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About this item Compact super telephoto zoom lens for birding, wildlife, motorsports, events and more 500 millimeter of zoom power on fx format DSLR; 750 millimeter equivalent on dx format DSLRs, minimum focus distance: 7.2 feet ( 2.2 meter), focal length range: 200 500 millimeter Fast f/5.6 constant aperture for beautiful out of focus backgrounds and low light performance 4.5 stops of vibration reduction with sports mode. Approx. Weight 81.2 ounce. Approx. Dimensions (diameter x length) 4.2 inch x 10.5 inch( based on CIPA guidelines) Af compatible with optional TC 14e series tele converters and DSLRs that offer f/8 support. Mount type: Nikon f bayonet
Product Dimensions 7.48 x 7.48 x 17.2 inches Item Weight 5.07 pounds ASIN B013D1BI9Y Item model number AFSVR200-500E Customer Reviews
4.7 out of 5 stars Best Sellers Rank #106 in
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer No Date First Available August 2, 2015 Manufacturer Nikon Country of Origin China
Product Warranty: For warranty information about this product, please [PDF ]
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Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED Vibration Reduction Zoom Lens with Auto Focus for Nikon DSLR Cameras
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Product Dimensions 7.48 x 7.48 x 17.2 inches
Item Weight 5.07 pounds
ASIN B013D1BI9Y
Item model number AFSVR200-500E
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Best Sellers Rank #106 in SLR Camera Lenses
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer No
Date First Available August 2, 2015
Manufacturer Nikon
Country of Origin China
About this item Compact super telephoto zoom lens for birding, wildlife, motorsports, events and more 500 millimeter of zoom power on fx format DSLR; 750 millimeter equivalent on dx format DSLRs, minimum focus distance: 7.2 feet ( 2.2 meter), focal length range: 200 500 millimeter Fast f/5.6 constant aperture for beautiful out of focus backgrounds and low light performance 4.5 stops of vibration reduction with sports mode. Approx. Weight 81.2 ounce. Approx. Dimensions (diameter x length) 4.2 inch x 10.5 inch( based on CIPA guidelines) Af compatible with optional TC 14e series tele converters and DSLRs that offer f/8 support. Mount type: Nikon f bayonet
Wherever your passion lies, the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR outstanding super telephoto zoom can bring it into focus. Capture and share stunning views of birds, wildlife, motor sports, athletes, performers, landmarks and other faraway subjects. A fast f/5.6 constant aperture gives your shots beautifully out-of-focus backgrounds across the entire zoom range and a super integrated coating has been applied to lens elements to lessen flare and ghosting for improved contrast and clarity. A silent Wave Motor AF system produces fast, near-silent focusing performance that suits both stills shooting and movie recording which can instantly be manually overridden by simply turning the manual focus ring.&Nbsp; turn fast-moving action into dazzling photo sequences— the electromagnetic diaphragm operates in sync for the fastest subjects and shutter speeds while vibration Reduction image stabilization keeps your shots sharp and steady. And in the rare cases when additional reach is needed, you can increase the AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED vr’s zoom power with an optional Nikon 1.4x, 1.7x or 2x tele converter. Features: Lightweight, compact super telephoto zoom – whether your subject is far in the distance or close, fast or slow, you can land the shot. On FX-format cameras, 500mm brings distant birds, wildlife, athletes, performers, landmarks and more into tight focus. Dx-format cameras add an additional 1.5x zoom effect for an angle of view equivalent to a whopping 750mm! And despite that extreme power, you can also focus on subjects As close as 7.2 feet away for detail rich close-ups. 4.5 stops of vibration Reduction – at super telephoto distances, The smallest camera movements can cause image blur. Vibration Reduction image stabilization counteracts camera shake up to ~4.5 stops for sharp photos and steady videos. You also can shoot at slower shutter speeds in low light— great for those magic moments at dawn and dusk. Sports mode is optimized. Accepts Filter Type – Screw-on.
Wherever your passion lies, this outstanding super telephoto zoom lens can bring it into focus. Capture and share stunning views of birds, wildlife, motorsports, athletes, performers, landmarks and other faraway subjects. A fast f/5.6 constant aperture gives your shots beautifully out-of-focus backgrounds across the entire zoom range. Turn fast-moving action into dazzling photo sequences– the electromagnetic diaphragm operates in sync for the fastest subjects and shutter speeds while Vibration Reduction image stabilization keeps your shots sharp and steady. And in the rare cases when additional reach is needed, you can increase the AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR’s zoom power with an optional Nikon 1.4x, 1.7x or 2x teleconverter*.
*Compatible with TC-14E series teleconverters (AF is only available when used with DSLR cameras that offer f/8 support. These include: D4, D4S, Df, D600, D610, D750, D800, D800E, D810, D7100, D7200). Compatible with TC-17E and TC-20E series teleconverters (AF not possible).
Whether your subject is far in the distance or close, fast or slow, you can land the shot. On FX-format cameras, 500mm brings distant birds, wildlife, athletes, performers, landmarks and more into tight focus. DX-format cameras add an additional 1.5x zoom effect for an angle of view equivalent to a whopping 750mm! And despite that extreme power, you can also focus on subjects as close as 7.2 feet away for detail rich close-ups.
At super telephoto distances, the smallest camera movements can cause image blur. Vibration Reduction image stabilization counteracts camera shake up to ~4.5 stops** for sharp photos and steady videos. You also can shoot at slower shutter speeds in low light–great for those magic moments at dawn and dusk. Sports Mode is optimized for camera pans and other movements common when shooting fast action.
**Based on CIPA Standard. This value is achieved when: FX-format compatible lenses are attached to an FX-format digital SLR camera and zoom lenses are set at the maximum telephoto position.
Extra-low Dispersion (ED) glass cuts through the glare of bright sunlight. Silent Wave Motor (SWM) powers ultra-fast, near-silent autofocusing with seamless manual override. The Electromagnetic diaphragm (E) operates in sync with the fastest shutter speeds and frame rates, even when using an optional teleconverter. Always bring home views that amaze.
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| Product Dimensions | 7.48 x 7.48 x 17.2 inches |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 5.07 pounds |
| ASIN | B013D1BI9Y |
| Item model number | AFSVR200-500E |
| Customer Reviews | /* .cm-cr-review-stars-spacing-big { 4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,251 ratings var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when('A', 'cf').execute(function(A) { 4.7 out of 5 stars |
| Best Sellers Rank | #106 in SLR Camera Lenses |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Date First Available | August 2, 2015 |
| Manufacturer | Nikon |
| Country of Origin | China |
Ronny L. –
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best choice for an affordable long lens
I really like this lens. I already owned 8 Nikon lenses I use with my Nikon D800. All of those lenses are f/2.8 or faster and cover a wide range of focal lengths up to my 70-200mm f/2.8. The cost of longer Nikon glass put them out of reach for me.This 200-500mm f/5.6 lens makes longer focal lengths affordable. The reviews are very good and, after shooting the lens for a month, I couldn’t be happier.Focus isn’t as fast as my 70-200mm lens but is fast enough for me. If you shoot sports, you would want a lens that focuses faster but that would cost 3 to 4 times the price of the 200-500mm lens.Reviews say this lens can be handheld, even at 500mm. I shot handheld at the Memphis Zoo for over 4 hours with no fatigue. It does help if you have good shooting technique, holding elbows into your body and not trying to support the weight of the lens away from the body.The VR allows you to shoot at surprisingly low shutter speeds for the focal length.I’m very happy to have this lens in my camera bag.
