The $6,499.95 Nikkor Z 800mm F6.3 VR S is a nearly ideal lens for taking photos of animals in nature and documenting team sports. Nikon uses phase fresnel optics to reduce the cost and weight compared with 800mm entries for other systems, while still delivering the exquisite picture quality and pro-grade construction we expect from an upmarket prime. If you need exceptional telephoto reach, this is the best option for Nikon Z cameras. Overall, however, the $3,249.95 Nikkor Z 400mm F4.5 VR S is our Editors’ Choice winner for teleprimes because of its smaller size and more versatile focal length.Not That Big…for an 800mm PrimeAlmost any way you look at it, the 800mm F6.3 VR S is a sizable lens. It will make your arms a little sore after an hour or two schlepping it through the woods or along the trail at a national park. Even so, it’s not that big given its focal length. Yes, the lens measures 15.2 by 5.5 inches (HD) and weighs 5.2 pounds, but rival Canon’s RF 800mm F5.6 L IS USM is considerably larger and heavier (17.0 by 6.4 inches, 6.9 pounds). Canon’s lens is also staggeringly expensive at $16,999.00, another point in Nikon’s favor.
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(Credit: Jim Fisher)
Of course, shorter telephoto lenses aren’t as unwieldy. The aforementioned Nikkor 400mm F4.5 (9.2 by 4.1 inches, 2.7 pounds) is downright small by comparison. The $4,799.95 Nikkor Z 600mm F6.3 VR S, another phase fresnel lens, slots in between the two with a 10.9-by-4.2-inch barrel and a reasonable 3.2-pound carry weight. Both are easier to carry than the $1,699.95 180-600mm F5.6-6.3 VR S (12.4 by 4.3 inches, 4.3 pounds), Nikon’s only Z mount zoom that reaches 600mm. Nikon’s other long telezooom, the Nikkor Z 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 (8.7 by 3.9 inches, 3.2 pounds), isn’t that big at its shortest position, but telescopes out beyond 100mm, so it’s a little more to handle than you might think.
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
Nikon also has lenses to compete with Canon’s and Sony’s premium lineups. The $13,999.95 Nikkor Z 400mm F2.8 TC VR S (15.0 by 6.1 inches, 6.5 pounds) and $15,499.95 Z 600mm F4 TC VR S (17.2 by 6.5 inches, 7.2 pounds) cost too much for the majority of weekend photographers to consider, but make compelling arguments against similar entries from Canon and Sony. They both integrate 1.4x teleconverters, for instance, so you can easily turn them into 560mm f/4 and 840mm f/5.6 lenses, respectively. The Nikkor Z 800mm F6.3, as well as the Canon RF 800mm F5.6 and $12,999.99 Sony FE 600mm F4 GM, supports teleconverters too, but you need to buy them separately. It’s also not very convenient to swap teleconverters in the field.
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
Using the 800mm F6.3 prime comes with some advantages over a zoom, but also some downsides. On the one hand, prime telephoto optics tend to be better in terms of resolution and light gathering. You need to add a 1.4x teleconverter to the Z 180-600mm F5.6-6.3 to match the focal length of this prime, for instance, which reduces its light-gathering capability by half through the range. That lens effectively turns into a 250-840mm f/8-f/9 with the teleconverter, thus forcing you to use a higher ISO in many scenarios. On the other hand, you might find it more difficult to find a subject with a prime since you can’t zoom out for a wider view of a scene and then rack back to your subject. This is something you can overcome with practice, but I sometimes still struggled to get a bead on my subject with the 800mm despite nearly a decade of photographing birds for work and recreation.
