joseph_smith3

P mode for me has been the BEST tool ever when a Nikon compatible flash is mounted to a Nikon camera with a Nikon lens. It is so smart and quick for indoor (and sometimes even outdoor) flash pictures. If if you know and can remember all of the rules about shutter speed aperture etc with flash, P mode makes flash photography so much easier. And if you do not use Auto ISO, P mode can be very useful for certain kinds of outdoor photography especially when light is changing all the time. I do not use it often, but I do not dismiss its uses.

States are not stupid. If you go to NH to buy something and take it to your state, you are very likely to be subject to a Use Tax. Most if not all states that have sales tax have them as may local jurisdictions within those states. Google the exact info for your own state and city but you are likely to find something like this: As a resident of a given state, it is your responsibility to report your purchases and pay your own use tax for the purchases you have made from another state. If you do not accurately report your purchases and the taxes owed, you will have to pay penalties. In my state, Texas, here is what they say: "A Texas purchaser owes state and local use tax if they buy taxable goods and services that are stored, used or consumed in Texas from a seller who does not charge Texas sales tax. If the seller does not have a permit or fails to charge sales and use tax, the purchaser must pay the use tax directly to our office unless an exemption applies. Texas use tax is due regardless if another state's sales or use tax has been paid." Texas has a special form called Texas Use Tax Return. form 01-156 I will leave it up to the experts to add additional details and information like" do states share such data like place of ownership for out of state sales ?" When i was in the US Army in 1966-1968 at Ft Meade, MD, I was its Tax officer. I quickly learned that states love to tax anything they can get their hands on. Soldiers in my unit who lived in Maryland and came from states with state income taxes ended up paying the income tax twice on their base pay as most of these states did not have any offsets for double taxation of the same income and these states often paid no attention to the Soldiers and Sailors Relief Act that prohibited multiple taxation.

I have read the comments on this topic with great interest. I looked at Mary Doo's suggestion to buy a "package" that included stuff I did not want or need just to get the Z9 especially since the other items of the package were over priced. Personally I do not like to deal with retailers who offer such sales strategies, but that is me. Given the demand for the Z 9 vs its supply, if I had been the CEO of Nikon I would have set its price higher AND I would not have limited sales to just NPS members.

"Some distributors can't deliver, true. However, they (Z9) are out there to be had with just a few weeks wait." I disagree. I have been on a wait list since October 2021 with one US retailer. I contacted three different retailers in the US in the last two weeks asking about possible delivery of a Z9. Not one of them had any expectations of when they would be getting any Z9's for sale . Not one even wanted to add my name to a wait list as there were so many others on their wait lists. They told me that the only way to get a "Z9 soon" was to be a member of Nikon NPS.

I agree with all of the above. I use my Nikon 500mm f5.6 pf for chasing butterflies and bugs both with and without extension tubes. The tube I use the most is a Kenko AF tube, 20mm, Nikon F mount. I also use my 300mm f4 pf lens for the same thing, both with and without the same ext tube and sometimes with the 36mm tube. Never add a second tube as separation could occur with the lens or camera hitting the ground. These third party tubes are not that strong. With carful use, this issue can be avoided.

I ordered my Z 9 thru Hunts and Gary

Shun, I am not NPS. That is the issue. All stores I have contacted tell me that they have filled only NPS member orders. That applies to the one I ordered my Z 9 from.

I cannot get interested in any new Nikon Z lens as the Nikon Z9 I ordered back in October 2021 still has not been delivered or sold to me. This may not be "fair" to this new Nikon lens offering, but for me the lens is a non starter. Why should I order or buy from a company that has kept me waiting for five to six months for a camera body with no idea when I might ever get it?

This was asked or mentioned earlier and may already have been answered: To get to 1 : 1 reproduction with the Nikon 55mm f2.8 micro lens (1 : 2 ratio) , you need to add the Nikon PK-13mm extension tube which is 27.5mm. If not the Nikon extension tube, any tube that is 27.5 mm from front to back or 27.5mm of extension. You could also use the Nikon TC 201 teleconverter. The Nikon 200mm f4 D AF IF-ED Micro lens comes with a built in tripod collar mount. Its reproduction ratio is 1 : 1 without any extension tubes. The Nikon PN-11 tube has a tripod collar mount built into it. Its extension is 52.5 mm. I use it all the time on lenses without tripod collar mounts in situations where i need that function. I use it with my 55mm f2.8 macro lens to get more repro ratio and more features like switching from horizontal to vertical compositions. I also use it with my 105mm Nikon f2.8 AF-S G macro lens in manual focus as AF is not possible with any Nikon extension tube.