8 people found this helpful
sergiosergio –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome Zoom lens
I’ve been using the 200-500mm on my D7200 for all my nature photography and on a crop sensor I am getting a 750mm all out from this lens; Its all I’ve herd and read on reviews well worth it. I’ve been using my D7200 sensor on 1.3X factor in order to step up my FPS and increase the focus speed of the lens. This lens has a lot of glass although well worth it’ its a bit slower in locking on focus Compared to my FX-70-300mm but still well worth it and more. Its 4 lb 9.8 oz so if your a free hand photographer like me be ready for the weight. Chromatic aberration? None that I have seen so far and I am getting some sharp Images as well. This is a tough sturdy well made lens No joke! nothing flimsy about this Nikkor and NO lens creep. It came in Nikon boxing with lens hood and I got a five (5) warranty for registering it with in ten days of purchase’ Although Amazon will offer its own warranty before closing the Order.
5 people found this helpful
SEPhotoSEPhoto –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sigma competition.
First photo I took with this camera could win awards. Sharp, fast, easy. Another image I took and posted was requested for use in a photo show, now hanging in a San Francisco gallery.A little more info: All shot on Nikon D7100. Take a look at the figure in the trees. Look at the foliage at top – those adherents to Ansel Adam’s Zone System will appreciate the incredible tonality captured, and the same can be said for the long landscape shot. That was shot in middle of the day with patchy fog. No special filters, just a B&W UV lens protector. Those are horrendous conditions to capture that sort of contrast – typically the eye sees the tonality and to have a lens that will pull out what you see is remarkable with very little post-editing. Surf photo is new. Boogie boarder was WAY OUT there. Look at the sharpness and detail; I could only see the tiny figure heading down the wave andhad to trust that a handheld fast grab image would be possible. Incredible lens. If there were only a Nobel Prize for producing a lens at this price.
12 people found this helpful
MikeMike –
5.0 out of 5 stars
On the heavy side.
I have been using this lens with a DX 5600 for about a month, I have no problems with it other than what I have created. I shoot mainly from a kayak in the low light of the evenings. A tripod or monopod is highly recommended, until I find a monopod that works in a kayak I will be hand holding this monster. When set up properly for the target the auto focus is sharp and steady following a flying bird is rather difficult with practice it gets easier. 500 MM at the price I paid was very well worth it and I have enjoyed my evening outings and photography so much more.
Juan BerrocalJuan Berrocal –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing
This is an amazing lense, sharp, super stable. Simply awesone. I love it
One person found this helpful
J. HintzeJ. Hintze –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great lens, can’t beat it for the price
I was quite pleased with this purchase. At first, I was disappointed because I seemed to be getting a lot of shots that weren’t in focus. I then realized that I was keeping my palm on the focus wheel when shooting. Note that this lens in reverse from most other Nikon lenses and the focus ring is at the back while the zoom ring is up front. I was used to having my hand on the zoom ring which on most of my other lenses is in the back. So once I figured that out I started getting some great shots and was very pleased with the results. I owned a sigma 50-500 before I bought this lens. This lens was cheaper and I felt like it was a better lens as well (although the convenience of being able to zoom in to 50mm was really convenient). But being able to stay at f/5.6 throughout the zoom range was really helpful on my old D300 which can only accurately autofocus up to f/5.6. I had focus issues with my Sigma when zoomed out to 500mm. I’ve attached some photos I took right after my purchase. All were taken with the Nikon D300.
11 people found this helpful
David W. Lind –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Telephoto Lens
This lens is for sports and wildlife photography. I use it with a Nikon D500 camera that makes this lens effectively a 300mm to 750mm lens because of the sensor size. The lens focuses quickly and well over the entire zoom range. The photographs are sharp and better than what I would expect from a telephoto lens of this size. The weight of this lens takes some getting used to and requires a good tripod mount if not handheld. However, the quality of this lens and the cameras for which it is intended make handheld photography feasible under most circumstances when used with the vibration reduction(VR) features. There are two VR settings, normal and sport. Read the instructions carefully to ensure you use these settings properly. The lens also has a lock at the 200mm setting to keep the lens from zooming to 500mm when the lens is carried. Use this lock to avoid damage to the lens. Nikon has a manual on sports photography with the D5/D500 that can be downloaded from their website. This manual is worth downloading. Overall, the performance of this lens in impressive.
5 people found this helpful
Anthony MeltonAnthony Melton –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Incredible Lens – No Kidding, Read My Non-Exaggerated Review
What is not to like about this lens? Nothing! I got it for $1196 in recent sale and it has better IQ than my $2800 70-200 f2.8E. Sure, you can’t shoot in real low light but on my D850 I can bump up the ISO with very little added noise and still get great pics in less than perfect lighting. I no longer have the itch to buy an 8 to 10 thousands dollar super zoom, I just don’t think it would be enough improvement over this lens. Yes, I strongly recommend it. It really is the best bang for the buck lens, even at the non-sale price of $1396. After a year and a half I can say this is the best lens any Nikon user can buy. I never use my 70-200 any more. If you are a serious Nikon photographer and do not own this lens you are missing out big time.
2 people found this helpful
Chad –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic!
A fantastic lens. Perfect condition, just like new. Seller described product perfectly. Fast shipping and very well packaged. Would definitely buy from again.
Amazon Customer –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Lens
Great lens. Great sale price
Kimberly C.Kimberly C. –
5.0 out of 5 stars
An amateur’s best friend! Worth it!
I’m still just an amateur so I originally bought a much cheaper lens so I could enjoy photographing wildlife without breaking the bank for my D5600. I sometimes struggled with manually adjusting the settings as my subject moved from the shadows to a sun patch and back to the shadows, or holding still enough to avoid excess blur, but I was happy enough with the results since I’m not a professional. I finally decided to splurge and try out this NIKKOR and I am blown away by the difference in picture quality! I recognize the quality difference may mostly be user driven, but I can only imagine what quality photos can be captured by someone with a higher skill level.An added bonus is I’m now motivated to work out. I’ve had this lens for 2 days and have already exercised more than the 2+ years I’ve been neglecting my doctor’s recommendation. This lens is a whopping 5 pounds, but I don’t have a comparable lens to properly say whether this is actually heavy or light. Thanks to this lens’ autofocus, I no longer have to suffer holding my breath to try and reduce the blur from hand shakes, even with a monopod. The first photo was taken with a monopod and my cheaper lens, and the second was taken freehand with this lens. Dreams do come true!
