is the ZF "enough" for the Plena? I have the Z8 but thinking about buying the ZF for travel and street. I have the 50mm 1.2 and 105 2.8 but I really want to try the Plena.

If shooting above F2, just go with a cheaper lenses out there, the strength of this lens is get as close

I shoot film(35mm) and am just starting out. I backcountry hunt, hike and fish and I’m hoping to build a kit around a minolta 505si that doesn’t weigh more than I need it to. Luckily my tripod comes with me anyhow if I’ve brought my rifle. This video was very informative and helpful as I’ll go digital at some point. It also helped me in deciding on lenses which have been in my cart for a while. Thank you and I’ll be hunting prime lenses secondhand now! Cheers.

Easy choice, in my opinion. I shoot Sony, and have a 100-400 and 200-600, and the flexibility is nice, but I am definitely getting a prime for the added IQ. I think you are correct, the 150-600 will provide flexibility, but I am guessing will not improve image quality over cropping your 500PF to 32 megapixel and scaling it up. I also doubt it would provide IQ improvement over putting a 1.4x TC on your 500mm. I think the 800mm will provide significant IQ improvement and allow you to capture compositions at very high quality, you just aren’t able to do now. If I were in your shoes, I would rent the 150-600 and compare the IQ to the 500mm cropped and scaled, and put a 1.4x TC on your 500mm and compare IQ. If the IQ matches or beats your 500mm, I would go for the 150-600 for the added flexibility, and sell your 500mm. If the IQ is not as good, I would get the 800PF.

Very informative video! Thank you very much. I learned so much. I was able to follow you perfectly and your voice is so nice and easy to listen to. Again thank you for sharing your knowledge.

Good stuff! I intentionally use my car as a blind, typically on a gravel road right behind where I live. It's a surprisingly good location for birds and hardly anybody goes back there!

School keeps me from watching these videos😢

Thank you Alan. I often don't like editing videos, but yours are enjoyable. Really like that you keep it simple and it doesn't take you half an hour. Definitely putting this into practice.

Thanks for the wonderful editing session! Learnt a lot.

Great video really helpful and informative

I have trouble's with the Green's to...thanks for the photo edit today

The photo is good to go with out editing 😅

Can u plz share some photos of ur tent camp ?

Great video Alan. Heading to Africa and have been wrestling with the same issues, so thank you. Agree with thoughts on tripod, but I did wonder if a monopod might be needed for super telephoto .... ?

This is the 20th BS video to justify 2700 euros for a lens....the same thing does Samyang, Sony lens much cheaper....if i put plena lens and sony lens side by side you wont know which is which and there is at least 1000 euros difference

I have a Canon 7D body with a crop sensor and I use a Canon 70-200 lens. With this combination I have taken good shoots. I also purchased a Canon 1.4X extender sometime ago. After attaching the extender I am unable to focus on anything, I tried 100 ft and 10 ft without any success. Everyone posts sharp pictures and also show the camera settings. I have viewed so many youtube tutorials but I am not able to get any photos ..... please help

Excellent approach and guidance. Thanks!

If I had Nikon DSLR, then the Nikkor 500mm 5.6E PF ED VR will be the best long tele Lens, for Nikon Z cameras there are the excellent Nikkor 400mm 4.5 VR S Lens, the Nikkor 600mm 6.3 VR S is too expensive. For Leica L-mount users (Leica, Panasonic and Sigma camera) and Sony E-mount users there are the excellent new Sigma 500mm 5.6 DG DN OS Sports Lens which a a little bit better than Nikkor 500mm without using fresnel element in the Lens design, so Nikon users can hope for the Sigma 500mm to come for Nikon Z-mount !

I'm looking at this lens for Rodeo/Barrel Racing, I think you just sold it for me!

Great image and video!

This channel is amazing, excellent quality of presentation, deserves 100k subs next month!!! God bless you and your work 🙏🏻🤗🕊️

Birb editing (side note I spelt bird wrong on purpose

That is indeed a very nice shot. Personally, I would crop the bottom a bit, as I think it doesn't add anything to the composition and it's distracting from the bird.

Very nice Alan. Thanks for taking us through your steps. I haven't used that saturation tip on any wildlife photos yet, but I have used it on some others and am finding it to be very useful.

How about the 600 plus the 1.4 telextender?

Beautiful Bird and Photo

I shoot with a cellphone and spotting scope and would love to see a video of tips & tricks for cellphone and spotting scope bird photography. Thank you for this video I found it very interesting.

Very good video, but I wish you could have hired a good professional model to illustrate.

Love finding creators who use Nikon Z system. Great job Alan. The 135 1.8 is the one I’m still on a fence about.

