Impressions from renting a 200-500 F5.6E ED VR

[NikonMan09]

For the lunar eclipse of last Sunday, I rented for five days a Nikon 200-500 F5.6E ED VR lens. I never had much interest in purchasing this lens in the past, because I wouldn't be using it frequently for my peculiar interests, and testimonies of slow AF also turned me off. More recently, the fact that a new Z 200-600 lens is on the Z roadmap also discourages interest. But I wanted more magnification for the lunar eclipse, therefore I rented the lens from Lens Rentals.

Overall, my experience with the lens was very positive. For the eclipse, I used it with a Zfc + FTZII, zooming out to 500mm and manually focusing. Last Monday, I took my D7500 and the lens for wildlife photography at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, which is close to where I live. Overall, I felt the image quality of the lens outstanding and consistent, more so as demonstrated with the wildlife photography, and I found the AF only subtly slower that that of my 80-400 G and 70-300 FX AFP. VR was also outstanding.

Shown below are some snaps using the lens. Some of these images were processed in NX Studio to provide subtle exposure adjustments.

Really ugly bird at 500mm!

Finally, this is the lucky shot of the Safari Park visit. The tiger was briefly standing up before rolling to another side to continue his or her nap. I just fired the shot when I could, and the eyes came out sharp despite not being in the AF sensors (I was using group mode).

While the lens may not be an "N" or "S" specification, I felt for its capability and price point, it was an engineering tour-de-force, and definitely felt robust. I shot it only at F5.6, and, once again, the image quality was outstanding. If one would frequently employ its capabilities and one is not on the fence because of the evolution of Nikon mirrorless, this lens is a must-buy.

--
Fred
Shot Minolta SLR/DSLR and Sony DSLR 1978-2008. Switched to Nikon in 2009.

 

[Graxxor Anandro Vidhelssen]

For me, the 200-500 is one of those rare beasts where nobody at all complains that it is overpriced.

The only criticism I can level at it is the double twist required to zoom from 200 to 500 slows me down when I’m shooting sports.

besides that, it’s an absolute gem for the price.

 

[airtonps]

Thanks for sharing your experience with it! I plan to buy one used this month and all the opinions here are that it gives outstanding results.

Did you crop your moon photo or is it the full image from the camera?

 

[NikonMan09]

Thanks for sharing your experience with it! I plan to buy one used this month and all the opinions here are that it gives outstanding results.

Did you crop your moon photo or is it the full image from the camera?

Full image from camera.

Cheers,

 

[GarysInSoCal]

For me, the 200-500 is one of those rare beasts where nobody at all complains that it is overpriced... it’s an absolute gem for the price.

Totally agree... I'll never sell mine... bought it for $1100 at the camera swapmeet a few years back... no regrets!




200-500... open shade... White Park in Riverside CA.

 

[Michael Benveniste]

Thanks for sharing your experience with it! I plan to buy one used this month and all the opinions here are that it gives outstanding results.

Enjoy!

Did you crop your moon photo or is it the full image from the camera?

Photographing the moon is one of the first things I tried with my 200-500mm, but it was overcast for the eclipse. (This was on an m43 adapter):







--
Light travels at 2.13085531 × 10^14 smoots per fortnight. Catch some today!

 

[Craftsman70]

For me, the 200-500 is one of those rare beasts where nobody at all complains that it is overpriced.

The only criticism I can level at it is the double twist required to zoom from 200 to 500 slows me down when I’m shooting sports.

besides that, it’s an absolute gem for the price.

Don't forget the weight as it's a beast for most people.

 

[Craftsman70]

For me, the 200-500 is one of those rare beasts where nobody at all complains that it is overpriced... it’s an absolute gem for the price.

Totally agree... I'll never sell mine... bought it for $1100 at the camera swapmeet a few years back... no regrets!


200-500... open shade... White Park in Riverside CA.

With shots and models like this, why would anyone have any regrets other than maybe not having enough time in the day to use the lens!

 

[GarysInSoCal]

Totally agree... I'll never sell mine... bought it for $1100 at the camera swapmeet a few years back... no regrets!


200-500... open shade... White Park in Riverside CA.

With shots and models like this, why would anyone have any regrets other than maybe not having enough time in the day to use the lens!

LOL... while pulling out the 200-500, a model asked me... 'Should I be standing way over there in the next city'?...




It's Becca the train stopper!

 

[Graxxor Anandro Vidhelssen]

For me, the 200-500 is one of those rare beasts where nobody at all complains that it is overpriced.

The only criticism I can level at it is the double twist required to zoom from 200 to 500 slows me down when I’m shooting sports.

besides that, it’s an absolute gem for the price.

Don't forget the weight as it's a beast for most people.

It’s a 500mm full frame ZOOM lens.

It’s not a 1 Nikkor LOL

/shrug/