Nikon Z8 convinced me to go mirrorless but I never expected some lenses would be this hard to find

Switching recently from DSLR, I tested a range of lenses at Athens’ photography trade show PhotoVision and this is what I found

When it comes to choosing photography gear, you can only do so much research. Whether that involves reading reviews in photography magazines or monitoring what the various YouTube gear reviewers have to say about this new lens or that long-awaited camera body, you can’t rely on other people’s opinions on what you need.?

So, I always look forward to attending photography trade shows to get my hands on gear that I’ve had my eye on for a while. This year’s PhotoVision, held in early April in Greece’s capital Athens which I call home, offered me the opportunity to test out some top-rated gear. I was particularly interested in checking out lenses from the big three - Nikon, Canon and Sony - that I’ve read and heard about for so long.

For various reasons, I always take reviews, whether online, in print or on YouTube, with a large grain of salt. Every photographer has different needs, opinions and preferences. Add to that the fact that, while image technology has made incredible strides over the decades, it hasn’t reached the point where a brand can guarantee that two pieces of gear will come out of the factory and be exact copies of one another. I’ve had lenses that presented issues which some might not notice. But, when you’re paying several hundred or thousands of euros, you expect the gear to deliver what’s written on the box and for the results to be flawless. As for the explosion in the price of photography gear, let’s leave that for another post.?

Get your hands on the gear

Getting back to testing gear, I believe it’s vital that every photographer needs to be shrewd when it comes to trusting a review and proceeding with the purchase of gear based on the positive yet subjective words of a reviewer. Not only that, you must get your hands on the gear to get a feel for it and see what it’s like in the real world (certainly a trade show doesn’t offer ideal conditions but what can you do). See if it’s a good fit for the type of photography you specialize in, or would like to.?

At PhotoVision 2024, Greece’s biggest photography, video and imaging exhibition, I managed to get my hands on specific photography gear I’ve been researching, so I can test it out. As a photographer, my main niche is travel, so I’m often on the road. That means I need to be very selective with my gear, because I can’t just go home to pick up a different lens or a filter I may have forgotten. And given the many and varied travel-focused editorial missions for US and UK media outlets I have lined up this year with my collaborator, freelance travel and yachting journalist Helen Iatrou , there were several camera bodies and lenses I wanted to check out.

Among the destinations we’re excited to be visiting in 2024 are Indonesia, where we’ll sail aboard a traditional Indonesian-built phinisi yacht. We’ll go diving in search of marine life including manta rays, white-tip sharks and angelfish in one of the world’s most biodiverse regions. In May, we’ll hit the road in Greece’s Northeastern Aegean islands to undertake intensive on-the-ground research and photo shoots for a full chapter on the island group. This will be published in the next edition of Lonely Planet ’s main Greece guidebook. Then, in August, it looks like we’re heading to Iceland and Norway on a 13-day expedition cruise. Iceland and Norway are two destinations that have been on my bucket list for years, so I want to ensure I’m well prepared. Beyond these work trips, we’re in discussions regarding a number of other fascinating destinations and experiences.?

Returning to PhotoVision 2024, I found it relatively satisfying in terms of the breadth of gear on show. However, there is definitely scope for it to develop and grow a great deal more in the future. I noticed many photography brands whose gear I wanted to inspect were surprisingly absent from the exhibition.?

Choosing a brand

More importantly, the show reiterated the fact that many photographers choose to specialize in wedding photography. It makes sense, of course. Wedding photography is lucrative. There were presentations and workshops geared to wedding photographers and plenty of exhibitors displaying wedding albums and the like. Aside from a few photography exhibitions mainly focused on portraits, there was very little in the way of catering to the needs of professional photographers such as myself who are focused on travel, nature and landscape photography.?

From discussions I had with representatives of the major brands on the trade show floor, it seems there is a widespread belief that travel photographers use equipment like lightweight zoom lenses. That’s not the case. These types of lenses are mostly oriented towards the amateur photography market. While I would very much like to carry as little weight as possible, when it comes to professional travel photography, "cheap" zoom lenses just don’t cut it. In terms of total weight, I usually need to carry around 25kg worth of gear minimum for each photography expedition. Professional zoom and fixed lenses are much better suited to travel and landscape photography and I’ll explain that in more detail further below.?