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
One note: While the 800mm F6.3 is smaller than other extreme telephoto primes, it still might be too large for your camera bag. Nikon includes a soft, zippered case to ease transport, but take heed if you tend to carry a few different lenses in a backpack. The lens barely fits into the side of a 30L Peak Design Everyday Backpack by itself. You’ll need a big, big bag if you want to stow it with a camera body attached. For comparison, I can easily get the Sony a7R IV and Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 Sports into that same bag.Sturdy, Weather-Sealed ConstructionThe Nikkor Z 800mm is built to high standards. Its barrel mixes metal and polycarbonate, and sports internal seals that reduce the chance of dust and moisture ingress. The large front element also includes fluorine protection, a type of coating that repels water and grease. It makes water droplets bead off without leaving a mark and lets you wipe stray fingerprints away with a microfiber cloth. It’s an important feature for this lens since the front element is huge and doesn’t support filters. Instead, the lens includes a rear drop-in holder for small 46mm filters.
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
The included hood is polycarbonate and pretty massive. I recommend using it on on sunny days since the 800mm’s diffractive phase fresnel optics are a bit more prone to flare than more common refractive glass. I’m not a fan of the hood’s design, however. It attaches with a bayonet and it’s difficult to apply enough torque to lock it into place. It’s a step back from the Nikkor Z 600mm F4, which uses a thumbscrew to secure the hood.
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
The Z 800mm includes a mounting foot, which helps ensure the lens’ center of gravity is above your tripod or monopod. The foot uses hex screws, so you’ll need a tool to take it off. I don’t recommend doing so even if you are strictly interested in hand-holding your camera since it can serve as a useful grab point at the top of the barrel. I also like to position it facing left to use as a secondary support for steadier handheld captures. In this configuration, there’s still enough clearance to squeeze my thumb in to access the focus and control rings.
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
As for the nonremovable collar, it rotates a full 360 degrees and includes a thumbscrew to set its tension. The lens omits detent clicks, so you need to rely on four equidistant visual indicators to set the collar and lens at plumb angles. The thumbscrew includes a Kensington lock slot. That means you don’t have to worry as much about thieves stealing the lens during remote photo sessions—so long as your camera also has a lock (right now that’s just the Nikon Z 9). There are also two strap lugs on the collar if you prefer to use the included lens strap over your camera’s strap.
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
The foot includes 1/4-20- and 3/8-16-inch mounts as well, in case you want to attach a sling strap. Dovetail cuts aren’t a part of the design, however, so you need to add a quick-release plate if you want to use the lens with an Arca-Swiss tripod head. It’s a minor inconvenience, but the mount system has strong popularity among photo enthusiasts. Generally speaking, Canon, Nikon, and Sony haven’t adopted the standard, though Sigma and Tamron have embraced it. Sigma doesn’t sell any of its telephoto lenses in Z mount at this time, but the Tamron 150-500mm F5-6.7 is an option for Nikon owners who want an integrated Arca-Swiss foot.Extensive On-Barrel ControlsThe Z 800mm F6.3 has more toggles, buttons, and switches than the average lens. It includes four copies of the L-Fn2 button toward the front at 90 degrees apart, control and manual focus rings mid-barrel, and a control panel with an L-Fn button, A/M focus toggle, and a focus limiter switch toward the mount. Finally, the Memory Set button sits on the opposite side of the control panel, on the side with the camera grip.
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
If you aren’t familiar with it, pressing the Memory Set button saves the current focus distance to the camera’s memory. That means you can snap back to a set distance on demand via the Recall function, which is assignable to a button on the lens or camera body. It’s a useful tool for photographing subjects from a set position—for baseball, you can save the focus position for first or second base to quickly snap back to catch a play. Bird photographers can use it to record the distance to a feeder or a particular branch in a tree. It works best as a roughshod aid to get close to a target in an instant before engaging autofocus to finish the job; even the best autofocus system can take a beat to bring a subject that’s completely defocused into view, after all.
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
A dedicated button for this function is useful for such a long lens. That said, many Z series cameras allow you to use the function with any autofocus lens. You can map the Save Focus Position and Recall Focus Position functions to a camera or lens button via your camera’s menu.
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
You can’t remap the 800mm’s Memory Set button to another function, but both the L-Fn and L-Fn2 buttons are configurable. With the Z 8, more than three dozen options are available. The default options for the L-Fn and L-Fn2 buttons are AF Lock and AF-ON, respectively. Just remember that although there are four copies of L-Fn2 on the barrel, they always perform the same function. The duplication is just so that one is accessible no matter how you hold your camera.
