Morning Birds With Nikon Z8 and NIKKOR 400mm f/4.5 (2024)

January, 2024 | Lake Oswego, OR | Willamette River

This year, I want to be more intentional in my bird photography by finding ideal times of year for migratory patterns, locations that birds frequent, and envision compositions that bring a portrait style to a bird’s unique personality. A top tip to follow will be from the great wildlife photographer, Moose Petterson, ‘find birds through food, water, and mating.’

Since moving to the Nikon Z Mirrorless system, I have been selling the remaining of my F-mount lens and equipment. I did break this rule a few years back when I had the chance to acquire a NIKKOR 500mm PF f/5.6 F-mount lens for a great price. This lens, it is simply incredible. Mounted to the Z6ii or Z8, with an FTZ Adapter, it performs very well. The only real noticeable limitations have been with the f/5.6 aperture, the limitation of the 1.5x diameter less F-mount to Z-mount, and, the hit rate I was seeing in high motion compositions. Both with sports and bird photography, it simply wasn’t keeping up with the new Z8’s ability to capture up to 120 FPS. Might I trade this legend in?

Over the holidays, my favorite camera store and friends up in Seattle, Glazer’s Camera , had a sale on the new NIKKOR 400mm f/4.5 Z-mount lens. This lens (full specs here) is absolutely stunning. It is a very light, relatively small, S-line lens. The capability to add a 1.4x and 2x teleconverter allows for the carrying of a single 400mm prime, with the quick expansion to 560mm at f/6.3 (w/ 1.4x), and 800mm at f/8 (w/ 2x) with little to no degradation (or noticeable weight on your back). Testing it over a few hours on a low-light morning with fog and mist, I was still able to capture razor-sharp images with the Z8.

If you’re in the market for an excellent and versatile prime lens at 400mm, the NIKKOR 400MM f/4.5 Z lens is fantastic and definitely something to consider being added to your collection.

Please see below for images captured last weekend, the first weekend of 2024!

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