That’s awesome!

Nice video man, thanks. We're going for the first time on the last weekend in November 2024. How long were you there? I believe you arrived at 5:30, but how long were you there from start to finish? That'll help us to understand if we should expect to be there a couple hours or longer, and how to plan accordingly. Thanks again!

This video is exactly what it should be. I put an a question into Google, this comes up, and within a minute or two I get my answer. I was the same - set it all up in the menus but still shot JPEG. Thank you!!

Bummer! I assumed this would work. Glad I checked and thankful that you posted your findings.

Switched over the mirrorless after decades of shooting DSLR, this tutorial was exactly what I needed (now to figure out the rest of the controls. heh)

You need an f mount tc for an f mount lens...

Thank you ... was looking across all menu and did not find it. Very informative video

What about an f mount teleconverter on the othet side of the FTZ

Yes! Thank you. Just got my Nikon Z5. Im not gonna go through 200 pages of manual how to change the file format. This video was it, short precise, perfect. Thanks man!

obrigado,muito bem explicado nas câmeras sem espelho

Have any of you read the book *THE YELLOW RIVER* by I. P. Daly ????

I know it was only an accident but I have to feel for the operator of that boat that crashed into that bridge with guilt he's probably going to live with for years to come.

Thx for sharing... I had the same idea. But buying the TC 17E II and put it between the FTZ adapter and the f mount lens should work quite nice according to a friend of mine

That’s crazy. Doesn’t look like much!

No progress at all.

Dude, you are out there driving around in the channel? And filming? Keep it, I just subbed! Unique content, thank you.

Thanks for this. saved me the trouble and I wish more of the help videos I look for are like this one.

Cool video. Thanks for sharing

A very tragic event. 😔

Absolutely crazy man!

wow 😱

14:00 great little bit, I have a SIgma 150-600 and was tempted to buy a 1.4x for the dam, now I think I will just save up for a 300-800mm which will be quite a while to come.

ha ha ha, YT recommending a wildlife photography video of my go-to place for eagles, I was there Oct 31st and got tons of early morning moody photos with my Sigma 150-600 F5-6.3, going mid-April for the hatchings.

I had this very question. Sorry you had to find out the hard way, but I appreciate you sharing your experience.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!! 🙇‍♀🙇‍♀🙇‍♀🙇‍♀🙇‍♀🙇‍♀🙇‍♀🙇‍♀

Teleconverter are really made for the fast telephoto prime lenses where they worlk superbly. Also if you add a teleconverter and still need to do a massive crop to get a frame filling shot, like here, then the subject is just too far away for the lens you have.

Your shots are super cool. However, I have a few suggestions for you. I, too, just went out for my first wildlife birding experience the other day. I have a Z8 and I used my 100-400 lens. Why didn't you use your native Z glass? I'd say that a 2x teleconverter with F-mount FTZ adapter on a long lens is not going to get you great results. I've been shooting my 100-400, which is not ideal, but it's all I have, and I'm getting super clean shots if the birds are within 20-75 meters of my camera. The closer the better, and my best results have come when birds are within 50 meters of me. I mean, some of mine are so sharp that I cant believe it. Also, my shots straight out of the camera are clear but not tack sharp. For sharpness, you probably need good denoising software and even sharpening from that software. I use DxO Pure Raw either with or without sharpening with great results. I shoot either FX or DX on the Z8, and I think FX with cropping in post works better for me. Also, high ISOs are fine. 3200 is no problem. I'd say that you don't need to throw more money at the problem just now. Instead, practice with what you have because your gear is not really the problem it seems. I think that you went out to a difficult situation for your first birding shoot. I went to a local zoo to see what was possible and to practice, and my shots were fantastic in that controlled environment. Then when I got out in the wild the first time, I shot birds that were relatively close AND I even shot pigeons to practice. Just get some more experience with your gear, practice the settings, and do easy shoots with close birds to get used to shooting birds for a bit.

is there a restroom there for the length of time you were there?

Very cool video and realistic. I went with the Z600pf and haven't needed a monopod for all-day usage (the reason I opted for it). With my prime, I'm never happy with a TC-2 and I've stopped using it. I will give the 1.4 a chance. You were shooting in challenging environment. Again, good video and explanations.

I was at Conowingo today with my Z9 and 180-600 (handheld). The eagles weren't very active while I was there but the herons were quite busy. It was gray and overcast, but I got a few keepers and it was a good day.

Use DX in cases like this with 3D Tracking???

What Plate have you got on your 180-600 >> I am in S Africa and so have to order stuff like Plates from B&H and I dont need to buy the wrong plate

Sucks I was going to watch this video as have the 180-600mm and shoot alot of birds in flight but once you said you needed a monopod or tripod I just stopped. I have the 600mm f4 and that is a lens you need a mono or tripod for NOT the 180-600. I have shot full soccer, football and baseball games without the need for any support. Hopefully someone sees this comment and realizes that most people can handhold this lens.

You should consider renting a 600mm f/4 prime instead of the 180-600mm zoom. You should be far enough away from the eagles where you would be shooting at 600mm most of the time, and a prime lens will take a 1.4x converter better than a zoom. I'd stay away from the 2x converter, even on a prime lens.

I have never used the Z 180-600 with a tripod nor a monopod. Same with my Z 800mm. The Z 800mm will even fit in a carry-on bag. The 180-600 and 800 are both very light and easy to use handheld for hours at a time. Love the new light Nikon long glass. Very sharp with the Z9.

