elkhornsun wrote:
I gain too much in mobility with the PF lenses to ever revert to heavy glass with a gimbal head and tripod for support. I replaced my 600mm f/4 with the 800mm PF lens and then a year later I replaced the 400mm f/4.5 plus TC with the 600mm PF lens.
The cost of both PF super telephoto lenses is less than the cost of the 600mm f/4 TC lens and for me a lot more versatile. With the PF lenses I can move about freely and alter the background for subjects and crouch to shoot at eye level when needed.
Whenever I see photographers with large lenses mounted on tripods I find that they seldom move from their location and always shoot at eye level when standing. ...Show more →
That's a fair point and something I considered.
For me, fortunately I am in decent shape and don't have any injuries, handholding shouldn't be any more difficult than the 180+600 for me, tho I will lose some stamina until I get a bit stronger.
I don't plan on using a gimbal/monopod combo yet, I really like my sling setup that I've been using.
I do have one is needed, but that seems like a significant burden to carry.
I did order a Zemlin lens cap, and WOW it's way bigger than the 180-600. Lens should be delivered tomorrow so, I'm excited/terrified to see how much larger it is and how the weight balance of the lens feels.
My go-to long combination is the Z8 and 180-600 without a TC.
When I am photographing loons, the slightest air movement will move my canoe or kayak. Telephoto primes can be too long as often as not long enough.
When shooting around my wildflower garden I attach this combo to my iFootage Cobra 3. I still can handhold the 180-600, however, the mono greatly reduces muscle fatigue and movement. Although the monopod is NOT as fast as handholding, I am most often focusing on activity around a particular wildflower and so the mono is ideal in that situation. And it is a pleasure to be able to reduce the iFootage down to a near-ground-level tripod
Inherently, zooms have shorter MFD’s than primes. When I am focused on a plant that has many pollinators on it, including butterflies, the combination of the monopod, the 180-600’s closer MFD and the 46 mpx sensor reduce cropping.
