Nikon Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S Review

Introduction

The Nikon Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S is Nikon’s flagship mirrorless supertelephoto lens – a $15,500 piece of glass meant for demanding sports and wildlife photographers. It features professional-grade build quality, handling, and image quality. Few lenses command such a high price, but then again, few lenses are this impressive.

As advanced as this lens is, it’s certainly an indulgence. Nikon’s previous 600mm f/4 DSLR lenses already approached optical perfection, and today they sell for surprisingly low prices on the used market. What do you get if you spring for the newest Z model instead? Lighter weight, a native Z mount, and – perhaps most of all – a built-in teleconverter.

To be specific, the Nikon Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S has the ability to engage an internal 1.4x teleconverter via a simple switch, turning it into an 840mm f/5.6 at the flick of your wrist. In that sense, it’s like buying two lenses in one. As you’ll see later in this review, the image quality you can attain with the built-in teleconverter is quite strong. The lens also works with Nikon’s external Z-series teleconverters (both the 1.4x and 2.0x TC), allowing even further reach if your subject demands it.

While most photographers will not need such an expensive and specialized lens, the possibilities it offers are unmatched for those who require it. For the review you’re reading today, our team tested three copies of the Nikon Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S – one copy that I tested in the lab and in the field, and one each that Libor Vaicenbacher and Massimo Vignoli tested in the field.

It is no surprise that such an expensive lens performs at the upper echelon of what is possible today. But are there any faults with it? And are there alternative lenses that you should be considering? In this hands-on review of the Nikon Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S, I’ll answer those questions and more.

Build Quality

Of course, this lens is well-built. That’s expected for the price. But as massive and sturdy as the Nikon Z 600mm f/4 lens appears visually, it manages to avoid excessive weight. The scales top out at 3260 grams / 7.19 pounds with this lens – not bad for what it offers.

Take the previous generation Nikon 600mm f/4E FL for comparison. When that lens was released in 2015, photographers praised it for how much lighter it was compared to its predecessors – and it was. But it still weighs 3810 grams / 8.40 pounds, and of course, it doesn’t have the internal teleconverter. Add Nikon’s TC-14E III teleconverter and the FTZ II adapter, and you’re up to 4125 grams / 9.09 pounds, making the new lens meaningfully easier to carry around all day. Not to mention that the Nikon Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S is also better balanced, with more of the weight toward the body of the camera. The result is a lens that is somewhat handholdable, at least if you’ve been eating your Wheaties.

That said, it’s still a hefty lens, and it’s not the lightest lens in its class. Canon and Sony have 600mm f/4 mirrorless lenses that weigh a little less at 3090 grams and 3040 grams respectively (6.8 and 6.7 pounds). However, neither of these lenses offers a built-in teleconverter. By that standard, the Nikon Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S’s weight of 3260g / 7.2 pounds is quite reasonable.

If you want a really light 600mm lens, however, it’s best to go with Nikon’s 600mm f/6.3 VR S – an optically excellent lens that weighs a mere 1245 grams (2.74 pounds). You would also save a bit of weight, without sacrificing the “exotic” nature of the lens, by picking the Nikon Z 400mm f/2.8 TC VR S instead, at 2950 g (6.5 pounds). Although the 400mm f/2.8 and 600mm f/4 are within the same ballpark of size and weight, I found that using them side-by-side, it was meaningfully easier to handhold the 400mm f/2.8 for long periods of time.

I want to note a couple of things about the build quality that are not necessarily negatives, but worth keeping in mind. First, the screw that tightens the tripod collar of the Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S requires less force to tighten than previous generations. This sounds like a good thing, but it can result in over-tightening – even damaging the screw threads – if you use the same amount of force that was required for older Nikon supertelephotos.

Also, it’s not out of character for a Nikon supertelephoto, but the lens hood on the Z 600mm f/4 is conspicuously large. I don’t know of very many camera backpacks that will fit the lens when the hood is attached in the shooting position, so you’ll often find yourself reversing it for travel. At least it does a great job blocking rain and dust from landing on the front element.

But what about durability? During the time that our team tested three copies of the Nikon Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S, it handled everything that we threw its way. This included sudden rainstorms, sub-freezing temperatures in the Arctic, dusty Namibian plains, and high-humidity environments. All three copies of the lenses we field-tested performed flawlessly throughout harsh conditions.

Handling

The Nikon Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S isn’t just well-built; it also handles like a charm. More than anything else, the standout handling feature is how easy it is to engage the built-in 1.4x teleconverter at a moment’s notice. There’s a switch on the right-hand side of the lens made for this purpose, and it couldn’t be simpler to operate. I took almost exactly 50% of my photos with this lens with the TC engaged – much more than I would with a traditional supertelephoto lens. The ability to flip between a 600mm f/4 and an 840mm f/5.6 is intoxicating.

On the left-hand side of the lens, shown below, Nikon has placed the A-M (Autofocus-Manual) switch. Nearby is the autofocus range limiter switch and a lens function button. The autofocus limiter can be useful when your subjects are likely to be further away. When it’s engaged, the lens will avoid the close-focus range between 4.3 and 10 meters (14 and 33 feet). This can speed up the focusing performance and reduce autofocus hunting – although in practice, the lens already focuses so quickly that this switch is just a bonus.

Wondering where all the switches from the previous generation went? Will we miss them? Although I wish that Nikon had added some dedicated vibration reduction switches to the Z 600mm f/4, it doesn’t have any other limitations. There is still a plethora of custom function buttons on the lens.

