What Nikon Prime Telephoto and from where?

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I want to do more sports and wildlife this year and will buy either the D5 or a D500 when they are out.

However at the moment I only have an 80-400 and I probably need a decent telephoto to go with the new camera.

So I was thinking of the 500mm f4 ED VR AF-S, would this be a good choice? why is the 500mm f4 FL ED VR AF-S so much more expensive?

Also as you know these are really expensive, can you get these cheaper than UK prices? and what about used, are they safe to buy used or prone problems?

Thanks

Jase
 
If you look on eBay there are non vr versions for as little as £2500 they have issues and of course no vr but I understand optically they are as good. The issues are spares for faults eft but I may be wrong
 
One of the things with lenses is that despite their mechanics (which everyone likes to talk about), the impression of their rendering is subjective. So the best answer is to buy both & see what suits you - not always possible.

Something for sure - it's little use looking at performance charts, or low-pixel jpg images in supposed 'lens reviews' posted on the internet. So it's not wrong to ask on here.

You're asking about 'grey imports'. If you're happy with the ethics, take your pick. Search the forums - it's a recurrent topic. Or secondhand - why not? But choose your seller, & read between the lines.
 
Difference between the two as far as I've noticed is the 800g weight reduction in the FL version. That's quite a big difference when you're carrying the lens round all day, I'm sure! Weight is what's put me off but I can't justify the extra cost of the FL version!
 
FL = Flourine

"Pro-grade dust- and moisture-sealing plus a fluorine coated front meniscus glass element add extra protection."

As said, it is much lighter and Nikon obviously feel that the weight reduction is worth making your wallet lighter too.
 
FL = Flourine

"Pro-grade dust- and moisture-sealing plus a fluorine coated front meniscus glass element add extra protection."

As said, it is much lighter and Nikon obviously feel that the weight reduction is worth making your wallet lighter too.

£3.23 per gram lighter!
 
The most popular long telephotos for wildlife are the 500 f4 and 600 f4.
The 600 f4 is significantly heavier and this means that many chose the 500 f4 for its convenience and versatility.
The older the lens the more the issue of spares becomes something to think about but these two are very popular lenses so possibly less likely to have a limited spares stock.
It's nice to have some history with a used lens but often this simply isn't available as it was bought used by the seller or it comes from a dealer, I would rather buy a lens from an enthusiastic amateur than one from a 'syndicate' pro as it matters how the lens has been cared for.
My 500 f4 AF-S VR works well for me and takes the 1.4 and 1.7 TC's very well so I can recommend the lens for wildlife use, I personally can't see the great advantage of the new FL version for the average photographer, it's a lot of extra money for a few bells & whistles IMO.
Nikon's 'exotic' telephoto range are well built pieces of kit as is evidenced by the number of older manual focus lenses that are still available and in use.
 
I've had a look at your website and your kit list in your profile, what are you looking to gain by buying a D5/D500 and 500mm f4 over what you already have? The kit you have is already good enough to shoot wildlife and sports, perhaps a fast longer lens may be usefully if you are shooting birds but do you know the reasons/advantages for getting it? The problem with long lenses is weight, it's a pain to carry, move and setup a tripod for each shot and something I didn't think of when I purchased a 200-400. I find I don't use it as often due to the weight and hassle of a tripod. It's a nice lens and I have good reasons for purchasing a second hand fast aperture versatile zoom. Could I get away with a cheaper lens and get roughly the same images? I probably could, it's something I'm currently thinking long and hard about 'downgrading' as if it's not used enough then it has to go as it's an expensive item just to store and not use. If you don't enjoy using it you won't use it, it's as simple as that. I could probably get away with a 300 f4 in place of the 200-400 and use it more as I would enjoy carrying less weight and be more manvorable too. Has the 200-400 made me a better photographer? No. Has it made people comment that I must get great images as my camera/lens is big? Yes but that doesn't make my images better. I'm honestly thinking I would be happy with a light 3 lens setup (24-120, 70-200 and 300 f4), it would do most of what what it to and not kill my back carrying it all! It may actually improve my photography as I would be thinking more about the chance of moving slightly to get the better background, composition or light rather than think I don't want the hassle of setting up the tripod all over again! I use my 70-200 for quite a lot of my wildlife stuff and love using it. I just plan to visit places where it's nearly the perfect lens and enjoy using it as its relatively lightweight compared to a 200-400.

As you have said 'I probably need a decent telephoto to go with the new camera' and 'would this be a good choice?' it makes me think you are not sure why to go with these and haven't worked out a need as such, more you have heard it's what you need to be a wildlife/sports photographer. What are the reasons for deciding on a 500 f4? Could a different lens be a better option? Is weight going to be an issue (carrying 6-7kg of long lens, camera & tripod can be a right pain)?

