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Photo courtesy Moose Peterson |
There is no more essential tool or lens to the wildlife photo-
grapher than the 600mm lens. I can say with firm conviction that the 600VR II is a must own lens for wildlife photographers! Past iterations of the 600mm lenses when they were released didn’t always make it into my camera bag, they didn’t solve “the” problem for the price. That’s because not every new version brought a new or better solution to the same old problem. What’s the old problem? Not that is can be summed up in one word, but basically the problem is, getting a tack sharp image of a small subject. In recent years, fast AF speed and balance where thrown into the mix though aren’t essential problems to be solved (though they have been). The lens is a tool and it has a job to do and if it doesn’t do it, you just can’t have $10k sitting in the corner collecting dust. Solvinging these problems beautifully and the best ever is the 600VR II!
The first thing that attracted me to the VR II (I’ll define the II in a moment) is it’s minimum focusing distance. The gain in three feet in MFD, as in the lens can be three feet closer to a subject and be in focus is huge! I remember the days of the 800f5.6 and working at 21’ MFD and now we’re down to 15.7’ (MF) without using any extension tubes. That’s huge! In all seriousness, this in itself sold my on the VR II!
 What does VR II mean? I have to admit, I missed that little II thing when I first read the announcement in regards to the VR part of this new lens. The 400, 500 & 600 VR II have two modes for VR operation (VR being turned on or off via a barrel ring), Normal and Tripod mode. The majority of owners of this lens I presume (probably pretty accurately) they won’t be shooting with the 600VR II handheld, but rather on a tripod. With that presumption, most would put the VR mode to Tripod since the lens is on a tripod it must equal Tripod mode. That seems all too logical to me. Wrong! Close reading of the IB for the 600VR, you’ll read that if you’re doing any panning, you need to be in Normal mode. Making a phone call to Nikon to clarify all of this for myself, Tripod mode is for only when you’ve locked the tripod, tripod head and lens on one subject (like a rock or landscape) and nothing, nothing is moving. All other times, you want the lens’ VR set to Normal. The II in VR II come from this new generation of the new “Tripod” setting, Normal & Tripod = II. (Note, using the Autofocus On buttons on the lens barrel turns off VR operation).
The 600 VR II also sports a new manual focus override mode (as well as the 400/500). You have the option of A/M and the well established M/A mode. What’s the difference? M/A permits you to manually focus to fine tune focus while still in autofocus mode. A/M does the same thing but, it has a less sensitive touch to your taking manual focus control as the M/A. So if you’re handholding and you hold the focusing ring while hand holding, you won’t disengage the AF easily in the A/M mode compared to the M/A mode. Personally, I’ve not found a whole lot of difference in operation, but I’m still playing with it. With using either mode, operation is still the same to reengage AF, simply remove your finger from the shutter release and than lightly touch it again to reinstate AF operation. Right now, I’m using the A/M mode because it’s new and I don’t know which is the better problem solver.
 A real important question is, is this lens sharp? Ouch…it’s sharp! In all seriousness, looking at the images produced with this lens in combination with the D3 are stunning! (why don’t post full res images, because we’re tired of dealing with folks stealing our images off the web).
AF speed, is it any faster? No clue, no means of testing one lens against another in a real world tests to say it is or isn’t faster. Even if we could test, not sure if it’s the lens or the D3 or a combination of both making the magic of faster AF operation.
How does it work with teleconverters? Just as you would expect. With the TC-14e or TC-17e, the sharpness is stunning. AF operation with the TC-14e is perfect in all lighting conditions because we are working within the f5.6 minimum the bodies require. Using the TC-17e and in bright sunlight and using the center AF sensor and you’ll be OK. Go to the outside AF sensors or lower the light levels and the searching begins. Yes, you might experience better results than this if you have more contrast or just the right light, but generally you’ll experience the same AF operation.
How balanced is the 600VRII? Now here’s a surprise, it’s much better balanced than the 600 AFSII. I’m using the Wimberley II Head and sliding the lenses in its clamp to determine this which is not a truly scientific method but it leads me to believe the VR II is more balanced. In theory, this better balance along with the VR helps obtain sharper images at slower shutter speeds.
As you can tell in the photo above, I’ve fitted the 600mm with the Really Right Stuff LCF-13 foot. It provides an Arca Swiss plate with a lower profile foot all in one unit. The VRII come with the standard tall foot (as you see in the drawing below) along with the monopod, lower profile foot.
Not pictured is the fact I’ve already clothed my 600VR II with a LensCoat . This killer accessory protects your investment while at the same time looks good. It’s a no-brainer!
It’s hard these days to keep up with the Jones with so many new bodies and lenses coming on the market. Making the most of your buying dollar is very important. I know I’m filling the strain! You’ve got to ask yourself, is focusing three feet closer, VR and better balance worth the price of an upgrade or new lens? Strictly talking from a business stand point, those owning this lens will technically have an advantage, it will produce better images especially for those with poorer long lens technique. Those with solid long lens technique in combination with good biological skills will make this lens an essential tool to their success. Bottomline, for the wildlife photography it’s a must have lens!
 : Nano Crystal Coat |
 : Aspherical lens elements |
 : Super ED glass elements |
 : VR units |
 : ED glass elements |
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