nikon 800mm decision

It seems there are several options for 800mm Nikon solution, though none are ideal.

FWIW I shot the Canon 800L regularly for a while last year and found it to be an excellent lens. But now that I'm back shooting Nikon, I'm finding my 500VR+TC14EII performs very well with my D800...so well in fact that I really don't miss having 800mm that much. A big part of that has to do with the D800, which seems to more than compensate for the 100mm net shortfall in focal length as compared to the 1D4 I was using on the 800L.

IMO the best solution is if/when Nikon release a light weight 600VRIII to compete with Canon - as I'd rather have a 600mm+TC14EII solution than a dedicated 800mm. It seems many (though certainly not all) in the birding community shooting Canon are thinking the same way, perhaps most notably Artie Morris who recently decided to to sell his 800mm in favour of the 600IS II.

While we don't have all those light weight option on the Nikon side right now, IMO their cameras more than make up for it. I'm finding the D800 is a great choice for birding, even for action shots.

Rough-legged Hawk, D800+500VR

http://www.pbase.com/garyirwin/image/148509768/original.jpg

Northern Harrier, D800+500VR+TC14EII

http://www.pbase.com/garyirwin/image/148702857/original.jpg

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Gary -- Some Nikon stuff -- and a preference for wildlife in natural light
www.pbase.com/garyirwin
http://photographersonlinemagazine.blogspot.com