Note: Lets look at what kind of magnification we can expect with such a huge lens. If we assume the ubiquitous 50mm lens as providing a normal Field of View (FOV) for 35mm sized cameras, then the 600mm gives you 12 times the magnification right? Wrong! It magnifies what you see by 144 times12 multiplied by 12. While this is counter to intuition let me give you a simple explanation. If you photograph an image with a lens combination but dont like the FOV, you can easily use one of those tele-converters to get closer without moving your feet. If you compare the FOV without a 2x converter and then with a tele-converter, youll see the FOV of the lens with 2x converter occupies 1/4 the view of the original configuration without the converter. That means we got 4 times the magnification with only a 2x converter. The same thing is happening between 50mm and 600mm. While the long lens is 12 times the focal length of the normal, it provides 144 times the magnification. Thats a big number and, yes, a big number means faraway subjects will be a lot closer.

As a comparison, a 500mm lens is 10 times the focal length of a normal 50mm lens and only 100 millimeters less than a 600mm. While 100 millimeters doesnt seem like much, the magnification of the 600mm lens is 44% more than the 500mm. If youre pining for more magnification, every millimeter is important. A 44% increase in magnification will make your images look different. That 100 millimeters is significant if you are all about getting closer.

Will these lenses get you closer, you may be wondering? Yes they will. In fact, the 600mm lens will drop the distance you need to approach by over an order of magnitude (more than 10 times) from the 50mm. If youre used to using a 300mm lens, the 600mm will let you be twice as far from your subject and still get the same perspective. Let me also add, if youre savvy enough about depth of field (DOF), youll note longer lenses tend to significantly reduce the apparent DOF over the shorter, normal lens. This is particularly useful if youre like me and like to isolate your subjects from distracting background elements. With long lenses like the 600mm, its very easy to render the background completely out of focus and thus leave a nice, uncomplicated background beyond your extremely sharp subject. Not only do you bring your subject closer, you also isolate him from the background through the magic of basic optical physics. Its a nice effect.

So, how do you operate such a long lens? Thats a kind of complicated question, and there are as many opinions on the subject as there are long lens photographers. I figure the biggest challenge dealing with such a lens is the tendency toward slightly soft images due to camera movement. Im talking both kinds of movementthe unintentional and inadvertent variety. For those who didnt know, in the aviation world, which Im extremely familiar with, by the way, the term unintentional means I caused the movement though unintended. While inadvertent means I didnt cause the movement and it happened anyway. Regardless, both types of movement are bad, and there are many techniques out there to minimize their effect.

In our case, vibration of the unintentional variety is caused by simply using poor long lens technique. If you were like me, you probably were slightly unsteady holding your camera before using the 600mm f/4 AF-S without realizing it. Because your camera gear never required you to be rock steady, you never had to exercise excellent technique. Perhaps you werent holding a balanced stance. Maybe you werent holding your gear appropriately. The point is while your previous technique was totally passable with your shorter lenses, it wouldnt be acceptable with a super-tele like the 600mm f/4 AF-S. Every imperfection in your technique is magnified tremendously. What was a small and totally acceptable imperfection before may be totally unacceptable with the long lens. Honestly, thats the nature of long lens photography.

On the other hand, vibration of the inadvertent variety is caused by the mechanics in the camera shaking the entire combination when you press the shutter. You may be thinking how can a little mirror slap can move that 14-pound behemoth around? Valid question. Its not the magnitude of the shake that may be killing your images. Small movement when shooting at slow speeds can be just as deadly to your images. There are a couple of theories on how best to avoid this problem. The best technique is shoot at higher speeds, 1/60sec or greater, for example. If thats not possible, I seem to have acceptable results by using my best long lens technique and avoiding the 1/10sec to 1/25sec range. You need impeccable technique to eliminate problems you may make when shooting that slow. Its the challenge of not having a Vibration Reduction or Image Stabilization capability where your lens would damp out these little movements for you.