Thanks Paul, beautiful images mate. I have just picked one of these up for my z7ii as it was now in my budget, 4 years later lol, but better late than never I guess.
You're so lucky living where you do mate. That buffalo shot is showing absolute classic heat haze, one disadvantage of the tropics I guess! Nice photos.
Paul Thomsen I also have the 500mm/4e FL. I will sell it too if the 500 pf works out. I am based in Arkansas. I shoot larger birds like blue herons, snowy egrets, eagles and elk/deer in the Fall. Though the 500/4e FL is handholdable for short durations I rely on my monopod a lot. The 500 pf should be more user friendly. I currently use the D850 but am looking hard at the Z6. I use the Z7 for mainly stills and landscapes.
Thank you Paul I have the Z7 and have the 70-200 f2.8 S plus 1.4 Z convertor and for African Wild Life I need something bigger so I am looking at this 500mm PF
I really wish Nikon would have made it as an F4 PF :\ For me there is something odd with the out of focus areas, I noticed this with my 300 PF comparing it to a 300 2.8.
The buffalo at 11.50 minutes ? maybe just the heatwaves at te distance , hot air distortion... further I like to as you how the new 3D tacking like functionality works now with te new firmware 3.0... Can it track birds in flight now better ??
Thank you for sharing your experience with the 500pf and the Z7 fantastic images great review. Taking into account the benefits of being able to crop the images from the Z7 I’m wondering if there would really be an advantage In using the Lens on a D500 would we not basically have a similar comparable image with a Z7 cropped v’s D500 image
Thank you for this, I have been going back and forth on this lens for a while now, currently shooting with D500's and the 300 pf which gives a field of view equivalent of 450 mm but with a one stop advantage which I find very handy in some places I shoot (think rain forest) and early / late day (mostly late!). I think if I moved to full frame this would be no brainer except for the cost! 750 mm equivalent FOV is also great for birds but not so much for large mammals, I used to shoot with a 500 f4.5 off a tripod that I humped along with me and found at times I was just "too close". For your set up it would be like shooting with the TC permanently fixed to the lens, how would you feel about that? And so my internal debate goes on, this has been very helpful and I appreciate you putting this together. Best wishes, and I hope you are not affected by all that stuff going on in the south. Dave.
Cheers for the comment Dave. I have had the TC on quite a bit but not so much lately.. although I've probably been shooting larger water birds more of late. I'd happily shoot with the TC on if the light allows and I'm not too concerned with subject isolation at f8.. and if the subjects are fairly stationary.. but thats with the Z7 which isn't as good AF for action.. but yeah the 300pf sounds ideal for crop sensor if you are finding 450mm equivalent good. But yeah it is a great portable lens if you could use the reach. We're fortunate in the tropical north with the bushfires thanks - we're not affected at all and its quite green here with the wet season storms doing their thing. But yeah really feeling for those down south.
I was in the exact same situation, D500 & 300PF. I inherited some money and, after watching this video, treated myself to a D850 and 500PF. Have just ordered the 1.4 teleconverter too. Now all I need is about 10 years experience and some more exotic subjects!
What camera were these shot with, looked like an FTZ converter on the lens? No BIF shots, curious how you go with them and a Z series camera. Oh, just able to read the Z7 if I maximise the UA-cam screen.
Hi mate I'm using the 1.4x TCEIII... but I'm not all that keen on the combination.. its ok.. but I'm too much of a pixel peeper and notice the slightly softer image :) The AF is a little slower also.. and F8 sucks
300 f4 pf is much better. Cheaper lighter better F stop and if you're using it on Z7 you going down to DX and get 450mm at f4 which is very close to 500 mm and if you add a teleconverter to that imagine what you can do on cheaper and better .
Z7 is fullframe so no DX crop unless you set it manually. 300 is better if you don't need the reach. You can say the same about crop factor and teleconverter on 500pf also and get around 1000mm
@@WILDFOTOPaulThomsen I am aware that Z7 is a full frame , I own one. All I was saying was that in order to reach close to 500 mm you set it manually to DX and get your job done and if you are really have to go even further than use a teleconverter but than you loose quality . Changing from FX to DX is only a few clicks away. Plus 300mm is lighter cheaper and has a better F stop.
@@andreiiasi ah sorry mate.. yep agreed you could do that and its a good option. I haven't used the 300pf but it sounds like a very nice lens. I shoot out of a boat a lot and the portability would probably be very useful.. easier to track birds in flight etc.
@@WILDFOTOPaulThomsen I haven't used a 300 f.4 pf yet but from what I have seen it seams like a very light lens to travel and since I am doing a lot of landscape as well as wedding photography it does make sense to me. Money and portability is very important to me so I will have to buy myself one though I wish it would be a version in S mount, that would be fantastic.
