NIKON UNVEILS NEW PRIME SUPERZOOM FOR Z SERIES

Nikkor Z 8oomm f/6.3 VR S is light, compact and – relatively – affordable

Nikon has announced the Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S, a highly portable prime lens for its mirrorless system that’s aimed squarely at wildlife photographers.

At £6,299 / $6,497, the lens certainly isn’t cheap; however, it’s little more than a third of the price of the Nikon 800mm f/5.6E FL ED VR F-mount DSLR lens.

So while some will question the lens’s f/6.3 maximum aperture, it’s likely that many photographers will consider it a worthwhile trade-off for that lower price.

By using the design advantages afforded by the Nikon Z lens mount and incorporating a Phase Fresnel (PF) lens element, Nikon has made the Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S an incredible 2.3kg lighter and 16% shorter than the 800mm f/5.6E. Nikon says this makes the new Z-mount 800mm practical for handheld shooting, particularly given its built-in optical stabilisation. In conjunction with the in-body stabilisation of the new Nikon Z9, this offers up to 5.5 stops of Synchro VR stabilisation.

The Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S is also compatible with the Z Teleconverter TC-1.4x and Z Teleconverter TC-2.0x, which extend the focal length to a huge 1120mm and 1600mm respectively.

Teleconverters don’t just extend the focal length, of course, they reduce the maximum aperture too. Given that the new lens has a modest f/6.3 maximum aperture already, will this be a problem?

We think not, because the latest mirrorless cameras have transformed higher-ISO shooting. The auto-gain of electronic viewfinders offers bright viewing images even at small apertures, and the steadily improved high-ISO performance in today’s sensors is a quiet revolution that’s been transforming low-light hand-held photography.

The Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S will be available from April 21, and is available for pre-order now.