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Nikon patent 400mm, 500mm and 600mm f/5.6 Phase Fresnel (PF) lenses (1 Viewer)

Specs says that the 500/5.6 PF is 1460 grams (including lens collar).

"The AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR will be available September 13 for the suggested retail prices (SRP) of $3599.95."

Read more: https://nikonrumors.com/2018/08/23/...lens-officially-announced.aspx/#ixzz5OyygdQex

From the marketing it seems that Nikon have reduced the problems (strange halos) with point light sources for the PF element in the 500mm.
About the weight expected, though perhaps a smidgen more than hoped for, and certainly more expensive than hoped for.

I think the most surprising thing for me is that the press release states that it will be compatible with the F to Z adapter to work with new Z6 and Z7 FF Mirrorless bodies. I would have thought for such a recently designed lens that a native Z mount version would have been made from the get go. Nikon's lens road map seems to make no mention of a native Z mount within at least the next 2 years ...... for something that pretty much amounts to a circa 30mm lens body extension at the mount end - I find that surprising and disappointing. One can only hope that changes for the 600mm f5.6 PF and that it hurries the heck up !



Chosun :gh:
 
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I see your point about the mount for this lens, Chosun.

Making it Z would really have made wildlife shooters sit up and take notice and generate incentive to get the Z6/7. As it is, I think it competes with Nikon's own 200-500 and the 500f4 (in all its incarnations) rather than the mirrorless competition.

Having said that, the 300PF is a great little lens (at less than half the price) and this will no doubt be another cracker (at less than half the price of the new F4).

As for the new adapter: Thom Hogan gives his thoughts on his website.

I guess a 600 f5.6 would run out at around the same price as a used 600f4 G.
 
There are very few Z mount cameras out there at the moment so a 500mm lens with a Z mount would not sell much. Also adapting a Z mount lens to F mount camera is far more complicated than vice versa.

These first Z mount cams is apparently not intended to replace or compete with Nikons pro DSLR:s with F mount. Nikon's product segmentation trick this time is to put only 1 card slot in the Z6 and Z7.
 
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Nikon 500mm f5.6 PF vs. 500mm f4E vs. 200-500mm f5.6E Specifications Comparison

Handy comparison showing MTF charts .... looks impressive ! :t:
https://nikonrumors.com/2018/08/24/...-500mm-f-5-6e-specifications-comparison.aspx/

The only drawback (apart from the higher than wished for price) is the minimum focus distance of 3m ....

Sample images:
https://www.nikonrumors.co/af-s-nikkor-500mm-f-5-6e-pf-ed-vr-lens-sample-images/
If you follow the link (Nikon CN) to the high resolution images, then they look good too - well at least the close range ones, and the low contrast out of focus bokeh looks pleasingly 'smooth and creamy' too. It would be interesting to see a shot by shot comparison with the 3 lenses at the same time ....


Chosun :gh:
 
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The 1460 grams is without tripod collar. 1630 grams including it. Not a big deal perhaps but still.

MTF chart looks crazy sharp, as it should, considering the price and f5.6.

Some (small) sample photos here:

https://photographylife.com/news/nikon-500mm-f-5-6e-pf-lens-announcement
Vespo, is that weight confirmed? It's a bit disappointing if the 1460 grams didn't include the tripod mount ...... :-C

If it does, I think we're looking at a 600 f5.6 PF of ~1.67kg, otherwise if 1460 grams is just the bare lens weight of the 500, then I think the 600 will come in at ~1.9kg bare or just under 2.1kg with tripod foot - that's about the same weight as the Tammy G2 Supertelephoto zoom :eek!:



Chosun :gh:
 
Vespo, is that weight confirmed? It's a bit disappointing if the 1460 grams didn't include the tripod mount ...... :-C

If it does, I think we're looking at a 600 f5.6 PF of ~1.67kg, otherwise if 1460 grams is just the bare lens weight of the 500, then I think the 600 will come in at ~1.9kg bare or just under 2.1kg with tripod foot - that's about the same weight as the Tammy G2 Supertelephoto zoom :eek!:


Chosun :gh:

Probably, as the image is from nikon's website:

https://cdn.photographylife.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Nikon-500mm-f5.6-vs-500mm-f4-size.jpg
 
If I didn't already have 2 different nice bird photography lenses, the 500mm f/5.6 PF might be at the top of my list.

