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Nikon AF-S Nikkor 200-500mm F5.6E ED VR - possibly the next modern masterpiece.

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sunmouse

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My first impressions of the lens were that it wasn't as heavy as I thought it would be and it felt extremely well made. I was very pleased that it came with a tripod collar - not always the case. The lens is well balanced and comfortable to use but has a tendency to feel slightly front heavy on my D810 and D800 but once the MD12 grip is fitted it is much better balanced.

Modern digital cameras have such good high ISO capability that the maximum 5.6 aperture is not an issue for me. The VR is so good I have been to hand hold the lens at shutter speeds well below 1/500 at 500mm. Sharpness looks to be very consistent throughout the range of apertures and zoom lengths. In fact, this lens is much sharper than I had expected for the price. The autofocus is fast, sharp and accurate, slowing only slightly when light levels fall significantly. The close focus is acceptable - after all this isn't a macro lens. I have not experienced any focus breathing and even hand held the lens stays put at the zoom and focus I set. So what's it good for? My main reason is for photographing Birds of Prey and wildfowl plus a bit of sport but the possibilities are far wider than those. I'm now itching to use it for motor sport.

I purchased the lens to replace my Sigma 150-500mm as I was not always happy with its focus performance - did I do the right thing - you bet, this lens outshines the Sigma in every way. Also it is a natural progression to my usual set of "go-to" zooms, 14-24mm, 24-70mm, 70-200mm and now 200-500mm. Would I recommend this lens? Emphatically yes!
 
How low light did you get to so that it affected autofocus? I was at iso 3200 regularly (f/5.6) and it was excellent.
 
Few would argue the now 8 year old 14-24 and first version 24-70 were Nikon modern masterpieces, opening up f2.8 wide zoom range possibilities.

The 200-500 is extremely good for the money, including Nikon's best VR specification yet, opened up 500mm in Nikon at an "affordable" price.

Not particularly nit-picking but maybe to keep the price low it does not have nano, a "top of the range" hood fitting, a second tripod thread on the long tripod foot or a pouch the equal of the ones for the 70-200 f2.8 and 80-400 G.

Whether it is a modern masterpiece is second to it is the first lens from Nikon/Canon with this focal length range - and at a very low price point.

Whether Nikon make something like a relatively lightweight 200-500 f4 to replace the 200-400 f4 is for the future. For me this really would be a modern masterpiece :)

--
Leonard Shepherd
Often good photography is about being in the right place at the right time with the right kit and especially with the right experience.
You can buy kit. The rest is mainly down to you.
 
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Great review - thanks for the info! I am saving for this one, my next purchase. Can't wait!

Mike
 
I got this lens about 10 days ago. Got it back after dark so first shots were a test pattern in the basement.

Looking through the viewfinder and hand holding this lens at 500mm produced an image about as shaky as you would expect given the age of the hands holding it. Once I turned on the VR, the shaky image became a jumpy image. I believe what was happening is that the VR held the image still until it reached the end of its range of motion, at which point it jumped to a new position. I have not seen similar behaviour with my 70-200 VR, but it's possible that the longer focal length magnified the action to the point where I could see it more easily.

Tried the lens at a concert. From the back of the hall (stage was an estimated 50-60 meters away) a photo of the chorus was clear enough to read the writing on one of the guys' tie. Hand held. 1/125 second, 500mm, f/5.6, ISO 8000. D4 autofocus had no problem. In this venue the VR did a great job.

Have not had an opportunity to use this lens further yet, but I have a shoot coming up at the end of the coming week. From what I've seen so far, this is a really good lens for the price.
 
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I spent a couple hours with this lens today at Maryland's Patuxent Wildlife Refuge. I very much enjoyed using this lens and the weight was not an issue for me. Here's my favorite pic of the day, cropped and processed in PS CS6.

1b1940c82f684e8d84bd10548b5b9292.jpg



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Michael Mangold

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Rented one to try out recently and i can say that it's really sharp (see photo and look at the details of the subject in focus at 500mm f/5.6)!!! Definitely worth buying...

