Oh! Such a nice review Tony! I just picked up the 200-500 and I'm encouraged by the shots you took with the Z6. I plan to use that combo for many of my venomous insect video sequences. Always a coffee break well spent watching your videos and always even better when I have my buying decisions reinforced. Happy New Year to both of you!
D500 with the 200-500 is just awesome. The VR is insane. I often shoot at f8 and then sharpnes is quite good. The zoom makes it even good for landscape details.
As a Disney Vacation Club member, I've been attempting to figure out where everyone stayed at the Z6 event. Now I'm pretty sure it must have been the Four Seasons. We've never stayed there but it looks nice. On the subject of your video. I'm not surprised about the 200-500 having better VR. Before I ordered mine I made a photo with a friend's at 500mm & 1/60s, I was amazed when it was sharp. I placed my order that night. I also own a 500 F/4G. The 200-500's superior minimum focus distance keeps me coming back to it. Like you did in this video, I use the 200-500 for butterfly photos. It does even better with a 1.4x TC attached! I would seriously consider the new 500 if it had a better minimum focus distance. I love its tiny size and weight. Nice video as usual.
Thanks for the quick review! I noticed the same thing with the VR at 1/100. These PF lenses have very flaky VR; the 300PF doesn't work well, either, at slower speeds. A lot of people gloss over this, but it's a real issue if you're not always shooting at 1/1000 or something. A little trick I found is to shoot in Qc mode with the EFCS enabled. This works wonders, and I can get great sharpness at low SS. However, I'm not sure if any Nikons besides the D850 can do this. I was disappointed with this lens, but can live with it now that I found this workaround. I still believe Nikon needs to do something to fix the VR on these PF lenses, but maybe it's just not possible. The downside with Qc is we're limited to 3 fps, but if I'm shooting at 1/100, it's because the light sucks, so I don't need blazing speed anyway. Just my 2 cents. Take care!
I did an extensive test and also found that VR degrades image quality significantly with VR in normal mode. However switching the VR to sport mode gave me very sharp shots in virtually all shooting scenarios. If the VR was in normal mode in your test where it performed worse than the 200-500, it is very possible that in Sport mode you would have gotten better results that are more comparable to the 200-500 at slower shutter speeds. It’s counter intuitive for sure but I was able to repeat this over and over and it was true regardless of shutter speed.
Finally managed to get my hands on the 500mm PF and can't wait to compare it to my 200-500mm... already love the 3lbs + weight savings! Will dive in more later, but just posted a quick first impressions video over on my little channel... :)
Good stuff, thank you for the side-by-side comparo. I'm currently using a D500 with the 200-500 Nikon lens. I'd love to have the 500 prime but I can't justify the incremental improvement in image quality for the dollars spent. I'm still blown away at some of the images that come from my plebeian rig.
I've been birding with an old Sigma 400mm f5.6 FD mount lens adapted to my Olympus OMD EM-10mkii the last couple of weeks. Picked it up for $125 in mint condition, and with my Olympus body it's effectively an 800mm stabilized lens.
I have the 200-500mm lens and I would rather have it. One main reason is that at 500mm you only have so much width in your field of vision. Trying to find that bird in a tree or in flight when the lens is at 500 mm is tough. I prefer to keep it somewhere between 200-300mm because it's easier to find that moving subject and then I zoom in. If I have to find that moving subject when I'm locked at 500mm, it's like searching though a straw. Much easier to stay wider, then zoom in once I have the subject. I may even take a few shots as I'm zooming in incase I lose lock on the subject or it flys off before I get to 500mm and am able to take the good shot that I want to take.
Tony. Im just seeing this video. You were at Championsgate just south of Orlando. What a great place for wildlife photography. The last time I was there in 2018 I toured the back areas of the golf course by the head of grounds for the resort. Deep in the wetlands area. Gators, roseate spoonbills, all kinds of cool wildlife. If you ever go back you guys should do that.. It was so worth it. Keep up the good work. Love your channel!
The problem with the 200-500 is that the weather sealing is lacking. That's the only reason I still own a 150-600 G2 of Tamron. I don't feel like I can use the 200-500 in a rain forest.
Several reviewers have commented on the 500mm f/5.6E PF having difficulty with VR at slow shutter speeds. I routinely shoot at 1/100 with the 200-500 (a necessity when shooting wildlife with an f/5.6 lens) and have gone as slow as 1/30 with good results. The PF looks every bit an excellent lens but the VR is a bit concerning. Hopefully, like the 300/4 PF, a firmware update will address this. Personally, if I'm going to pay $3,600 for a wildlife lens, I'd rather pay a bit more for a quality used 500/4. The biggest limitation of the 200-500 isn't sharpness or even AF; it's the f/5.6 aperture.
a 500 EDII D is cheaper used than the 500PF from what I have seen, agree 1 stop is the difference between good & great shots..at least here where light is not good alot of the year
Every PF lens I've tried (both 300 and 500) has had issues at slow shutter speeds, unfortunately. All the 300PFs I tried were later models that already had Nikon's "fix" applied. Still no luck. A D850 can shoot in Qc mode with the EFCS enabled, and this has worked wonders for me. Unfortunately, I don't think many (if any) other Nikons have this feature.
One important thing to note about the 200-500 5.6 is the lack of consistency in performance/sharpness. My 200-500 5.6 is very sharp at 500mm, however my partner's 200-500mm was soft throughout the focal range. When you purchase the 200-500 5.6 lens, it is important to test the sharpness before taking it out into the field. In regards to the 500mm PF, it is better built, faster at focus acquisition, and easier to handhold than the 200-500 5.6, however at $3500, what you are paying for is weight reduction and portability. Although 5.6 is disappointing at this price-point, what you gain is a very easy to maneuver lens where weight and focus acquisition do not restrict you from capturing a great moment.
@@mikedixonphoto Nope, there was no need to perform an 'AF Fine Tune' on my 200-500mm 5.6. I like to do some initial tests, just shooting stationary subjects in decent light to check for obvious signs of front or back focus. The only time I 'AF Fine Tune' initially is when I am pairing a lens to a Teleconverter.
I should point out that 'AF Fine Tune' addresses 'lack of sharpness' when the root is due to Lens/Body combination either Front or Back focusing. Anything more extreme than that is probably best for a service center.
You are missing one more thing on your list of gains... you are also getting a significantly sharper lens. I own the PF, 200-500VR and 200-400VR. I have shot all three at maximum focal length w/ the 200-400VR stopped down to f/5.6. The 500PF was noticeably sharper in the center when shooting subjects at 20m and near 40 meters. What you lose is the flexibility of a zoom... this can be a deal breaker in wildlife photography, but I have chosen net sharpness and contrast over flexibility. The 500PF is as sharp... if not sharper than the 500mm f/4G, and this is not an insignificant feat.
In my real world experience, my 7dm2 w/ sigma 150-600mm 5-6.3 contemporary lens does an amazing job and only missed focus due to operator error. I am having amazing results and the more I practice, the less I miss focus, especially with wildlife/farm animals/pets in motion. I am also amazed at how tight I can crop without the 'noise' factor being a problem.