(Credit: Jim Fisher)
Manual focus swaps between a linear and nonlinear response, another option you set via the camera menu. In the nonlinear mode, the degree of focus shift depends on the rotation speed. Turn the lens slowly to make precise adjustments or quickly to rack from near to far in an instant. The linear response mode takes the rotation angle into account. Here, you can set that range anywhere between 90 and 720 degrees via the camera menu. The optics show a significant change in angle between near and close focus (or focus breathing), but I don’t think many creators are going to use this lens for cinematic rack focus shots in which this effect could be distracting. Its telephoto angle just isn’t suitable for that use case, so I don’t count it as a real-world concern.
Nikon Z 8, f/6.3, 1/800-second, ISO 160 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
Snappy STM AutofocusThe Z 800mm F6.3 uses a stepping motor (STM) to drive focus, a type that sometimes struggles to capture subjects in motion. That’s not the case here. In testing, the STM system kept up with birds in flight and other moving targets, driving from one plane of focus to another in a snap. I got in-focus results of a great blue heron taking off in difficult light, and the lens accurately tracked birds at my backyard feeder when I engaged the Z 8’s Auto Capture feature. So, despite not using Nikon’s most powerful Silky Swift VCM focus system like the 400mm F2.8 and 600mm F4, autofocus is up to the task.
Nikon Z 8, f/6.3, 1/800-second, ISO 11400 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
If you’re working at a far distance from your subject, it’s wise to use the Focus Limiter. When active, it restricts focus to subjects at least 32.8 feet (10 meters) from the camera. Full-time manual focus is available too, so you can always reach to the focus ring to bring your subject into clear view. This is handy for photographing birds hiding in tight clumps of branches that may distract your camera’s autofocus system. Once you’ve got the subject in focus, your camera’s subject recognition and tracking mode takes over. In my time with the lens, the Z 8’s 3D Tracking bird recognition mode stayed on birds once it found them, even for scenes with small branches in the foreground.
Nikon Z 8, f/6.3, 1/800-second, ISO 200 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
The Nikkor Z 800mm doesn’t focus very closely, however. The nearest you can get to a target is 16.4 feet (5 meters) for rather meager 1:6.25 results. This is a consequence of its phase fresnel elements, so the telezooms win out here. The Nikkor Z 180-600mm supports 1:4 macros, and the Tamron 150-500mm nets 1:3.1 reproductions, for instance.
Nikon Z 8, f/6.3, 1/800-second, ISO 1000 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
The 800mm F6.3 includes optical stabilization, which works in conjunction with the sensor-shift IBIS that most Z system cameras have for up to 5.5 stops of compensation, or roughly a 1/20-second exposure length. I had trouble stretching the shutter that far in practice, but most of my handheld exposures were sharp at 1/25-second and I managed consistently blur-free results at 1/50-second when testing the lens from a seated position with the Z 8.
Nikon Z 8, f/6.3, 1/800-second, ISO 800 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
Nikkor Z 800mm F6.3: In the LabI used an SFRplus test chart and Imatest to check the Z 800mm F6.3’s contrast in controlled conditions and took the lens out into the world to get a handle on other aspects of its optical character. Due to space constraints, I used the smaller of our two charts, which is a bit less precise. Nonetheless, the Z 800mm scores in the excellent resolution range for the Z 8’s 45MP sensor, around 4,200 lines from f/6.3-11 and 4,000 lines at f/16. I didn’t notice any distortion, and the optical vignette is minimal.
Nikon Z 8, f/6.3, 1/800-second, ISO 2500 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
I’ll speculate that the scores would reach the outstanding range if I had room to use our full-size chart. My photos of birds in the wild show exquisite detail, to the point I can count individual feathers in some. The below 5MP crop of a dark-eyed junco I caught at a reasonably close distance is indicative of the detail the 800mm can resolve at best. You just can’t expect this in every photo—using a higher ISO cuts into detail and you’re more likely to need to do so in difficult light given the maximum f/6.3 aperture. Likewise, subject motion, distance, and atmospheric conditions significantly influence the picture quality at an extreme telephoto angle.
