where there’s smoke there’s fire

Review of the Nikon NIKKOR Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S lens by Nicolas Stettler (Facebook | Instagram | Flickr):

Update: higher resolution images can be downloaded from this link.

For wildlife photography, telephoto lenses with a focal length between 400mm and 600mm are the absolute standard in the vast majority of cases. Most animals are rather shy towards humans and need to be significantly magnified with large and heavy lenses. Sometimes, however, even 600mm is not enough for the animal to be imaged large enough.

The Nikon Z 800mm 6.3 is the ideal lens for situations where small animals in particular, tend to stay at a distance. Thanks to the special Phase Fresnel lens, the lens is also relatively compact and, at 2.4kg, also very light.  Compared to the competition and also to Nikon’s own f-mount equivalent, the new 800mm is also significantly cheaper.

I had the chance to test the lens for a week in various situations. Among other things, I went into the mountains for a few days to look for griffon vultures. But I also did some photography in very low light situations to see how the Z 9 handled the maximum aperture of f/ 6.3.

Info: I was allowed to borrow the lens for one week from Nikon Switzerland. I would like to thank them for this amazing opportunity – but I would also like to say that this did not influence my review in any way.

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