Nikon news

Foto at top: Fuerteventura Iberian Great Grey Shrike (Iberische Klapekster) size 10m V3 Nikkor 300mm f/4E PF VR equivalent 1135mm total camouflage.

Highlights recent news Nikon (compatible) lightweight equipment

EISA awards

Nikon Z9 Mirrorless camera: EISA camera of the year 2022-2023: “Most advanced camera on the market, excellent image quality up to 30 FPS JPG, 20 RAW full resolution. Fast autofocus with advanced focus tracking. Large grip, sturdy build. Powerful tool for photographer and cinematography”.

Nikon Nikkor Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S: EISA professional telephoto lens 2022-2023.

Nikon Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S: EISA telephoto lens 2022-2023.

Nikon is back in the game with its Z Series mirrorless camera’s. They dared luanching their System 1 series with this exuberant crop factor 2.7. They may have assumed at that time that this would pay off when more advanced sensor technology would become available but more or less payed the price of being the first one. Now they are back with their Z Series full frame and APS-C-type MLC’s and lightweight lenses including the superior S-class versions.

Announcements and shipments Nikon and other manufacturers (latest news first)

July 2022: several renown photographers, for example Matthieu Gasquet, have tested combinations Nikon Z50 Nikkor 300mm f/4E PF VR TC TC-14E III and TC-20E III being amongst the best of competing mirrorless camera sets for photographing and tracking flying birds. We ourselves have been using all three, the Z50 APS-C type MLC, the ultralight 300mm f/4E PF VR lens and this extrordinaary high quality aspherical TC-20E III and we are still using all three frequently. We do consider these appraisals as a welcome confirmation of our own longtime experience with Nikons Phase Fresnel technology in lightweight equipment.

April 2022: Nikon shipping new super telelens Z 800mm f/6.3 PF VR S. The lens is stabilised 5.2-5.5 stops (5.5 at Z9 only), weights 2385 gram and has a solid price of $6500. This formidable yet relatively lightweight lens of high optical quality is phenomenal, an example of the potential of Nikons Z mount lens architecture. The 800mm uses one PF element (Fresnel low weight optics), three ED elements (minimizing chromatic aberration) and one SR element (great optics) resulting in “Half the weight and half the price” of Nikons classical F mount Nikkor 800mm f/8 with built-in 1.25 converter.

This Z 800mm supports Z converters TC-1.4 X and TC-2 X and is perfectly handholdable. Using converter and or a DX [mode] Z camera you get huge 35mm equivalents and fantastic reach (bereik) in bird photography, if you are ready to pay the price and manage to get one of the preordered specimens over the next years or need more time to sell your car.

Nikon is shipping Z Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 S-line (high quality) lens. This lens is generally being appreciated as probably “the best Nikon zoom lens ever“. Unfortunately it has about the same considerable weight and price ever ($2700) as its great predecessor F-mount Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II, which we have been using for about fifteen years. In bird photography from time to time one really needs a fast short-focus zoomlens. One needs this kind of lens when (large) birds show up nearby or when photographing seabirds from a boat or standing in the sea. This Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II tele was the first tele we ever bought. In accepts TC-20E III perfectly.

In the meantime Nikon has also shipped a pro quality lighter f/1.4-version of this great zoomlens.

gannet juvenile — Algarve Atlantic Ocean standing in the ocean waves up to our shoulders: Gannet juvenile (Jan van Gent juveniel), 50 meter sun. Handheld **Nikkor D800 70-200 f/2.8 VR II** equivalent 400mm standard camouflage. By the way: the blue colors around the eye of the Gannet and at its tail feathers are a reflection of the reflection of the blue sky at the water surface of the ocean …

gannet — Morocco Atlantic Ocean *Gannet* (Jan van Gent) sun 125 meter. We were standing in the ocean, water up to our shoulders (waves in foreground). **D300 Nikkor and once more our 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II** equivalent 600mm, no camouflage but wet trousers and shirt. The **f/2.8 large APERTURE** **value** clearly causes the isolation of background and ocean waves in foreground of the subject Gannet in this picture.

Nikon has announced full frame Z6 Model II and full frame Z7 Model II mirrorless camera. Both will have two card slots and 2 Expeed processors resulting in greater autofocus power, higher burst rate and ergonomy. Also battery grip and new type batteries delivering more power.

Nikon has announced teleconverters 1.4x and 2.0x for System Z lenses. In this way one can build lightweight combinations for bird photography for example using Z50 going up to equivalent 1800mm.

Nikon is shipping its first mirrorless APS-C type camera a 21 Mp Z50. We have been waiting for this type of camera for many years now. It is a replacement of our beloved MLC J5.

z50 — **Z50 FTZ** adapter Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF VR TC-20E III equivalent 1500mm (improvised camouflage, home made sight at lens added later)

We frequently use it next to our D500 because of its hires brilliant EVF and its APS-C-type crop factor 1,5 (almost the same image APS-C type sensor as D500). Look at some examples below (various species, distances, activities, atmosphere, light, environment, etcetera):