L. Barstow –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Can pick out the gleam in the eye of a flea on the feather of a bird
If you want to do serious wildlife photography, “big glass” is inevitable. But the price of a 500mm or 600mm prime lens can set you back half the price of a new car! The Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6 E ED VR is a serious prosumer “budget” solution for those who can’t justify such a massive cash setback – and even for many who could.Once you get used to steadying it and using your camera with it, it really can resolve almost to the pixel level – even wide open at 500mm, even hand-held. I already have several bird pictures where the tiniest feather details are crisp and clean at 100%, and I am by no means an expert at wielding this thing yet! Focus with my D810 was dead-on to where I was aiming; I found the hardest part to be the aiming bit – at 500mm and f/5.6, you don’t have a lot of leeway on depth-of-field. The silent wave motor and vibration reduction are truly silent; unless you’re looking through the viewfinder, you won’t know either is operating. Out-of-focus backgrounds are largely smooth and clean, not harsh; color and contrast expose fine gradations and subtlety.Of course, this *isn’t* a five-figure super-prime lens. It doesn’t have the latest nano-coating for flare protection; because it’s an externally extending zoom, it doesn’t have the environmental protection of Nikon’s most rugged lenses; as many reviewers note, the zoom ring has a *lot* of travel between 200mm and 500mm; auto-focus, while sufficient for most wildlife and for focus tracking, does not instantly acquire its target; and it’s an f/5.6, not an f/4, so you have to bump up the ISO an extra step in poor lighting. But these are minor compromises for a major cost reduction, without sacrificing a lot of sharpness. It handily beats out my old 80-400mm ED VR in every measure, and in my opinion also bests the newer 80-400mm G VR-II that I rented from BorrowLens last year.I’ll finish off with a few more personal observations. First and most important, it doesn’t fit in any camera bag I own, nor many that I could find in my local camera store; I had to buy an Ape Case ACPROLC18 from Amazon just to have something to protect it and carry it around in – the dust cover that comes with it is frighteningly thin. Second, unlike some reviewers, I don’t have any problem with the lens hood; it locks on great when following the alignment symbols, though I do not feel a lock when it’s reversed for storage. Third, I found my camera with this lens had a tendency to under-expose in difficult lighting (backlight, haze); I’ve had the camera set to a full +1.0 stop exposure compensation for many of my early experiences, but set to normal in good light. Fourth, 95mm is not a universal filter size; B+H does not list its latest nano-coated filter for this size lens, for example. Lastly, I will re-iterate: this is a big lens, and it takes practice to hold it and use it properly. Until you get the hang of it, there will be a lot of blurry shots; before you give up on it, take some extra time to verify the problem isn’t behind the camera rather than in front of it, learn the ins and outs of the lens, and if necessary take the time to micro-adjust the focus.Nikon really hit it out of the park with the 200-500mm f/5.6 E ED VR. Tack sharp and sufficiently fast in use, it will be on my camera for many future wildlife adventures.
14 people found this helpful
Robert Schlenker –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Image degradation with the TC-14E III teleconverter
With a Nikon D7100, this lens produces beautiful results at f/5.6 and f/8 and 500mm, the only parameter values at which I have checked it. Color rendition is attractive as is contrast. This lens-camera combination is acceptably quick to reach focus when initially fully defocused but no speed races will be won with it. When the lens begins close to exact focus, focusing is very snappy with the D7100 set as indicated.When using a 500mm or other long telephoto lens, the photographer often wants to crop the photo to bring out a target of interest that does not fill the frame, a bird for example. A reasonable amount of cropping, say 50% produces attractive results, but as the cropping becomes more extreme, the results become less attractive. This is no surprise. One apparent way around this is to increase the focal length with a Nikon teleconverter such as the TC-14E III. Attached to this lens and mounted on the D7100 the TC-14E III produces an f/8 lens-teleconverter combination which will autofocus with speeds quite like the speeds achieved in the absence of the teleconverter.The addition of the teleconverter produces some image degradation, which becomes more and more apparent as the crop percentage increases. Again, this is no surprise, but those photographers who wish to crop photos thus produced should keep in mind that the sharpness reduction caused by the teleconverter becomes more and more apparent as the crop percentage increases. Based on photos I have taken of outdoors scenes with and without this teleconverter, I suggest that those who wish to use a high crop percentage, forget the teleconverter and crop images taken with the lens alone rather than cropping images taken with the lens-teleconverter combination.This seems a bit counterintuitive because the crop percentage needed with the teleconverter in place is significantly less than the crop percentage without it when the target of interest is the same size in both cropped photos. With this lens at 500mm on a D7100 use of a teleconverter degrades photos made from highly cropped images noticeably more than does the more severe cropping used with images made without the teleconverter.When photographing shy birds in the wild, it is often necessary to shoot from long distances, sometimes hundreds of yards. My own tests were at 400 yards and I conclude that the sharpness of the final photo made from a cropped image will be better without the teleconverter than with it. The majority of wildlife photographers want the greatest possible sharpness in their final cropped images and the way to get it with this lens on a D7100 is to leave the TC-14E III in your camera bag. Inasmuch as the image degradation has nothing to do with the camera, I suspect that similar results would be obtained regardless of the Nikon camera body used with this lens. Not having tested a full frame body I will not speculate unduly on what the degradation would be like with a FX sensor. But I will go so far as to say that the sharpness difference between the lens-teleconverter combination compared with the lens without teleconverter on an FX camera would be less noticeable simply because the DX sensor subtends less of the circle of illumination that the FX sensor does.
41 people found this helpful
DSSDSS –
5.0 out of 5 stars
smaller size and good reach. That being said
I never thought I’d say this about a $1,400.00 super-zoom telephoto lens, but,.. it is phenomenal.This lens is sharp! The VR is very effective as well. It allows me to hand-hold the lens to below 1/100s at any focal length and get sharp results, provided the subject isn’t moving much. Being able to focus on subjects close or far away and being able to zoom in or out is also a bonus.I shoot a lot of wildlife, birds in flight, surfing and so on, and needed a longer lens. I was using my 300mm f/4D AF-S plus Nikon 1.4TCII, which got me to 420mm at f/5.6. This combo works really well due to sharpness, light weight, smaller size and good reach. That being said, I’m shooting with the D750 which is full frame, so I’ve always wanted just a little more reach than that and something I didn’t need a TC for.I was looking at the new Tamron 150-600mm G2 and this Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6VR. I decided to go down to Sammy’s Camera to give them both a try to see which one I’d like better. Though I’m sure the Tamron is great, I ended up really liking the Nikon. It just seemed to work better with my D750 as far as low light focus and VR were concerned. I liked it so much, that although I planned on buying it online, I couldn’t help myself and handed over the cash so I could take it home that minute.I have read that there could be some copy variation and that some of these perform better than others. The one I picked up is flawless. It is pin-sharp wide open at every focal length with no AF fine tune necessary. Though it is a bit slow to focus on a subject initially, once it locks on, it tracks that subject very well. I haven’t missed any shots so far, so long as I was able to keep the lens on the subject. It’s larger and heavier than my 300mm f/4D and TC combo, so it did take some getting used to.I would highly recommend this lens to any Nikon shooter needing more reach. This lens delivers even with a 1.4TC attached! I’ve only tried it with my 1.4TC II (which holds up really well though it was first announced in 2001!), but plan on buying the 1.4TC III for improved focus, optics and VR with this lens. The TC brings you to 700mm at f/8. I was getting sharp results on subjects that were moving slower, but for flying birds it didn’t quite work out. I’m confident that the 1.4TC III will improve that quite a bit, since it’s meant to work better with these new “E” lenses.
57 people found this helpful
Amazon CustomerAmazon Customer –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love this lens
I am not a professional but I really this lens for capturing my family doing their thing in action. Crisp photos
Leland CLeland C –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best price performance for a long Nikon telephoto
This Nikon 200-500mm lens fits a special niche to complement my assortment of other shorter telephotos. For the price, the lens sharpness is on par with much more expensive prime telephotos. The constant f/5.6 aperture is great when zooming out to 500mm without losing another stop of light and slower shutter speeds, especially for outdoor sports or birding. The autofocus is very fast and VR gives you ~4 extra stops extra performance in lower light situations and hand holding. The lens hood is huge and I was able to narrow down to an Ape Case lens case to fit both the lens and reversed lens hood. Many other cases just fit the lens but not with the hood. I permanently store this lens in the lens case along with the Nikon lens bag. A 95mm protective filter is not the cheapest filter out there, but cheap insurance to have one. Another needed aftermarket purchase is a sturdy ~70mm length arca plate. This will save you from needing to spend another $200+ on a replacement collar/foot combination from RRS or Kirk. The arca plate screws into the original collar and can be used with a monopod or tripod. My greatest long distance photos were from the once in a lifetime super blood blue moon. I shot this mounted on a tripod and using a remote trigger in mirror up position to minimize shutter and mirror vibrations. Recently I purchased a 1.4 teleconverter for my 70-200mm f/2.8g lens. It can also be used on this lens too for an effective 700mm at f/6.3. If you are considering this lens, do consider if you need something wider as <100mm.. If so then a 80-400mm would be my 2nd choice. But if starting at 200mm is a needed minimum, then this 200-500mm is the best price performance without adding another digit to the price tag.
