Kauai Nikon Z9 Photography WaimeaBeachHouse

The Test Ain’t Sexy… Nikon Z 800 Handheld. Really?

To all that have ordered the Nikon Z 800 6.3 PF S lens… it could prove to be well be worth the wait.

I was one of the fortunate souls to receive the lens as part of the first shipment to the U.S. Upon receipt of the lens, I decided the first thing to is calm down and have some casual fun with the lens.  I decided to establish if all the talk around being able to shoot hand held was true.

Below are shots taken within 24 hours of receipt.  There is no shoot from which to draw [sic., image] upon. There is no big test plan or specific subject.  This Post is not to conduct some comprehensive side-by-side pixel peeping analysis. 

The subjects are all within shooting distance from my home.  In short, I do not leave the yard for the capture of any image. The images are captured with no special lighting or optimized conditions or retakes.

All of the images are captured with the Nikon Z9 Mirrorless camera. Operation is in Manual Mode with 3D AutoFocus, and Auto ISO no greater than 12,800. I decide to capture all images at either F8 or F11 to keep as much depth of field as possible.  I select the shutter speed I think is best for the shot before taking the shot. Each image is captured in 14-Bit RAW format.

Each image is exported in full format to sRGB Color and 72 DPI for use in the Post and adhering to WordPress limitations.  Each image is also shown cropped at 100%

Rooster on the Roost

Configuration:  F8, 1/2000s, ISO 2800

Rooster on the Beach

Configuration:  F8, 1/640s, ISO 1100

And This Was the Day I Decided to Fish Off the Pier

Configuration:  F8, 1/800s, ISO 100

And This Was the Day I Decided to Ignore the Small Craft Advisory

Configuration:  F8, 1/1600s, ISO 320

The House Way Up The Hill Two Miles Away

Configuration:  F8, 1/320s, ISO 110

Call of the Border Collie

Configuration:  F8, 1/1600s, ISO 1800

Hey… Hey You on the Beach… I’m Watchin You

Configuration:  F8, 1/1600s, ISO 1800

Big Surf at High Tide in Waimea

Configuration:  F8, 1/2000s, ISO 250

The Neighbors Picnic Table

Configuration:  F11, 1/320s, ISO 110

Bee Ascends to the Crown [sic., Bush]

Configuration:  F11, 1/2000s, ISO 1000

Lemonade Hibiscus in the the Wind [13.6 MPH That Is]

*** Jeff’s Thoughts & Other Worthless Trivia ***

Uncharacteristic of me, all of these images are ad-hoc in nature and otherwise of the cuff.  They are what they are.

I am pretty impressed so far.  However, I am still of the mind, that despite all the good to great to fantastic things offered in this lens there are drawbacks to its design.  What would that be? I am told the PF design yields weak results in bright sun at and distance.  We will see!

I remain exceptionally pleased with the move to the Mirrorless from Digital Single Lens Reflex for Nikon.

2 Replies to “The Test Ain’t Sexy… Nikon Z 800 Handheld. Really?

  1. Incredible. I’m not one who routinely replies to these posts but I could not help it. I truly look forward to the arrival of my own lens. I have been a Nikon fan all my life and it feels great to finally seeing them slap the competition in the dirt. Thanks for the images. You made my day.

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