As always, on any doubt you just can place a toy laser pointer in the front standard, and point at some distance, this will tell you how steady is the thing, and also it teaches what effect has wind in a particular setup.Originally Posted by mircea nicolae
If a tripod is weak for a setup, before using 2 tripods, one may try to attach a monopod in the front, as temporary solution. Usually vibrations in the pitch axis are the more problematic with long bellows...
Those Nikkor Teles can be unrealistically heavy for some field cameras. The alternatives like Apo Nikkors will be optically superior with far larger image circles, but obviously require more bellows extension, plus in most cases, finding a suitable shutter. I Personally use 450 and 600 Fuji C's (Compact); but these are now fetching rather high prices. What works way better than the two-tripod method is two rail mounts both connected to a single long bar (like Sinar offers, though I make my own out of maple hardwood stock), then mounting this directly atop a flat tripod platform like big Ries tripods have.
Thanks Guys. Ive heard today from a bloke that owned one that the 360/500/720 isn't a great lens setup and best to stick with a Fujinon T 8/400mm and other dedicated focal length tele lenses. Any thoughts or maybe he just had a dud???
I have been using a 360 / 500 Nikon T* ED set for about two years now and it is great to work with. I use it mostly in the 360mm configuration, only changing it to the 500 mm when i need the long focal lenght. The example I have is a good lens, contrasty and sharp in both configurations.
Stability is an issue and the lens is on the heavy side for the Shenhao i use, especially when the bellows is fully racked out for the 500mm.
There is another difference, T-ED are multicoated, this may be more or less important for a particular photographer...
I have and use the whole set, when I shoot tele. I think they are fine lenses and they deliver excellent results with careful use. They don't need to be stopped down much to reach full potential. The previous owner was a professional photographer who used them extensively and he told me the optimum aperture was two stops down from max at each focal length, and only 1 stop at the 720 length, which has proven to be true from my usage. More likely the "issues" with sharpness on these lenses come first from camera stability.
They are fine lenses. However, they are not for use with rickety cameras, dinky little tripods or windy days.
Two tripods help - a lot. If it takes you less than a half hour to setup the equipment, well, then the setup is suspect.
The 2007 B&H Professional Photo Sourcebook is available online, and has a lot of really good useful LF information (all sourcebooks can be found here: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/FreeCatalog.jsp). If you go to the LF lens section: https://static.bhphotovideo.com/Fram...rmatLenses.pdf and scroll down a bit (page 234 in the original catalog) you'll see a whole page on the Nikon T lenses, including a chart of what goes with what, and a photo of the 800mm lens to give you an idea of how huge they are. You can also see 2007 prices!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/drew_saunders/
That reminds me of a little trick I've used with the 720mm element. I have an extended focus rack for my Chamonix. I drilled a hole in the front and put a threaded insert into it for a 1/4" tripod mount. I used a monopod there to support the front of the camera/lens, with the camera itself of course on my normal tripod. Works great.
With regard to setup time - 30 minutes is an eternity. Get used to your equipment and know it well and you should be able to setup much quicker. Setting up my 8x20 takes less time than that...and it's a POS that takes a lot of time. I can setup and shoot my Chamonix in 3-4 minutes...maybe an extra 5-6 to setup the extension rack and 720 if I'm doing that.
I've been using the 800 mm Nikkor for ages (more that 10 years). I have constructed my own camera around this lens, for 6x12 and 6x9 film format. I always use 2 tripods with the camera, it doesn't move even in strong winds. I use 2 tripods even for my Fuji 600C lens in the same conditions.
Can't imagine how a monopod can stabilize the lens when it itself is not stabilized. Must be a miracle of physics. Winds come from all directions, so do vibrations caused by handling. If you want to avoid movement of the lens stabilize it with what is stable in the first place. Just common sense.
(If you want to see what stabilize this lens correctly try to stabilize 16x binoculars between your face and a monopod - you will see the result for yourself. Then go and put the binocs on a tripod and compare the visual vibrations).
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