ShunCheung

The problem is that Nikon now sells an excellent 400mm/f4.5 S in the Z mount for $3000, and that is a very light lens, even lighter than the 100-400mm S. I happen to own both of those lenses. For those of us that don't use DSLRs much any more, there seems to be little point to buy a heavy 180-400mm/f4. I am not at all surprised that used value is very depressed for the "old" 180-400mm/f4 (introduced in early 2018, essentially 6 years).

Thank you Jon. I went back and added a couple of blank lines between Sanford's two images in his earlier post.

What are those “almost reasonable prices”? Another important issue is the used condition. It wouldn’t be surprising that an abused lens is cheap, but in general, anything F mount is now less desirable, except for some collectible items.

Note: Consider keeping uploads no larger than 1600 pixels on the long side when it matters, and sticking with 1000 pixels when the image feels no pain at that resolution. On data size/compression, try to keep things under 1mb, shooting for 600kb when you can stop there. Note that this includes photos hosted off-site (at Flickr, Photobucket, your own site, etc). New to this thread? The general guidelines for these Wednesday threads are right here: https://www.photo.net/forums/topic/398109-guidelines-for-nikon-forum-wednesday-image-threads. For now, we're sticking with 1, 2, or 3 images per week as you see fit. Time sure goes fast. We are well into December, and there will only be two more Nikon Wednesdays in 2023 after this thread. Here is an image from a recent holiday concert. I also captured the video for this violin performance with three Z bodies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMcdkOdIbU8

Thanks. Thought that might be the perfect image for St. Patrick's Day. ☘️

The Tamron 150-500 is a Z-mount lens, such that it is already a concern for the OP, as Z-mount lenses cannot be used on DSLRs. It is also f6.7 @ 500mm. That is a very slow lens.

Orange-chinned parakeets (Brotogeris jugularis), on the Caribbean-side lowlands of Costa Rica

I was very happy with the 80-400 since I got one in 2013. Nikon loaned me one for testing and I thought it was great, but I tried to save money and bought a refurbished one, and that lens was still defective. I ended up buying a new one and was quite happy with it, but I thought the test sample was still a bit better. Later on my friends prefer the 200-500/5.6 to the 80-400. Today I would get the 100-400 Z. The 180-600 is supposed to be very good. I handled a friend's and found it to be on the heavy side, similar to the F-mount 200-500. In these days I don't use my DSLRs any more although I still own a few. I have 5 Z bodies now and last night I shot a concert using all 5, 3 for video and 2 for still pictures. Concerning the 80-400, I think I like it more than most other people.

Yeah, if it is going to rust, or the moisture will gradually damage the electronics inside that Z8, that will likely going to happen in the next few months. If the condition does not worsen after several months, perhaps it can remain the same for a few years. Otherwise, some private repair shops could be interested in the parts. Also sometimes certain reviewers may be interested in taking a Z8 apart to examine further, but they would rather not spend the money on a working Z8.

Too bad that osprey lost his head. 🙂 Red-Eyed Tree Frog: It is from a set up for photography, with constant studio lights from both sides and the frog placed on the branch.

I am afraid that nobody can precisely predict whether the damage will worsen over time. If it were sea water, it is very likely that things will gradually rust and that Z8 will completely fail. How long has it been since your Z8 initially fell into the freshwater lake? Most likely only time will tell. Since that Z8 has been shipped to Nikon and back, if that has been 2, 3, 4 weeks, you may luck out and the problem won't get worse any more. In my case, I travel to very remote areas to photograph nature, and I typically bring at least three camera bodies with me as backup and second bodies. I have brought as many as four bodies. Personally I would not trust a camera with your description as a backup for my type of travel and how demanding I happen to be. Your preference is likely different. Worst case you can always sell your Z8 as parts and get some money back. The good thing is that at least in the US, there is a discount on the Z8.

Lesser Violetear (Colibri cyanotus) hummingbird Z9 + 800mm PF at a set up for photography

And which camera you are going to take next time?

Recently I was photographing with a group of wildlife photographers in Costa Rica. The distribution of equipment is more to what I expect. First of all, there is zero DSLR (or film SLR) in the group. Everybody is using mirrorless with interchangeable lenses: Canon: one photographer with a pair of R5 and the 100-500 zoom. Nikon: only me Olympus: two, they are a couple, both husband and wife have their separate 150-400mm/f4.5 zoom with built-in 1.25x TC. That is a $7500 lens. If you are happy with the 2x crop, I am sure that is a great lens to have. Sony: four, one person has an A1 with a 600mm/f4, but their 100-400 is also popular.

Note: Consider keeping uploads no larger than 1600 pixels on the long side when it matters, and sticking with 1000 pixels when the image feels no pain at that resolution. On data size/compression, try to keep things under 1mb, shooting for 600kb when you can stop there. Note that this includes photos hosted off-site (at Flickr, Photobucket, your own site, etc). New to this thread? The general guidelines for these Wednesday threads are right here: https://www.photo.net/forums/topic/398109-guidelines-for-nikon-forum-wednesday-image-threads. For now, we're sticking with 1, 2, or 3 images per week as you see fit. The resplendent quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) is a colorful bird that lives in the highlands in Mexica and Central America. The male has a very long tail.

Now about a month later, that Zoom recording is still available.

For Nikon USA cameras and lenses, I believe that there is a requirement that B&H cannot ship to outside of the US, because Nikon USA's territory is only the US plus perhaps some of the small Caribbean countries. E.g. Nikon USA cannot sell to Canada because that is Nikon Canada's territory. What is special about B&H is that they have this PayBoo credit card option that they will pay for your sales tax in the US, but the sales tax percentage varies from city to city. A few states such as Oregon, New Hampshire, Delaware ... have no sales tax. My local sales tax is just over 9%, but some neighboring cities are over 10%. However, in southern California, my father's tax rate is 7%. In high-tax areas, buying from B&H can make a significant difference. Once a German friend ordered a Nikon 24-70/2.8 AF-S from Adorama during a sale and had that shipped to my address. When he came over a few months later, that sale was long over, and I reshipped the lens to his hotel. Of course Nikon USA cannot prevent B&H from selling to non-US customers that way.

B&H has only one physical retail store in Manhattan, NYC. Their warehouse for shipping is now in nearby New Jersey, which is a different state.

female anhinga

I'll take those B&H waiting list numbers with a grain of salt. As far as I understand, Nikon has shipped 18K+ 180-600 in three months, as the beginning serial number is 20025001 and the latest delivery is 2004302*. If one orders directly from Nikon, the wait is pretty short. Those who have been waiting for B&H are going to jump to other stores, and typically B&H does not disclose the size of their waiting list.

Congrats on your new lens.

The equipment is Z9 with 100-400mm S zoom @ 400mm, f8, and 0.5 second exposure on a tripod. I used a flashlight, not electronic flash, to lit the frog. I used the 100-400 because it can focus quite close, but this is a pretty serious crop, to about 10% of the original frame area.

A bat drinks from a flower. Pretty obvious this is a set up with flashs. Although it may look plastic, that is a real flower cut from a plant in the tropics, and that flower was clamped onto a tripod with flashes surrounding it. I used a 400mm/f4.5 S lens stopped way down to f16 to gain depth of field.