Nikon 500mm PF

Son_of_Thor said:
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...
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Hiya Si, yes, it turned up yesterday afternoon, just 6 days after ordering last Saturday evening so a (y) to Panamoz, great service.

Had 20 minutes with it this aft in some very rare sunshine photographing our obliging House sparrows.

First impressions are good, it feels small, light, handles well, hit rate was good at 10 fps but so it should for 3 grand :LOL:

I've yet to use it in anger, suppose the main test for me will be out on the moors.

I've a feeling I'll miss the extra 100mm of reach, so hoping it gets on ok with the 1.4 tele, although I'm thinking better IQ will give a little more crop factor in post.

Here's a couple taken this aft, sooc apart from a light crop and resize, cheers

1.jpg

2.jpg

3.jpg
 
Phil-D said:
Hiya Si, yes, it turned up yesterday afternoon, just 6 days after ordering last Saturday evening so a (y) to Panamoz, great service.

Had 20 minutes with it this aft in some very rare sunshine photographing our obliging House sparrows.

First impressions are good, it feels small, light, handles well, hit rate was good at 10 fps but so it should for 3 grand :LOL:

I've yet to use it in anger, suppose the main test for me will be out on the moors.

I've a feeling I'll miss the extra 100mm of reach, so hoping it gets on ok with the 1.4 tele, although I'm thinking better IQ will give a little more crop factor in post.

Here's a couple taken this aft, sooc apart from a light crop and resize, cheers
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Hi Phil, sounds pretty encouraging so far :)

I found moving from the 200-500 to a 300 + 1.4x TC I didn't really miss the extra 80mm TBH - I quickly found I was getting comparable IQ cropping in that little bit more, hopefully you'll see the same

Have to say, I'm very tempted...
 
You and me both - must resist.

However as I also have the 300mm PF and the TC14 III, like Son_of _Thor said, will I really gave much from that extra 80mm especially at nearly £3k ?
 
Sootchucker said:
You and me both - must resist.

However as I also have the 300mm PF and the TC14 III, like Son_of _Thor said, will I really gave much from that extra 80mm especially at nearly £3k ?
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A comforting thought for all of us with the 300pf and the tc14 - and who are wondering what the **** we can sell to get hold of the 500pf.

Unfortunately, I hear that it’s more than useable at f8 with the tc14

Oh well my tamron g2’s not bad - I suppose
 
Have to say that one of the main things holding me back is the not knowing when I might be able to get out properly and use the damn thing! That and justifying the price/not having anything to sell to cover the cost of it (as Richard said)... recently swapped my 70-200 F4 and 85 1.8 for a 70-200 2.8 FL and didn't have too much money to find to cover the difference, but the 500 PF is a bit different from that PoV...

I do wonder about IQ difference though - the 70-200 2.8 is in a completely different league to the F4 version
 
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Wow, Nikon Rumours reckons it may be discontinued! Not sure this makes a lot of sense unless there's a Z mount version waiting in the wings...

nikonrumors.com

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens discontinued? - Nikon Rumors

I got multiple emails about a recent response from Nikon UK/EU support indicating that the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens is already discontinued (click for larger view): I personally don’t believe this is the case, since the 500mm f/5.6 PF lens is one of the best-selling lenses...
nikonrumors.com nikonrumors.com
 
Son_of_Thor said:
Wow, Nikon Rumours reckons it may be discontinued! Not sure this makes a lot of sense unless there's a Z mount version waiting in the wings...

nikonrumors.com

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens discontinued? - Nikon Rumors

I got multiple emails about a recent response from Nikon UK/EU support indicating that the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens is already discontinued (click for larger view): I personally don’t believe this is the case, since the 500mm f/5.6 PF lens is one of the best-selling lenses...
nikonrumors.com nikonrumors.com
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Quite a few discussing this on Facebook, latest post is that the rumour is not true. I’m still on the fence with this lens, undecided on wether to get a new 500mm pf or a used 500mm F4 G.
 
silure130 said:
Quite a few discussing this on Facebook, latest post is that the rumour is not true. I’m still on the fence with this lens, undecided on wether to get a new 500mm pf or a used 500mm F4 G.
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164075176_231601821983420_7693289378638366482_o.jpg

This was also on Faceache.
 
Nikon Rumours have just updated their article to the same effect:

nikonrumors.com

Update: the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens is not discontinued - Nikon Rumors

A quick update on my post from last week: the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens is not discontinued – the previous response by Nikon UK support was a mistake. The lens is just out of stock, which has been the case since pretty much the lens was introduced back in 2018. […]
nikonrumors.com nikonrumors.com

I didn't think it made a lot of sense with the Z roadmap seemingly including a 400/2.8 and 600/4 and nothing along the lines of the PF lenses
 
silure130 said:
I’m still on the fence with this lens, undecided on wether to get a new 500mm pf or a used 500mm F4 G.
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Personal experience of the 500 F4 FL having shot with one a bit was that it was too heavy for me to handhold comfortably, so that or the G is not really an option for me. That said, I'm a scrawny bugger, so others experience will likely differ. The extra stop of light and better flexibility with regards to TC's would be great on the odd occasion I do go sit in a hide, but that's not how I shoot most of the time.
 