Sigma 150-600C user here too. I like that the Sigma (afaik) is customisable, hence you can eliminate possible mis-focus issues, and the C version has better glass (coatings etc). Not hating on Nikon, but Sigma and Tamron are really good competitors, and if you're not a pro (or highly experienced), you probably won't see a huge difference. Just a beginner's opinion though. You also save $$ with the Sigma C while only losing 1/3 stop light and gaining an extra 100mm
Bought the Tamron 150-600. Used it for a month in Africa. I some amazing tack sharp photos at 600. Some shots were darker than I would like, my bad settings. but were fixed and looked very good in PS. Reading all the good reviews about the Nikon 200-500 I bought it. I Used and tested it for another month. Compared the 2 lenses and photos and realized for me the Tamron was the better choice.
You must have a good copy of the Tamron and a less than perfect copy of the Nikon. For me it was the other way round and I parted ways with my Tamron. It frequently locked up, totally refusing to focus, when confronted with a perfect photo opportunity. Only answer was to turn camera off; then on again. Too many potentially great shots lost. Now i stick to Nikon on Nikon...
@@derekmidgley I tried a friend's 150-600mm G1 recently and was dismayed to see it was as soft as my poor old Sigma 150-500mm. I guess there's a lot of copy variation, especially in these third party zooms, and they perform abysmally on APS-C.
Derek Midgley Got some similar result as yours. I got a 70-200 G2 and the focus is always inaccurate when shooting a moving person, but tack sharp when the person is stationary. Same issue with my friend’s 24-70 G2. Tamron might be making good glass these days but they really need to get a grip on their quality control. If you are shooting sports, just stick with Nikon for reliability. You get what you paid for.
The D500 and the 200-500mm lens are what I want for wildlife. At the moment I am on Canon, as I don't really make any money from what I do and that is just what I have. I had the 400mm F5.6 for a little while, and the lack of IS was a real problem. If I was out shooting in the golden hour, as it got closer to dusk I had to kick up ISO too much to get usable images. I ended up selling it off and getting the 100-400mm IS II, simply because it has IS. If I only ever shot in the middle of the day it would have been fine, but where I live I am more likely to go out looking for deer late in the day, or squirrels that like to hide in the shade. It would be a really good idea for Canon to add IS to the 400mm, but that would only increase the price, and likely wouldn't be much less than the 100-400mm IS II, which is already a pretty good lens anyway. Nice to see that Nikon stabilized that 500mm. For the price though, I think I would go with the zoom instead.
Don't forget about the Nikon 300 f4! I planned on buying the 200-500 last year and ended up going with the 300mm. A couple hundred bucks more got me a much more compact and lightweight lens which produced sharper photos when comparing the two in-store (using a d850, tripod, etc). I'd be interested to see how the 500 f5.6 and 300 f4 compare in low light...might convince me to trade up.
I wish Canon had a lens like that, but I have the 100-400 mkII and unless they could get a similar magnification (0.36x IIRC) it would be a deal breaker for me. I've heard that the Sigma 500mm f4 was excellent but of course AF can always be an issue with 3rd party...
Tony & Chelsea Northrup Thank you for all the videos, I learn a lot from you!!! You guys are the first to put up a real new camera review, different from others, and after that everybody start repeating the same things you guys said. Thank again!!!
"A GAME CHANGER" Way WAY smaller and lighter and crazy sharp! Weather sealed? I hope. Having more megapixels might finally pay off with that lens to some extent. So far for me, the ISO grain, not perfect lighting & atmosphere have been huge determining factors for IQ. Almost never is pixel density and only sometimes, lens sharpness quality, a factor for my wildlife work.
Sigma and Tamron acually have access to the sony E mount system which is something that gets overlooked a lot, they practically have the same possibilities as sony themselves, now there are not many tamron or sigma lenses for that system yet and maybe it is not such an advantage after all (or they just wont put as much energy as sony themselves) but that they dont have access is not true for all brands
Good review! For the budget conscious, the Nikon 200-500mm (f/5.6) is pretty awesome to work with. The Tamron G2 150-600mm (f/5.6) is also a great alternative, handles really great and the focussing is spot on.
I have both as well, and while the G2 tamron performs admirably, and probably faster at AF acquisition - it produces images with rather harsh bokeh, compared to the 200-500 nikkor
I use the Sigma 150-600 and for the price i got it (£550) I'd say it's a steal at almost 3x cheaper than the 200-500, while producing very similar results. The only major issue with it is that it can hunt quite badly if you go from the wide end straight to the long end.
Will Herondale i have a couple of sigma lenses, even the “Art” series, and they are super unreliable. Even the venerable 18-35 mm. You can never trust it to focus properly from time to time. And also, as stated here elsewhere, a zoom with a factor 10 is very unlikely to produce as good results as another one at a much lower factor 2.5... and remember sharpness is not all... contrast and bokeh are also factors, as well as effective T-stop.
The Canon 400mm f/5.6 is an absolutely amazing lens, despite its slightly shorter focal length and age (although I do have it so I may be a bit biased. It's tack sharp and the fringing control is stunning. Having said that, I'm not knocking the Nikon 500mm/200-500 but I really don't think it's fair to say what you say about the Canon. Still a great video Tony!!! Keep it up!
@@TonyAndChelsea Sorry, I think I phrased that badly: you dismissed the 400mm f/5.6 off hand saying it was "old" and didn't have IS hence implying it wasn't competition for these lenses however I disagree, I think in terms of IQ it's definitely comparable and the IS doesn't make much difference...
@@edgaut9808 I had the Canon 400mm F5.6 for a little while, and while I did get some good images with it, the lack of IS became a real problem for me. I was shooting deer with it late in the day, and the narrow aperture didn't give me a lot of options for ISO/shutter combos. I ended up selling it for the 100-400mm IS II jsut for the IS, and now I have better images thanks to lower ISO/shutter settings. If I only shot in good light I wouldn't have had any issue, but deer don't like to just stand out in the open. Canon really ought to update the 400mm though, with the latest optics and engineering, lens coatings, weather sealing, and if possible IS. I fear that would only make it more expensive though, like 1700-1800, and that isn't a lot less than the 100-400mm. So it would have to be tack sharp and nail focus like it sold its soul to the devil to do it, and to be honest I think Canon can pull that off, but I think they have higher priorities right now.
@@TonyAndChelsea released May 1993 and still in production! I use it and I am happy with it, but i would love a 500 or 600 version. I cant afford the thousands needed for the next step up! bet you have viewers that are younger than this lens!
@@kevindiaz3459 Yeah a new version of the 400 f/5.6 with IS would be great but as you say, the likely price increase would, I think, mean it would loose its unique place in the market (tack sharp, above 300mm, Canon EF mount, not aftermarket, ~£1000)
I enjoy there’s comparisons of lenses between the same camera mounts much more than say a Canon vs Nikon. Those always feel like people are gunning for both sides. This feels a lot more like we are being informed on the best choice for our current mount. Thank you, and great video!
