Finally it’s here – the Nikon Z 180-600 f/5.6-6.3 VR
Two new lenses launched by Nikon. The bigger one comes first, of course. It’s the long awaited 180-600mm zoom, continuing in the line of the F-mount 200-500mm lens, but with quite a few improvements.
Unlike the older lens this one is internal focusing. This means it won’t extend when zooming, resulting in better balance. It adds to the weather sealing of this new lens as well, which its older F-mount counterpart lacked. Additionally the new lens zooms in one short turn on the zoom ring from 180mm to 600mm – unlike the older lens, where it wasn’t really possible to zoom over the entire range in one throw. And it gets even better: despite these significant improvements Nikon managed to keep the price at US$1700 – this compares well to the US$1400 launch price of the F-mount lens from 2015.
It’s not an S lens however, and this shows in lacking certain buttons. To switch VR on or off you will have to go into the i-menu for example and it’s not a constant aperture. However, most will keep VR engaged most of the time anyway and I would say the the loss of 1/3 of a step in the aperture is a good trade off for an additional 120mm more reach – whilst keeping size, weight and price down at the same time.
At 2kg it’s no light weight but reasonable for a 180-600mm super telephoto lens. It’s not small, but the size is OK for a non-extending zoom, with 31.6cm in length. The older 200-500mm was similar in weight and about 4cm shorter, but it would extend when zooming and at less reach, of course.
Magnification is 1:4 at 600mm, at a distance of 2 meters. It’s not a real Macro lens, but allows for some good close-ups. That should do nicely for larger objects, like good sized butterflies, dragonflies, lizards or snakes for example.
The possibility of using tele converters with this zoom adds even more to its versatility. With the Z x1.4 converter you will get a 840mm f/9.0 lens. The sensors used by Nikon’s current cameras perform so well at higher ISO that this shouldn’t be too much of an issue, unless it’s already/still really, really dark. The 2x converter, turning it into a 1200mm f13 will be more problematic here.
There are some excellent examples at Tony Whitehead’s site, click on the images for higher resolution, with all the detail:
Add in over 5 stops for the VR – if critters don’t move – and a competent AF drive – if they scurry or fly – and this new lens is one versatile far reaching telephoto zoom at a very reasonable price. If one doesn’t want to spend the US$3k or more on a super telephoto lens then the new Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR sure is a great option. Go and get it if it fits your needs!
Nope, it’s not for me, too large for my compact setup. Nevertheless a great addition to the Z system!
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