Nikon Announces Development of 800mm/f5.6 AF-S VR

[Art X Photography]

<h3>"Announcing the super-telephoto, 800-mm, fixed focal length lens for pro photographers"</h3>

<p>http://mynikonlife.com.au/news#announcing-the-super-telephoto-800-mm-fixed-focal-length-lens-for-pro-photographers</p>

<p>Looks impressive and potentially JUST in time for the Olympic games (for pro photographers). Seems like a great match up for the D4. Of all the rumoured and expected announcements from Nikon, I admit I never saw this one coming!<br /> Thoughts?</p>

[superinc]

<p>wonder how huge its gonna be. though , I remember a 1.2m Nikkor , nikons biggest.</p>

<p>hmm downpayment on a house , small car or a 800mm Nikkor .. decisions, decisions. </p>

[mike_halliwell]

<p>Looks like their Lens division is less leaky than their DSLR team.. :-)</p>

<p>Tripod required, or maybe 2, for the D800E!</p>

<p>Maybe a set of focus limiters on there as well as VR options?</p>

<p>The design looks similar to the 'old' Sigma 800mm f5.6...</p>

<p>Photonet sweepstake to the starting price?? $10000...afterall, it's front element is gonna be <strong>smaller</strong> than the 600mm f4's! Just a longer empty tube :-)</p>

<p> </p>

[Andrew Garrard]

<blockquote>potentially JUST in time for the Olympic games</blockquote>

 

<p>They might have one on display, but I would have thought if they were actually selling the thing for the Olympics, they'd not be talking about a demo at a golf tournament. I suspect the flooding meant Nikon just missed the Olympics. Tragically, everyone will just have to use the Sigma 800, or 300-800, or 200-500 + teleconverter, or the manual focus 800mm, or a 400 f/2.8 with a TC20, or a 1200-1700, or...<br />

<br />

It does mean Nikon's current line-up isn't missing the far end that Canon has, though (unless Canon are still "making" the 1200mm) so it's good for the halo effect.<br />

<br />

It <i>was</i> rumoured, and I'm sure it's been expected for a while, but I admit that we didn't know some months ago exactly when it was likely to turn up.</p>

[Art X Photography]

<p>I remember paying about AU$9.5K for my 400mm which was a real stretch to justify to my wife. I wont even consider asking about the 800mm. I'll simply grab my pillow and go sleep in the dog house:)<br /> I can't imagine this lens being more than $13k. If, its speculated weight is correct at almost 5.5kg, this is definitely going to be a hand full to carry around. Maybe they should supply the hard case with wheels! Hard to imagine this lens comes without VR options (there's been no mention of it thus far)<br>

I don't think Nikon ever considered selling it in time for the Olympics. By "potentially in time for .." I'm suggesting it may be offered to pro photographers to use. By announcing it before hand they don't have to worry about hiding its existence </p>

[Andrew Garrard]

<blockquote>I can't imagine this lens being more than $13k</blockquote>

 

<p>Canon's is $13899 at B&H (vs $12999 for the 600 f/4); I'd be surprised if Nikon charge less, since this might make it seem inferior. You may be right about the demos, though.</p>

[mike_halliwell]

<p>Guess I managed to miss that rumour!</p>

<p>That lens button cluster looks bigger than the usual VR II lenses.....5 sliders??</p>

<p>I'd reckon the press can get close enough without the need for an 800mm lens especially if you pop it on a D7000/D3200 or maybe even a V1...? WOW!<br>

:-) ....perhaps for some of those long range portraits of angst?</p>

 

[ShunCheung]

<p>Art, I took liberty and changed your title a bit. This is an announcement of the development of such lens, not a product launch. Nikon is essentially following Canon's lead in more than one way.</p>

<p>First of all, Canon has had a 800mm/f5.6 AF for a few years. When that lens was first available, it was around US$11000 or so. A friend of mine bought one, and I played around with it a bit when I bumped into him photographing at a wildlife area back then. And Canon has made a few of these "product development" announcements; e.g., Canon announced their 200-400mm/f4 AF with a built-in TC back in February 2011: <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/news/2011/2/7/canon200400mm">http://www.dpreview.com/news/2011/2/7/canon200400mm</a><br>