But let’s start with choosing a camera brand to invest in. Before I continue, I should make it clear that, while I am not a brand fanboy, I do have an attachment to and fondness for certain brands. When selecting a photography brand, my advice is to research how well this brand is represented in your city or country. Let me explain. The importance of having a company you can rely on to provide all the necessary support, should something go wrong with your equipment, is crucial. This is especially important for a professional photographer but also for an amateur who makes a lot of use of his gear and views photography as a hobby. In my case, I am very fortunate regarding my choice to use Nikon gear for the bulk of my photography work. I do possess two other systems though - Sony and Canon - which have different uses. Nikon’s official representative in Greece Damkalidis SA has proven consistently reliable over the years, providing excellent service and advice. It’s also handy that their offices are close to my home.

Lenses I loved

So, on to what I saw at PhotoVision. What photography gear did I test out at the show that impressed me? My first stop was, naturally, Damkalidis’ Nikon stand. I tested two absolute present-day kings of the Nikon lineup. They were the Nikkor Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S and the Z Nikkor Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S. Both are truly incredible lenses. On the? Nikkor Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S, a switch conveniently located on the side of the lens making it easy to reach with a single digit, allows you to activate the built-in 1.4x teleconverter. By doing so, you instantly go from 600mm f/4 to 840mm f/5.6. If you like, your lens reach can be extended up to 1176mm by using the built-in teleconverter together with an external 1.4x teleconverter.

The Nikkor Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S features the same kind of built-in switch and functionality, increasing focal length from 400mm f/2.8 to 560mm f/4. It’s like having an instant jump in focal length within your professional telephoto prime lens without compromising on image quality. Best of all, both lenses create tack sharp images no matter if you use the specially-designed internal teleconverter or not.?

Working with an f2.8 or f4 super telephoto lens means you have a lens that can assist greatly when shooting in dim light conditions. When you’re photographing in the jungle, or early in the morning or at sunset, let’s say, during a photo safari, using these types of lenses definitely make the difference. Remember that animals are active mostly in early morning or evening hours. Midday, especially in hot environments, is not an ideal hour for most types of wildlife photography. So, what professionals need is a super telephoto lens, with a focal length of 400mm to 600mm coupled with a f2.8 to f4 diaphragm. That amounts to a lot of money! I remember trying to photograph hummingbirds in the Costa Rican jungle with a 70~200 f2.8 zoom lens. This lens didn’t allow me to get close enough to the subject and I had to set my ISO sky high in order to try to freeze the action. With an extremely fast-moving subject like a hummingbird, what’s needed is a shutter speed of 1/4000th of a second.?

Bokeh-licious

Going back to the two pro lenses, the quality of the images it produced is simply unbeatable, I was blown away by the bokeh they produced. In photography, we call bokeh the blurry parts of an image produced in the out-of-focus areas of the photo. The softness of the background and foreground blur and its effect on reducing distraction from the part of the photo that is in focus can heavily impact the final feeling and quality of our images.?

Bokeh is determined by various factors, starting with the technical construction of a lens, including how bright it is. Another key factor is the distance that separates your in-focus subject from the foreground and background elements in your image. I won’t get too technical about it but will just say that the word bokeh comes from boke, which, in Japanese, means blur or haze.

These two lenses are spectacular but you can expect to part with some serious cash to make them yours. They might cost as much as a small car but their technology and build are light years ahead of their competitors. Without a doubt, I’ve got my eye on acquiring these lenses at some point, starting with the Nikkor Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S.?

The next lens I tested was the Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3 VR S. I was also very impressed with this lens even though the shooting conditions at the exhibition hall were far from ideal. That means I couldn’t test the full capabilities of a telephoto lens of this caliber. Another Nikon lens I tested that surprised me, in a positive way, was the Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S. Certainly, together with the Nikkor Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S, this lens is also at the top of my wish list.?

Unfortunately, I didn't have the opportunity to test all the lenses I would have liked to as some were missing from the show. Notably, the Nikkor Z 600mm f/6.3 VR S and the Nikkor Z 400mm f/4.5 VR S. I would have also liked to try out the Nikkor Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena and the Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.2 S but I ran out of time and the stand was pretty busy, too.?