7 people found this helpful
Gary M Seabolt –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love this lens.
I have only used it twice. It takes great pictures but it is heavy to hold. It doesn’t fit in my camera bag so I bought the lens case for it. I recommend a mono or tripod.
One person found this helpful
Jerry L. Cook –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Received a damaged lens
Updated review: My first copy was damaged in transit, and my newer copy was of course as expected (i.e. quite good). I am a passionate yet still relatively new photographer, and so my review is based on that experience. I have the 50mm, 35mm, 70-200, and 200-500 (all Nikon lenses), and admittedly I use the 200-500mm (for wildlife) and 35mm (portrait) the most. I had thought that I could use the 70-200mm at the nature center, but that has not worked well. The 70-200 works very well when you need more distance between you and the subject, and the quality of the photos is very good for that. After about 1 year or so of frequent use, I do notice there is a bit more “hunting” for it to focus on the subjects, but still I am very happy with this lens. It is a great mid-range lens, especially when I need the flexibility of a zoom lens.———–Original review:I expect that my review will change as soon as I receive a replacement for a damaged lens. When I received the item, the rear lens cap was not on the lens. When I tried the lens, although it would “click” into place, neither of my cameras (D500, D3300) could access the lens’ aperture settings (it said an aperture of ZERO and would not change; the AF would not work either). After 30 minutes on the phone with Nikon customer service, it was concluded that the connectors were damaged in transit. It is a good lesson/reminder to me to keep the lens caps on. I look forward to receiving a lens that works in the near future. Amazon.com customer service was very helpful in this process of getting a new one shipped out.
One person found this helpful
Mike –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sharp,solid and one hell of a value.
I have the 200-400 f4, 80-400 the new one. Quite frankly all of these lenses are different yet they all the same. 200-400f4 sharp up close. 80-400 light, small and sharp. This 200-500f5.6 is not only sharp it is a great value too. I wish I could tell you that the other expensive ones are much better so that you would be impress with my ability to tell the difference but since I don’t know any of you and I don’t care anyway I have to say that I can not tell the difference between any of these three lenses IQ. I am sure there are some but it is way over my head to tell them a part. Don’t get me wrong I know how to shot and I know the difference between their intend purpose but what I can’t tell you is after I have taken the image with any of these and process them in the light room I will be hard press to tell the images a part. So don’t worry about the sharpness or IQ of this lens but rather think about if it fits your needs from its physical attributes. Weather sealing , weight, cost, build quality etc. If it fits your needs then I would say all three lenses are pretty much in par from sharpness and IQ point of view in real world shooting. I am sure some guy in the lab or blog will tell you other wise but he is not the one spending his hard earn money and dose not know about your need.I am very happy with this lens so much so that I am thinking about selling the 80-400 but I am keeping the 200-400 f4 for obvious reasons.Hope this soup boxing help.Mike
11 people found this helpful
Ramn337 –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Rated like new
The lens arrived on time and was exactly what I wanted. The only “problem” was this was advertised as like new but there is a small cut in the lens seal, I will have to have this $15 part replaced by a Nikon service center at who knows what cost.
Georgios GkiokasGeorgios Gkiokas –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Really Good Telephoto Lens
I receive my lens yesterday, so I haven’t shoot many photos yet. I did took some testing pictures when Amazon deliver my package and I was satisfied with the results. The pictures are clear when you’re zooming at 500 mm , autofocus is fast, but I haven’t tried it on moving subject yet. It’s quite heavy lens so if you carry different lenses when you go for picture safari you ‘re gonna need an extra case just for this. The pictures that I uploaded I took them this morning. The first is how the moon it’s actually look like at 500 mm, the second is the same picture but I cropped it to bring the subject closer. But even when I cropped the picture you still can see many details. I shoot with a NIKON D7500, it fits well with my camera’s body, but if your camera’s body is smaller like my other NIKON D3300, it will disappear. Overall so far I thing is worth buying this lens, it’s a powerful tool, especially for people who are into wild life and nature photography. I will continue shooting and if any updates I will edit my review.
One person found this helpful
Sandy D –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Just one problem…
I love the lens, and I’m not going to waste everyone’s time by reiterating what has already been said. I will say that I went from the Sigma 150-500 to this, and I’m glad I did. The only reason I give it four stars is because of the design of the lens hood. Before purchasing, I read in another review with a negative comment pertaining to how easily the hood becomes detached and the writer said something to the effect that he thought that Nikon could have come up with a better design than what comes with the this Nikon lens. I thought, “How bad could it be?” Well, let me tell you, it’s bad. I was shooting out the window of my car last week, finished and set the camera on the seat next to me, and when I went to pick it up again, I noticed the hood was gone. After searching in my car, I realized it must have fallen off outside at the last stop. I was blessed to find it still laying on the ground. The hood is constantly falling off. I thought about Super Glue, but I know that would not be the most intelligent solution. Be on guard with that hood. Other than that, it’s a great lens.
27 people found this helpful
DirtDiverDirtDiver –
5.0 out of 5 stars
EXCELLENT for Wildlife
What’s NOT to like? I’m not a professional photographer, but THIS baby brings the wildlife right to me!I’ve only had this thing for a couple of weeks and have already had a chance to use it in Utah and Colorado.It’s kinda heavy though. 5 lbs to lug around. I just completed a 6 mile hike with this thing. Just carried my camerain my hand holding on to the underneath mounting handle (too heavy around my neck). Just carried the camera upside down until needed.So far, all of my shots were hand-held and came out great. The VR (with my D3300) works pretty well.The Bighorn sheep in the pic was about 150 yds up a steep hill above me. I could zoom in the pic even closer with great clarity.But it looks like I’m only 20 ft across from him.Read a lot of reviews before buying and now I’m glad I did.(Little tip: B&H Photo online has this same lens for the identical price. Wanted to support them instead of the behemoth Amazon.But they were backordered when I went to buy it. I knew I was going out of town. Looks like they have it back in stock)
2 people found this helpful
Turks139Turks139 –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love it
This is super lens for the money. I have the 70-200 f2.8 but this 500 is nice to get you close. I am not a professional photographer as you can obviously see from the pics. I don’t think I will be disappointed at all with this purchase. I do need to use it some more to get the depth of field and shutter speeds dialed in. The auto focus is fast and works great.It does take some practice getting the lens full extended out to 500mm, I just grab underneath and around the barrel to get there. I would recommend a tripod the pics i took are all from a tripod I will take it out on a monopod and see how it does. weighing in at more than 5 lbs. I don’t know if Arnold could not shake at 500mm even with the VR feature.Material make up is not bad at all the lens hood does not have a latch lock the 70-200 but the hood does seem to fit securely so far i will see how it holds up after extended use.
Gilles Forestier –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fat, Tack sharp, nice aperture, interesting range
First the delivery : fast but the Nikon box looked like … used (loose opening, inside parts not tight – I know Nikon well, everything inside is pretty tight when new), so no 5 stars. Whatever … the content (lense, accessories) are ok though. The lense : very good surprise. All along the range it’s tack sharp with my D5. The barrel is wide (so.. quick zoom full ramge is a bit tricky) and extend (no good for the dust but, yah, I knew it). The 200-500 is surprisingly portable and shooting without tripod will be no problem (even if the cam + lens is around 8.8 lbs). VR is very good. Zoom is quick without being stunningly fast. I’ll update the review and plan to use it for fast sports, in the dust. But Nikon really made a good job, in keeping all that glass, at a pretty good aperture for the range, in a quite lightweight package and mostly for a very useful range (per comparison the 70×200 + TCIII starts at 5.6 too and the 70-200 F4 + TCIII at F6 ! … for a maximum reach of 400mm).
