Nikon Nikkor Z 600mm F6.3 VR S

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The Nikon Nikkor Z 600mm F6.3 VR S ($4,799.95) is an exciting lens for photographers who are interested in taking photos of far-off subjects but are tired of carrying a heavy zoom. It leverages a Phase Fresnel optical formula to realize its 3.2-pound carry weight, is fully weather-protected for use outdoors, and works with teleconverters. Birders and wildlife specialists who hike with equipment are sure to see the appeal and will find the Z 600mm F6.3 to be a worthwhile splurge, though we continue to recommend the more affordable Nikkor Z 400mm F4.5 VR S as our Editors' Choice for creators with a Nikon Z mirrorless camera for its lower price, more versatile focal length, and even lighter build.

Design: Big, But Not Heavy

The Nikkor Z 600mm uses diffractive Phase Fresnel optics to make its 3.2-pound weight. That's an incredible figure for an extreme telephoto for full-frame, especially when you consider that the Nikkor Z 180-600mm F5.6-6.3 VR S, a zoom lens that covers the same angle at its longest setting, weighs 4.3 pounds. The 600mm F6.3 prime is also a bit smaller than the zoom, 10.9 by 4.2 inches (HD) versus 12.5 by 4.4 inches. You'll trade away the option to zoom out for the weight savings, and spend more as well, but there's an appeal for photogs who want to carry a light kit.

The barrel is mostly polycarbonate, but there are some metal components, including the rotating tripod collar and removable foot. It's a good idea to attach the lens to a tripod using the foot to maintain a good center of gravity—even at 3.2 pounds, the long barrel is front-heavy enough to require one.

I like that the collar rotates a full 360 degrees and is easy to set in place via a thumbscrew. Nikon omits 90-degree detent stops, however, a feature that makes it easier to keep a shot level when rotating the lens to switch between landscape and portrait composition. There are painted indicators, however, so it's just a matter of lining up a pair of dots visually. The collar also includes a Kensington lock slot integrated into the thumbscrew, so you can secure it when operating it remotely or using Nikon's Auto Capture feature.

It's a shame that Nikon doesn't include Arca-Swiss dovetails on the foot, however, as it would make the lens directly compatible with the popular tripod mounting standard. You'll either need to attach a quick release plate or get an aftermarket replacement; Kirk Photo sells one that works with the lens for $110. Alternatively, if you prefer to handhold your camera you can opt to remove the foot and shed a little more weight.

As you'd expect for the price, the Z 600mm F6.3 VR S includes internal seals to prevent dust and water ingress. You can comfortably use it outdoors in the elements, so you don't have to cancel your photo shoot because of rain or snow. The front element features an anti-smudge fluorine coating too, a protective finish that repels grease and moisture. You can also opt to add a 95mm protective filter if you'd like. Nikon doesn't build in support for smaller rear drop-in filters, as is the case with the similar Z 800mm F6.3 VR S, but adding that feature would undoubtedly add to the cost and weight, so you'll just have to live with buying a bigger, pricier filter if you want one.

I typically skip a protective filter, especially when using a lens with a big hood. The 600mm F6.3 ships with a reversible hood that twists on and locks in place, with a push-button lock for release. The hood's obvious job is to keep stray light from hitting the front element from a steep angle, but it also works as a bumper to protect the glass from scratches and shield it from the elements. In addition to the hood, the lens ships with front and rear caps and a soft cloth storage pouch.

The lens is compatible with both of Nikon's Z system rear teleconverters. The Z Teleconverter TC-1.4x turns it into an 840mm F9 prime, while the TC-2.0x makes it a 1,200mm F13.

The Competition: Nikon Leads the Way in Lightweight Tele Optics

Nikon isn't the only option for photogs who want lightweight, long glass, but it has more choices than others. It released its first Phase Fresnel primes in the SLR era, the AF-S 300mm F4E PF ED VR ($2,000) and the 500mm F5.6E PF ED VR ($3,600). Both were standout entries and can be adapted for mirrorless use with the Nikon FTZ or FTZ II autofocus adapter. These lenses use diffractive Phase Fresnel (PF) optics, just like the Nikkor Z 600mm F6.3. The PF elements are smaller and lighter than refractive elements but are slightly worse at controlling flare and don't allow for as close focus.

