500mm pf vs 100-400mm on Z9

[Grimpenstieno]

I've had problems getting the Z100-400mm to focus on BIF and to focus on small close subjects like dragonflies on a stick. The 500mm pf locks right on the smallest BIF, but also has problems focusing on small birds close or subjects like dragonflies on a stick.

Anyone else having the same problems?

 

[Dbltfarmer]

I have used the 500pf for 2 years now on DSLR's including the D850 and D500 and now adapted for the Z9. It has always been a great lens for me and the Z9 seemed to have made it even better. The initial lock on has always been good but the Z9 took it over the top. It is a little slower and difficult to track if there is a background such as trees and bushes. Just the other day I was focusing on a burrowing owl that kept getting lower and lower in his hole. I was able to maintain AF as the owl lowered to a point where you could barely see his eyes.

Ive had the 100-400 S lens for about two weeks now. I think it will be a lens that I will have a love hate relationship with. I shot two baseball games yesterday with it with the Z9 and it was wonderful most of the time. Last week I took it too North Carolina and after a day of shooting with overcast skies i was ready to sell it. The next day it was sunny and bright and the lens performed magnificently and was my favorite lens for at least a day or so.

What I have found is that the 500pf will lock onto BIF or static wildlife much quicker and at both shorter and longer range than the 100-400. I also think that the 500 PF tracks just a bit better at long range. I also think the 500pf is better in lower light with less noise.

The 100-400 is much more versatile than the 500fp and tracks well enough. Initial AF acquisition at longer range is not as good and tends to hunt more. It seems to work much better if you capture AF at the 100 to 200mm focal length and zoom to 400. As the sun gets lower in the sky and the shadows come to play the 100-400 gets a little rough. I am still working with the lens to make sure it is not user error that is causing me problems.

Noise gets worse as the ISO goes up much more so than on the 500pf.

At this point I'm going to continue to use both and see where the 100-400 takes me. i think it is just a bit more finicky than the the 500pf. Every prime lens I have had has always better than the zooms but the versatility of the zoom is a very important factor. here are a few recent pics with the 100-400 S.

 

[Grimpenstieno]

Thank you for your great comparison. Yesterday, I tried the 100-400mm with the 1.4 tc/Z9 combo and had no luck focusing on swallows flying around, the 500mm pf with a 1.7tc/Z9 combo locks on and stays locked on as long as I can keep up with those hardest to follow birds.

 

[vcxz]

My Z9 is still on backorder. I did take the 100-400 on a walk yesterday with my Z6.

Would not focus on this guy. Was just a big blob of blurriness. Had to move the focus ring to get close then autofocus started to work.





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Instagram: @vcxz_photos

 

[ARClark]

I've had problems getting the Z100-400mm to focus on BIF and to focus on small close subjects like dragonflies on a stick. The 500mm pf locks right on the smallest BIF, but also has problems focusing on small birds close or subjects like dragonflies on a stick.

Anyone else having the same problems?

Yes. Close-focusing can be a challenge with the Z9 and other mirrorless cameras. I encounter it every time I shoot birds with the Z9.

According to Steve Perry, the Z9 and ML cameras in general, have a hard time focusing on close subjects when the camera last focused on a more distant subject (see first video, below). There’s a tendency to lock on the background and stop hunting. Either some manual assistance is needed or, as wildlife photographer Ray Hennessy does in his video, below, the lens needs to be reaimed at a nearby subject that fills the frame to trigger the AF to focus in close.

- Steve Perry video: See Disadvantage #7 at minute 8:25 in “Mirrorless Advantages (and disadvantages) for Wildlife Photography”

- Ray Hennessy video: Go to minute 11:30 in this “Initial Thoughts” Z9 video by Ray Hennessy to get his take on the close-focusing challenge he encountered in trying out the camera.

After two months of shooting with the Z9, I’ve gotten into the habit of giving the focus ring a little twist as I raise my lens up to try to get it in the ball park before focusing on closer subjects.

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Alan Clark
https://arclark.smugmug.com/

 

[Dbltfarmer]

I've had problems getting the Z100-400mm to focus on BIF and to focus on small close subjects like dragonflies on a stick. The 500mm pf locks right on the smallest BIF, but also has problems focusing on small birds close or subjects like dragonflies on a stick.

Anyone else having the same problems?

Yes. Close-focusing can be a challenge with the Z9 and other mirrorless cameras. I encounter it every time I shoot birds with the Z9.

According to Steve Perry, the Z9 and ML cameras in general, have a hard time focusing on close subjects when the camera last focused on a more distant subject (see first video, below). There’s a tendency to lock on the background and stop hunting. Either some manual assistance is needed or, as wildlife photographer Ray Hennessy does in his video, below, the lens needs to be reaimed at a nearby subject that fills the frame to trigger the AF to focus in close.

- Steve Perry video: See Disadvantage #7 at minute 8:25 in “Mirrorless Advantages (and disadvantages) for Wildlife Photography”

- Ray Hennessy video: Go to minute 11:30 in this “Initial Thoughts” Z9 video by Ray Hennessy to get his take on the close-focusing challenge he encountered in trying out the camera.

After two months of shooting with the Z9, I’ve gotten into the habit of giving the focus ring a little twist as I raise my lens up to try to get it in the ball park before focusing on closer subjects.

Thanks for the videos. That is part of the same problems I have experienced.