Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by the performance of the 200-500mm. Actually, very pleasantly surprised. In the performance categories there simply isn’t a wart to be found. I’d say that the optical performance is well above what you’d expect for the money. Well above.

Shoot at a reasonably high ISO (depends on your camera) but generally ISO 2000 to 4000 can provide a great balance between image quality and noise. Please note that the above test results are derived from running tests on two different lens samples. It is also important to point out that the numbers are not inter-mingled between the two lens samples – I published the better results for all focal lengths from the same lens sample. It looks like Nikon has considered the needs of Wildlife photographers and produced a versatile, fixed-aperture telephoto lens at a quite reasonable price; the Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6. Excellent compatibility with full-frame (FX) and crop-sensor (D) cameras, which means you can use the same lens on either of your camera bodies

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Use continuous autofocus with focus areas as a d9 (AF-C + d9) or Single autofocus with focus area as S (center point) ( AF-S ) The score in the “features-department” is 1[-]/6[0]/6[+]. The minus-point being the high price. All in all there’s not much to differentiate Nikon’s newest offering from the competition. You may prefer its constant aperture of f5.6 but then the lens offers a smaller zoom-range and less reach. There is also the issue of the zoom and focus rings position. For those hand-holding, do you find them awkward to use? From the above chart we can see that the lens experiences a pretty drastic drop in sharpness at 500mm and not just in the center frame. Stopping down to f/8 helps a little, but not all that much. NIKON D750 + 200-500mm f/5.6 @ 500mm, ISO 200, 1/800, f/5.6 In case you are not able to use a high shutter speed because of low light, either use Vibration Reduction along with stable support such as a tripod or bean bag (shutter speeds can be as low as 1/30th)

As seen above, the lens features a total of four switches on the side of the lens. From top to bottom, there is a focus mode switch that allows switching from autofocus with manual focus override to manual focus, focus limiter switch that goes from close focus to infinity (full range) and 6 meters to infinity, vibration reduction (VR) switch and lastly, vibration reduction mode switch that allows switching between Normal and Sport mode.

Product Specification

Filter-thread: 95mm. That’s larger than most of us have filters for and may mean that you need to get new filters for the lens. But that’s par for the course as both the Sigma Contemporary and the Tamron 150-600mm zoom need 95mm filters. The Sigma 150-600 Sports needs 105mm filters which are even more expensive. Only the Nikon 80-400/4.5-5.6 uses standard 77mm filters. [0] Despite advances in camera resolution that offer the option to crop images more aggressively, anyone who has tried to shoot wildlife or action will tell you there’s no substitute for filling the frame with your chosen subject. Used Cameras Used DSLR Cameras Used Mirrorless Cameras Used Compact Cameras Used Film Cameras Used Action Cameras and Video Used Lenses For DSLR Cameras Used Lenses for Canon EOS Used Lenses for Nikon AF Other Used Lenses Shooting with such lenses as the Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6E VR hand-held requires a solid image stabilization system, because you are dealing with a relatively slow aperture and long focal length, which puts a heavy burden on the shutter speed and ISO performance of the camera. To be able to keep up with fast shutter speeds, you will find yourself pushing your camera’s ISO quite a bit if you don’t take advantage of image stabilization, which is why it is so important.

Binoculars & Scopes Binoculars Scopes Camera Bags & Cases Camera Bags Camera Bag Accessories Tripods & Heads Tripods Monopods, Minipods & clamps Tripod Heads & Accessories On my F4 (1988), autofocus, all metering modes and auto and manual exposure work perfectly, with f/5.6 being the only aperture setting. The maximum aperture is f/5.6, and the minimum aperture is f/32. The Nikon 200-500 f/5.6 is an E-type lens (Electromagnetic diaphragm mechanism). It provides better control on the aperture blade as compared to mechanical linkages. This feature is compatible with newer cameras; however, with older DSLR cameras, an aperture is fixed to f/5.6. Extra-low dispersion glass elements Even though only 9 sensors of my D810 are rated to work at f/8, it works fine when I select any of the D810 sensors manually —but the AF-Area Auto Select mode seems missing.While these are not the super lightweight fluorite elements we see on the latest high-end super telephotos, two out of the three elements on that front are extra-low dispersion lens elements, which help improve the overall sharpness and contrast of the lens by significantly reducing spherical aberration. Another ED element is placed in the middle part of the lens, which belongs to the group of elements that does not extend when the lens is zoomed in. I use a clear (UV) protective filter instead of a cap ( exactly like an iPhone) so I'm always ready to shoot instantly. I only use a cap when I throw this in a bag with other gear without padding — which is never. The UV filter never gets in the way, and never gets lost, either.

But if you know you'll be mainly be at the longer end, it'll likely make you happy. Also: Against the 200-400 and those expensive primes, the 200-500 is not going to be at that pro level for AF on moving targets.Additional handling notes from John Lawson: Full zoom from one end to the other requires almost 180 degrees of rotation on the zoom ring. That is too far to go without stopping and resetting your grip. And that is not what you want to be doing when trying to maintain correct framing on a fast approaching subject such as a bird in flight. The best technique then is to grip the front of the lens barrel and use it as a push-pull zoom. That works for the most part but it can sometimes be difficult to keep a good grip on the barrel, especially with gloves on. Points off for that oversight. NIKON D750 + 200-500mm f/5.6 @ 500mm, ISO 100, 1/1000, f/5.6 In short, in very low light scenarios the lens performance is average. But if you master it using the above-mentioned techniques, you can achieve stunning images. A range of focal lengths The all-metal Canon 100-400 focuses closer than any pro 70-200mm lens (just 2¾' or 0.84m), so it replaces all 70-200mm lenses as well.