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Nikkor 500mm f5.46pf lens - any users yet ? (1 Viewer)

R

Raptorash

Active member
Are there any UK based forum members who have experience of using the new Nikkor 500mm f5.6pf lens for bird photography yet ? In particular has anyone paired it with the TC-14III and can comment on how much image quality and autofocus is affected ?

I've seen nothing posted yet from this side of the Atlantic - all the users commenting seem to be in the States and are maybe using it in better light levels than good old autumn in the UK ?

I've got my deposit down, and am just waiting for a pre-order to be fulfilled !

Cheers in advance.
 
Using it in my imagination only

I have now reached the three month "anniversary" of placing my order for this lens. I know all good things are worth waiting for, but it does make you wonder what Nikon was thinking when it planned production of this lens.

I cannot really complain, as I have ample gear for my bird photography as it is. First World problems and all. But I will grouse a bit about the wait anyway. :stuck:
 
Perhaps I should wait for a while before selling my 200-500mm or I may end up with nothing to use in the meantime. Most places this side of the pond have it available for pre-order

GrandNagus50 said:
I have now reached the three month "anniversary" of placing my order for this lens. I know all good things are worth waiting for, but it does make you wonder what Nikon was thinking when it planned production of this lens.

I cannot really complain, as I have ample gear for my bird photography as it is. First World problems and all. But I will grouse a bit about the wait anyway. :stuck:
Click to expand...
 
GrandNagus50 said:
I have now reached the three month "anniversary" of placing my order for this lens. I know all good things are worth waiting for, but it does make you wonder what Nikon was thinking when it planned production of this lens.

I cannot really complain, as I have ample gear for my bird photography as it is. First World problems and all. But I will grouse a bit about the wait anyway. :stuck:
Click to expand...

Hopefully Nikon is focusing on delivering quality before quantity.
 
I am too very interested in this new lens and a TC but like you am waiting for any news. I am based in the Philippines nowadays and the camera shops here and service in general is pretty bad. Even getting one delivered is a big no no as things "get lost" in the post and or customs or customs decided they want the item and lay a massive tax charge on it so it is not worth collecting...
If it gets really good "real" reviews from everyday day birders then I will considered flying out to HK etc to buy one.
Following with interest.
 
I paired the 500 PF with the TC-17EII and the auto-focusing was very slow and had no luck with it for BIF (using a D500). Although to be honest, the autofocusing on the TC-17EII was a little slow on my other lens too. Need to save my pennies for a new TC-14EIII....
Compared to the 500mm F/4 AFS-II it replaced, it is incredibly light and easy to handle without a monopod. I highly recommend putting a 95mm protective filter on it if you do get the lens.
Attached are a couple of photos taken with the lens + D500. Other than cropping and setting image size, no post processing done to photos.
 

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Dpreview full-res (and RAW Z6/Z7) sample shots from the Nikon 500 PF.

https://www.dpreview.com/samples/4990230596/nikon-af-s-500mm-f5-6e-pf-sample-gallery

Pretty dull and un-inspiring photos in mostly bad light.
Looking at the exposure data, it makes me wonder if the photographers know what
they are doing. I guess it's the downside with these kinds of test-shootings.
Z7 seems to generate quite a lot of noise at high iso as well.
 
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Thanks for the read. It sounds like an exciting lens. I ordered mine in October in. Japan and I'm still waiting. I hope the quality will be worth the wait.
 
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