Want too get back too bird photography Nikon has tempted me more with the newer sized primes….what would be a good body to attach too the newer 500 or /600 5.6? Prime? I don’t think I want too spend that plus the z8?
For Safari in Africa, you need to zoom out often. So 200mm would be helpful. The big animals are often very close to the road in my experience. For birding more the better holds to almost always.
With the 10 O-ring seals and metal body, pretty good sharpness and contrast the Tamron G2 was my choice. I am out on water a lot splashing around so the Nikon 200-500 was not perhaps a better choice for me,,,,, but I would give it all up for this 500.
You need to go bioluminescence kayaking with a day away kayak tours! It's the coolest place ever for wildlife! Go next Fall. October is the perfect time!
Tony, were you aware that when shooting this lens with a lens adapter on the Z6/7 that the lens VR mechanism runs continuously. The resulting noise is annoying and the drain on the battery on mechanism life is concerning. Such does not occur on a DSLR. Should VR just be turned off and depend on IBIS when using Z-bodies?
@@guyjordan8201 It's not a bad idea to compare , If you use D850 and crop to 600mm then it becomes 1.2 crop factor and approximately 36mp, Still full frame will have the advantage of 2 stops and higher megapixel image if you use D500 the lens will be equivalent to approximately 750mm f8.4 even in that case Nikon will do better. Both lenses close in weight only then it all comes to what system you are currently using....
Aw I was hoping to get your opinion on Phase Fresnel (PF) type lenses and where else we might see that implemented in the future. Great video regardless!
I hear the 200-500 is better paired with the D500. I assumed that was because of the crop factor. Would there be any reason 'not' to use the 200-500 with a D850?
I love my 80-400mm Nikkor G Lens. It's amazingly fast focus and covers such a good focal length (I'm on D7500 APS-C). It's just too heavy - the biggest reason I didn't go for the 200-500mm. I like motorsport photography, and walking around all day with the 80-400 is a pain. I might get the 300mm f/5.6 as a result. Or a 70-200 f/4.
Scotracer1987 I use a monopod for all long lens. Especially for sports you dont want to be hand holding a lens for hours on end. I usually use a 400/2.8 or 600/4.0 for sports. Say a football game might be 3-4 hour shoot, im really not carrying them all the time. These big lens are on a monopod and it makes a huge difference. Even shooting a 300/4.0, the monopod gives you so many benefits. I would recommend one of the heavy duty carbon fiber Gitzo's. They are expensive but are very solid with no flex. I use the GM4562, its very compact but holds up to 66 lbs. The older version GM5561 can be found used, it holds 55 lbs. More than enough for your rig.
Keeping my money in my pocket for a year or two till the mirrorless cameras get to good to keep using my d500. Will defiantly rent the the 500mm f5.6 soon though, looks great
Hi Tony ! I would like your opinion about the Nikon AF-I lenses, are these good lenses for wildlife photography (especially bird and other small animals like ferrets or weasels...) ? and, which one would you choose between an AF-I 500mm f4 and a 200-400mm f4 vr1 in terms of AF speed and sharpness ? I have to make a choice and it's really hard ^^ Thnaks you much in advance ! Good video, as your habits ! The 500mm f5.6 PF is awesome for the AF speed, sharpness, the weight and compacity ! I can't wait te see the next PF lenses !
Hi Tony, love your reviews, so well done. My question, what is your thoughts when you compare the sharpness of the 500pf and the 600 F4. I am using the 600 F4 and I enjoy seeing the barbs on the feathers of a bird. Will I still see that on the 500PF? I want to use the 500pf for quick moving subjects where the tripod is sometimes more difficult to manage, but I dont want get the lens if I will say I wish I was using the 600f4. When using the the 200-500 I did not see any detail that I enjoy from the 600f4. Thanks for you time.
When a lens is 5-10x the price, it makes sense that it allows you to get a little closer and see slightly more detail. A lens at a fraction of the price will not give you the same results, but for those who won't spend $15k on a lens used for a rare hobby, it would make more sense.
Are you planning to do video related to tools/software used for DSLR micro adjustments ? Micro adjustment especially for 400mm plus lens is bit more difficult when combined with APSC+Tele converter
hi tony and chelsea great video as usual this is very helpful im not a pro but a very passionate and enthusiastic severely sight impaired/blind photographer i used to shoot on a nikon bridge camera but due to my recent amateur photography magazine online feature article about how my vision has an impact on my photogrphy nikon seen it and i got a very well discounted gear f my choice so got the nikon z7 with nikon 24-200 but im in process of choosing a wildlife lens at moment ive swayed towards the 200-500f5.6E vR lrns is this a good choice as te dream lens is the 500mm pf also what bag do u use if ok to ask think with this lens might have to swap
Hi Tony, thanks for the awesome comparison and review of these lenses. If possible, do you think you can review the recently released Tamron 100-400mm f4.5-f6.3 lens? Especially its auto focus performance on crop sensor bodies. There have been other reviews but mostly on Full frame bodies. Cheers.
Up to what point is the vr in the lense doing the job and not the ibis? Isn’t stabilization in lenses going to be obsolete when you’re planning to move to the mirrorless systems with ibis anyway, like the z7 in this vid? Say why buy a 24-70mm f2.8 vr when you can buy the much cheaper one without vr?
My D500 and 200-500 is plenty good enough for me... I'd rather take the $2000 and spend it on a multitude of other things. Say, a wildlife specific trip to USE the D500 and 200-500? Or a macro lens, a flash setup and a 85mm prime? OR treat my wife to something nice since she let me get the D500 and the 200-500 in the first place :)
Tony & Chelsea Northrup I have a questions about third party lenses. You mention that Sigma or Tamron are missing focus sometime. So sigma is saying for their Arts lenses, Photographers need to calibrate the lenses Using Sigma USB Dock. Did you ever try that? Can you please comment on that?
Hi Tony just getting into photography and want to start with wildlife. Any recommendation of starter body & lens or kit for someone who is impartial to a certain brand? Thanks for your time and great video.
Hi Tony, will there be any sales for Stunning Digital Photography paperback on Black Friday? And also, I would love to know if you are coming out with a newer edition of the book?
How about for shooting a sport event where you are far away from the action, like alpine skiing or something else... do you think I should go for the versatility of the zoom? Thanks Tony, love your content!
Hey Tony & Chelsea, nice videos. Keep on the nice work! Can someone tell me the different (in real life) between these 2 lenses? AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/4E FL ED VR Product 20053 And AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR Product 20082 Is the $7k difference in price justify?
I have the Nikon 200-500 and the Tamron 150-600 g2. And since I got the Tamron the Nikon has sat in my bag! The Tamron focuses quicker and more accurately than the Nikon by far. I shot with the Nikon for a year and now the Tamron for a year and the Nikon is going up for sale!
I love my T G2, the contrast also is pretty good. It was a hard choice to make for me between the 2, but have no regrets with my Tamron. The 10 O-ring seals and metal body, did it for me. I spend a lot of time on the water with it.