11:40 the spidery lines of your background are as strange as.. well.. decorative, it looks like a painting, somehow. Maybe with some color grading you might even make a work of art with it.
@@WILDFOTOPaulThomsen I think the lines are from two things: the subject is closer to the background seen so the background won't be smooth. Secondly, the heat haze is definitely impacting the image. I would expect the 200-500mm f5.6 to have this as well in that scene (non-pf) and the 500mm f4 would still likely suffer a bit.
The 200/500 is a piece of rubbish,no comparison to this lense,none.Price,find a comparable lense of this quality for less,ya find it let me know.Use this with a d850,non finer.
David Dowling I’m considering the 200-500. I just bought a D500 and have seen phenomenal shots with the lens. The 500pf may be better but saying the 200-500 is rubbish seems unfair. Can you clarify why you feel that way before I buy it.
Utter claptrap. I've got both the 200-500 and the 500 pf and the latter is 15% better in terms of IQ and 50% better for AF. The zoom is still a damned good lens but won't ever match a prime as you would expect. For £1200 the 200-500 is excellent value, 1000s of owners can't be wrong.
Thanks Paul, beautiful images mate. I have just picked one of these up for my z7ii as it was now in my budget, 4 years later lol, but better late than never I guess.
Got the same setup (z7+500mm prime) & I love it. Just don't have the wonderful variety of wildlife that you've shown here. Great job!
You're so lucky living where you do mate. That buffalo shot is showing absolute classic heat haze, one disadvantage of the tropics I guess! Nice photos.
Thanks mate - well done, a good and honest vid -good images and a great review
Beautiful images. Thank you for sharing your opinion on this lens. I have ordered mine. Will pair with my Z 7 II.
Nice job. I love my 500mm pf.
Sold my 300mm/4 pf and will take delivery on the 500 Monday of next week. Only a 4 month wait so I consider myself fortunate. Nice shots btw.
Thanks Gary would love to hear how you go with it - where are you based and what will you be shooting with it?
Paul Thomsen I also have the 500mm/4e FL. I will sell it too if the 500 pf works out. I am based in Arkansas. I shoot larger birds like blue herons, snowy egrets, eagles and elk/deer in the Fall. Though the 500/4e FL is handholdable for short durations I rely on my monopod a lot. The 500 pf should be more user friendly. I currently use the D850 but am looking hard at the Z6. I use the Z7 for mainly stills and landscapes.
Really useful to make a decision! Ty! =)
cheers mate I waffled on a lot but hopefully it was helpful :)
Thank you Paul
I have the Z7 and have the 70-200 f2.8 S plus 1.4 Z convertor and for African Wild Life I need something bigger so I am looking at this 500mm PF
Hi Paul, haven't read comments, but I'm pretty sure that's heat defraction thats causing the out of focus. with the buffalo
.
Great video! Look forward to seeing more 👍
thanks mate stay posted :)
If canon made a lens like this i’d buy it immediately
They do
@@ShashankD137 you mean the 400mm f5.6 without weathersealing and ”ok” sharpness?
@@JonasKnutson91 umm yes 🙈
Very helpful, thank you!
The price is a con ? Actually the price is a pro - If there's another major brand 500mm prime lens for less, please let us know.
I am from Nepal. I love wildlife photography but i haven't any camera..
I really wish Nikon would have made it as an F4 PF :\
For me there is something odd with the out of focus areas, I noticed this with my 300 PF comparing it to a 300 2.8.
If it were f4 it would cost over $10k US.
Excellent.
The buffalo at 11.50 minutes ? maybe just the heatwaves at te distance , hot air distortion... further I like to as you how the new 3D tacking like functionality works now with te new firmware 3.0...
Can it track birds in flight now better ??
Hi Ka yeah it might just be that agreed... have done firmware update and will test this w/e stay tuned! :)
Thank you for sharing your experience with the 500pf and the Z7 fantastic images great review.
Taking into account the benefits of being able to crop the images from the Z7 I’m wondering if there would really be an advantage
In using the Lens on a D500 would we not basically have a similar comparable image with a Z7 cropped v’s D500 image
Less pixels with the D500.
man the Umm counter is awesome ... can you do a review of it sometime.... umm and where can i buy one ?
Ummm lol
Thank you for this, I have been going back and forth on this lens for a while now, currently shooting with D500's and the 300 pf which gives a field of view equivalent of 450 mm but with a one stop advantage which I find very handy in some places I shoot (think rain forest) and early / late day (mostly late!). I think if I moved to full frame this would be no brainer except for the cost! 750 mm equivalent FOV is also great for birds but not so much for large mammals, I used to shoot with a 500 f4.5 off a tripod that I humped along with me and found at times I was just "too close". For your set up it would be like shooting with the TC permanently fixed to the lens, how would you feel about that? And so my internal debate goes on, this has been very helpful and I appreciate you putting this together. Best wishes, and I hope you are not affected by all that stuff going on in the south. Dave.
