Should I trade Nikon 600mm f4 for 500mm f4p? (1 Viewer)

Good evening everyone.

I have a question that I really would like some input on. I have been shooting for a few years with a Nikkor 600mm f4 MF ED Ais that I really like. It is fast and sharp. It’s really a nice lens. I have traveled locally with it a lot and it has been great. The problem I am having lately is that I have been traveling to really remote areas and sometimes internationally. The 600mm is just too heavy and large for long distance travel. I often substitute with a Nikkor 300mm f2.8, but sometimes it’s not long enough or it’s a little slow with a teleconverter added.

I have been considering selling my 600mm and getting a used Nikon 500mm f4p. The 600mm is great for birds, but lately I have been shooting a lot of larger animals, and I can’t decide if I would miss the extra reach of the 600mm.

My budget is pretty limited right now, so I can’t really get another lens without letting go of one that I have. Also, it is worth noting that I shoot with either a D2x or D2xs, so I do benefit from the crop-factor, but I don’t have a lot of noise-free ISO range.

I don’t want to make a costly mistake with this, so any recommendations would be great.

Also, I was curious if anyone has a Nikon 500mm f4p and can tell me how much it really weighs. I have found references on the net that it is 3kg (6.6lb), but I would love to know exactly how much it weighs for comparison to the 600mm.

Thanks!

I cannot check the weight of mine as I am at work. However, the quoted weight sounds about right, which is about 60% of your 600mm-quite a difference.
I also use a 300 f2.8vr, and both lenses weigh pretty much the same, though of course the 300 is more compact. It also means of course that you can probably get away with using a smaller tripod and head.
Optically the 500P is pretty good, and according to Bjorn Rorslett is actually a bit better than the 600 http://www.naturfotograf.com/index2.html.
When I bought it used twelve years ago, the dealer had a 600f4 for a similar price, and it was the weight more than anything that decided it for me. There have been times though when I could have done with a 600, but I expected that to happen. If I ever have the cash, I would get a 600vr, but would always keep the 500.

Here are some comparion shots between 300/2.8 Ai, 300/2.8 AF-S mkI and 500/4 Aip, if this can help your choice in some way. Sorry that the 600/4 is not in the comparison, but at least there is the 300/2.8 that you also have, so this makes a reference for comparison.
bokeh and detail

Is your current 300/2.8 AF or MF ? Depending on your shooting style, AF-S can open new horizons for shooting BIFs for example. And a used 300/2.8 AF-S is about the price of a 500/4 Ai-p. My 2 cents...

Thanks for the input Phil and Vertigo. I did a lot of reading about this today on the internet. I’m quite torn about it.

Phil, if you get a chance to weigh your 500mm/f4, I would love to know how much it actually weighs.

Vertigo, thank you very much for the comparison images between the 300/2.8 AF-S and 500/4 Aip. My 300/f2.8 is MF. I imagine the AF-S is nice and opens up all kinds of new action shot opportunities. I have been shooting MF for so long that I’m really quite use to it now.

I’m really completely satisfied with the technical performance of my 600. If I wasn’t going to be traveling so much, I would be totally happy keeping the 600. However, I like to take my camera gear in my carry-on luggage when I am on international flights, so I think I need to seriously consider the 500/f4p.

Anyone out there know someone that would be interested in trading my Nikon 600mm f4 Ais (it’s in great shape) for a clean Nikon 500mm f4?

A trade is tempting. My 500Aip is extra-clean, and I was considering selling it because I use the 300 af-s most of the time now; and with the TC-17, i have a 510/4.8 wich is quite close to the 500/4.

A 600/4 would be a real step in the biggest glass class, something I have always been excited about.

I need to think about it, and we need to exchange pictures of both lenses and sample images before going further, if you're interested by an overseas exchange of course.
How do we mp on this forum ?

Just weighed my lens and it comes in at 7.5lb, however this includes a large quick release rail (RRS MPR 192) and strap.