Which is better for the 500mm PF, the D850 or Z6? I asking because I already own the D850 and the 300PF and just bought the 500PF and wondering if I should buy another D850 or the Z6? I want to carry two bodies. One with the 300PF and one with the 500PF.
Have you had the chance to try out the 300mm f4 PF? It's in the middle of the 200-500s zoom range and tiny, so should great for travel on a D500. Sadly the specs alone aren't really reliable indicators of how it'll actually perform. :( Also, would you ever consider taking the newest 70-200 2.8 out with a teleconverter on a D500 for wildlife or would the focus speed suffer too much?
I have the 300mm f4 PF. It's freaking amazing! Took it on safari and got some amazing shots with it. It's insanely light and basically every other lens I have bums me out compared to it. Can't wait to get the 500mm version!
How about 300 2.8 vr1 or vr2 second hand.with converter Not much more than 500 5.6 and you have faster lense when you need it at dusk and dawn when you need the speed. f5.6 might not be good enough . Any thoughts
@@jcphenix1 Thanks. So in order of your preference. Did I understand correctly 1. 300 2.8 , 600 f4 2. 200-500 3. 500 PF www.bhphotovideo.com/c/compare/Nikon_AF-S_NIKKOR_500mm_f_5.6E_PF_ED_VR_Lens_vs_Nikon_AF-S_NIKKOR_500mm_f_4E_FL_ED_VR_Lens_vs_Nikon_AF-S_NIKKOR_300mm_f_2.8G_ED_VR_II_Lens_vs_Nikon_AF-S_NIKKOR_200-500mm_f_5.6E_ED_VR_Lens/BHitems/1431717-REG_1166858-REG_672200-USA_1175034-REG
I use the 200 500 it’s great for me I am no pro I just enjoy taking pictures so it works great all of these videos I see showing a feather out of place or some stuff that most people cant see. Is great for pros but for the rest of us who cares.
Please HELP. why people say a 400mm focal lenght on FX is like a 600mm on DX? If you crop the same image taken with a 400mm lens in your FX final picture will it be the same, with the same resolution as the one taken on your DX with the same 400mm lens?
@MEPPhoto yeah I already figured out. But the resolution would be a little bit higher. That's why a DX is useful to shoot telephoto if later you will crop more your image, like when shooting birds. Thank you
Went to africa for work, bought the 200-500 for a bargain. shot awesome pics with it. Never used it ever since. Really thinking of selling it but This vid makes me doubt more and more just to keep it
dude the images at 1:36 are focussed at different spots. The prime is on the head, the zoom in on the body. It's not even difficult to see at 480p ffs.
Hi Tony I want a nice telephoto lens ,I own a nikon d500 , aI am confused wich one to buy nikkor 200-500mm or 500mm pf and I want buy one lens for one lens . I am confused , please give reply and help me thank you , Tony the pro photographer.
If a patient photographer will get better results with a zoom than an impatient photographer with a prime, where would a patient photographer with a prime fit into this scenario?
Does anyone have any idea what the length of the backorder is for the 500mm f5.6 lens is? Like most, I my order is at least 2 months old. Nikon customer service is unresponsive.
I'm anxious to try the 500 PF in the field for wildlife and bird photograophy. I have the 200-500 zoom,. I've shot with it in the field on a safari last summer. (2021) Although I was pleassd with the photos, I was not excited with my final results. We'll see how much I like the results on a safari this summer (2022) with the 500 PF on one body, and the new 100-400 Z lens on the other body. Thank you for your higjhly valued review and opinion. 😎👍📷👀
Anyone knows why this lens is not available to buy anywhere in the US ??? Year after it’s release and imposible to find ! Production issues? Quality issues? Any idea???
Yeah WTH I published this review *9 months* ago why isn't it shipping?! Nikon had the same problem with the D850 where it wasn't in stock for most of a year.
@@TonyAndChelsea Thanks for replying , any other setup that you would recommend for wildlife photography , i was looking into getting instead the nikon 300mm 2.8f and adding a tc 1.4x or even the 1.7x. do you think this would produce better , equal or worse results than the expected 500mm f5.6? honestly I'm desperate on getting a +-500mm prime lens, and spend +-5k. help please! im looking for something super sharp.
We've only banned people for making sexist, racist, or otherwise *awful* comments. If you look through through our comments, you'll see we don't delete or block people simply for disagreeing. We even allow quite a few very mean and abusive comments.
$6,000 vs $1,900 in Australia. I think the choice is pretty easy.
the OCD in me was tortured by the no-lens-caps on both lenses (the body end) lol
Oh! Such a nice review Tony! I just picked up the 200-500 and I'm encouraged by the shots you took with the Z6. I plan to use that combo for many of my venomous insect video sequences. Always a coffee break well spent watching your videos and always even better when I have my buying decisions reinforced. Happy New Year to both of you!
D500 with the 200-500 is just awesome. The VR is insane. I often shoot at f8 and then sharpnes is quite good. The zoom makes it even good for landscape details.
As a Disney Vacation Club member, I've been attempting to figure out where everyone stayed at the Z6 event. Now I'm pretty sure it must have been the Four Seasons. We've never stayed there but it looks nice. On the subject of your video. I'm not surprised about the 200-500 having better VR. Before I ordered mine I made a photo with a friend's at 500mm & 1/60s, I was amazed when it was sharp. I placed my order that night. I also own a 500 F/4G. The 200-500's superior minimum focus distance keeps me coming back to it. Like you did in this video, I use the 200-500 for butterfly photos. It does even better with a 1.4x TC attached! I would seriously consider the new 500 if it had a better minimum focus distance. I love its tiny size and weight. Nice video as usual.
Thanks for the quick review! I noticed the same thing with the VR at 1/100. These PF lenses have very flaky VR; the 300PF doesn't work well, either, at slower speeds. A lot of people gloss over this, but it's a real issue if you're not always shooting at 1/1000 or something.
A little trick I found is to shoot in Qc mode with the EFCS enabled. This works wonders, and I can get great sharpness at low SS. However, I'm not sure if any Nikons besides the D850 can do this. I was disappointed with this lens, but can live with it now that I found this workaround. I still believe Nikon needs to do something to fix the VR on these PF lenses, but maybe it's just not possible. The downside with Qc is we're limited to 3 fps, but if I'm shooting at 1/100, it's because the light sucks, so I don't need blazing speed anyway. Just my 2 cents. Take care!
I did an extensive test and also found that VR degrades image quality significantly with VR in normal mode. However switching the VR to sport mode gave me very sharp shots in virtually all shooting scenarios. If the VR was in normal mode in your test where it performed worse than the 200-500, it is very possible that in Sport mode you would have gotten better results that are more comparable to the 200-500 at slower shutter speeds. It’s counter intuitive for sure but I was able to repeat this over and over and it was true regardless of shutter speed.
I only use sport VR on my 200-500 & 300PF ,have seen no degradation with it on, though on 300 normal is sometimes tricky
Finally managed to get my hands on the 500mm PF and can't wait to compare it to my 200-500mm... already love the 3lbs + weight savings! Will dive in more later, but just posted a quick first impressions video over on my little channel... :)
Good stuff, thank you for the side-by-side comparo. I'm currently using a D500 with the 200-500 Nikon lens. I'd love to have the 500 prime but I can't justify the incremental improvement in image quality for the dollars spent. I'm still blown away at some of the images that come from my plebeian rig.
