# Waiting to Shoot the New Pope with Nikkor 1200-1700mm Lens



## Rienzphotoz (Mar 12, 2013)

As published in: http://news.yahoo.com/photos/reuters-photographer-dylan-martinez-tests-1200-1700mm-super-photo-173328418.html
...
Reuters photographer Dylan Martinez tests a 1200-1700mm super-telephoto zoom lens, trained on the balcony of Saint Peter's Basilica where a new pope will appear after his election, a day before the beginning of the conclave at the Vatican March 11, 2013. Cardinals held final discussions on the troubled state of the Roman Catholic Church on Monday, the day before they seclude themselves from the world to elect a new pontiff, with no frontrunner in view. Stunned by the abdication last month of Pope Benedict, the red-hatted cardinals have met repeatedly this past week, sketching out the qualities of the person needed to face the huge challenge of leading the scandal-plagued church. 
...
The monster in his hand is a Nikkor 1200-1700mm f/5.6-8P IF ED lens. It has 18 elements in 13 groups, 9 diaphragm blades, the angle of view is 2°-1°30', minimum focusing distance is 10m (32 ft), the lens weights 16 kg (over 35lbs) and is 888mm (35 in.) long.

Image 2, 3 & 4 are published by Nikon ... taken at 50mm, 1200mm and 1700mm ... subjects are over 130 meters away.


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## raptor3x (Mar 12, 2013)

That is some shockingly bad background blur at 1700mm.


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## alben (Mar 12, 2013)

Come on canon


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## mbpics (Mar 12, 2013)

unfortunate choice of words in the title ;D

please don't shoot the pope.


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## glongstaff (Mar 12, 2013)

alben said:


> Come on canon



old post:
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-1200mm-f-5.6-L-USM-Lens-Review.aspx


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## bk-productions (Mar 12, 2013)

Don't wanna know its price tag


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## ChilledXpress (Mar 12, 2013)

Horrible bokeh !!!


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## Jan Jasinski (Mar 13, 2013)

alben said:


> Come on canon


Nikon...


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 13, 2013)

alben said:


> Come on canon


Why? you gonna buy that lens if Canon made it ;D


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 13, 2013)

glongstaff said:


> old post:
> http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-1200mm-f-5.6-L-USM-Lens-Review.aspx


that's a prime lens not a zoom lens.


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## 7enderbender (Mar 13, 2013)

Waiting for the DxO announcement that my daughter's point and shoot super zoom camera beats this thing by at least 10 LP/mm.


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## 2n10 (Mar 13, 2013)

7enderbender said:


> Waiting for the DxO announcement that my daughter's point and shoot super zoom camera beats this thing by at least 10 LP/mm.



LOL


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 13, 2013)

hjulenissen said:


> mbpics said:
> 
> 
> > unfortunate choice of words in the title ;D
> ...


Hmmm! ... so I got into CIA's most wanted list, even if it is just for a brief moment? ... COOL ;D


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 13, 2013)

7enderbender said:


> Waiting for the DxO announcement that my daughter's point and shoot super zoom camera beats this thing by at least 10 LP/mm.


Ha ha ha ... good one


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## RLPhoto (Mar 13, 2013)

With a 10$ adapter, its canon capable.


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## mrsfotografie (Mar 13, 2013)

Good to see there's reasoning behind these crazy focal lengths. This is gonna be an expensive shot (all this pope business is a bit over the top IMHO).


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## RobPan (Mar 13, 2013)

Shooting the pope will not solve anything.


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## bvukich (Mar 13, 2013)

This is a photography forum. The next person to make inappropriate comments WILL get banned.

Disclaimer: I'm an atheist that couldn't possibly care less about your personal beliefs, however this is not the place for you to air them.


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## Halfrack (Mar 13, 2013)

Sigzilla 200-500 2.8 + 2x TCIII + 1.4x TCIII + 1D4 = 728mm-1820mm

Either way, I want to know what the Swiss Guard think of something this big anywhere near the Vatican.

http://www.lensrentals.com/rent/canon/lenses/supertelephoto/sigma-200-500mm-f2.8-ex-dg-apo-for-canon


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## sagittariansrock (Mar 13, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> even if it is *just for a brief moment*? ... COOL ;D



Yeah... you wish!


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## glongstaff (Mar 13, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> glongstaff said:
> 
> 
> > old post:
> ...




and your point is? all I ws doing was posting a link about the 1200mm lens that canon used to make


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 13, 2013)

sagittariansrock said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > even if it is *just for a brief moment*? ... COOL ;D
> ...


Don't steal my dream ;D


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 13, 2013)

glongstaff said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > glongstaff said:
> ...


That its a prime lens


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## zim (Mar 13, 2013)

Well the wait is over, wonder if the lens worked!


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 13, 2013)

Jorge Mario Bergoglio (of Argentina) is the new pope ... it'd be interesting to see what the lens captured
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/14/world/europe/cardinals-elect-new-pope.html?_r=0


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## Alex (Mar 13, 2013)

zim said:


> Well the wait is over, wonder if the lens worked!



No it came up with lens error then retracted back in


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## bchernicoff (Mar 13, 2013)

Here it is. Here's the picture he got! I guess it was too much lens.


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## Skirball (Mar 13, 2013)

mbpics said:


> unfortunate choice of words in the title ;D
> 
> please don't shoot the pope.



I figured it was a euphemism.


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 13, 2013)

bchernicoff said:


> Here it is. Here's the picture he got! I guess it was too much lens.