For some wildlife a 500mm f4 could be useful but for sports it may be too long and too slow. Lots of sports photographers use the 300 f2.8 and 400 f2.8 for the fast aperture in what is poor light under floodlights and a d4/d3 as they need the fps and great buffer but this is the thing most of us enthusiast don't, we can get away with the lesser models that do 6fps and rattle off 25 continuous raw files. A 300 f2.8 with 1.4 and 2x teleconverters on the d810 would be perfect for many wildlife photographers and also good for sports. I honestly don't think you need to spend £14k+ to go out to shoot more wildlife and sports when you have good kit already. I honestly wouldn't buy a D5 or D500 when they are released, wait a year until the price drops and they iron out all of the first batch issues that always seem likely with new Nikon releases. also buying good used equipment isn't a bad idea, it's cheaper and often it's nearly like new but without the price tag. For many we won't push a D5 or D500 enough to reap the benefits of one over a d750/d810 or a d7200. Nikon/Canon/Sony/Olympus/Fuji etc have great marketing departments and are very good at selling us something we think may give us a slight advantage.

What wildlife and sports do you have in mind? Living in Pembrokeshire you are not far from skomer Island. It's a great place to go where you don't need long lens and staying overnight is much better as the light is much much better. The fact you are so close you could probably book several 2-3 night stays over the puffin season and turn it into a mini project quite easily (all of the kit you have now would be perfect too). You may be able to book quite late if they had spare beds to fill. I would love to be that close, it's a 6-7hr journey for me so I have to pre-book and only make one trip, taking a chance on the weather!

What I've said above may not be what you want to hear. Good gear does help in certain situations but it's doesn't mean your photos will get better because of it. This said if you have the money and like to spend it on your hobby and it makes you happy then why not...... just don't listen to me.
 
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I've had a look at your website and your kit list in your profile, what are you looking to gain by buying a D5/D500 and 500mm f4 over what you already have? The kit you have is already good enough to shoot wildlife and sports, perhaps a fast longer lens may be usefully if you are shooting birds but do you know the reasons/advantages for getting it? The problem with long lenses is weight, it's a pain to carry, move and setup a tripod for each shot and something I didn't think of when I purchased a 200-400. I find I don't use it as often due to the weight and hassle of a tripod. It's a nice lens and I have good reasons for purchasing a second hand fast aperture versatile zoom. Could I get away with a cheaper lens and get roughly the same images? I probably could, it's something I'm currently thinking long and hard about 'downgrading' as if it's not used enough then it has to go as it's an expensive item just to store and not use. If you don't enjoy using it you won't use it, it's as simple as that. I could probably get away with a 300 f4 in place of the 200-400 and use it more as I would enjoy carrying less weight and be more manvorable too. Has the 200-400 made me a better photographer? No. Has it made people comment that I must get great images as my camera/lens is big? Yes but that doesn't make my images better. I'm honestly thinking I would be happy with a light 3 lens setup (24-120, 70-200 and 300 f4), it would do most of what what it to and not kill my back carrying it all! It may actually improve my photography as I would be thinking more about the chance of moving slightly to get the better background, composition or light rather than think I don't want the hassle of setting up the tripod all over again! I use my 70-200 for quite a lot of my wildlife stuff and love using it. I just plan to visit places where it's nearly the perfect lens and enjoy using it as its relatively lightweight compared to a 200-400.

As you have said 'I probably need a decent telephoto to go with the new camera' and 'would this be a good choice?' it makes me think you are not sure why to go with these and haven't worked out a need as such, more you have heard it's what you need to be a wildlife/sports photographer. What are the reasons for deciding on a 500 f4? Could a different lens be a better option? Is weight going to be an issue (carrying 6-7kg of long lens, camera & tripod can be a right pain)?

For some wildlife a 500mm f4 could be useful but for sports it may be too long and too slow. Lots of sports photographers use the 300 f2.8 and 400 f2.8 for the fast aperture in what is poor light under floodlights and a d4/d3 as they need the fps and great buffer but this is the thing most of us enthusiast don't, we can get away with the lesser models that do 6fps and rattle off 25 continuous raw files. A 300 f2.8 with 1.4 and 2x teleconverters on the d810 would be perfect for many wildlife photographers and also good for sports. I honestly don't think you need to spend £14k+ to go out to shoot more wildlife and sports when you have good kit already. I honestly wouldn't buy a D5 or D500 when they are released, wait a year until the price drops and they iron out all of the first batch issues that always seem likely with new Nikon releases. also buying good used equipment isn't a bad idea, it's cheaper and often it's nearly like new but without the price tag. For many we won't push a D5 or D500 enough to reap the benefits of one over a d750/d810 or a d7200. Nikon/Canon/Sony/Olympus/Fuji etc have great marketing departments and are very good at selling us something we think may give us a slight advantage.