As for native Z options, the Nikkor Z 400mm F4.5 VR S ($3,250) and the 800mm F6.3 VR S ($6,500) sit on either side of the 600mm F6.3 VR S in angle of view. The 400mm F4.5 weighs just 2.7 pounds despite using a traditional refractive optical formula, while the 5.3-pound 800mm F6.3 VR S realizes its extreme focal length by way of diffractive Phase Fresnel optics.

The F6.3 aperture can be a limiting factor in tough light, but you'll need to spend far more for a telephoto lens that gathers more light. If you have the funds, Nikon has a pair of exotically priced primes for professionals and enthusiasts with money to burn. We've not tested either the Nikkor Z 400mm F2.8 TC VR S ($14,000) or the Nikkor Z 600mm F4 TC VR S ($15,500), but expect phenomenal performance given their price.

Nikon Z owners also have a couple of options when it comes to long telezooms. The Nikkor Z 180-600mm F5.6-6.3 VR S ($1,900) is far more affordable and matches the 600mm F6.3 VR when zoomed all the way in, but as mentioned is larger and heavier. The Tamron 150-500mm F5-6.7 Di III VC VXD ($1,200) is pretty small given its zoom optics (8.3 by 3.7 inches), but still heavier than the Nikkor at 4.1 pounds.

Outside of the Nikon Z camera system, you'll have fewer options for mid-priced telephoto primes. Canon doesn't have any lenses like this for its EOS R mirrorless system, for example. Sony E and L-mount camera owners should look at the Sigma 500mm F5.6 DG DN OS Sports ($3,000), a 3-pound prime that's similar in concept and execution to the Nikkor Z 600mm F6.3 but with a completely refractive optical formula. The small format Micro Four Thirds system also has a lightweight prime with a similar angle of view, the Olympus M.Zuiko 300mm F4 IS Pro ($3,000).

Handling: Good Balance and Plenty of Controls

I split time testing the 600mm F6.3 between two camera bodies, the Z 8 and the Z 6 III. The Z 8 is slightly larger and closer in weight to the lens, but I found the 600mm to balance well with both bodies. It's not too much to handhold, even for extended photo sessions, provided you use a sound technique and cradle the lens with your left hand when you've got the camera to your eye for a shot.

Nikon takes advantage of the long barrel and puts on a full set of control surfaces right under your fingertips. The lens includes a large manual focus ring right in the middle of the barrel and a control ring just further ahead, both of which are useful. The focus ring works as a focus override when you're using your camera in autofocus, so you can give your camera a little help finding a bird in the brush. The control ring turns smoothly but with pleasing resistance and is configurable (via the camera menu) for aperture, ISO, or EV adjustment. I like using it for EV as it makes compensating for a backlit scene or other tricky lighting a simple matter.

The lens has six onboard function buttons, split among three functions. There are four copies of the L-Fn2 button ringing the barrel, positioned just ahead of the control ring and spaced at 90-degree increments. This puts a button in the same place regardless of how you're holding your camera.

The lens also has a single L-Fn toward its base on the left side and a Memory Set button on its opposite side, near the camera's grip. L-Fn locks focus in place (AF-L) by default and is configurable. Memory Set saves a set focus distance in the camera. Memory Set works along with the L-Fn2 button; if a focus position is saved, L-Fn2 snaps back to that distance, and if not, L-Fn2 simply drives focus (AF-ON) to find a subject. L-Fn and L-Fn2 are configurable, however,  so you can map them to another function if you prefer.

Finally, the lens has a pair of toggle switches, both below the L-Fn button on the left side. There's a simple A/M switch to swap between auto and manual focus, and a focus limiter switch. You can set the lens to hunt for autofocus across its entire range or only to look for subjects beyond 32.8 feet (10 meters).

Autofocus: Fast Enough for Birds, But No Macro Range

The 600mm F6.3 VR S uses a stepping motor (STM) to drive focus. This motor type provides smooth, quiet operation, but its responsiveness isn't quite instant. With the Z 6 III, the lens drives from its minimum focus distance to infinity in roughly a quarter second. Still, I found it fine to snap photos of geese and cormorants in flight, jet skiers tooling around the Hudson River, and planes flying low at an air show and enjoyed a solid in-focus hit rate in each case.