I've been birding with an old Sigma 400mm f5.6 FD mount lens adapted to my Olympus OMD EM-10mkii the last couple of weeks. Picked it up for $125 in mint condition, and with my Olympus body it's effectively an 800mm stabilized lens.
I have the 200-500mm lens and I would rather have it. One main reason is that at 500mm you only have so much width in your field of vision. Trying to find that bird in a tree or in flight when the lens is at 500 mm is tough. I prefer to keep it somewhere between 200-300mm because it's easier to find that moving subject and then I zoom in. If I have to find that moving subject when I'm locked at 500mm, it's like searching though a straw. Much easier to stay wider, then zoom in once I have the subject. I may even take a few shots as I'm zooming in incase I lose lock on the subject or it flys off before I get to 500mm and am able to take the good shot that I want to take.
Crop sensor? I ended up full frame for that reason using a 600 prime. They do not mention that issue enough in the reviews.
Tony. Im just seeing this video. You were at Championsgate just south of Orlando. What a great place for wildlife photography. The last time I was there in 2018 I toured the back areas of the golf course by the head of grounds for the resort. Deep in the wetlands area. Gators, roseate spoonbills, all kinds of cool wildlife. If you ever go back you guys should do that.. It was so worth it. Keep up the good work. Love your channel!
The problem with the 200-500 is that the weather sealing is lacking. That's the only reason I still own a 150-600 G2 of Tamron. I don't feel like I can use the 200-500 in a rain forest.
Several reviewers have commented on the 500mm f/5.6E PF having difficulty with VR at slow shutter speeds. I routinely shoot at 1/100 with the 200-500 (a necessity when shooting wildlife with an f/5.6 lens) and have gone as slow as 1/30 with good results. The PF looks every bit an excellent lens but the VR is a bit concerning. Hopefully, like the 300/4 PF, a firmware update will address this.
Personally, if I'm going to pay $3,600 for a wildlife lens, I'd rather pay a bit more for a quality used 500/4. The biggest limitation of the 200-500 isn't sharpness or even AF; it's the f/5.6 aperture.
a 500 EDII D is cheaper used than the 500PF from what I have seen, agree 1 stop is the difference between good & great shots..at least here where light is not good alot of the year
Every PF lens I've tried (both 300 and 500) has had issues at slow shutter speeds, unfortunately. All the 300PFs I tried were later models that already had Nikon's "fix" applied. Still no luck. A D850 can shoot in Qc mode with the EFCS enabled, and this has worked wonders for me. Unfortunately, I don't think many (if any) other Nikons have this feature.
It's also about portability for the pf. You can bring it to more places and get shots you wouldn't have gotten otherwise.
I disagree with the VR issue for the 500pf, I can get sharp results even at 1/60sec. with it.
Me too. Maybe it’s a one off
One important thing to note about the 200-500 5.6 is the lack of consistency in performance/sharpness. My 200-500 5.6 is very sharp at 500mm, however my partner's 200-500mm was soft throughout the focal range. When you purchase the 200-500 5.6 lens, it is important to test the sharpness before taking it out into the field.
In regards to the 500mm PF, it is better built, faster at focus acquisition, and easier to handhold than the 200-500 5.6, however at $3500, what you are paying for is weight reduction and portability. Although 5.6 is disappointing at this price-point, what you gain is a very easy to maneuver lens where weight and focus acquisition do not restrict you from capturing a great moment.
Was that 200-500 adjusted for micro-focus or whatever they call it on Nikon?
@@mikedixonphoto Nope, there was no need to perform an 'AF Fine Tune' on my 200-500mm 5.6. I like to do some initial tests, just shooting stationary subjects in decent light to check for obvious signs of front or back focus.
The only time I 'AF Fine Tune' initially is when I am pairing a lens to a Teleconverter.
I should point out that 'AF Fine Tune' addresses 'lack of sharpness' when the root is due to Lens/Body combination either Front or Back focusing. Anything more extreme than that is probably best for a service center.
You are missing one more thing on your list of gains... you are also getting a significantly sharper lens. I own the PF, 200-500VR and 200-400VR. I have shot all three at maximum focal length w/ the 200-400VR stopped down to f/5.6. The 500PF was noticeably sharper in the center when shooting subjects at 20m and near 40 meters. What you lose is the flexibility of a zoom... this can be a deal breaker in wildlife photography, but I have chosen net sharpness and contrast over flexibility. The 500PF is as sharp... if not sharper than the 500mm f/4G, and this is not an insignificant feat.
Kris You missed the point. If your friend’s 200-500 is out of focus through the total focal range, maybe HE should consider making AF fine tuning.
In my real world experience, my 7dm2 w/ sigma 150-600mm 5-6.3 contemporary lens does an amazing job and only missed focus due to operator error. I am having amazing results and the more I practice, the less I miss focus, especially with wildlife/farm animals/pets in motion. I am also amazed at how tight I can crop without the 'noise' factor being a problem.
Sigma 150-600C user here too. I like that the Sigma (afaik) is customisable, hence you can eliminate possible mis-focus issues, and the C version has better glass (coatings etc). Not hating on Nikon, but Sigma and Tamron are really good competitors, and if you're not a pro (or highly experienced), you probably won't see a huge difference. Just a beginner's opinion though. You also save $$ with the Sigma C while only losing 1/3 stop light and gaining an extra 100mm
wow that wildlife at 5:10!!!! stunning!!
Lol, you got me
what kind of bird is that?
@@braindeadbonobo a pretty bird
braindeadbonobo female human bird call Chelsea.lol
Bought the Tamron 150-600. Used it for a month in Africa. I some amazing tack sharp photos at 600. Some shots were darker than I would like, my bad settings. but were fixed and looked very good in PS. Reading all the good reviews about the Nikon 200-500 I bought it. I Used and tested it for another month. Compared the 2 lenses and photos and realized for me the Tamron was the better choice.
You must have a good copy of the Tamron and a less than perfect copy of the Nikon. For me it was the other way round and I parted ways with my Tamron. It frequently locked up, totally refusing to focus, when confronted with a perfect photo opportunity. Only answer was to turn camera off; then on again. Too many potentially great shots lost. Now i stick to Nikon on Nikon...
Was your Tamron the g2 or the first 150-600? The g2 was much improved.
@@derekmidgley I tried a friend's 150-600mm G1 recently and was dismayed to see it was as soft as my poor old Sigma 150-500mm. I guess there's a lot of copy variation, especially in these third party zooms, and they perform abysmally on APS-C.
My G2 works pretty well, VG contrast, as good in sharpness as my old Nikon 600 Ai f5.6 prime + 10 weather-sealing o-rings did it for me.
Derek Midgley Got some similar result as yours. I got a 70-200 G2 and the focus is always inaccurate when shooting a moving person, but tack sharp when the person is stationary. Same issue with my friend’s 24-70 G2. Tamron might be making good glass these days but they really need to get a grip on their quality control.