Son_of_Thor said:
Personal experience of the 500 F4 FL having shot with one a bit was that it was too heavy for me to handhold comfortably, so that or the G is not really an option for me. That said, I'm a scrawny bugger, so others experience will likely differ. The extra stop of light and better flexibility with regards to TC's would be great on the odd occasion I do go sit in a hide, but that's not how I shoot most of the time.
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I’m edging towards the PF, mainly because of the weight difference.
 
Out this evening in great light and thought it was about time I tried the 1.4 tele on the 500pf.

I've read mixed reports but tonight it proved its ability and I was impressed.

Took a gamble and visited a LEO site, its a bit early and I wasn't expecting much so was great to see a bird out hunting.

I rattled off around 15 shots as it passed me by, camera set on CL, group of 4 AF points, all but 3 were sharp and I'd missed focus completely on those....... I'm easily excited :)

Exif ;- D500, 500pf, Mk3 1.4 tele, 1/1600th, F8, ISO 1600 @700mm

These are sooc apart from a fairly heavy crop to 25% of original, and re-sized

LEO 1.jpg

LEO 2.jpg

LEO 3.jpg
 
Phil-D said:
Out this evening in great light and thought it was about time I tried the 1.4 tele on the 500pf.

I've read mixed reports but tonight it proved its ability and I was impressed.

Took a gamble and visited a LEO site, its a bit early and I wasn't expecting much so was great to see a bird out hunting.

I rattled off around 15 shots as it passed me by, camera set on CL, group of 4 AF points, all but 3 were sharp and I'd missed focus completely on those....... I'm easily excited :)

Exif ;- D500, 500pf, Mk3 1.4 tele, 1/1600th, F8, ISO 1600 @700mm

These are sooc apart from a fairly heavy crop to 25% of original, and re-sized

View attachment 313741

View attachment 313742

View attachment 313743
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Very pleasing results Phil, love the eye contact in 2 (y)
 
gramps said:
Very pleasing results Phil, love the eye contact in 2 (y)
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Thanks Roger, apologies, I meant to come back to your post and it slipped me mind.

I've been using the tele a little more last couple of days and I'm definitely happy with the results, although for bif, the SS needs to be min 1/1600th for a good keeper rate, cheers
 
I've just had the 500 PF on hire for a few days - and now I'm thinking about buying one. It's just such a joy of a thing to handle and carry on long walks. I can even take it with me and two dogs on their leads, and manage to take a few shots one handed. Impossible with the 200-400mm! Goes great on the D850. I do like the flexibilty that the 200-400's zoom brings, but the extra reach and light weight is a huge plus.

Water Rail, Shetland, May 2021 by John Moncrieff, on Flickr

Twite, Shetland, May 2021 by John Moncrieff, on Flickr

Otters and Conger Eel, Shetland, May 2021 by John Moncrieff, on Flickr
 
wee jake said:
looking to get the 500pf out of stock every where I look love the pics
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Cameraworld appears to have it in stock at £3249 - with free delivery supposedly by 18th May..
It was definitely in stock a week ago as I was about to buy one, but they wouldn't ship to my address
 
thanks for the info going to retire at the end of the month and treat myself to a new toy or two
 
crieffy said:
Cameraworld appears to have it in stock at £3249 - with free delivery supposedly by 18th May..
It was definitely in stock a week ago as I was about to buy one, but they wouldn't ship to my address
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crieffy said:
Cameraworld appears to have it in stock at £3249 - with free delivery supposedly by 18th May..
It was definitely in stock a week ago as I was about to buy one, but they wouldn't ship to my address
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I'd be tempted to check with them by phone. They've previously had it listed as in stock and it turned out it was more 'awaiting' than 'in' stock
 
SAuchterlonie said:
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.

View attachment 300602
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wish they would drop the weight never mind the price
 
holty said:
wish they would drop the weight never mind the price
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LOL, yeah, weight is a big one here. I can happily say that I have purchased a 500mm f4 and the quality is super impressive, but the thing that does it for me is that crazy soft out of focus area. :)
 
crieffy said:
Back in stock at various UK camera shops today. Down to £3149 at Cameraworld. Still nothing showing on Panamoz though
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looking to get the 500 with 1.4 tc will wait until I come back from a weeks holiday retiring from work tomorrow hopefully it will be back in stock at panamoz
 
Well I’ve decided to sell mine. It was meant to be my “carry telephoto“ when walking my dogs but age of the dogs has meant shorter walks in the countryside and I’m using the funds to purchase a 400mm f2.8 for my sports photography.
 
Hadge said:
Well I’ve decided to sell mine. It was meant to be my “carry telephoto“ when walking my dogs but age of the dogs has meant shorter walks in the countryside and I’m using the funds to purchase a 400mm f2.8 for my sports photography.
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Well you won’t have any problem selling it !
 
AdamSi said:
Well you won’t have any problem selling it !
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A friends buying it. I did advertise it stupidly on Facebook Marketplace but realised there’s too many scammers on there. ill Tell him he’s got a bargain haha.
 
Well I caved as missed the portability so much (had one all last year but sold back in February)

Purchased one from LCE this morning, second hand but like new £2749 and I asked for a full 12m warranty and they agreed so thought that was a good buy, will be here tomorrow.
 
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