It is late in the day on the west side of Kauai in Waimea Town at the beach. High Tide is about an hour before sunset and the surf has been high.
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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.
The issue for me is that while taking the call, I am driving in the opposite direction (toward Lihue). I tell Dion that I do not think any kind of photographic shooting will occur given the tasks at-hand before me. Dion, one of the sharpest young guys I have met in a while – suggests that another day will present itself for a great shoot. He is gracious, and a better man than I. Fast forward… I get home about 4:30 PM. The beach at Waimea Town is a buzz. The Surf is Up in a Big Way. There are groups of people on the beach watching the action – stretching the 100 yards from my house to the mouth of the Waimea River. The kids from the Waimea Canoe Club are fully engaged in participation. Nothing can be better to my my eyes. I walk from the house to the mouth of where the Waimea River meets the Pacific. Two of the young members of the Waimea Canoe Club tell me that Dion is way out and on his long board. I look out and spot Dion. I wave to Dion (who is located somewhere between Kauai and Fiji). Surprisingly, he acknowledges my signal. Dion adjusts his approach, surfing to our agreed upon plan. This adjustment will allow for successful image capture. On one run, Dion nails the surf and signals to a friend in the water of the success.
On the beach at mouth of the river, the surf at times – is above my knees. It is knocking the Canoe Club kids off their feet. They love it. I am used to (and prepared for) the condition. Dion, as shown below, successfully completes a run right-to-left that ensues for more than sixty seconds.
Waimea is Old School, Old Kauai. It is where Europe first encountered Hawaii. Waimea is where a Chiefess (Amelia K.) operated as Governor (Governess) of the Island. Waimea is where the Blue Surf of the Pacific and the Red Volcanic Surf of the Grand Canyon of the Pacific meet head-on.
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