If you are shooting sports, just stick with Nikon for reliability. You get what you paid for.
The D500 and the 200-500mm lens are what I want for wildlife. At the moment I am on Canon, as I don't really make any money from what I do and that is just what I have. I had the 400mm F5.6 for a little while, and the lack of IS was a real problem. If I was out shooting in the golden hour, as it got closer to dusk I had to kick up ISO too much to get usable images. I ended up selling it off and getting the 100-400mm IS II, simply because it has IS. If I only ever shot in the middle of the day it would have been fine, but where I live I am more likely to go out looking for deer late in the day, or squirrels that like to hide in the shade. It would be a really good idea for Canon to add IS to the 400mm, but that would only increase the price, and likely wouldn't be much less than the 100-400mm IS II, which is already a pretty good lens anyway.
Nice to see that Nikon stabilized that 500mm. For the price though, I think I would go with the zoom instead.
Don't forget about the Nikon 300 f4! I planned on buying the 200-500 last year and ended up going with the 300mm. A couple hundred bucks more got me a much more compact and lightweight lens which produced sharper photos when comparing the two in-store (using a d850, tripod, etc).
I'd be interested to see how the 500 f5.6 and 300 f4 compare in low light...might convince me to trade up.
My 300 F4 is glued on my camera 💪🏼
But only 300mm
I wish Canon had a lens like that, but I have the 100-400 mkII and unless they could get a similar magnification (0.36x IIRC) it would be a deal breaker for me. I've heard that the Sigma 500mm f4 was excellent but of course AF can always be an issue with 3rd party...
Tony & Chelsea Northrup
Thank you for all the videos, I learn a lot from you!!!
You guys are the first to put up a real new camera review, different from others, and after that everybody start repeating the same things you guys said. Thank again!!!
Really cool shots of the wildlife.
I did wonder about these two. I need wonder no longer - except how to justify the prime!
Many thanks.
"A GAME CHANGER" Way WAY smaller and lighter and crazy sharp! Weather sealed? I hope. Having more megapixels might finally pay off with that lens to some extent. So far for me, the ISO grain, not perfect lighting & atmosphere have been huge determining factors for IQ. Almost never is pixel density and only sometimes, lens sharpness quality, a factor for my wildlife work.
Sigma and Tamron acually have access to the sony E mount system which is something that gets overlooked a lot, they practically have the same possibilities as sony themselves, now there are not many tamron or sigma lenses for that system yet and maybe it is not such an advantage after all (or they just wont put as much energy as sony themselves) but that they dont have access is not true for all brands
Good review!
For the budget conscious, the Nikon 200-500mm (f/5.6) is pretty awesome to work with.
The Tamron G2 150-600mm (f/5.6) is also a great alternative, handles really great and the focussing is spot on.
I have both as well, and while the G2 tamron performs admirably, and probably faster at AF acquisition - it produces images with rather harsh bokeh, compared to the 200-500 nikkor
Lenstip.com has a review of the new Sigma 60-600 which they say is sharper than the 200-500 Nikon. But does it focus as well?
@@feraudyh I'd be wary as the wider the focal range, often the less sharpness at the extremes. Haven't used the lens though so not sure
I use the Sigma 150-600 and for the price i got it (£550) I'd say it's a steal at almost 3x cheaper than the 200-500, while producing very similar results. The only major issue with it is that it can hunt quite badly if you go from the wide end straight to the long end.
Will Herondale i have a couple of sigma lenses, even the “Art” series, and they are super unreliable. Even the venerable 18-35 mm. You can never trust it to focus properly from time to time. And also, as stated here elsewhere, a zoom with a factor 10 is very unlikely to produce as good results as another one at a much lower factor 2.5... and remember sharpness is not all... contrast and bokeh are also factors, as well as effective T-stop.
The Canon 400mm f/5.6 is an absolutely amazing lens, despite its slightly shorter focal length and age (although I do have it so I may be a bit biased. It's tack sharp and the fringing control is stunning. Having said that, I'm not knocking the Nikon 500mm/200-500 but I really don't think it's fair to say what you say about the Canon. Still a great video Tony!!! Keep it up!
I wasn't negative about it; the 400mm f/5.6 has been our standard wildlife lens recommendation for many years... but it's really old!
@@TonyAndChelsea Sorry, I think I phrased that badly: you dismissed the 400mm f/5.6 off hand saying it was "old" and didn't have IS hence implying it wasn't competition for these lenses however I disagree, I think in terms of IQ it's definitely comparable and the IS doesn't make much difference...
@@edgaut9808 I had the Canon 400mm F5.6 for a little while, and while I did get some good images with it, the lack of IS became a real problem for me. I was shooting deer with it late in the day, and the narrow aperture didn't give me a lot of options for ISO/shutter combos. I ended up selling it for the 100-400mm IS II jsut for the IS, and now I have better images thanks to lower ISO/shutter settings. If I only shot in good light I wouldn't have had any issue, but deer don't like to just stand out in the open. Canon really ought to update the 400mm though, with the latest optics and engineering, lens coatings, weather sealing, and if possible IS. I fear that would only make it more expensive though, like 1700-1800, and that isn't a lot less than the 100-400mm. So it would have to be tack sharp and nail focus like it sold its soul to the devil to do it, and to be honest I think Canon can pull that off, but I think they have higher priorities right now.
@@TonyAndChelsea released May 1993 and still in production! I use it and I am happy with it, but i would love a 500 or 600 version. I cant afford the thousands needed for the next step up! bet you have viewers that are younger than this lens!
@@kevindiaz3459 Yeah a new version of the 400 f/5.6 with IS would be great but as you say, the likely price increase would, I think, mean it would loose its unique place in the market (tack sharp, above 300mm, Canon EF mount, not aftermarket, ~£1000)
I enjoy there’s comparisons of lenses between the same camera mounts much more than say a Canon vs Nikon. Those always feel like people are gunning for both sides. This feels a lot more like we are being informed on the best choice for our current mount. Thank you, and great video!
Want too get back too bird photography Nikon has tempted me more with the newer sized primes….what would be a good body to attach too the newer 500 or /600 5.6? Prime? I don’t think I want too spend that plus the z8?
For Safari in Africa, you need to zoom out often. So 200mm would be helpful. The big animals are often very close to the road in my experience. For birding more the better holds to almost always.
With the 10 O-ring seals and metal body, pretty good sharpness and contrast the Tamron G2 was my choice. I am out on water a lot splashing around so the Nikon 200-500 was not perhaps a better choice for me,,,,, but I would give it all up for this 500.
I have the 200-500 but both would be sweet. Thanks for the comparisons.
Hello from iran .
Happy new year .
That really great comparison . I really enjoyed your fast review and practical tips . Thank you .
You need to go bioluminescence kayaking with a day away kayak tours! It's the coolest place ever for wildlife! Go next Fall. October is the perfect time!