I would recommend any of the older manual focus Nikon macro lenses--55mm f2.8 and the 200mm f4. Or a new or used manual focus IRIX 150 mm f2.8 lens..

Google Z9 Recall Shooting Functions. The link below has info about RSF by Brad Hill. Natural Art Images: Voice: Brad Hill Blog I would also check Steve Perry's Backcountry Forums blog to see if this topic as come up for discussion.

llkka, thank you for your additional comments. The parts matter is something to consider in buying any older lens with AF and VR. The poster may also want to consider the Nikon 300mm f4 pf lens. Its image quality is excellent and it is so much easier to carry and use than the 300mm f2.8. I use it much more than my 300mm f2.8.

The keeper rate varies with what you are photographing. For the captive raptors, almost all of the images were "keepers" as the shooting conditions were controlled. I used various f stops for each "pose" so I ended up selecting the best ones based on backgrounds and depth if field details on the birds face and feathers. . I took the pictures with my D 850 on a monopod with VR set to Off. I rarely use the lens hand held so if I were buying a used one, VR I or VR II would not make that much difference to me.

I used my 300mm f2.8 VR II a few weeks ago to photograph captive raptors. Backgrounds were busy so I used wider f stops to help control backgrounds. Light was pretty harsh, but you can't always get what you want. The attached pictures were taken at f2.8 and f5 (Barred owl.) .

I have the AF-S VR II version. Shun hit the major issues. Some other things--make sure the hood comes with the lens and that the hood locking knob works. Look at the black gasket around the front of the lens for any signs of wear and tear or abuse. Make sure the tripod collar mounting ring rotates smoothly and that the locking knob on it works without having to apply a lot of twist or pressure. If it is hard to lock that means a part inside the know needs to be replaced by Nikon. I think the lens needs a clear filter in the rear filter holder for the lens to produce the sharpest images. Make sure there is a filter there. Read the lens manual too: You can find it here; https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/672200-USA/Nikon_2186_AF_S_NIKKOR_300mm_f_2_8G.html/overview

Regarding image storage, my win 10 desktop has two 12 TB HDDs in addition to a 1 TB SSD for programs. Both of the HDDs are getting full. Err on buying more storage than you think you will need. And they work better if 10% or more is kept open. .

I sold the last one about 6 months ago. Now I am pruning selected FX lenses too as I need $$ to pay for a Z 9 when it arrives. .

For a win desktop, I would get 32 GB Ram; 1 TB SSD, 8 TB HDD or larger, dedicated video card with its own RAM--amount dictated by the software you run (likely need 4 TB or 6 TB), extra cooling fans, and the ports you need, USB 3.1, etc. If you live near a microcenter store, have them build one for you as opposed to buying a brand name machine. If you want a brand name, check out desktop towers made by Lenovo. Make sure your video card has a port needed by your monitor. I prefer display ports for monitors these days.

I watched it yesterday and learned a lot. I am less concerned now about how my 500mm lens will perform on the Z 9 once I get it.

Looks like a great lens. Given it price, renting it when needed is likely to be the only way I might ever get to see it.

My friend got his on Thursday. He emailed me abut the battery and firmware update. The battery took about 4 hours to fully charge. And the first attempt at the firmware update failed. He said the likely culprit was that the battery was not fully charged. He fixed things by charging the battery again, made sure the camera menu readout said it was at 100% and the camera was plugged into an external power source with the AC charger before you attempt to do the firmware update. He is setting it up using Moose Peterson's set up recommendations. He is thrilled with pictures taken so far with his Nikon 200-400mm on the FTZ II adapter.

Shun, great pictures. Not sure what this means: "I tried mounting the 1.4x TC behind the FTZ adapter, and as expected, the baffle on the FTZ blocks the long front element of the TC. The rear mount of the FTZ is also missing that notch, which is required to mount the 1.4x TC." Is this the proper way to use a Nikon TC 1.4E III on a Nikon Z body with the FTZ or FTZ II? Nikon Z body + FTZ or FTZ II + TC 1.4E III + F mount Nikon tele?

Shun, I had similar thoughts, but I know what his answer would have been! On my order, I just changed my Z S lens from the Nikon 24-70mm f4 to the Nikon 24-120mm f4. For my shooting, the 24-120mm will provide more versatility than the 24-70 f4.

A friend of mine just called to tell me his Z 9 is on its way from his retail vendor in the US to his house in Houston, TX . He is not in NPS.

In dusty and wet and sometimes humid conditions I use rain covers made by Peak Design or Think Tank or other brands as long as they fit properly and are well made. Shell Joe