D500 & 500mm pf update (1 Viewer)

[shrek48]

Having ummed and arrred for quite a while, posing many questions on here I finally bought a D500 & 500mmPF and I thought I would say A- thanks to everyone for replying to my many posts ;-)
B- for all the great advise given
C- give a quick update;- I have been using it off and on for a while now and have to say I am very happy with it all. My main concern with my previous set up (D7200 & 150-600 sigma) was that I always seemd to have slow, out of focus issues !!!
So the D500 and 500mm PF were bought with the hopes of combating that, now many said you cannot buy skill, and that is true, but I have found that the D500 combo auto focuses so much faster and with a much great range of accuracy, where as with the D7200 I was getting maybe 2 in 10 good shots I am now getting 6 in 10 good shots.
I have played with manual settings and did sort of get into them, and I enjoyed being able to play with the settings and slightly over expose my pics, cos that is how I like them. I have however for now gone back to the dreaded Auto, a few reasons but mainly health and getting slower reactions meant missing a few more shots than I like to miss. I am finding Auto a good compromise for me and I am getting some great pictures using it!
I am going to post a Question abot a TC in a min ;-)

 

[Ian Byrnes]

Recommended Nikon D500 Settings​

Nasim Mansurov
"PHOTOGRAPHY LIFE "

Hi
If you Google the above article it explains very clearly & concisely the recommended settings for Bird Photography using Aperture mode. I did exactly that some time ago & have never changed since.
As far as lenses are concerned - I have 4 but use the Sigma 150-600 Sport as my go to lens. I've tried the Nikkor 500 prime & it's undoubtedly a superb bit of kit giving great results.
I calibrated my 150-600 using the Sigma dock & app & although a long painstaking process, once done the results have been excellent, offering tack sharp images & AF at 150, 250, 450, 500 & 600, allowing you to photograph Butterflies etc up close. That said I do tend to take most shots at 600. It might be worth looking at that for your Sigma lens as a standby.
I have no problem with AF but find using back button focusing & pumping the button does get more in focus than out of focus shots.
I use a camera sling to take the weight of the combo & hand hold for the majority of shots.
If you do get a TC go for the Nikkor 1.4 - although it's expensive but it will be totally compatible with your camera & lens.I tend not to use my Sigma one as I have 600 & the images are sometimes a little softer using it.
Your photos are really good so something must be working.
Good luck.
Ian 👍