Tony, were you aware that when shooting this lens with a lens adapter on the Z6/7 that the lens VR mechanism runs continuously. The resulting noise is annoying and the drain on the battery on mechanism life is concerning. Such does not occur on a DSLR. Should VR just be turned off and depend on IBIS when using Z-bodies?
Very well put together . I am seriously thinking of purchasing the lens .
Would love to see you guys do a Canon equivalent video that compares current lenses.
Oh God I love that photo of Chelsea at 5:10
Do these lenses suffer from the same focal length issues you’ve talked about from Nikon in the past?
Could you do a lens review between the Olympus 300mm F4 and the Nikon 500mm F5.6?
Makes no sense. Would have to at least compare with a teleconverter and that makes the whole test pointless. Completely different system too.
Makes sense to me. 500 f/5.6 vs 600 f/8 equivalent would be a good one. Which camera bodies would you like to see used for the test?
@@guyjordan8201 It's not a bad idea to compare , If you use D850 and crop to 600mm then it becomes 1.2 crop factor and approximately 36mp, Still full frame will have the advantage of 2 stops and higher megapixel image if you use D500 the lens will be equivalent to approximately 750mm f8.4 even in that case Nikon will do better. Both lenses close in weight only then it all comes to what system you are currently using....
The OMD EM1 Mk2 and the Nikon D500.
@@brucehawick - that turns it into a 600mm vs 750mm equivalence contest but still... a functional comparo between the systems would be welcome.
Aw I was hoping to get your opinion on Phase Fresnel (PF) type lenses and where else we might see that implemented in the future.
Great video regardless!
I hear the 200-500 is better paired with the D500. I assumed that was because of the crop factor. Would there be any reason 'not' to use the 200-500 with a D850?
I love my 80-400mm Nikkor G Lens. It's amazingly fast focus and covers such a good focal length (I'm on D7500 APS-C). It's just too heavy - the biggest reason I didn't go for the 200-500mm. I like motorsport photography, and walking around all day with the 80-400 is a pain. I might get the 300mm f/5.6 as a result. Or a 70-200 f/4.
Scotracer1987 I use a monopod for all long lens. Especially for sports you dont want to be hand holding a lens for hours on end. I usually use a 400/2.8 or 600/4.0 for sports. Say a football game might be 3-4 hour shoot, im really not carrying them all the time. These big lens are on a monopod and it makes a huge difference. Even shooting a 300/4.0, the monopod gives you so many benefits. I would recommend one of the heavy duty carbon fiber Gitzo's. They are expensive but are very solid with no flex. I use the GM4562, its very compact but holds up to 66 lbs. The older version GM5561 can be found used, it holds 55 lbs. More than enough for your rig.
I thought I was the only guy on Earth using an 80-400mm. Agreed, the 200-500 is way too heavy. Love the almost instant focusing of my lens.
Keeping my money in my pocket for a year or two till the mirrorless cameras get to good to keep using my d500. Will defiantly rent the the 500mm f5.6 soon though, looks great
Hi Tony ! I would like your opinion about the Nikon AF-I lenses, are these good lenses for wildlife photography (especially bird and other small animals like ferrets or weasels...) ? and, which one would you choose between an AF-I 500mm f4 and a 200-400mm f4 vr1 in terms of AF speed and sharpness ? I have to make a choice and it's really hard ^^ Thnaks you much in advance !
Good video, as your habits ! The 500mm f5.6 PF is awesome for the AF speed, sharpness, the weight and compacity ! I can't wait te see the next PF lenses !
Hi Tony, love your reviews, so well done.
My question, what is your thoughts when you compare the sharpness of the 500pf and the 600 F4. I am using the 600 F4 and I enjoy seeing the barbs on the feathers of a bird. Will I still see that on the 500PF? I want to use the 500pf for quick moving subjects where the tripod is sometimes more difficult to manage, but I dont want get the lens if I will say I wish I was using the 600f4.
When using the the 200-500 I did not see any detail that I enjoy from the 600f4.
Thanks for you time.
When a lens is 5-10x the price, it makes sense that it allows you to get a little closer and see slightly more detail. A lens at a fraction of the price will not give you the same results, but for those who won't spend $15k on a lens used for a rare hobby, it would make more sense.
Are you planning to do video related to tools/software used for DSLR micro adjustments ?
Micro adjustment especially for 400mm plus lens is bit more difficult when combined with APSC+Tele converter
hi tony and chelsea great video as usual this is very helpful im not a pro but a very passionate and enthusiastic severely sight impaired/blind photographer i used to shoot on a nikon bridge camera but due to my recent amateur photography magazine online feature article about how my vision has an impact on my photogrphy nikon seen it and i got a very well discounted gear f my choice so got the nikon z7 with nikon 24-200 but im in process of choosing a wildlife lens at moment ive swayed towards the 200-500f5.6E vR lrns is this a good choice as te dream lens is the 500mm pf also what bag do u use if ok to ask think with this lens might have to swap
How does the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR Lens pair with the D810?
Hi Tony, thanks for the awesome comparison and review of these lenses. If possible, do you think you can review the recently released Tamron 100-400mm f4.5-f6.3 lens? Especially its auto focus performance on crop sensor bodies. There have been other reviews but mostly on Full frame bodies. Cheers.
Up to what point is the vr in the lense doing the job and not the ibis? Isn’t stabilization in lenses going to be obsolete when you’re planning to move to the mirrorless systems with ibis anyway, like the z7 in this vid? Say why buy a 24-70mm f2.8 vr when you can buy the much cheaper one without vr?
My D500 and 200-500 is plenty good enough for me... I'd rather take the $2000 and spend it on a multitude of other things.
Say, a wildlife specific trip to USE the D500 and 200-500?
Or a macro lens, a flash setup and a 85mm prime?
OR treat my wife to something nice since she let me get the D500 and the 200-500 in the first place :)
Wtf. So the money you earn belongs to your friggin wife?
Nice review Tony - Thanks. What AF Mode did you use on the Z6 for tracking? Thanks
Tony & Chelsea Northrup
I have a questions about third party lenses. You mention that Sigma or Tamron are missing focus sometime. So sigma is saying for their Arts lenses, Photographers need to calibrate the lenses
Using Sigma USB Dock. Did you ever try that? Can you please comment on that?
Hi T is the 200-500 will give good results with Nikon d7200 like the d500
Hi Tony just getting into photography and want to start with wildlife. Any recommendation of starter body & lens or kit for someone who is impartial to a certain brand? Thanks for your time and great video.
Hi Tony, will there be any sales for Stunning Digital Photography paperback on Black Friday? And also, I would love to know if you are coming out with a newer edition of the book?
How about for shooting a sport event where you are far away from the action, like alpine skiing or something else... do you think I should go for the versatility of the zoom? Thanks Tony, love your content!
If you are that far away you will never use the zoom of the 200-500
What program was you editing the eagle with??
If you can only use one camera to take pictures and videos. Between a7iii and a7Riii which one? With what lens? Indoor event with some low light.
This was really helpful. Thanks!
Good review. Nice job
Hey Tony & Chelsea, nice videos. Keep on the nice work!
Can someone tell me the different (in real life) between these 2 lenses?