Hi Vertigo_111,
I'm not totally decided, but I think I would like to look into trading my 600/4 Ais for a 500/4P. If you think you might be interested, you can E-mail me directly. My E-mail address is under the "about" tab on my webpage (there is a link to my webpage in my profile).

No pressure at all about trading. We can just talk about it and exchange some photos of the lenses. International shipping might be prohibitively expensive, but we can look into it if we get that far.

Have a good evening,

Phil,
Awesome! Thank you so much for weighing your 500/4p for me. I really appreciate that! I suspected it was a bit heavier than 3kg, but the weight is still really what I am looking for. Thanks for doing that!

I have a 300mmf2.8 and a 500mmf4. I initially bought the 300 in preference to the 500 when I was looking for a trade up from my 80-400.
Whatever you do don't be tempted to sell the 300 ( unless it's to replace it with a newer model !). It's just too good an all round lens.
I chose the 500 over the 600 because it was more suitable for taking on flights and foreign trips. In the 2 or 3 years since I bought it, luggage restrictions seem to be getting tougher so it was probably a good decision however, I still wonder if the extra reach would be nice to have.
Maybe a good compromise might be to try the new 2.0TC Mk 111 on your 300?
cheers Dave

mfp123 said:

Phil,
Awesome! Thank you so much for weighing your 500/4p for me. I really appreciate that! I suspected it was a bit heavier than 3kg, but the weight is still really what I am looking for. Thanks for doing that!

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If you want to know the specs including the weights of all nikon lenses look here http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/specs.html. Hope this helps. If its any value I have the VR versions of the 300, 500 and 600 lenses and the 500 is much more portable than the 600.

Best regards

Colin

I've not used the manual version of the 500 or 600 f4 but I had the Nikon 600mm AF-S for a few months (lighter but as bulky as the MF version) and currently own the 500mm AF-S.


My thoughts on the differences between the two. The 600 was a real pain to use in most circumstances requiring a heavy tripod (Gitzo 1548) and a Wimberley style head (Kirk King Cobra). There was no realistic way of handholding the 600. There are a few people that claim to be able to do so with the newer autofocus verisons but I'll believe it only when I see it done in front of me. I can handhold the 500mm (note this is not the VR version) under the right circumstances and get good results.

I had the chance to buy the 600mm and decided against it because of the weight/bulk issues. I've used a few of the long telephotos (400,3.5 and 600 5.6) which I sold when I bought the 500 AF-S. Both of these were superb lenses and easily handholdable. The military and security services use this lens for surveillance work ( the dealer I bought mine from had bought a job lot from the Ministry of Defence! ) The 5.6 version of the 600MF is supposedly better than the f4 version and the 500 F4 Ais is better still. The 500 AIS has a fantastic reputation and is portable which means that you would have a much higher chance of getting good results because you would be shooting more. The 500 also takes teleconvertors well which gives you more reach and less weight than the 600mm.

In the first instance I'd recommend the 500.

If you are in a position to stretch to AF and are shooting on DX then the 300 2.8 AF-S is a great lens. There were a lot of these made and they are widely available secondhand. This is a terrific lens with teleconvertors - especially the new TC20 III.

Gleade said:

... the 300 2.8 AF-S is a great lens. ... This is a terrific lens with teleconvertors - especially the new TC20 III.

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Is this true with any 300 AFS, including non-VR models?
Do you also mean that version III of the TC20 is significantly better than previous models?

mfp123 said:

Anyone out there know someone that would be interested in trading my Nikon 600mm f4 Ais (it’s in great shape) for a clean Nikon 500mm f4?

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I'm planning to let my 500/4 P go. Is your 600 still available for trade?

robodiem said:

Is this true with any 300 AFS, including non-VR models?
Do you also mean that version III of the TC20 is significantly better than previous models?

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Yes, I'd say so. My understanding is that all of the 300mm 2.8's are optically superb. The only issue is that the AF and AF-I lenses are slower focusing and you can't get repair parts if they go wrong.

The TC20 III is indeed significantly better than previous versions.