You sure? ... that looks extremely large pic for a 1700mm lens ;D


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 14, 2013)

privatebydesign said:


> Amazing to think the arms race that brought us the Canon EF 1200 5.6L and the Nikon 1200-1700 5.6-8 was driven by high school baseball! Specifically at the Koshien Stadium.
> 
> http://www.nikon.com/about/feelnikon/recollections/r16_e/index.htm


Interesting article ... thanks for sharing. It's funny how Nikon does not use the name "Canon" (as their competitor) in that article ... it merely says "rival company":
_"In 1980s, a *rival company* was making a 1200mm f/5.6 super telephoto lens. The newspapers were beginning to switch over to cameras made by this company in order to use the lens in their coverage of baseball at Koshien Stadium."_


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## TotoEC (Mar 14, 2013)

To the OP: So where is the picture of the pope taken by this Nikkor 1200-1700mm Lens? All the hype for this lens and no follow ups?


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 14, 2013)

TotoEC said:


> To the OP: So where is the picture of the pope taken by this Nikkor 1200-1700mm Lens? All the hype for this lens and no follow ups?


See the first word of the subject ;D


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## RobPan (Mar 18, 2013)

(to Halfrack)

Please do not project your own fantasies on my text, and do not shout.
Why did I say 'Shooting the pope does not solve anything'?
I think the title 'Shooting the Pope with [..]' is unlucky, not to say tasteless.
If you are not too young, you may remember that in 1981 the then Pope, John Paul, was indeed shot in Rome by a Turkish gentleman. This makes 'Shooting the Pope' different from, say, "Shooting the Rocky Mountains' to which I would raise no objection.
We are all human. That impies that we have the ability to think, and to form our own opinions. It is our birthright to do so. We do not have the right to deny others the same rights. This implies that we do not have the right to kill anybody just because he/she is of a different opinion.
I therefore feel in this case 'Photographing' or 'Taking a picture of' would be better than 'Shooting'. 
Hope I made myself clear this time.
Kind regards,

RobPan.

NB
Religion has little to do with it. The present Pope is in some respects a conservative, but his conservative views are contested by many a Catholic and cheered by many unbelievers. I do not quite understand why you mentioned your (lack of) religion. 
Sorry if this posting is a bit OT.


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 18, 2013)

RobPan said:


> I think the title 'Shooting the Pope with [..]' is unlucky, not to say tasteless.


If I had left the subject title at "Waiting to Shooting the New Pope", yes it would have been tasteless.
But that is not what I did, the subject title is and always has been "Waiting to Shoot the New Pope with Nikkor 1200-1700mm lens" ... anyone who knows what a "*Nikkor lens*" is, knows full well what I was talking about ... unless of course the person is utterly ignorant, in which case he wouldn't be hanging around in a camera/lens related forum like CR ... besides my intention was never to sensationalize or make it cheap ... so there is no question of it being "tasteless".


RobPan said:


> you may remember that in 1981 the then Pope, John Paul, was indeed shot in Rome by a Turkish gentleman.
> This makes 'Shooting the Pope' different from, say, "Shooting the Rocky Mountains' to which I would raise no objection.


The word "shooting" is used routinely by many photographers to describe the process of making an image, just because Pope John Paul II was shot does not make the subject title "unlucky" OR "objectionable" OR "tasteless".
However, what can easily be misinterpreted is when someone leaves a one line comment like "Shooting the pope will not solve anything." :


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 18, 2013)

I found two photos made by Dylan Martinez (the photographer who was waiting with the Nikkor 1200-1700mm lens) at:
http://uk.reuters.com/news/pictures/slideshow?articleId=UKRTR3EXVC#a=7
Although I cannot read the exif data on these images, looks like both the images are made with Nikkor 1200-1700mm lens.


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## RobPan (Mar 18, 2013)

> If I had left the subject title at "Waiting to Shooting the New Pope", yes it would have been tasteless.
> But that is not what I did, the subject title is and always has been "Waiting to Shoot the New Pope with Nikkor 1200-1700mm lens" ...



I get your point, but for me the primary meaning of "shooting" still crops up, perhaps because English is only my second language. Sorry if I misunderstood.


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 20, 2013)

RobPan said:


> > If I had left the subject title at "Waiting to Shooting the New Pope", yes it would have been tasteless.
> > But that is not what I did, the subject title is and always has been "Waiting to Shoot the New Pope with Nikkor 1200-1700mm lens" ...
> 
> 
> ...


Understood ... No issues ... peace.


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## spinworkxroy (Mar 20, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> I found two photos made by Dylan Martinez (the photographer who was waiting with the Nikkor 1200-1700mm lens) at:
> Although I cannot read the exif data on these images, looks like both the images are made with Nikkor 1200-1700mm lens.



If these are really the photos from that lens...i must say, the lens isn't very good..the images look dark, blur and soft


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 20, 2013)

spinworkxroy said:


> Rienzphotoz said:
> 
> 
> > I found two photos made by Dylan Martinez (the photographer who was waiting with the Nikkor 1200-1700mm lens) at:
> ...


I agree


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 20, 2013)

privatebydesign said:


> Atmospheric distortions normally kill any sharpness and contrast from such long distance shots.
> 
> That is the difference between measurbators, enthusiasts, pros and picture editors. When picture editors need an image the pros get the best they can, in this instance the distance severely limits expectations.
> 
> ...


Interesting article, thanks for sharing ... but I couldn't help notice this pic (4th in the blog) of a heavy lens on a seemingly weak tripod that too with the center column extended, kinda odd.


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## ragmanjin (Mar 21, 2013)

Rienzphotoz said:


> privatebydesign said:
> 
> 
> > Atmospheric distortions normally kill any sharpness and contrast from such long distance shots.
> ...



Reuters ≥ physics.


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## Rienzphotoz (Mar 21, 2013)

ragmanjin said:


> Reuters ≥ physics.


 ???


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