The nearest focus distance supported by the lens is a relatively meager 13.1 feet (4 meters), a figure that gets a so-so 1:6.7 macro reproduction ratio. If you want a long lens that doubles for close-ups, you'll be far better served with a zoom—the Tamron 150-500mm focuses to 23.6 inches for 1:3 magnification, and the Nikkor Z 180-600mm supports 1:4 reproduction.

The VR in the lens designation stands for vibration reduction, which means the lens includes optical stabilization. The in-lens VR is good for up to 5.5 stops of compensation on its own per CIPA testing standards and is slightly better (6.0 stops) when used with a camera with a stabilized sensor. I found the CIPA scores to be right in line with reality in this instance. I enjoyed a good hit rate when dragging the shutter all the way down to 1/8-second and handholding the lens, and most of my test images were free of any handshake-induced blur when taking care to hold the camera as still as possible. Shortening to a more reasonable 1/30-second nets more consistent results—all of my tests were sharp with no sign of shake.

Image Quality: Loads of Detail, But Avoid Backlit Scenes

I took the Z 8 and the 600mm F6.3 into the lab to check how much resolution the combination is able to resolve. I took a look at results from our telephoto lens test chart in Imatest and the pair provides as good figures for it as we've seen from this chart on a 45MP sensor, scoring around 4,000 lines from f/6.3-8 and dropping off to around 3,500 lines at f/11-16, still a very good result. Images are soft at the smallest f/22-32 aperture settings, an unavoidable result of optical diffraction.

I've not had a chance to test the Nikkor Z 180-600mm as of yet to compare results, but the 600mm F6.3 delivers results that are pretty close to the 800mm F6.3 VR (4,200 lines at f/6.3-8). My sample images showed fantastic detail; I was impressed by both the texture and detail in the plumage of backyard birds and could almost make out my reflection in the eye of a frog. You can comfortably use the lens wide open too, a plus since the f/6.3 optics limit photo ops in dim light.

Even with a maximum f/6.3 aperture, it's pretty easy to get pictures with a soft, defocused background with a 600mm lens, providing there is some distance between your subject and its surroundings. I'm pretty happy with the quality of the bokeh blur overall, though it's not quite flawless. If you look toward the edges of a picture, you'll see that defocused highlights are closer in shape to cat's eyes than circles at f/6.3, and the phase fresnel optics introduce a double-image effect around objects just off the plane of focus, which can lead to busier, more frenetic-looking backgrounds than with lenses that use purely refractive optics. On the plus side, the lens shows no signs of false color caused by longitudinal chromatic aberration (LoCA) in areas of the image that transition from focus to blur.

Phase Fresnel optics typically struggle to hold contrast against a strong backlight, and despite including Nikon's best Nano Crystal Coat anti-reflective material on the front glass, the Nikkor Z 600mm F6.3 is not an exception to the rule. The lens loses quite a bit of contrast when photographing into a strong backlight, obscuring your subject with a soft glowing flare effect and picking up internal reflections that show up as blobs of false purple color. Don't leave the hood at home, as the large front objective can catch off-angle light pretty easily, and try to avoid strongly backlit scenes with this lens.

Verdict: Light, Sharp, and Perfect for Critters

The Nikkor Z 600mm F6.3 VR S is a specialty lens for sure, but photogs who love getting shots of team sports or migrating songbirds will appreciate its lightweight, crystal-clear optics and extreme telephoto reach. It's a rare combination that works to justify the price, which is on the high end when compared with the majority of lenses, exotic telephotos excluded. Still, you trade some versatility when a heavier zoom like the Nikkor Z 180-600mm covers wider angles and macro subjects for less money. Ultimately, we think the Nikkor Z 400mm F4.5 VR S is better for general telephoto photography, so it remains our Editors' Choice. That said, birders and other wildlife enthusiasts may find a 400mm too short to catch skittish creatures in frame and will be happy with the results the 600mm F6.3 VR S delivers.