space as I pan….

I finally decided to upgrade to a z8 camera last week with its better fps, sensor and autofocus tech.

I’m thinking about what zoom lenses to pair with it and my options seem to be:
a) keep the 200 - 500 lens and get an fix/z adaptor, but the size of the lens at 500 will remain and perhaps be even larger with the adaptor!
b) trade it in against the 180-600 lens with a greater telephoto reach, but is it sharper than the 200-500, and will its autofocus be slower when paired with a Z8
c) trade it in and get the 100-400 lens, shorter reach but online reviews seem to think it may be better quality, sharper etc

Can anyone help point me in the right direction with their experience if you’ve made the switch too, many thanks!

[Alan425]

I use the Nikon Z 100-400 on my Z8 and find it great as an all round aviation lens. A longer focal length would be nice sometimes, but with the 45mp Z8 there is plenty of room for cropping images and still maintaining good image quality. Build quality is very good (it's an S lens, the 180-600 is not), fairly compact and not too heavy. When zooming from 100 to 400 the lens does extend slightly, but nowhere near as much as the 200-500.
I have considered the 180-600 but not sure I want the extra size and weight!

Alan

[Richelli]

Hi,

Coming from a D500 with the Nikon 200-500, I have the Z8 with the z 180-600. I did for a short period use the adaptor and pair the Z8 with the 200-500 and it worked ok but it makes it longer and my 200-500 had a hard life so needed changing anyway. The main reason for changing to the 180-600 is the lighter weight and the internal zoom, meaning the lens doesnt extend so better weatherproofing.

As for image quality I dont think you will notice much difference coming from a full frame DSLR to mirrorless and I didnt change for that reason. I have had some friends say the image quality is actually slightly worse in some cases. I have a wedding photographer friend who has a z9 and still prefers his dslr especially in low light. I wanted the silent shooting as I record video at the same time and didnt want the dslr clicking noise and I wanted the better auto focus. I went from crop to full frame which was a change. You can view my photos on my flikr page ( https://flic.kr/ps/3jyXjJ ) , I changed to the Z8 around March 2024 so all my photo dated after then are with the full Z combo. Unfortunately none are with the Z8 and 200-500 as within about a week I realised I needed the new lens. With the 180-600 you dont have to turn the zoom ring nearly half as much as you did with the 200-500 to go from minimum to maximum zoom, which was a pain on the 200-500. Also the lens cap now clips into place and has to be un done by pressing in a plastic button which was my gripe with the 200-500 as the lens hood often came loose. Also I think you get extra display info from the Z lens which you wouldnt with the old lens. I cant comment of the 100-400 as ive never used it.

[Scuba 11]

I have both the Z100-400 and the Z180-600, both used with my Z9's. Both lenses are very fast, and remember in the Z Cameras, the focus now takes place on the camera sensor rather than the lens. If you can afford to get the Z100-400 then I would suggest, as it is an S line lens and has a faster aperture, this is the one to get. The Z180-600 is alot cheaper and offers that extra reach and delivers great results also.

[pmb968]

Thanks everyone for the advice, I think I’ll visit a camera shop this weekend to try out both lenses and see what the weight difference feels like on the camera, and great to know they are both good lenses, thanks again!

[Yunglee]

I missed this thread and wondered what you went with?

Like Scuba, I have the 100-400 and the 180-600 and came from a D500 + 200-500 (via a D850 and Z7 - I have a gear problem!)

100-400 is excellent although I find the 100-400 and 180-600 around 350-400mm inseparable in real life use in sharpness.
Just a couple of observations; the 180-600 is a big lens compared to the 100-400 and heavy + more of a challenge if it's very windy - that big lens hood is like a sail! And I find the 180-600 at f6.3 to be slightly soft but still acceptable, just needing more post processing and sharpening. At f7.1 it's sharp or very sharp. I has have a 500mm pf and the 180-600 in decent light and good technique is close to the pf lens.

My general rule is to use the 100-400 as my go to lens unless I need the extra reach beyond 400mm or need a larger range of zoom like at an airshow.

One other thing as you've gone from a D500 to a Z8 - the extra performance in noise at higher ISO's is really useful. So with the 180-600 I don't have a problem setting aperture to f7.1 and shutter speed above 3000/s if photographing a fast jet display and just let the ISO run high

Hope that helps, Lee

[pmb968]

Thanks for the advice folks - armed with this knowledge I visited a camera shop today and decided to go for the extra reach (and weight!) of the 180-600 lens. It’s still lighter than my current 200-500 lens and doesn’t seem to elongate as much on full zoom so making it easier to hand hold. Can’t wait to try it out properly at RIAT in a couple of weeks time…. now just hoping the good weather holds and so able to get those higher apertures. Thanks again,

[jgbenni]

Thanks for the advice folks - armed with this knowledge I visited a camera shop today and decided to go for the extra reach (and weight!) of the 180-600 lens. It’s still lighter than my current 200-500 lens and doesn’t seem to elongate as much on full zoom so making it easier to hand hold. Can’t wait to try it out properly at RIAT in a couple of weeks time…. now just hoping the good weather holds and so able to get those higher apertures. Thanks again,

Would you recommend the jump from the d500 to mirrorless is worth it and how much better is it?

[daggerfan]

I have used the D500/200-500 combo, among other cameras and lenses, for a few years now, but with my 70th birthday coming up I decided to treat myself to a Z8 and 180-600mm lens, primarily for wildlife but if it's the camera I have with me at the time then aircraft too. Looking at the prices of secondhand D500s and 200-500 lenses I decided to keep them both because I figured I wouldn't get an awful lot for them in a trade-in.

In terms of image quality I don't see much difference, but handling is a different matter. Weight-wise in the two setups is six and half-a-dozen, but I find the Z8/180-600 easier to handle mainly because the zooming in the lens is internal, so it doesn't "trombone" like the 200-500, and the zoom ring has a much shorter throw through the focal range. In terms of wildlife photography the Z8 is well ahead of the D500 because of subject detection and better AF tracking choices, but for aircraft I have the subject detection off so it's just the same as using my D500 (I always use dynamic area AF in this scenario). The faster frame rates of the Z8 come in handy, but the 10fps of the D500 isn't exactly pedestrian!

One advantage of mirrorless is what you see in the viewfinder is what you get, so applying exposure compensation can be seen in real time. Since I use the Z8 in AF all the time I have the manual focus ring on the 180-600 set up for exposure compensation, so applying it is a doddle. In all my cameras I use manual mode with auto ISO. I found switching from DSLR to mirrorless pretty seamless, and I can chop and change between the two without any problems.

Hope this has helped rather than confused!