Nikon Z 8, f/6.3, 1/800-second, ISO 1250, 5MP crop (Credit: Jim Fisher)
Compared with a telezoom like the Tamron 150-500mm, you likely won’t notice a difference in detail if you simply post to social media. But if you print large or crop heavily, the differences are apparent. I’ve only tested the Tamron with a 60MP Sony camera, however, so I can’t speak to how the two compare numerically on the Nikon system; Imatest results are not comparable between sensors with significantly different pixel counts. I’m curious to see how the Nikkor Z 180-600mm stacks up, but I haven’t had a chance to put that lens through the paces.
Nikon Z 8, f/6.3, 1/800-second, ISO 1100 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
Like any lens on a digital system, the Z 800mm’s resolving power drops off at narrower apertures. Pictures soften noticeably at f/22 (3,300 lines) and f/32 (2,100 lines). There’s not much reason to use these f-stops with this particular lens either. Landscape photographers sometimes stop down all the way to create multipoint sunstars in photos, but the 800mm focal length is not ideal for landscape scenes that incorporate the sun. I tried to simulate sunstars with my iPhone’s LED flashlight as the source and noted mushy tines at f/22-32.
Nikon Z 8, f/6.3, 1/800-second, ISO 720 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
As mentioned, I recommend using the hood in most scenarios, despite its large size and ergonomically difficult bayonet mount. The phase fresnel optics are prone to show flare against a backlight, so it’s best to keep the sun at your back or at least out of the frame. The lens loses some contrast and shows some false color from internal reflections for scenes in which the sun appears just behind your subject.
Nikon Z 8, f/6.3, 1/800-second, ISO 640 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
Aside from flare, false color is absent from photos. I couldn’t spot any chromatic aberration around high-contrast areas on the plane of focus or in the transitions between the focused and defocused parts of a photo. That’s the good news. On the downside, the bokeh has a busy character, especially in scenes that incorporate fields of grass or clumps of small branches. There’s a bit of a double-image effect at times in backgrounds, and specular highlights show a small dark ring between the center and edge, making for a more impressionistic look than with other lenses. This is a typical compromise for phase fresnel optics and something you don’t have to worry about with the fully refractive lens formulas in the Nikkor Z 600mm F4 TC VR S and Nikkor Z 400mm F4.5 VR S.
Nikon Z 8, f/6.3, 1/800-second, ISO 3600 (Credit: Jim Fisher)
Extreme Telephoto Reach at a Palatable Price and SizeThe Nikkor Z 800mm F6.3 VR S is a worthwhile choice for frame-filling photos of far-off subjects, including everything from on-field athletes to distant wildlife. Its phase fresnel optics make for a more reasonable price and weight compared with telephoto primes for other systems, while reliable autofocus and rear teleconverter support are useful benefits. Although backgrounds can get a little busy, that’s a reasonable trade-off for creators who need such a long lens. All that said, the 800mm focal length requires some expertise to use effectively, so we continue to recommend the shorter, lighter, and brighter Nikkor Z 400mm F4.5 VR S as our Editors’ Choice winner. It’s not a one-to-one substitute, but it offers impeccable performance for half the price and also supports teleconverters.
Nikon Nikkor Z 800mm F6.3 VR S
Pros
Crisp optics with reliable autofocus
Excellent stabilization
Very long reach
Dust, splash, and fluorine protection
Ample on-barrel controls
Works with rear 46mm filters
Teleconverter support
View
More
Cons
Hood is tricky to install and remove
Tripod foot isn’t Arca-Swiss compatible
Some scenes show busy background blur
The Bottom Line
The Nikon Nikkor Z 800mm F6.3 VR S lens uses phase fresnel optics to realize an ultra telephoto view, while costing and weighing less than competitors.
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