Still, even in photography you can have too much of a good thing. Too much lens/magnification can be just as bad as too little. Sometimes, the critters are so cooperative super long lenses just arent as needed as they are at other locations. Ive shot at Jasper National Park dozens of times. The wildlife is extraordinarily accessible there. Where the animals would run at first sight of a human being at other locations, they dont give you a second glance at Jasper NP. The Big Horn Sheep gather by the roads in large herds, making sheep photography easy. Its simply a matter of waiting for the right lighting to make any image your heart may desire. Because theyre so cooperative, even a 500mm lens is too much on many occasions. This is especially so if youre trying to get something other than an intimate portrait image. Magnification may not be the most important thing when shooting environmental shots. These are the kind of images that include lots background to show how it lives to the viewer. Super-magnification available with a 600mm may only make you take a few steps backward to get as much of the surrounding terrain as needed. Shorter lenses like the 500mm f/4 AF-S are better suited for this task.

Theres more to the mission of picking a lens than just simple power and magnification. If your equipment is so unwieldy that it never makes it out of your camera case, you might as well have never bought it. As I noted before, the biggest difference between the lenses is weighta 4-pound difference. If youve never carried one of these behemoths on your shoulder, Im confident youre saying under your breath, How can 4 pounds make such a difference? Imagine picking up 3 quarts of milk. Now you have a feeling for what Im talking about. Its huge and the matter is only made worse when it has to be carried over your shoulderalong with the tripod, flash, camera& The difference between the two lenses when theyre setup on a tripod is the difference between 20 and 25 pounds of gear teetering on your shoulder when youre traveling/hiking. For many, this argument alone is enough for them to choose the 500mm f/4 AF-S over the 600mm f/4 AF-S. I agree in many respects.

To get into the real nuts and bolts of an equipment decision like this, lets look at photography styles. You know, the driver that should press any equipment decision we make. Notice Im not talking about equipment envy! While I personally love environmental shots like those mentioned earlier, my real passion is getting close to my subjects. Im talking really close. My goal is to open a whole new world by seeing things close-up that otherwise might be missed at a distance. For birds, its the difference between watching the feathers respond to the wind on an upstroke. For mammals its seeing reflections in their eyes as if you could see what theyre thinking. For me magnification is practically everything associated with owning one of these super-teles. The weight and challenges of using such a huge chunk of glass like the 600mm f/4 AF-S pales in comparison with meeting my goal for tight intimate close-ups of my subjects. Add to that, I totally believe in teleconverters abilities to increase my range without much sacrifice to the overall optical quality of my lens. Finally, I depend on the apparent 1.5x magnification of the image using the Nikon D series SLRs to get even closer. Magnification is the key to most of my long lens photography.

Since I have to use this monster, I shoot in conditions that allow me to overcome its employment challenges. This means selecting ISO 400 on my Nikon digital cameras. I may even be restricted to moderate lighting situations just to keep the shutter speed up. These are sacrifices anyone has to make when encountering the realities of long lens shooting. The bummer is any problems youll see with the 500mm f/4 AF-S are only worse with the 600mm f/4 AF-S. I attribute this to the cost of doing business.

Now, dont believe the 600mm f/4 AF-S is the only lens in my camera bag. Usually, Ill be out in the field with the following arsenal:

600mm f/4 AF-S
80-200mm f/2.8 AF-S
18-35mm f/3.5-4.5
14mm f/2.8
TC-14e and TC-20e

I even have my 300mm f/2.8 AF-S in the car.