4 people found this helpful
NavNav –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Almost Perfect
I absolutely love this lens. It’s been a big step up from my old 70-300mm VR, in fact I don’t use it anymore. I use this mainly for wildlife, I’m able to capture a whole new level of detail with this lens. The VR is some of the best I’ve seen, I can’t believe how sharp my handheld shots can be, even with lower shutter speeds. Well worth the money, especially compared to other super-telephotos.Gripes: The hood falls off INCREDIBLY easily. I was taking photos of waterfowl on the docks at Neah Bay, Washington – the hood unscrewed itself just from the camera rocking back and forth with the neckstrap, bounced off the dock, and is now laying at the bottom of the Straight of Juan de Fuca (a replacement is $54.80 as of now). Also, the autofocus is slightly slower than my old 70-300mm when it comes to things like birds in flight, I’ve missed a handful of shots because of this – but it’s still pretty good.Overall I’ve been very impressed with this lens, particularly the sharpness, VR capability, and finally being able to shoot at 500mm affordably. It’s amazing how I can now observe wildlife in its natural habitat without disturbing it. This is one of my favorite lenses – you can see the images I’ve shot so far with it below.
29 people found this helpful
John Bragg –
1.0 out of 5 stars
A clunky and blurry lens, but a smooth, slow zoom
I made side-by-side comparisons of the Nikkor 200-500 mm f/5.6 zoom against my 37 year-old Nikkor 400 mm f/3.5 primary lens. For 1:1 comparisons I set the zoom to 400 mm. I shot test images at minimal focus, mid-range, infinity and while panning. I noted problems in focus, lens quality, and feature design.1) At infinity I could not get a sharp image from the 200-500 in any circumstance. At near end focus, images from both lenses were of comparable sharpness and quality. At mid-range (300mm) sharpness was hit-and-miss with the 200-500. In all side-by-side tests my 400 was returning pin-sharp images.2) Chromatic aberration was detectable from the viewfinder.3) The rotation collar operation is clumsy and clunky and interferes with operating the lens. The collar locking screw is undersized and not easy to manipulate, especially while the lens is in use. It’s located on the shutter release side of the camera, meaning you need to stop taking pictures in order to reorient the lens. The collar release lockout slot is located too near to the rotation action range, meaning the lens can easily slip beyond the action range and pop out of the collar. This doesn’t necessarily present a dropping problem as long as the lens is attached to the camera but it stops you from taking pictures until you fix it. It could also damage the lens or camera bayonet mount. I frequently change from horizontal to vertical frame and back. The rotation collar action includes two nodes, located about 90 degrees apart around the lens barrel, that seem intended for locating the lens in vertical and horizontal alignments, but they are aligned about 10 or 12 degrees off their marks. Not sure what this is about, but it adds to the complexity of changing the frame from vertical to horizontal or back, especially while shooting. All of these problems with the rotation ring alone were enough to deter me from owning this lens.4) Zoom action is smooth but slow. Whether that’s a problem depends on how quickly you need to change focal length.5) Panning was problematic due to the focusing problems noted above.Bottom line: I bought this lens hoping to benefit from an autofocus long telephoto. I’ll stick to my 400. I can hand-focus far more quickly than this lens can autofocus.
4 people found this helpful
djm –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fairly big, awkward to carry around, but good optics and value
Based on the dimensions and my first impression when it arrived, I thought the size would feel pretty manageable (for what it is). However, after using it in the field, both with and without a tripod, I think of it as a big, bulky, and awkward to use lens. Part of the problem, as has been noted in other reviews, is the long distance you have to turn the zoom barrel in order to cover the 200-500mm range. Another issue is how long the lens becomes when fully extended: with the lens hood on it extends 17″ out from the front of your camera body. All of this combines to make the lens a questionable choice for situations where you want to go for a walk or hike of any length and do quick shooting along the way, and a good one where you can set it up and shoot for a while. Optics/image quality are just what I expected (very good, especially for the price), and I think the lens is a good value. But if portability and quick handling are important to you, I’d recommend considering other options such as the 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6
6 people found this helpful
DaveFLDaveFL –
5.0 out of 5 stars
6 Pound Quality Zoom Lens
First off I am an amateur photographer who enjoys shooting birds and wild life. I love the lens for the reach and quality of the photo. In my opinion the auto focus is very fast an accurate. After much research I settled on this lens because of the ability to have a quality 500mm lens for a reasonable price. The Nikon non-zoom in 500mm is way more expensive. I typically shoot using a monopod which doubles as a walking stick on hikes. Due to it’s weight, shooting without the mono pod/tripod is a challenge. Also I have not found a backpack that is built for a lens this size. Overall I love the lens and it has allowed me to take much better pictures than with my Nikon 70-300mm that came with the camera.Only negative so far is weight and with image stabilization on, the image tends to jump a little after the shot. Regarding image stabilization, you can do a search and some reviews will discuss this in dept.
Mr. DaleMr. Dale –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nikon hits a home run!
As another reviewer stated, this lens is a beast. It is big and it is heavy. I had to buy a larger camera bag and it still leaves room for little else in the bag. I shoot mainly sports, baseball and racing, and use the lens on a D3 and a D7100. I bought this lens to try at baseball spring training in Arizona and was not disappointed. On the D7100 in cropped mode it is the equivalent of a 400-1000 and was perfect for baseball. In the past I have used the 80-400 Nikkor and a monopod was a must. Some of the ballparks would not allow a monopod so I was forced to hand hold this beast. I had always thought that VR lenses were kind of “snake oil” but this lens delivered nice crisp sharp images. It would be nice if this lens were a stop or two faster but for the price it can’t be beat. The only complaint I have is the joke they pass off as a case. It is a glorified dust cover that offers no protection of any kind. All in all though, I would say Nikon has hit a home run with this lens!
7 people found this helpful
Robert ProctorRobert Proctor –
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Incredible Lens at an Incredible Price
I’ve been researching telephoto zooms here for a while as I was trying to decide which one to get. I narrowed it down to the Tamron 150-600, Sigma 150-600 and this lens the Nikon 200-500. After reading/watching a bunch of reviews and comparisons of the lenses I decided to go with the Nikon, mainly because of it’s sharpness throughout all focal lengths but also because of it’s incredible VR (Vibration Reduction).Apart from being a great quality lens it’s also affordable. For what you are getting it’s a steal! Compared the it’s Big Brother the Nikon 500m f4 Prime it’s about 9 grand less and produces just about the same amazing quality. The lens itself is fairly new, it was released in 2015 I believe and because of that there isn’t a whole of info out there like there is for other lenses. As of writing this review there is still no DXO Mark score which really bothers me, but hopefully they will get it up at some point.The real beauty of this lens is it’s VR, it’s Nikons latest generation of Vibration Reduction and it’s incredible! It’s really quite amazing how low you can drop the shutter speeds. I posted some pics with my review that hopefully help give some ideas as to what to expect with this lens. One of the pics was taken at 1/8th a second at 500mm handheld, that’s just insane! Obviously you wouldn’t want to be shooting at that speed if you don’t have to, I just wanted to test the capabilities. At 1/8th I couldn’t land a super tack sharp pic, but scaled down to any reasonable size it then looks totally sharp. In general I was able to land tack sharp images at 1/25h and lower, and 1/100 to 1/300 gave me super sharp images almost every time, even at 500mm focus. The bokeh on this thing is impeccable, blowing out the backgrounds is a snap with this lens. Colors are also deep and saturated with good contrast. Chromatic Aberration isn’t a problem either, however I’ve noticed a very slight hint of CA on a few images, though I am talking about a very minimal amount, if you weren’t pixel peeping you would never see it, and even then you might still might miss it.Focusing isn’t as snappy as the 500mm f4 prime, but at 1/10th the cost the focusing works pretty darn good. Once you get used to it and know how much time you need to adjust you will get the hang of controlling the focus properly. The zoom wheel also requires a bit too much turn to go from 200-500, you won’t be able to make a full transition in a single hand turn which is a bit of a bummer especially if your starting at 200 and zooming is as your tracking your subject, but again this will improve over time once you practice with it. My only other criticism thus far is the weight. It’s definitely light enough to hand hold, but holding it up to track a bird or take a series of pics can get tiresome pretty quickly. However, this too will get better with practice as you build up some muscles.All in all I would say this is one of the best telephoto zooms to date, if not the best if you take the price into consideration. This is about as good as it gets at this price range, you really won’t find a better lens. It’s extremely versatile, you can focus close enough to take some macro shots as well (a few included in my review), you can use this lens for tight portraits, candid shots, birding, macro, and even landscapes to a lesser extent.
29 people found this helpful
Amazon CustomerAmazon Customer –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Tremendous!
Very happy with the quality and functionality. The weight takes some getting used to. Great pictures even without the tripod. Glad I got it.
One person found this helpful
Richard –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great lens, kind of heavy
This is a great lens but be aware that it is kind of heavy and hard to hold steady without a support of some kind
One person found this helpful
SeanSean –
5.0 out of 5 stars
A good value for a long telephoto… just understand the limitations.
I purchased this lens during the last sale. I previously owned the Tamron 150-600 (g1) for Nikon F, and a Panasonic 100-300 for micro 4/3rds. I have paired this lens with the Nikon Z7 and so far I am happy with the results. I find the best results when keeping the lens under 450mm. I am still getting used to the combo, but I am pretty happy with the results. You won’t get images as sharp as with a $5000 prime lens, and the 5.6 aperture is obviously not as flexible as an f/4 or f/2.8 lens. When using the vr along with the Nikon Z7 ibis, the lens provides a very stable image and can capture sharp still subjects at 1/200 sec at full zoom. Tracking with the Z7 has been a mixed bag… I am still getting used to the Z7 and its various tracking modes, but I think the f5.6 aperture can be a limiting factor.I would recommend this lens to wildlife shooters working with decent lighting conditions. It probably isn’t great for indoor low light sports. It is a big and fairly heavy lens, and may be easier to handle with a monopod. All of the photos I have attached were shot handheld. I have been using the tripod mount as a handle to carry the lens with the camera attached, but you can save a little bit of weight if you remove the mount. The lens has compromises, but is a good value when on sale… 5 stars for value, since I knew the limitations before purchasing.
9 people found this helpful
J. KempeJ. Kempe –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just: Excellent.
One of the reasons I buy from Amazon – no, I’m not a shill – is its seamless return policy. I’d only used it once, when I returned an 18-300mm lens that I’d bought for my D7100 because it wasn’t substantially better than my 18-140mm kit lens. By allowing me to do that, though, I was able to buy a 70-200mm f/2.8 that changed my photography life. Amazon has its reasons.Fast forward. I now shoot with a D750. The 70-200 – and the 14-24mm and 24-70mm – are still my reference. A week before the 200-500mm was delivered I shot a series with the 70-200mm coupled with a TC-20e 2X extender: Very good, but the degradation at 400mm was obvious.Still, when I received the 200-500 I unpacked carefully, and saved the packaging. If the IQ wasn’t going to be substantially better than what I had, I was going to send it back. In fact, I assumed I’d do so.I just threw the packaging away.1. Image quality is almost – not quite, but almost – up with the Nikon pro zooms. Color, excellent, bokeh, beautiful and smooth.2. VR is as advertised: 4.5 stops. Stunning.3. Auto focus is slower than the other pro lenses, but accurate. Fast enough to capture an eagle leaving its nest at 300 yards.4. With a body that handles noise well – I love the D750 – it’s easy to shoot at even ISO 1600 and crank the shutter speed up to 1/4000 to get the in-flight bird shots we all love.Bottom line: Fabulous. Way better than expected. The holy trinity, for me, has become the holy quartet…
31 people found this helpful
Tin Fixture –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great value but some issues
I’ve owned this lens for about six weeks. I use it on my D7100 body and almost exclusively for birds. I have owned and used on this body the newer Nikon 80-400, the older 300 f4, and various third party telephotos.Build Quality – 4 stars. The hood is terrible. it fell off and cracked within 90 minutes of use and after taping it together it fell off and broke to the point it wouldn’t stay on at all. Nikon was kind enough to send a replacement when one became available. In the meanwhile I bought a screw-on hood which I now use exclusively. Otherwise the lens seems very solid. The tripod mount is improved from some other recent Nikon lenses.Image Quality – 4 stars – not quite up to the standards of a prime but very good. Very minor chromatic aberration occasionally. No significant image quality fall off at 500 that I can detect.Focus – 3 stars. Much slower than 80-400. I bought this lens to use to identify passing birds in flight from a boat and unfortunately it’s not very good for that – essentially no shots of birds in flight are very crisp and most are noticeably out of focus. 9 point focus has worked well for all other lenses on this D7100 body but I have to use 1 point for this lens and unless the point is dead on the bird, tough to do on a moving boat, the lens will just seek and I miss a lot of shots. For birds at a predictable distance – i.e. perched or standing – it’s very usable but expect that a lot won’t be keepers.Value – 5. Focus is a concern. For birds in flight I’m disappointed. But overall it’s a very solid lens that delivers very good image quality at a very competitive price. The 80-400 has slightly better image quality and much faster and more predictable focus but is 100mm shorter and costs quite a bit more. I was concerned with this lens’ size and weight but in the field it doesn’t seem significantly more unwieldy than the 80-400.
17 people found this helpful
L. BloomL. Bloom –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Easy to use but heavy!
I’ve had this lens for about 6 months now. I’m an amateur but love learning and trying to improve my shots. This lens allows me to capture wildlife. I use on a tripod with a gimbal head. I am not able to hold it steady enough just holding it. The flowers are about 200ft away, while the birds are about 50ft. I’m loving it and am happy with the ease of use, quality and decent price! Don’t wait!
3 people found this helpful
AndIThoughtTheHobbitWasBad –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love this Lens, Great & Clear Glass
Bought this for my D3200 for outdoor shots. So far just scenery, but lens is clear, auto focus works great, easy to mount. Drawback is the weight, had to go with a monopod but well worth it.Hit a sale, picked up the lens for the price of the refurbished Amazon offering, it’s not cheap but it as a huge step up from what I had.
2 people found this helpful
Doug ParrishDoug Parrish –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Happy so far
So far this has been a great lens. Comparing it to Nikkor 70-300 lens, this lens is heavy. Not sure it’s one I would want to take on a long hike unless carrying it in a backpack. It’s also a huge lens, but for the $$, I’m satisfied so far. I purchased it used and the lens was like new. Using it with a Nikon D3300.
First Tram –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very Nice
I spent a long time deciding if I should purchase this. To read the specs of this lens, this was exactly what I needed. Some negative aspects that took a long time to get past. I finally decided the lens was what I needed I took it on a 4 day shoot, took thousands of pictures. If you read the rest of the reviews, they are pretty close. The one star are just bad lenses. That happens. Always check to make sure you have a good lens. Clear photos and a quality lens. Nice Job Nikon. With that said, is this the perfect lens. NO. Most of my lenses are faster. I had a learning curve to power through. I knew purchasing this, I would need to get used to using this. Work with it before you go. Autofocus is a little slow. Not bad but since I use faster lenses, I noticed. Take your time and make sure you are focused on exactly what you want. The pictures are top of the line from 200 to 500. I found no weak area. I started on a tripod because it is a bigger lens. Others complained about the mount foot and balance. I would say a little off but easy enough to adjust if your tripod mount has a little adjustment. Not a problem for me. I hand shoot most of the time. That was my biggest concern of buying this. Can I carry it all day and can I hold it steady enough. Again Nikon killed it. I shot for hours hand held and the pictures are perfect. It did wear my arms down. Now if you are thinking the camera is not fast enough for you, I am a wildlife photographer. The conditions are perfect about one percent of the time. This lens did just as well as any of my other lenses could have done. Speed might have cost me a few shots, but not a huge deal. Impressed on how close I could focus at 200mm. But it is 200mm. You need a second camera for closer work. Overall, this is an awesome lens. I watched one review where the presenter said if you do not have perfect shots, it is not the lenses fault. I have to agree with him. This lens is capable if you learn to be proficient with it. I like staying inside the range of my 200mm, but not all the critters agree. I do not give up quality with this at a farther distance. Very happy with my purchase. Not a point and shoot. Takes effort. I left out a lot of the fine details because I thought others were very accurate on the lens reviews. Buy it.
6 people found this helpful
Weigle2 –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Value and Tack Sharp Pictures
This is a great lens (Nikon 200-500) for nature and sports photography. I did learn the hard way, if you use any filters on this lens, they must be of good quality. I used an inexpensive Circular Polarizer Filter that caused fuzziness in any photo I took with this lens. It also caused auto focus issues sometimes, and I found when I removed the filter, everything worked well with excellent picture quality. For the money, it’s a bargain. Note it is very heavy for us older folks, so I would recommend using either a monopod or tripod if possible. The Vibration Reduction does eliminate any shake if handholding the lens. I was quite pleased with how fast the auto focus is.
DenKagDenKag –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Seller didn’t package properly – arrived damaged
Lens is great, except that seller didn’t package it properly and it arrived damaged. Lens cap was smashed onto the lens. It was difficult to remove since it was wedged in, and once it came out, I noticed the lens was also scratched. The F-mount cap was also loose in the box. It was shipped ONLY in the Nikon box; no additional packaging was used.
2 people found this helpful
John RainJohn Rain –
4.0 out of 5 stars
The build quality is good. What I really like is the fact that …
I’ll start with the pros first: 1.) sharpness: Sharp wide open at every focal length. The 200-500 is sharper at 5.6 (at every focal length) than the Sigma C & the Tamron 150-600 is at f8 and beyond. On an FX body there is noticeable corner and edge softness (at least on my copy) of the 200-500. DX shooters won’t be affected by this due to the crop factor.2.) Build Quality: The build quality is good. What I really like is the fact that the lens has a stationary rear element, (something that the Sigma C & the Tamron does not have), so you don’t have to worry about pumping dust inside of your camera as you zoom in and out.3.) Weight: Even though it’s slightly heavier/bigger than the Sigma C, and the Tamron 150-600mm, I find the weight to be more evenly distributed and better balanced for hand held shooting.4.) Contrast & Saturation: Excellent! Far superior than the Sigma C and much better than the Tamron 150-600mm.Cons:My only con is the auto focus performance. It’s slow (70-300 VR G ED slow), some what sluggish, often hunts and I’m shooting on a current high end FX body. I would rate the auto focus performance as a solid C+. I’m waiting on my D500 from Adorama to be delivered and will update auto focus performance (depending on a significant improvement) at a later date.Overall I’m happy with the lens. Good image quality, good build quality and excellent VR.
13 people found this helpful
Richard –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Heavy. You will need a tripod or monopod.
Quality build. Good value when on sale. If you hand hold be prepared for a work out. Picture quality is excellent. Great shutter speed to catch the action. Was going to return it but new I would not find anything better.
Jill –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love this lens!
Works like a dream! Pictures are fantastic! So glad I was able to order this lens!
EmilyEmily –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great for Nature Photography
As a photography hobbyist I bought this lens along with a Nikon D500 to upgrade from my Sigma 500mm lens that I’ve had for >8 years. The lens is easy to use, and has reliably turned out amazing photos. I really only have two minor complaints, and neither really detract from my enjoyment of shooting with the lens. First off, the F-stop is fine, but I do wish it could be lower than 5.6 to let in more light. Also, you will definitely get an arm workout with this lens if you don’t have a tripod! It’s a dense lens, and if you have the lens hood on you will certainly turn heads wherever you happen to be walking! But even with these minor complaints I have had the most fun in years while out walking and looking for animals to photograph. Happy shooting!
One person found this helpful
Jason –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Lense!
I took me a while to justify getting this but I finally caved. I mainly to wildlife/birds and without getting into crazy Prime lenses, this is it. It is heavy but that comes with the territory. It is super sharp at max zoom which is awesome. If I had to nit pick the one thing that is hard to get used to is that twisting to zoom on this can take like 3 regrips to from min to max zoom. I usually just grab the front near the hood attachment and push it out to zoom when I need to get something really fast. This is to be expected though when you want a lense from 200-500mm. this is priced fair in comparison to Sigmas and Tamerons and while I do not own those, I have gotten to shoot with them and really do believe this lense does perform better. My main target is flying birds, especially raptors and after having this I could never go back to something smaller. As with any Camera gear purchase, do your research, a big lense is not always better, it all depends on what will use it for. For the regular photographer, this is not something they really need, If are really into wild animals or other things that require a lot of magnification , this is something to consider.
6 people found this helpful
Mike N.Mike N. –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing lens!
This lens is spectacular! I bought it in anticipation of the D500 I ordered. I tried it on my D90 which it is not supposed to be compatible with and to my surprise it did work, but you could not adjust the aperture so it ran wide open at 5.6. I finally got the D500 ( man what a beast of a camera and a step up from the D90, love it!) I don’t think a day has not passed where I have had this lens on my camera, the 4 1/2 stops of the VR is nothing short of a magic trick, the shots that you can handhold is not to be believed. Attached two pics, the moon is hand held on my D90 (1/800, 5.6, ISO 320, 500mm), the chipmunk is handheld on the D500 (1/80, 5.6, ISO 125, 500mm). Both pics are straight out of cameras, re-sized in Photoshop, no adjustments. For the life of me I can’t figure out why Nikon cannot produce more lens’s like this at these price points.While I have never shot the 500 fixed, and am sure its sharper and focus much faster, I got to wonder is it around $9000 better? With the D500 and its awesome high ISO and this lens and its VR, I can shoot this thing indoors, just amazing. Running it wide open at 5.6 is where I use it the most, not sure if I even stopped it down yet 🙂
17 people found this helpful
Greg P –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great lens but weight makes it impossible to use handheld
I’m very pleased with this lens. I mainly use a Nikon 80-400mm and wanted something with a little more reach and really wanted to have tele-converter compatibility. I do mainly sports and landscape photography and this was a good addition to my pack. My main cameras are Nikon D300 and Nikon D800 and this lens works great for both. That said, there are pluses and minuses to this lens.Plus:Nice and sharp / good resolutionCompatible with 1.4 tele-converterMetal bodyMinus:Heavy – Really heavy. Too heavy to use hand held and adjust the zoom. You really can’t use without a mono-pod or tri-pod.Size – I can’t really complain too much here because you probably couldn’t get this resolution and reach with a smaller lens size.Only compatible with the 1.4 tele-converter – If adding a little more length would give us a 2.0 compatibility, that would have been worth it for me.Summary:I love the lens for what it can do, but I am disappointed that I really can’t use it for my sports photography because it’s so heavy. I hate to say it but if this lens had a plastic body, the weight reduction would be enough to use it hand held.