AF-S NIKKOR
500mm f/4E FL ED VR
Product 20053
And
AF-S NIKKOR
500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR
Product 20082
Is the $7k difference in price justify?
in aus pre orders on the 500mm $5500. out of reach for most
I have the Nikon 200-500 and the Tamron 150-600 g2. And since I got the Tamron the Nikon has sat in my bag! The Tamron focuses quicker and more accurately than the Nikon by far. I shot with the Nikon for a year and now the Tamron for a year and the Nikon is going up for sale!
I love my T G2, the contrast also is pretty good. It was a hard choice to make for me between the 2, but have no regrets with my Tamron. The 10 O-ring seals and metal body, did it for me. I spend a lot of time on the water with it.
Which is better for the 500mm PF, the D850 or Z6? I asking because I already own the D850 and the 300PF and just bought the 500PF and wondering if I should buy another D850 or the Z6? I want to carry two bodies. One with the 300PF and one with the 500PF.
Nice SpaceX hat Tony! Great review as always!
i've had no focusing problems with the sigma 150-600S on a d850 so far. on the older d610 it was horrible
Haha..of course,it is night and day comparison...the newest AF vs.an old one..and not made for wildlife as well..
Or the sigma is not tuned well..
"get your pictures back" :)
Have you had the chance to try out the 300mm f4 PF? It's in the middle of the 200-500s zoom range and tiny, so should great for travel on a D500.
Sadly the specs alone aren't really reliable indicators of how it'll actually perform. :(
Also, would you ever consider taking the newest 70-200 2.8 out with a teleconverter on a D500 for wildlife or would the focus speed suffer too much?
I have the 300mm f4 PF. It's freaking amazing! Took it on safari and got some amazing shots with it. It's insanely light and basically every other lens I have bums me out compared to it. Can't wait to get the 500mm version!
How about 300 2.8 vr1 or vr2 second hand.with converter Not much more than 500 5.6 and you have faster lense when you need it at dusk and dawn when you need the speed. f5.6 might not be good enough . Any thoughts
@@jcphenix1 Thanks.
So in order of your preference. Did I understand correctly
1. 300 2.8 , 600 f4
2. 200-500
3. 500 PF
www.bhphotovideo.com/c/compare/Nikon_AF-S_NIKKOR_500mm_f_5.6E_PF_ED_VR_Lens_vs_Nikon_AF-S_NIKKOR_500mm_f_4E_FL_ED_VR_Lens_vs_Nikon_AF-S_NIKKOR_300mm_f_2.8G_ED_VR_II_Lens_vs_Nikon_AF-S_NIKKOR_200-500mm_f_5.6E_ED_VR_Lens/BHitems/1431717-REG_1166858-REG_672200-USA_1175034-REG
Im a canon guy, but i loved that 500mm, and i am gonna be honest , i wish for d500 every day , but im in canon lands right now
Can someone use a d5600 as a wildlife camera or is the d7200 a better pick? Which is better to use with the 200-500mm shown in this video?
I use the 200 500 it’s great for me I am no pro I just enjoy taking pictures so it works great all of these videos I see showing a feather out of place or some stuff that most people cant see. Is great for pros but for the rest of us who cares.
How about shooting when light's quite dim? Is f/5.6 enough or iso must be cranked up?
Please HELP. why people say a 400mm focal lenght on FX is like a 600mm on DX? If you crop the same image taken with a 400mm lens in your FX final picture will it be the same, with the same resolution as the one taken on your DX with the same 400mm lens?
@MEPPhoto yeah I already figured out. But the resolution would be a little bit higher. That's why a DX is useful to shoot telephoto if later you will crop more your image, like when shooting birds. Thank you
And goes on
Went to africa for work, bought the 200-500 for a bargain. shot awesome pics with it. Never used it ever since. Really thinking of selling it but This vid makes me doubt more and more just to keep it
Tony i think you rushed this one old boy, i could only see two sharp pics on here the coot and lizard at the end of vid
are you going to look at the Fuji 200mm F2 anything soon?
How does it compare to the A7 III?
Hello Sir, can i use nikon 70-300mm lens with nikon d7200 for wildlife photography?
This is making my wait to see the reviews of Z cameras from Tony even harder...
Was that an insta 360 shot on the boat?
Did you just say that the nikon d6 was getting announced?
75 mattmoissa I swear I heard the same thing.
Do you review also AF-P 70-300 4.5-5.6E ED VR for FX camera? Better improvement over older AF-S model, mostly people say this. :)
It's too cheap to be reviews. This lens not getting loved by people.
dude the images at 1:36 are focussed at different spots. The prime is on the head, the zoom in on the body. It's not even difficult to see at 480p ffs.
Hi Tony I want a nice telephoto lens ,I own a nikon d500 , aI am confused wich one to buy nikkor 200-500mm or 500mm pf and I want buy one lens for one lens . I am confused , please give reply and help me thank you , Tony the pro photographer.
Wow, they put yall up in the Four Seasons
If a patient photographer will get better results with a zoom than an impatient photographer with a prime, where would a patient photographer with a prime fit into this scenario?
Does anyone have any idea what the length of the backorder is for the 500mm f5.6 lens is? Like most, I my order is at least 2 months old. Nikon customer service is unresponsive.
Kneepads really aren't on your wishlist, are they?
I'm anxious to try the 500 PF in the field for wildlife and bird photograophy. I have the 200-500 zoom,. I've shot with it in the field on a safari last summer. (2021) Although I was pleassd with the photos, I was not excited with my final results. We'll see how much I like the results on a safari this summer (2022) with the 500 PF on one body, and the new 100-400 Z lens on the other body. Thank you for your higjhly valued review and opinion. 😎👍📷👀
Tony, what about using a teleconverter with 200-500?
Not recommended as focus speed is impacted and at 500mm this is last thing one needs.
Informative video, but I can't help but wonder why you have so many photos of Mark Zuckerberg at 2:28-3:06
Lul
i like the X baseball cap
Anyone knows why this lens is not available to buy anywhere in the US ??? Year after it’s release and imposible to find ! Production issues? Quality issues? Any idea???
Yeah WTH I published this review *9 months* ago why isn't it shipping?! Nikon had the same problem with the D850 where it wasn't in stock for most of a year.
@@TonyAndChelsea Thanks for replying , any other setup that you would recommend for wildlife photography , i was looking into getting instead the nikon 300mm 2.8f and adding a tc 1.4x or even the 1.7x. do you think this would produce better , equal or worse results than the expected 500mm f5.6? honestly I'm desperate on getting a +-500mm prime lens, and spend +-5k. help please! im looking for something super sharp.
Hey Tony (or Chelsea) -- is it true you ban people from commenting on your videos? If so would you provide the criteria you use? Thank you.
We've only banned people for making sexist, racist, or otherwise *awful* comments. If you look through through our comments, you'll see we don't delete or block people simply for disagreeing. We even allow quite a few very mean and abusive comments.
That being said WTHeck is the 400 f/4.0 Nikon Lens??? they used to make one, a new upgrade is needed, Canon has awesome one