That lens is still not available now a year and half later. (And yes, I remember Japan was hit by a serious earthquake and then tsunami last year.)</p>

<p>Here are a couple more news articles on the up-coming Nikon 800mm/f5.6 AF-S VR:</p>

<ul>

<li>Nikon Japan: <a href="http://www.nikon.com/news/2012/0712_nikkor_01.htm">http://www.nikon.com/news/2012/0712_nikkor_01.htm</a></li>

<li>DPReview: <a href="http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/07/11/Nikon-creates-800mm-F5-6-VR-super-telephoto-lens">http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/07/11/Nikon-creates-800mm-F5-6-VR-super-telephoto-lens</a></li>

</ul>

<p>Nikon has not provided any pricing and availability time frame information on this new lens.</p>

<p>I feel like this is a <em>Canon has one, we must produce one as well</em> type lens. I tried my friend's Canon 800mm on some birds, and that lens is easily too long even for bird photography unless your subject is at a distance. For sports such as the Olympics, I would think a 600mm/f4 or perhaps a 200-400mm/f4 would be a much better choice. In the occasions that 600mm is too short, it is easy to snap on a TC-14E. When 800mm is too long, there isn't a whole lot you can do.</p>

<p>Canon's 800mm/f5.6 is physically a rather compact lens for a 800mm. I am sure these lenses are out of most of our price range and you also need an assistant to help carry it around.</p>

[orcama60]

<p>Simply, a wallet-killer lens ! Paparazzi, sport-shooters, CIA, FBI, ARMY .... or astronauts to shoot from the space-station ... lol ... celebrities are not going to be happy ....</p>

[dan_brown4]

<p>Wow, that's a beaut! Maybe I'll start saving to buy a lens hood for it. ;-)</p>

[ilkka_nissila]

<p>As everyone knows, I don't normally photograph birds, but at our family's cottage in Taipalsaari the forest has some nesting woodpeckers. They make a lot of noise and so it's hard not to be tempted to photograph them. Last time I only had my 200mm micro with me but the hole was at the lowest position I had ever seen in a tree, so I took a few shots. Here is the full frame shot, and crop corresponding to approximately 800mm framing. In the ten years that I've visited that place I have never had a closer view of the bird.</p><div></div>

[ilkka_nissila]

<p>I tried to get a 800mm equivalent crop and it looks like this. </p><div></div>

[ilkka_nissila]

<p>I think for small birds, unless you want to climb in the tree, which some photographers will do (even building hides in trees to get a good view without distracting the animal as much), an 800mm would be a useful thing to have. True, you can use a shorter lens and crop or use a TC, but then you get the corresponding reduction in image quality. I think a practical way for me to get those shots would be to rent a supertele for a weekend, since it won't be a regular activity for me but I would enjoy those shots a lot. The sound is omnipresent in the summer so it would be nice to get some photos of its source since most of the time we can only hear the birds, not see them.</p>

<p>In the Olympics, or on a Formula 1 racetrack, there can be a hundred photographers taking shots from almost exactly the same vantage point, with almost identical cameras and lenses. What is the point of that? The images are of very little value if the competing media agencies have identical shots. I'm pretty sure the motivation behind the 800mm is to allow a few people to take calculated risks and potentially get a different shot that will stand out in the masses of images that editors will see.</p>

<p>Most people will never be able to afford these lenses (certainly not I) but we can enjoy those special shots in the cover of Sports Illustrated or TIME. At least I enjoy outstanding photography no matter who makes it.</p>

[John Crowe]

<p>Yeah, for those few interesting shots I'll continue my search/justification for a Nikon 800mm f5.6 AIS or f8 AIS. </p>

[john_hinkey]

<p>Oh I wish it was a 400mm f/5.6 AIS VR instead of 800mm . . .</p>

[Art X Photography]

<p>Looking at the specs of this lens, I wonder if any of the major bag manufacturers will supply a bag to fit!</p>