I would never use a 2x converter on any lens except a 400 f2.8 or a 600mm f.4. Just my opinion. A 1.4 will work much better.

thank you so much. your video had helped me a lot

Nice video, thanks! I’m a Z fan but I’ve kept my F mount long lenses and even bought a 400mm f2.8 recently which is probably much heavier than the Z 180-600mm lens. On the teleconverter shot, I wonder if the focus had locked on to the left eagle? There’s also a possibility that the main fish bound eagle has motion blur since it was jerking upwards as its talons locked on? Anyway, I have Topaz sharpen AI and DX0 Photolab, which recover soft shots if you want me to have a go for you?

Teleconverters on zoom lenses is not a workable combination,particularly with f mount lenses on Z bodies.

Well done! I love going to conowingo. I have never not seen any Eagles on every trip to the dam! Maybe I will see you there some day!

Thanks for the info. I am headed to Conowingo in the next few days, but…. I’m shooting the Z9 and D500, but I Dont have the 180-600mm Z yet. So I only have the 400mm f/4.5 prime, or the AF-S 200-500mm f/5.6. That’s where my long end max’s for now. So I will try anyway, and maybe get lucky. Does anyone think my gear might be too short for this distance and BIF. I have all 4 TC’s, both Z and AF-S. Thanks for the video.

Great video, but the light was against you. Dull light = Dull shots even with the fastest lens and best camera. But if we wait until the weather gives us the best images, we won't get many photos. So you were working with what you had, thanks for sharing your day.

Nice video, I hope to go there one day myself. Remember though, no such thing as a "sea gull" all gulls have names lol

One of the main comments about getting that 1.4 crop that y’all not talking about it the use of an APSC camera! Listen I’m a full frame guy I love my Nikon full frames, however I do NOT hesitate to use a cropped sensor camera when it’s needed. Yes I use is to get closer. It gets closer than full frame but it’s giving me all its megapixel goodness without compromising. The D500 was the best DSLR APSC bar none. I used a D3 / D300 combo for years! From weddings , concerts and all the event photography you can throw a stick at. Not once have my images been criticized as being too soft. It is the right tool to have if you wanted reach. Back then the D3/D300 were both 12.3 mp! The D5 and D500 were both 20mp cameras. We need to have the same MP for APSC. If Fuji produced a 40mp APSC, Nikon need to have a 45mp. APSC to go go along with the Z9. Not 33mp. Give us 45mp APSC and watch Nikon take back the S.A.W!

Your TC can certainly be used with moving subjects, but you have to increase your shutter speed, because you're shooting at 1200mm with the 2X TC. If you need 1/2000th to freeze action at 600mm, you will need 1/4000th to freeze it with a 2X or more. That's also going to cost you another stop of ISO for the extra shutter speed in addition to the two stops of ISO the TC is costing you. Three stops more ISO is going to soften images. The extra subject movement is going to soften your image. The atmospheric distortion will hurt your image more at 1200mm than 600mm. The 1.4X of course will be better since it's only going to cost you about 1.5 stops of ISO and less motion blur issues. Finally, the Z TCs work great on the prime lenses and even the Z 70-200/2.8 because it's a much higher quality lens. You're putting the TCs on a non-S-Line lens with a bigger zoom range, so there will even be more lens distortion to magnify with the 180-600. I would not recommend the 2X. It's just too much. You can use various resizing techniques to crop significantly and then blow the image back up with better results than the 2X. The 1.4X is really a wash. I'm okay using it. But if your subject is so far away, that you have to crop where you need to enlarge 4X or more, then the extra pixels from the TC can save you, but you're going to have some detail loss. Physics.

it is not heavy at all, exactly the opposite for the range - 8-10 pounds, that is a heavy lens

I only use it handheld and I’m not a big person. I’m liking this lens a lot. I use it with a Z8. Cheers

Nice Video!, I have a pair of Nikon Z Teleconverters, and I have to tell you, they work quite well, I couldn't help but to notice that you were not using anything to mount your camera on, with a long lens such as the 180-600, especially in bad lighting, any vibration (even pressing the picture button) can give you a blurry picture. I'd give anything to be in an area where Eagles can be photographed, I'm in Northern CA (near San Francisco) and unfortunately, you'll get either Crows, pigeons, or Seagulls. I do occasionally get to shoot Humming Birds in my Back Yard from time to time. to make a long story short, I've been shooting pictures of the Moon with my Z9 and Z8 using a Z 100-400mm Lens, and adding the 1.4 and 2.0x Converters to increase the Photo Range. Both Converters work well if the lens is mounted on a Tri-Pod, without the Tri-Pod, the shots always come out Blurry. I received the Z 180-600 about a Month ago, and received the Z 400mm 2.8 tc 5 days ago (ordered 20 Months ago). I haven't had a chance to use either of the longer lenses yet mainly due to weather, but will let you know how they perform when adding the TC's to them.

That's a nice spot. I got good photos of vultures with a 70-200 f2.8. Couldn't reach the eagles 😄

Hello Luis. I envy you for getting to Conowingo Dam. Nice video and photos. Before you get rid of the teleconverter try it in good lighting and not so far photos. Autofocus has its limits. Distant shots don't always come out sharp with or without a teleconverter. Teleconverters are good with fast prime lenses because they allow more light than non prime lenses. But will not perform as well when lighting is poor. It all comes down to lighting Luis. It's not the equipment. Try using 2000 shutter on overcast day it will allow more light and still capture the action. If you use auto ISO with teleconverter it may give you better results. I've taken Bald Eagle photos at 167 yards with 1.4 teleconverter with a Sony 200-600 lens and Nikkor 600mm F4 and Nikkor 800mm F5.6 lenses and they all perform well. Lighting and distance are crucial in autofocus giving you sharp images. Thanks for sharing your captures. Good luck next time you visit Conowingo Dam.