What wildlife and sports do you have in mind? Living in Pembrokeshire you are not far from skomer Island. It's a great place to go where you don't need long lens and staying overnight is much better as the light is much much better. The fact you are so close you could probably book several 2-3 night stays over the puffin season and turn it into a mini project quite easily (all of the kit you have now would be perfect too). You may be able to book quite late if they had spare beds to fill. I would love to be that close, it's a 6-7hr journey for me so I have to pre-book and only make one trip, taking a chance on the weather!

What I've said above may not be what you want to hear. Good gear does help in certain situations but it's doesn't mean your photos will get better because of it. This said if you have the money and like to spend it on your hobby and it makes you happy then why not...... just don't listen to me.

Thank you for such a detailed reply, it's kind of you to go into so much detail and point out some things I may not have thought of.

You're probably right with a few things and yeah I've been lead to believe that for wildlife, birds etc that you need a faster camera otherwise you could miss the "good" shots.

One of the reasons for thinking a 500mm is there's a nice Deer park near me and I find the 80-400 just a little short and I thought my 1.4 teleconverter would be better suited on a 500 f4 than my 80-400 an give me even more reach :)

You are right about living in Pembrokeshire, Skomer is 20 mins away for me and being a member of the Wildlife and National Trust its pretty much free apart form the boat trip and I can book accommodation early. Actually on there an 80-400 is too much, the birds gets so close it's crazy.

Are you saying not to get the lens or not to get the cameras? I was thinking of hiring a lens to try but then again I thought that was wasting money that could have gone towards a purchase.

Ohh and as for what I wanted it for, mainly Motorsport in the sports department and a mixture of wildlife from Birds to Bears!

Cheers
 
If your main use was for wildlife then I would say a 500 f4 is a no-brainer but if your main use is motorsport then something like a Sigma 120-300 f2.8 Sport would probably be good to check out.
 
I'm not saying do get or don't get the lens or camera, I'm saying know why you are thinking of getting it and if it will be right for you. I personally think a fast fps camera is not needed for wildlife enthusiasts, I would think 5-6 fps of the d810 would be ok. A lot is about knowing the subject and anticipating the behaviour rather than 'machine gunning'. Two of my friends use the d800 for wildlife and get some great images, the slow 4fps doesn't seem to bother them much, they just work within it's limitations. Do you find you are missing shots on your d810 because of the lower fps?

Trying out the lens by hiring before buying is a good idea. It may seem like an additional expense but at least it may stop an expensive mistake when you consider the hire may be £150-200 compared to buying a £5000-8000 lens. Have you cropped your d810 images with the 80-400? In dx mode on your d810 it would get you a similar field of view as 600mm on fx. It may be worth trying it out to see if the extra focal length helps. If you do go with a 500 f4 don't forget you may need another tripod and head to give a stable base.

The 500mm f4 is a nice lens if it's what you want/need. There are other lens options to consider. The problem you have is you have quite a varied subject matter. Birds and your local deer by the sounds of it may need a longer focal length, whereas wildlife like bears and Motorsport may benefit from a shorter focal length like a telephoto zoom lens.

Funny you should mention long lenses and skomer. Last year when I stayed one photographer had hired a 500mm f4 for the puffins!
 
I'm not saying do get or don't get the lens or camera, I'm saying know why you are thinking of getting it and if it will be right for you. I personally think a fast fps camera is not needed for wildlife enthusiasts, I would think 5-6 fps of the d810 would be ok. A lot is about knowing the subject and anticipating the behaviour rather than 'machine gunning'. Two of my friends use the d800 for wildlife and get some great images, the slow 4fps doesn't seem to bother them much, they just work within it's limitations. Do you find you are missing shots on your d810 because of the lower fps?

Trying out the lens by hiring before buying is a good idea. It may seem like an additional expense but at least it may stop an expensive mistake when you consider the hire may be £150-200 compared to buying a £5000-8000 lens. Have you cropped your d810 images with the 80-400? In dx mode on your d810 it would get you a similar field of view as 600mm on fx. It may be worth trying it out to see if the extra focal length helps. If you do go with a 500 f4 don't forget you may need another tripod and head to give a stable base.