I’ve been shooting with the eos r and the tamron 150-600. And it seem the Eos r cant focus or struggle on small birds. Even if it’s right in front of of me. Any one have a suggestion or advice. I went to tamron and the tamron lens tech just said the R is great for that subject. Etc

Had mine for a month or so, I love it, it is absolutely amazing. I use it for landscapes and generally turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. Balances beautifully on the Z*, once its on the camera I don't want to take it off!

I use the 500mm PF to shoot birds and I love it. I am a small woman and I couldn't take anything heavier, especially when I have to capture a tiny bird way up high in the tree canopy, like warblers. But I love it and use it every single day. Thanks for a great video, very interesting and loved that you took it to post-processing.

How about to compare Plena to Nikon 135mm F2 DC lens. Plena is overpriced and I don’t think is worth to buy if you already own 105mm 1.4 or 135mm F2 DC.

I’m so tempted. I own the 50 1.2, 85 1.8, and 70-200 2.8 S. But I need the 135, right?

This lens look stunning!

One of my favorite birds to photograph is the Cattle Egret in breeding plumage, with their striking fiery orange eyes, and orange, purple, and pinkish-red bills.

Did this come out today or yesterday?

You have a really nice way of explaining things in a patient way, thank you!

I can follow you just fine. Thank you!

Awesome so lovely video

I have the 400 f/4.5, 600 PF, and 800 PF. The easy way to work out which of these to take with you to a particular location is to look through your 500 PF images and see how often you use DX mode, how often to use DX mode and crop, how often you use it as a 500mm, and how often you felt you were too close. If you are too close all the time, get the 400 f/4.5. If you are using the bare lens but just want a little closer, faster AF, better IQ, and TC support. Get the 600 PF If you live on DX crop mode on the 500 PF then the answer is clear, sell your 500 PF and get the 800 PF and use just the 800 PF.

This one is not for me,I don't think I would have any photos at 135 unless I hit it on a zoom. great review though! I might check Nikon Image Space so I can see how many photos I have at 135....I went back and checked on 135 focal length: less than 5 photos

Tbh, I’m not convinced any of these lenses are the right choice. The 180-600 is a downgrade so realistically how often would you ever be choosing it when going out shooting? The 600, as you mentioned amounts to spending $5k to gain very little. The 800 is a great lens but imo almost too much reach. You end up fighting with atmospheric distortion messing with image quality and locking onto a tiny subject at 800mm can be a nightmare when you only have a split second. Imo either consider the 300 2.8 for low light which is an area the 500 pf really struggles OR just keep saving those pennies and pick up a 400 2.8 or 600 f4 in a few years either of which offer a massive meaningful boost.

Can you please tell me what settings you used on your D780, before you switched to the Z6 II ? Did you turn on "tracking" What other thngs did you do? Wonderful video, very descriptive. I want to do the same thing with my D780 next week.

As-tu essayé le tc14eiii avec les z9 et 500mm pf? La netteté conservée est surprenante.

I'm a Sony shooter but I have thought about these lens options deeply because I considered swapping to Nikon before I got too invested in the e-mount. The 800mm lens will really take you down that serious route because of the price and it offers the most narrow depth of field of all these lenses so the images will look noticeably different with more subject separation where the 600mm PF and 180-600mm have almost the same depth of field as your 500mm PF (cropped to 600mm), so similar 'looking' images, if this doesn't matter to you than the other factors will come into play like flexibility of the zoom. Here are some options: 1. Sell the 500mm PF and get the 600mm PF & 1.4x converter (I feel the 500mm and 600mm are too similar) 2. Keep the 500mm PF, go all out and get the 800mm PF (most expensive option but a dream combo) 3. Keep the 500mm PF and get the 180-600mm lens (It's a strange combo, but it will give you different options depending on how you feel) 4. Screw image quality and options, save money and sell the 500mm PF and get the 180-600mm to use for everything 😅 To conclude, I have the Sony 200-600mm lens and I'm still interested in the new Sigma 500mm F5.6 just for the weight and small size, problem is i'm not sure if I will be able to decide what lens to take out on a given day, having the option between a zoom and a prime still seems like a good idea though.

Amazing!!!! Thank you so much for the help. Can you please make a video on the scroll wheels so I can know how to use them correctly. I would like one wheel to set shutter speed and one to set aperture.

You seem to be almost fixated to putting the subject right in the middle of the frame, it can really improve the creative moos of the image if the subject is placed off center Just saying! Cheers.

Zipped folder template... GENIUS! 😊

Why do you put the subject right in the centre of the frame, it's a really poor composition, these are things that buying no end of camera gear will help with!