10fcdc68f2c84f33b625fa3b571b8a0d.jpg
 
Leonard Shepherd said:
Few would argue the now 8 year old 14-24 and first version 24-70 were Nikon modern masterpieces, opening up f2.8 wide zoom range possibilities.

The 200-500 is extremely good for the money, including Nikon's best VR specification yet, opened up 500mm in Nikon at an "affordable" price.

Not particularly nit-picking but maybe to keep the price low it does not have nano, a "top of the range" hood fitting, a second tripod thread on the long tripod foot or a pouch the equal of the ones for the 70-200 f2.8 and 80-400 G.

Whether it is a modern masterpiece is second to it is the first lens from Nikon/Canon with this focal length range - and at a very low price point.

Whether Nikon make something like a relatively lightweight 200-500 f4 to replace the 200-400 f4 is for the future. For me this really would be a modern masterpiece :)
Click to expand...
 
I have to admit I was pretty skeptical about this lens for a long time, but very much surprised on how well it does after trying both and finally giving up on Sigma and Tamron for the extra 100MM, I did manage quite a few nice shots with both of them, but the Nikon AF is much more consistent, and much better at tracking.. I saw quite a few photos that seemed pretty soft taken with it but just as many tack sharp.. whether that was the photographer or the copy I cant say, but my copy appears to be very nice.. not sure you can say its a masterpiece compared to the long primes, but definitely a masterpiece when you compare cost to performance..

Soon we will see how it compares to the 500MM PF, the PF better be 3 grand better at something :) weight alone may not be enough to make that a gotta have, even though I do want one already :)
 
I wholeheartedly agree with your review, and love mine, truly a good value. It has been on my D500 since purchase, and only removed to take off the tripod collar and foot (see below) for hand-holding.

However, and another poster mentioned this: much like the Sigma Contemporary and Sports super teles, I would like to see Nikon offer a higher end version of this lens, incorporating some features I (and others) would like to see (or modified), including:

-A zoom lock at 500mm,

-A more robust lens hood with a small sliding door that allows one to turn a CPL ring without having to reach into that deep hood,

-A better-designed 2-piece tripod collar with (detachable from collar) arca-swiss compatible foot and two plate mounting holes (like the RRS setup). Want to be able to remove the foot and leave the collar on the lens (also helps with packing),

-Tweaks to the A/F system and maybe? Nano coating or something to help bump contrast for long tele landscape shots.

Optics are otherwise fine, as is the exceptional VR.

Call it the N version, and offer it at $500 more than the current model and there will be takers, including me.

--
http://jamesmbailey.com
My tests are different than yours
 
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historianx said:
I wholeheartedly agree with your review, and love mine, truly a good value. It has been on my D500 since purchase, and only removed to take off the tripod collar and foot (see below) for hand-holding.

However, and another poster mentioned this: much like the Sigma Contemporary and Sports super teles, I would like to see Nikon offer a higher end version of this lens, incorporating some features I (and others) would like to see (or modified), including:

-A zoom lock at 500mm,

-A more robust lens hood with a small sliding door that allows one to turn a CPL ring without having to reach into that deep hood,

-A better-designed 2-piece tripod collar with (detachable from collar) arca-swiss compatible foot and two plate mounting holes (like the RRS setup). Want to be able to remove the foot and leave the collar on the lens (also helps with packing),

-Tweaks to the A/F system and maybe? Nano coating or something to help bump contrast for long tele landscape shots.

Optics are otherwise fine, as is the exceptional VR.

Call it the N version, and offer it at $500 more than the current model and there will be takers, including me.
Click to expand...
How about a 200-500PF? It wouldn't fit into your $500 envelope of course, but could be pretty interesting.

Hmmm maybe a 300-600 f/5.6 PF come to think of it, assuming Nikon can figure out a way to utilize PF lens elements on zooms...
 
Not replying to you, but seeing this is a 3+ year old zombie thread now back from the dead .......................

OP drops in right around 200-500 release date and puts up one review and makes one other post about how good the 200-500 is. No posts before; no posts in three + years since.

Yet I've been told there are no shills on here.
 
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