The Lightweight Monster: Nikon Z 800mm f/6.3 VR 'S'

Being far smaller, lighter, and more affordable than any 800mm f/5.6 lens on the market, can this ambitious Nikon lens tick all the boxes for quality, too?

Find it here (Amazon affiliate link - I earn a commission on purchases. Be sure to buy the right lens for your system):

All pictures taken by me on a Nikon Z7 camera.

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Music:
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

[germanshepherdmom]

My husband just surprised me with this beautiful lens for my birthday! Paired with the Z9 this is a dream.

[alexeijz]

1:47 That portrait of your wife must have been a tough shot, accounting for the curvature of the earth and all that. Thank you for another great review!

[drferry]

I have this lens and it is truly a game changer. Light, wonderful optics, easily handholdable, everything has to be rethought with this thing. By they way, fresnel lenses are named for physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel, who pronounced his name in the typical French manner, Fray-nell.

[justinhoward]

Brilliant corner performance for such a large lens. This thing is amazing for those who can afford it.

[ΑΓΑΜΕΜΝΩΝ]

Still waiting for the 200-600.Great review by the way!

[kronusaerospace]

Currently rocking a 30 year old Canon 500mm f/4.5L USM for wildlife (no IS!). This Nikkor is the reason my eventual transition to mirrorless will likely be in the Z-mount.

Appreciate the review. Gave a lot more context than most reviews I've seen for it online. Keep up the excellent work!

[verzivull]

I imagine you had to call your wife to make this portrait

[realnikonlover]

Nice video presentation for a fantastic lens. I have the 800mm and the Z 180-600mm lenses. I love them both for different reasons. Both carry that Nikon quality glass and color rendition with the Z9. These two lenses are both a very good price point for what they are. - Jim

[WS_Photographic]

It's a great lens had mine since End of July love it on my Z9 n Z6II.

[davidacody]

I own this lens and a Nikon Z8. Quite a beautiful combination.

[ArminHirmer]

oh, nice one. I just wished they would include an Arca Swiss mount on the tripod thingy

[KennethRosenstroem]

00:08 - Bangs it on the table..."Hope it still works..." - LOL

[rchrd_sn]

I liked that you spent more time showing the front of the lens, and without making sudden movements. It's cool to look at the elements. Try to do the same always. I mean, you spent quite a time with this one. No need for this much time, but definitely more than usual is welcome. Thank you!

[JoaquimGonsalves]

4:39 indeed as we should for everything in our lives. Praise God indeed!

[nkondrashov]

Chris, any review of such bazooka is incomplete if a Moon shot wasn't attempted! :D

[jeroenvdw]

Pretty amazing lens, I wish Sony would make a 800mm F/6.3 lens for that kind of money.

[aniketranade]

This PF lens is a stunner and Nikon has perfected PF with learnings from 300 and 500 PF. Other than slightly more contrast on the 800mm f/5.6 which gives it the false impression of being very slightly sharper than the PF, there is absolutely no need to spend 10 THOUSAND dollars more for that monstrosity because the contrast is not at all worth 10 THOUSAND dollars more. And if you are looking for background blur, this 800 PF delivers it in truck loads. Any bashing about the PF bokeh is just an attempt by 800mm f/5.6 owners who just lost 10 THOUSAND dollars on their splurge because I ordered an 800mm f/5.6 Used from KEH, did all my testing and returned it so I am damn sure the 5.6 is neither sharper, not has better bokeh... only very slightly more contrast.

[robomixdj]

beautiful images and as always a nice on point test. thank you very much for doing this helpful content. <3

[blaizze]

I'm huge fan of your reviews mainly because they are consistent, fair and honest. Lately I became interested in drones and immediately started thinking what would Christopher Frost said about particular drone's camera? I'm wondering if you would be interested in reviewing also drone cameras? I would love to see that :)

[frankielau]

How about test the Nikon 24-200 f4-f6.3 vr ?