Cheers for the comment Dave. I have had the TC on quite a bit but not so much lately.. although I've probably been shooting larger water birds more of late. I'd happily shoot with the TC on if the light allows and I'm not too concerned with subject isolation at f8.. and if the subjects are fairly stationary.. but thats with the Z7 which isn't as good AF for action.. but yeah the 300pf sounds ideal for crop sensor if you are finding 450mm equivalent good. But yeah it is a great portable lens if you could use the reach. We're fortunate in the tropical north with the bushfires thanks - we're not affected at all and its quite green here with the wet season storms doing their thing. But yeah really feeling for those down south.
I was in the exact same situation, D500 & 300PF. I inherited some money and, after watching this video, treated myself to a D850 and 500PF. Have just ordered the 1.4 teleconverter too. Now all I need is about 10 years experience and some more exotic subjects!
Good review! I got a kick out of your comment on your wife’s unwillingness to pose with the croc. LOL
Robert King hehe yeah she was quite adamant! :). Are you considering the 500pf?
Good day mate... Regard from indonesia
Great Video. Do you know which lense is faster in autofocus, 500 f4 AF-S G ED VR or the 500 pf?
500 f4
Very good video. I've got a 500 pf on order to replace my 200-500. Any chance of a review on the Z7.
good idea! I should do that
What camera were these shot with, looked like an FTZ converter on the lens? No BIF shots, curious how you go with them and a Z series camera. Oh, just able to read the Z7 if I maximise the UA-cam screen.
Which teleconvertor is good for 500mm pf
Hi mate I'm using the 1.4x TCEIII... but I'm not all that keen on the combination.. its ok.. but I'm too much of a pixel peeper and notice the slightly softer image :) The AF is a little slower also.. and F8 sucks
300 f4 pf is much better. Cheaper lighter better F stop and if you're using it on Z7 you going down to DX and get 450mm at f4 which is very close to 500 mm and if you add a teleconverter to that imagine what you can do on cheaper and better .
Z7 is fullframe so no DX crop unless you set it manually. 300 is better if you don't need the reach. You can say the same about crop factor and teleconverter on 500pf also and get around 1000mm
@@WILDFOTOPaulThomsen I am aware that Z7 is a full frame , I own one. All I was saying was that in order to reach close to 500 mm you set it manually to DX and get your job done and if you are really have to go even further than use a teleconverter but than you loose quality . Changing from FX to DX is only a few clicks away. Plus 300mm is lighter cheaper and has a better F stop.
@@andreiiasi ah sorry mate.. yep agreed you could do that and its a good option. I haven't used the 300pf but it sounds like a very nice lens. I shoot out of a boat a lot and the portability would probably be very useful.. easier to track birds in flight etc.
@@WILDFOTOPaulThomsen I haven't used a 300 f.4 pf yet but from what I have seen it seams like a very light lens to travel and since I am doing a lot of landscape as well as wedding photography it does make sense to me. Money and portability is very important to me so I will have to buy myself one though I wish it would be a version in S mount, that would be fantastic.
11:40 the spidery lines of your background are as strange as.. well.. decorative, it looks like a painting, somehow. Maybe with some color grading you might even make a work of art with it.
hehe yep it does look kinda cool
@@WILDFOTOPaulThomsen I think the lines are from two things: the subject is closer to the background seen so the background won't be smooth. Secondly, the heat haze is definitely impacting the image. I would expect the 200-500mm f5.6 to have this as well in that scene (non-pf) and the 500mm f4 would still likely suffer a bit.
Lived in Oz all my life and never seen any of these critters. Magpies, crows and cows are all see, I must have the wrong address.
Hehe you need to come up to Darwin! Wildlife galore :) The wetlands of the NT are really nice.
One problem £1,500 over priced
I tend to agree...
The 200/500 is a piece of rubbish,no comparison to this lense,none.Price,find a comparable lense of this quality for less,ya find it let me know.Use this with a d850,non finer.
David Dowling I’m considering the 200-500. I just bought a D500 and have seen phenomenal shots with the lens. The 500pf may be better but saying the 200-500 is rubbish seems unfair. Can you clarify why you feel that way before I buy it.
Bill Kincaid It’s not a piece of rubbish at all.
@@MrHitthespot The 200-500 is not a bad lens at all, but the 500 PF blows it away. Trust me. I have both.
Utter claptrap. I've got both the 200-500 and the 500 pf and the latter is 15% better in terms of IQ and 50% better for AF. The zoom is still a damned good lens but won't ever match a prime as you would expect. For £1200 the 200-500 is excellent value, 1000s of owners can't be wrong.
a bad workman always blames his tools, the 200-500 I have produces sharp photos!!