Nikon Z8 for the win

We’re done with the good. Now for the bad and ugly about Nikon. I acquired the Nikon Z8 in December but, unfortunately, can’t find the lenses I need. This is not a distribution issue limited to Greece but a global problem. Some are on backorder for six months. Among the lenses I’m interested in buying is the Nikon NIKKOR Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.3 VR, so I can shoot with it in Indonesia, a trip coming up fast. Despite searching for this lens since November, I’ve had no luck. And as if that wasn't enough, there is no information on when it will be available. I've reached the point where I’m starting to think about buying the Sony G OSS FE 200-600 mm f5.6-6.3. This lens has similar characteristics to the one I want and costs 200 euros less than the Nikon, at least here in Greece. The curious thing is that many Nikon lenses are quite a bit more expensive than those offered by Sony, despite offering similar characteristics and performance. On the other hand, Nikon offers top mirrorless cameras such as the Nikon Z8 and Z9 at a much lower price than Sony’s top of the line models, such as the Sony a1, the Sony a9III and Canon R3 at least in the Greek market. I’ll let you know after our Indonesia trip what happened after all.?

A quick word on Canon?

Moving on to the Canon stand, the brand new Canon RF 100-300mm F2.8L IS USM impressed me a great deal, literally just the feel of it in my hands. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the chance to test it on this occasion. Instead, I tested the Canon RF 85mm F1.2L USM. However, I'm slightly embarrassed to admit I didn't notice whether it was the DS or not. Whatever the case, this lens truly left me speechless with its level of sharpness. One of the major aspects of bokeh quality is a small f-stop number. With a diaphragm number of f1.2, you can imagine just how smooth and beautifully blurred the background appears, even if the background isn’t that far away from the subject. Having a f1.2 lens doesn't only mean amazing bokeh but that you have in your hands a lens that can cope exceptionally well in low light conditions.?

Sony’s Global Shutter

At the Sony stand, I tested the rockstar Sony G OSS FE 200-600 mm f5.6-6.3. But what truly astounded me was testing the brand new Sony a9 III with the Sony FE 135mm f1.8 GM. In just two words: truly amazing!

The Sony a9 III features the world's first full-frame stacked 24.6 MP3 CMOS image sensor with a global shutter system. Unlike a rolling shutter sensor that records images sequentially from the top row of pixels to the bottom, the newly developed Exmor RS image sensor exposes and reads all pixels simultaneously so the camera can capture fast-moving subjects with absolutely no distortion. Combined with a maximum shutter speed of 1/80000 second (1/16000 second during continuous shooting), the α9 III is certainly a game changer for professional photography. The a9III is perfect for shooting sports, among other types of photography.?

The rolling shutter problem, together with the limited buffer offered by cameras that can shoot so many frames per second, are what kept me away from mirrorless cameras all this time. Let me explain. Before the arrival of the Sony a9III, almost all mirrorless cameras suffered from the rolling shutter problem and still do. And some more than others. Some have almost zero problem, like the Nikon Z9 and Z8, the Sony a1 and the Canon R3.?

Weighing up pros and cons

I chose Nikon not only because I own several Nikon lenses but also because the Nikon Z8 gives me everything the Sony a1 can offer but for 3000 euros less. I bought the Z8 during a special pre-Christmas offer period, so I actually saved 3700 euros, compared to the Sony a1, or 2500 euros compared to the Canon EOS R3. To be totally honest, the Canon R3 offers the best aesthetics, grip and ergonomics and is lighter in weight compared to rival models produced by other brands. (Canon, you're welcome!). You might be thinking that the Sony a1 offers a few features that the Nikon Z8 doesn’t, or that the Canon R3 has a professional body, like the Nikon Z9. However, at this level, certain differences are irrelevant. What is relevant is that 3000 euros is a lot of money. With the money I saved, especially when the Nikon Z8 is offered at a promotional rate, I can buy two camera bodies and have 100 euros in change. That is, one Sony A1 camera body is equivalent in cost to two Z8 bodies - at least here in Greece. I don’t doubt that prices are different where you’re based.?

Finally, I should mention how important it is for a professional photographer to have two or, ideally, three camera bodies on hand at every photo shoot. The same applies for the serious amateur photographer. Swapping lenses in the field is, in most environments, not only risky but time-consuming. It’s risky for at least two reasons. Dust can enter the sensor and the lens back element. And there’s also the chance you might drop something, especially if you rush. It happens and it is ugly. Trust me, I’ve been in this situation. So that’s a rap for now. I hope you found this post to be useful and look forward to reading your comments.