Moreover, Memory Recall can now be activated without any switches. That’s because a new function ring has been added for the Memory Set/Recall function! When you twist it to one side, you can set or recall a focus distance. When you release it, the ring snaps back to the middle and returns your focus distance to where it was before. It’s a clever and effective way to recall focus that works better than a traditional button-based approach.

Of the controls, I haven’t yet mentioned the focus and control ring. These do exactly what you would expect them to do. Personally, I prefer to keep the control ring turned off, because I find it easy to hit by accident. But I know that Libor likes to use it for exposure compensation when shooting in manual + Auto ISO mode, and there is plenty of customization available here if you want it.

Speaking of customization, there are two customizable lens function buttons. One is marked L-Fn; the other is unmarked and duplicates itself around the middle of the lens, appearing four times in total. This way, the button will be in the same place whether you’ve turned your camera sideways or not. This can be mapped for a variety of tasks, although it’s far enough down the barrel that it can be out of reach depending on how you’re holding the lens.

Are there any negatives to the handling of the Nikon Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S? None that will surprise you. I would prefer the tripod foot to be a little longer, mainly to make it easier to carry the lens by the foot. And now that I mention the tripod foot, the first thing I’d do upon buying the lens is replace it with one that’s Arca-Swiss compatible. This is the case for all Nikon lenses with a built-in tripod foot, so no surprises here. Perhaps one day Nikon will move to an Arca-Swiss standard, like we have seen on lenses from Sigma, Olympus, and Tamron.

Also, I agree with our writer Massimo Vignoli’s impression that a different lens cap would be a little more ergonomic. As it is, the Z 600mm f/4 ships with a large bag-like cover that goes around the front of the lens or lens hood. A more traditional lens cap design like this one from Zemlin (no affiliation with Photography Life) is better for quick operation. But those are small points that do not detract from the quality of the lens as a whole.

Built-in 1.4x Teleconverter

Supertelephoto prime lenses are pretty niche tools. But the built-in teleconverter on the Nikon Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S means that this lens acts more like a zoom than a prime, capable of instantly switching to an 840mm f/5.6 with great image quality. It really expands the lens’s versatility.

Frankly, this is the feature that won me over the most. With the built-in teleconverter, the Nikon Z 600mm f/4 has leapfrogged over most other supertelephotos available today. It’s much quicker than removing the lens to attach a TC, and it’s also a more durable and weatherproof approach. No longer is there a need to take off the lens in bad weather just to attach a teleconverter.

If you need even more reach, the lens is also compatible with Nikon’s two external teleconverters, namely the TC-1.4x and TC-2.0x (see our review of the Nikon Z teleconverters here). Either teleconverter can make sense for different reasons. The TC-1.4x turns the lens into an 840mm f/5.6 and 1200mm f/8 pair. Meanwhile, the TC-2.0x turns it into a 1200mm f/8 and 1680mm f/11 instead.

While the 840mm / 1200mm pair is definitely more versatile, I can’t deny that the ability to reach 1680mm in a pinch was pretty exciting. You’ll see more in our lab tests on the next page of this review, but the lens is surprisingly usable at 1680mm. I was able to capture some photos with it that I wouldn’t have gotten any other way, like these grizzly bear cubs rolling around in the mud, way in the distance!

Below is a 100% crop – click it to see full size. It demonstrates that the lens’s image quality is still acceptable at 1680mm despite stacking the internal 1.4x and external 2.0x TCs together. (I should mention that some of the decrease in contrast here is due to atmospheric quality.)

As much as I found 1680mm useful in this particular situation, I still favor the 1.4x TC over the 2.0x TC if I had to choose between the two. 1200mm is as long as I would normally go for wildlife photography, and that’s already achievable with the combination of internal and external 1.4x TCs on this lens. The dedicated 2.0x TC is usually going to be overkill.

Nikon Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S Specifications

• Full Name: Nikon NIKKOR Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S
• Mount Type: Nikon Z Mount
• Focal Length: 600mm (840mm with built-in 1.4x teleconverter)
• Angle of View (FX): 4°10′ (3° with TC)
• Maximum Aperture: f/4 (f/5.6 with TC)
• Minimum Aperture: f/32 (f/45 with TC)
• Aperture Blades: 9, rounded
• Filter Size: 46mm drop-in
• Lens Elements: 26 (19 ignoring the teleconverter)
• Lens Groups: 20 (16 ignoring the teleconverter)
• Special Elements: 3 ED glass, 1 Super ED glass, 2 fluorite, and 2 short-wavelength reflective SR elements (of those, 1 ED and 1 SR element are in the teleconverter)
• Fluorine Coated Front Element: Yes
• Electronic Diaphragm: Yes
• Vibration Reduction: Yes
• Internal Focusing: Yes
• Rings: Three (focus, function, and control)
• Function Buttons: Yes (Fn1 and Fn2)
• Focus Recall Buttons: Yes
• Focus Motor: Silky Swift Voice Coil Motor
• Minimum Focus Distance: 4.3 meters (14.1 feet)
• Maximum Magnification: 0.14x (1:7.1); 0.2× (1:5) with built-in 1.4x teleconverter
• Mount Material: Metal
• Weather/Dust Sealing: Yes
• Dimensions (Length × Diameter): 437 x 165 mm / 17.3 × 6.5 inches
• Weight: 3260 g / 7.19 lbs
• MSRP: $15,500 (check current price)

Here is the construction of the lens, courtesy of Nikon:

The next page of this review covers the optical characteristics of the Nikon Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S, including focusing performance and sharpness tests in the lab. So, click the menu below to go to “Optical Performance”: