Nikon 500mm PF

Watching the 500PF price too now! Think my missus is getting more cold sweats than I am about the price! :)

I received my 70-200 FL and 1.4 tele last week from Panamoz and have only been able to get out with it once. So far I'm pretty impressed with both the speed & quality with / without the 1.4 tele added.
 
I don't know whats going on with these lenses, but MPB know have 4 up for sale and WEX had one up for sale the other week too....
 
I bought mine in a lockdown madness impulse purchase from Harrison, I bought it primarily because of the weight factor and wanting another 500mm prime. OK it's not the F/4 I used to own but it's a damned good replacement for it. Mine is attached to a D500 and I use a mkiii t/c quite often with it. The one and only critisism is the foot, its cr@p, I have now removed the Nikon one and got a Wimberley AP500 foot fitted instead (£60 from WEX).


DSC_1343-DeNoiseAI-denoise.jpg

DSC_1288 (2)-DeNoiseAI-denoise.jpg
 
Last edited:
I bought mine in a lockdown madness impulse purchase from Harrison, I bought it primarily because of the weight factor and wanting another 500mm prime. OK it's not the F/4 I used to own but it's a damned good replacement for it. Mine is attached to a D500 and I use a mkiii t/c quite often with it. The one and only critisism is the foot, its cr@p, I have now removed the Nikon one and got a Wimberley AP500 foot fitted instead (£60 from WEX).


View attachment 294480

View attachment 294481
Out of interest did you try Focal with the 500 and TC14e-III ? when I try it always fails, I can do in camera focus lens adjustment but not with focal as it appears to fail to lock on, still love mine though
 
Out of interest did you try Focal with the 500 and TC14e-III ? when I try it always fails, I can do in camera focus lens adjustment but not with focal as it appears to fail to lock on, still love mine though

Sorry no I haven't, I used them straight out of the box, focus seems pretty accurate.
 
Used the 1.4TC on this with the Z7 tonight in less than ideal light and really pleased with the output even big crops
 

Attachments

  • 80D51037-9F2E-437B-BA20-62C4C7627AAC.jpeg
    80D51037-9F2E-437B-BA20-62C4C7627AAC.jpeg
    231.4 KB · Views: 50
  • FE3517B8-082B-4E34-A518-A252669FA45B.jpeg
    FE3517B8-082B-4E34-A518-A252669FA45B.jpeg
    171.6 KB · Views: 50
  • 887A0EF1-A0A8-4D4D-92F2-69EADED50823.jpeg
    887A0EF1-A0A8-4D4D-92F2-69EADED50823.jpeg
    230 KB · Views: 47
My 500PF has landed now so looking forward to giving it a whirl this weekend and then comparing the results with my 500mm f4 VR. Happy days.
 
My 500PF has landed now so looking forward to giving it a whirl this weekend and then comparing the results with my 500mm f4 VR. Happy days.

Would be great to here your thoughts on how the out of focus areas compare from these two lenses - one being a f5.6 and the other an f4 - I know the answer should be obvious :) but have nikon managed to work an magic in there to help the f5.6.
 
Putting aside cost and size weight for now, has anyone on here compared the image quality of the Nikon 200-500 F5.6 with the 500mm F5.6 PF on a Z body, and can comment on image quality alone (i.e. can you tell a difference). Yes I know the real benefit of the 500 PF is it's portability due to it's diminutive size and weight, but at 3 times the cost of the 200-500 is it's image quality, focus speed, bokeh etc really that much better than the zoom ?
 
Can’t comment on comparison using z7 as only had 200-500 on my old d500 but loving the combo of z7 and 500, a couple from tonight in very poor light and using a 1.4tc too
 

Attachments

  • 6D6320D8-67E6-4831-A191-A9A775CB7A8A.jpeg
    6D6320D8-67E6-4831-A191-A9A775CB7A8A.jpeg
    113.3 KB · Views: 44
  • B0C3EB62-1CBC-4A79-9F64-CC58A9B24F1B.jpeg
    B0C3EB62-1CBC-4A79-9F64-CC58A9B24F1B.jpeg
    57.3 KB · Views: 44
My 500PF has landed now so looking forward to giving it a whirl this weekend and then comparing the results with my 500mm f4 VR. Happy days.

Just wondering if you had a chance to get out with your PF and how you got on.....
 
Just wondering if you had a chance to get out with your PF and how you got on.....

I have and I’ve tried it on my D5 and D850 so far. Very happy with it so far, focuses very quick for a f5.6 lens but not as quick as my FL 70-200. The weather hasn’t been brilliant really to really test it out but for carrying round whilst walking it’s superb. I use a Rapid Black strap and I don’t even notice it when walking my dogs. All in all I’m very happy with it. I haven’t done any direct comparisons with my 500mm f/4 VR yet but I will soon I hope.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mex
Nice one - thought you were about to bite when I saw you enquiring after a Nikon TC!!

I've been umming and arring for months Si, trouble is I've been too happy with the Sigma but curiosity has finally got the better of me.

It was a tough call though, being a tight git, I'm going to be gutted if they come in price down some more :LOL:
 
Last edited:
I've been umming and arring for months Si, trouble is I've been too happy with the Sigma but curiosity has finally got the better of me.

It was a tough call though, being a tight git, I'm going to be gutted if they come in price down some more :LOL:

Aye, me too Phil - very happy with my 300 PF and TC, but you can't help but wonder can you?! I've managed not to give in (as yet) though... ;)
 
I have and I’ve tried it on my D5 and D850 so far. Very happy with it so far, focuses very quick for a f5.6 lens but not as quick as my FL 70-200. The weather hasn’t been brilliant really to really test it out but for carrying round whilst walking it’s superb. I use a Rapid Black strap and I don’t even notice it when walking my dogs. All in all I’m very happy with it. I haven’t done any direct comparisons with my 500mm f/4 VR yet but I will soon I hope.

Would love to see some comparisons between this f5.6 and the f4, for me the thing I keep wondering about is how soft the DOF is on the f5.6 compared to the f4.
 
Anyone tried the 500 PF with a DSLR on a gimbal? Only wondering as I did try this once with the 300 PF and TC and it's so light there was no way it was going to balance
 
Would love to see some comparisons between this f5.6 and the f4, for me the thing I keep wondering about is how soft the DOF is on the f5.6 compared to the f4.

The f/4 gets used mainly at motorsport events which are now all closed. The f/5.6 was for wildlife which in this grim weather isn’t even worth getting out for and the only pics I did get were some BIF in which it did very very well on my D5. I might set up something up at home and try the 2 lenses and see how they give different DOF on the images.
 
Anyone tried the 500 PF with a DSLR on a gimbal? Only wondering as I did try this once with the 300 PF and TC and it's so light there was no way it was going to balance

I have used mine on a gimbal. Needs a long plate to get it to balance (I have a RRS foot). Will balance with both D500 and D810 with or without grips. Is probably easiest with ungripped D500. I rarely bother with a tripod since swapping my 500f4 for the 500pf but have used successful when required. Have thought about trying a fluid head as I seem to shot more video now and I can’t pan smoothly with a gimbal.
 
I have used mine on a gimbal. Needs a long plate to get it to balance (I have a RRS foot). Will balance with both D500 and D810 with or without grips. Is probably easiest with ungripped D500. I rarely bother with a tripod since swapping my 500f4 for the 500pf but have used successful when required. Have thought about trying a fluid head as I seem to shot more video now and I can’t pan smoothly with a gimbal.
The Manfrotto Nitro fluid head works great, I want to do more video and purchased one recently. I am very impressed with it
 
I have used mine on a gimbal. Needs a long plate to get it to balance (I have a RRS foot). Will balance with both D500 and D810 with or without grips. Is probably easiest with ungripped D500. I rarely bother with a tripod since swapping my 500f4 for the 500pf but have used successful when required. Have thought about trying a fluid head as I seem to shot more video now and I can’t pan smoothly with a gimbal.

Thanks for the info, very helpful :)

I usually use a beanbag in a hide, but sometimes find the front lip of the window opening too high so good to explore other potential options...
 
The f/4 gets used mainly at motorsport events which are now all closed. The f/5.6 was for wildlife which in this grim weather isn’t even worth getting out for and the only pics I did get were some BIF in which it did very very well on my D5. I might set up something up at home and try the 2 lenses and see how they give different DOF on the images.

That would be excellent mate. It would be good to see them both in comparison to each other with a fixed subject and varying distances to the backgrounds.

I know the 500 f5.6 prime does have better bokeh but how close is it to the f4 - the 200-500 can give some nasty spangled bokeh sometimes.
 
That would be excellent mate. It would be good to see them both in comparison to each other with a fixed subject and varying distances to the backgrounds.

I know the 500 f5.6 prime does have better bokeh but how close is it to the f4 - the 200-500 can give some nasty spangled bokeh sometimes.

Not had any issues with the boken, at relatively short distances it is compariable with 500f4 (aperture adjusted). This is always subjective but I am happy.

Hoopoe by Gareth Keevil, on Flickr
 
Not had any issues with the boken, at relatively short distances it is compariable with 500f4 (aperture adjusted). This is always subjective but I am happy.
by Gareth Keevil, on Flickr

Thanks for this fella, it looks much better than the 200-500. Would still be good to see the difference the f4 makes :)

I also like the idea of being able to add on the teleconverters without pushing the f-stop or ISO too much - currently trying my hand at coastal birds and using the 200-500 with a x1.4 to make a 700mm, but have to be at f9 to get ok sharpness. (added photo but upload quality on here is garbage :-/ ) The f5.6 would be a nice f8, but the f4 would be great at f5.6.

I was all for the 500mm f5.6 when I first saw it, but since then the 500mm f4 have dropped to around the same price.

South Shields Birds-27-2-Edit.jpg
 
I've been umming and arring for months Si, trouble is I've been too happy with the Sigma but curiosity has finally got the better of me.

It was a tough call though, being a tight git, I'm going to be gutted if they come in price down some more :LOL:

Has it turned up yet Phil?? Curious to hear your thoughts on it when you've had chance to get out and about with it...
 
Back
Top