The 500mm f4 is a nice lens if it's what you want/need. There are other lens options to consider. The problem you have is you have quite a varied subject matter. Birds and your local deer by the sounds of it may need a longer focal length, whereas wildlife like bears and Motorsport may benefit from a shorter focal length like a telephoto zoom lens.

Funny you should mention long lenses and skomer. Last year when I stayed one photographer had hired a 500mm f4 for the puffins!

Thank again. I don't find I'm missing shots with the slow speed of the D810 mainly because I haven't really tried wildlife photography with it and no sport at all apart from a couple of events at a nearby track. I was always lead to believe that a faster camera (fps and focus) was needed and I wanted a longer lens and ideally no more than an f4 for the blurry backgrounds and low light etc.

LOL at the photographer who had the 500mm for the puffins, you could get away with a 50mm as they quite often walk right past you.
 
I think the issue is birds if you intend to do that in a big way then the 500 f4 would be worth considering because it's essential for certain situations and even when animals are close you can't have to much reach. Particularly on a full frame. But as another poster said the set up is inflexible and a more agile set up will often beat long tele photos in fact regularly so. To get to the nub if you are a dedicated birder the 500 but if birds are part of a wider goal but not major then think about the new 300 f4 with 1.4 tic and I understand it takes 1.7 very well too. It's a difficult decision I know the d500 though will probably knock spots of a d810 with its new AF system very important for wildlife getting the moment is all
 
I have a number of tele primes a 300mm 2.8, and a Sigma 500mm f4.5 & 800mm f5.6 and to be honest I can count on one hand the number of times I have taken them out over the last 18months or more.
I just let the AFS 200mm f2.0 VR go because of weight one again.:(
The weight and need for a tripod with the later 2 lenses being the main reason.I recently looked at Nikons new AFS-VR 200-500mm and it's extremely impressive
! In fact my best friend has now ordered one after trying one out at a Caumet open day and was able to hand hold at a 1/4sec @500mm and got pin sharp results.
A lot smaller and lighter to carry around and takes a 1.4 teleconverter if needed.
Your 80-400mm is a fine optic and with your D800/810 should give you plenty of crop options.
Maybe a 300mm f2.8 or the Sigma 120-300mm 2.8 with 1.4x and 2.0x would fulfill your needs ?
 
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Thank again. I don't find I'm missing shots with the slow speed of the D810 mainly because I haven't really tried wildlife photography with it and no sport at all apart from a couple of events at a nearby track. I was always lead to believe that a faster camera (fps and focus) was needed and I wanted a longer lens and ideally no more than an f4 for the blurry backgrounds and low light etc.

LOL at the photographer who had the 500mm for the puffins, you could get away with a 50mm as they quite often walk right past you.


The d810 is not a slow camera. It focuses brilliantly and if you can't get your shot with 6 fps, well, it's not the cameras fault.
It sounds like you have really bad gas and just want something new. I understand that. I fight bad gas every single day :)
 
The d810 is not a slow camera. It focuses brilliantly and if you can't get your shot with 6 fps, well, it's not the cameras fault.
It sounds like you have really bad gas and just want something new. I understand that. I fight bad gas every single day :)

haha you may be right, but this thread was about the lens and not the camera.

I'm planning on doing a few holidays this year etc with the first being to iceland in a few weeks and I wanted a 2nd camera as a back-up (I've done another post about that) so figured I'd get a camera that is different to the one I have.

Thanks also to Phiggys for the advise there! I'm going to the photography show in Birmingham in March so I think that will be the ideal time to try stuff out.
 
I'm going to the photography show in Birmingham in March so I think that will be the ideal time to try stuff out.

It's worth taking your camera body with you as the sigma and nikon stands let you try any lenses on your own camera. The long telephoto lenses are usually on gimbal style heads with cameras attached. I've not seen anyone try them handheld but you could always ask.

I'm planning on doing a few holidays this year etc with the first being to iceland in a few weeks and I wanted a 2nd camera as a back-up (I've done another post about that) so figured I'd get a camera that is different to the one I have.

A couple of my friends have been to Iceland without a second body and have got on ok. There is the worry it may fail at some point. One of them went to Finland for bears and got a second body in case the worse did happen as it was unlikely to be a trip he would repeat (won in a competition). He went with a D300 (he uses a D800 as main camera) as it was as he said 'only a backup in case the worse happened'. There are good reasons for going with a different body but also the same body as you can swap between them easily and not worry if you are using the right one. I've picked up a second body to try some remote stuff over the next few months but went with a cheap second hand D7200 as the button layout/controls are nearly identical to the d750. It's worth thinking about a crop body as they are usually cheaper, are very good and may give the extra reach you are wanting.
 
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