One person found this helpful
Carl Meiring –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good quality!
Great lens for wildlife photography
Kaidoi –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delivered as promised
Love the lens! Normally buy my camera equipment from B&H or Adorama but both did not have this lens in stock and would notify me when it was in. Amazon also did not have this lens in stock either but gave me a expected delivery day2 weeks out. So I went with Amazon because I have never had a problem with Amazon on delivery dates or service. Also I needed this lens for a planned trip and could not leave it open to “notify you when in.”Amazon delivered as promised. My lens came a few days before their expected delivery date!
Brian BusseyBrian Bussey –
4.0 out of 5 stars
More Birds for your Buck
The more I use the lens the more I like it. The VR works well but I find using it on a monopod to be a lot more helpful, especially when panning faster objects. The pics above were taken without a monopod and I think they came out well. I currently use this on a D750 but I’m starting to think a D500 with a 1.5x crop will get me even more reach. For the price it’s a great lens. I Paid almost as much for my Sigma 35mm 1.4. If I had the money I’d buy the primes but I will say there have been a few occasions when 500 mm too much and backing it off was needed. I went back and fourth on this purchase but I’m glad I pulled the trigger and I think you’ll be glad too.
2 people found this helpful
B. Kulvete –
4.0 out of 5 stars
so great to walk around with especially with a sling
Very sharp lens. Not too heavy, so great to walk around with especially with a sling. Nice to have a good focal range for close or far photos. This thing LOVES good light. My only gripe with it is that the AF seems very slow, but that may be my own bias as I am use to shooting with prime lenses which are lightning fast in this department. I also realize that this is a f5.6 lens, so it wasn’t intended to be fast, but I have missed some shots because of the AF.With that being said, I think I still may make this one of my travel lenses and leave the big and bulky prime at home. I found myself preferring to carry this lens around on a recent Costa Rica trip as opposed to the 500mm f4.
4 people found this helpful
Sam –
5.0 out of 5 stars
You must buy this lens
I am not a professional photographer, but purchased this lens for my first African safari. I was initially worried about the weight (both for travel weight restrictions and for my ability to handle it), but with the proper carrying bag, it wasn’t too bad to lug around – I also got used to shooting with it after a very short period of time. The key, though, is the amazing zoom and unbelievable VR on this lens. With my shaky hands, when zoomed out to 500 everything is moving, but as soon as you focus on your subject, everything goes rock steady. I ended up using this lens almost exclusively during the trip, and at 200 on the low end, can even be used with close subjects. I can not recommend this lens enough – do not hesitate. You won’t regret it.
One person found this helpful
Pro-photoPro-photo –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very sharp, great Vibration Reduction
I bought this 200-500mm lens to replace my Nikon 80-400mm (old model). Compared to the 80-400, the glass is noticeably sharper and the VR works much better. In reality, the lens sharpness has far surpassed what I expected to get. This lens makes justification for mega expensive ultra-tele primes difficult. Comparatively, for $8,000 Nikon’s f/4 500mm prime only gives you 1 more stop. Theoretically along with that you should also get better bokeh and resolution. However, the resolution of this lens exceeds all of my other Nikon zooms, and begins to match the resolution of Nikon prime lenses. Bokeh also rivals what I’d expect out of a prime. The 200-500mm’s aperture is fixed at f/5.6, not variable, which is better than the “off” brand ultra zooms. In overcast light, the VR is effective enough to get consistent sharp images hand-held at low ISO’s. I’ve even gotten sharp images in shade at 1/60th hand held. Compared to other ultra zooms, this lens is a BEAST and gets fatiguing after a morning of birding, but still much easier that a 500mm prime. The free B+W filter (at the time of writing) made this the deal of the century.
79 people found this helpful
M. Mackenzie –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great bird lens if you don’t wish to spend $$$$$$
As a person that enjoys photographing birds I have been waiting for this lens for many years. I have been using the Nikon 300 f4 for years with a 1.4 to shoot birds but it was never flexible enough for me. This lens focuses very quickly and I’ve found it to have great picture quality.Having the VR function is very helpful for handheld shooting is awesome. I’ve been eagle hunting to get some good pictures for the past two weeks but for some reason they are all hiding on me now. I am just thrilled at the potential of this on my D7100.The only issue, that was not a surprise is it is heavy. I actually pulled a muscle in my neck while out shooting with this monster. Bring a tripod or monopod while using it. If for no other reason to get the weight off your neck.Oh and the reason I finally pulled the trigger on buying it now was the free filter, these are BIG filters and starting around $125 so that was a great discount. Thanks Amason.
13 people found this helpful
H. J. KingH. J. King –
5.0 out of 5 stars
a good camera in it’s own right
I bought this lens in anticiaption of using it with the Nikon D850. However that camera body is backordered to the end of time. So this review is using the Nikon D7100; a good camera in it’s own right. First, I hadn’t anticipated the length and the heft of this beast. Mercy, it adds some weight. I went through the steps of calibrating the lens to my body which took a bit longer than I thought it might and found it to be a “+9”. Anything over +/- 12 and it goes back for a replacement. After that, I went outside and learned the limits and expectations. I was happily surprised by the detail and clarity I was getting in my images. There’s not a lot of birds around, so one of the local sparrows acted as a stand in, and at about 30 meters, I could pick out the individual feathers and down on its chest. This is a keeeper.
One person found this helpful
Wallace KaufmanWallace Kaufman –
4.0 out of 5 stars
Heavy but sharp
4 instead of 5 stars from my perspective because it weighs close to 6 lbs and I often have to use it in a kayak. Even on land, one needs a good carrying strap attached to the lens, not the camera. Supporting the lens with the camera can damage the camera mount. Works fine from a tripod, but when hand held the tripod mount is not ergonomic and it’s not at a balance point so I often hold the barrel of the lens. For extended waiting with lens raised and supported by hand, your left arm can tire. All that said, it’s has superior sharpness and breadth of field, VR, and other useful features. If you can put up with the weight, this is the lens to have for anything but macros and landscapes.
2 people found this helpful
RFCRFC –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nice Lens!
This is the lens that I use for “shooting” birds and squirrels. I use it hand-held and it works fine, the VR really helps. Folks who do not work out every day may need a tripod, as this lens is heavy. This takes the 1.4x tele converter, but NOT the 2.0x tele converter. I use the 1.4 when the birds are far away. The results are outstanding. NB: There are LOTS of on-line reviews of this lens, if you are intent on spending your money carefully (as we all are), you might want to check into them. The attached picture is a severe crop – about 50% of the original image, yet still sharp. Yes, I will need to take another 100 photos to catch the bird in an optimal pose. Thank goodness that D850 allowed me to increase the ISO without too much loss of image quality.
One person found this helpful
ChrisChris –
5.0 out of 5 stars
Everything I expected, and more
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Aurora focus was right on.Omg, even though is somewhat heavy for a 70 year old I an totally loathes lens. I can take fantastic photos without a tripod, now I can’t wait to get out and just have fun with it.
10 people found this helpful