Personally I would be much more tempted by a 600mm f/5.6 PF, but that it is still nothing more than a rumor based on a patent, right? I guess we can hope maybe it is more than that, because (a) surely some of the work done to make the 500mm will reduce the cost of adding the 400 and 600mm versions, and (b) didn't Chosun say that Nikon's stated priorities include telephoto lenses, and certainly they must understand there is some demand; not everyone is willing to pay $10K - $12K for the traditional 400-500-600mm super telephotos...

If they are smart they will also announce both F and native S mount versions, and I know I'm not the first one to say this...

Dave
 
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Good news, the 500/5.6 PF seems to have a Arca-Swiss compatible foot and it seems to be removable quite easy (quick lock).

"Bad" news, looks like it is made in CHINA. Look at the letters near the mount and you can see an 'A' as in 'MADE IN CHINA' at the end (attached photo).

Focus recall buttons, nano coating still indicates that this is intended as a "pro lens".
So lets hope the build quality and IQ will be on that level as well.

https://kenrockwell.com/nikon/images1/500mm-f56-pf/left.jpg
 
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Thanks :t: 1460grms bare -> 1630grms with tripod collar + foot ..... I suppose we had all hoped for lighter .....

Crunching a few numbers on the back of an envelope, I think the 600 f5.6 will come in somewhere from ~1.75kg at best to ~1.9kg bare, plus 170grms for the tripod mount ...... that's pretty damn close to the Siggy/Tammy consumer supertelephoto zoom twins ....

So, half a foot shorter, half a stop faster, very slightly less to pretty similar weight, and probably about 50% longer mfd (grrr!), and ~3x the cost of the Tammy! .... all for slightly better AF, and IQ (hopefully) ........

The 600 is the one that interests me - probably on a D500 ...... but it's going to take some pretty serious comparison with the Tammy G2 and D7200 .......

A 600mm f4 PF would be a no brainer though :t:




Chosun :gh:
 
If I didn't already have 2 different nice bird photography lenses, the 500mm f/5.6 PF might be at the top of my list.

Personally I would be much more tempted by a 600mm f/5.6 PF, but that it is still nothing more than a rumor based on a patent, right? I guess we can hope maybe it is more than that, because (a) surely some of the work done to make the 500mm will reduce the cost of adding the 400 and 600mm versions, and (b) didn't Chosun say that Nikon's stated priorities include telephoto lenses, and certainly they must understand there is some demand; not everyone is willing to pay $10K - $12K for the traditional 400-500-600mm super telephotos...

If they are smart they will also announce both F and native S mount versions, and I know I'm not the first one to say this...

Dave
Dave, earlier in the thread there was a link to a rumour from "a very reliable source" that said the 600 should arrive towards the end of the year (where we are rapidly heading now! :) ...... though with the production quantity delays of the 500, this may have slipped nearer to Christmas, or dreading - even next year. We should learn more at Photokina soon.



Chosun :gh:
 
Hands on 'field test' by a Nikon Europe Beta Product Tester. The size looks very handy compared to the 500/f4, and the IQ looks ok at first glance - real close scrutiny shows that the 500/f4 FL is still king :king:
https://m.dpreview.com/articles/3889977670/shooting-with-nikon-s-new-500mm-f5p6-pf-in-kamchatka

Come on the 600 ! :)

Chosun :gh:

Not quite, looks more like the focus plane (or the moving bear) is off as the upper part of the photo actually is sharper for the 500 PF.
I think the potential difference in sharpness will probably be of mostly academical interest. A bit better AF and the extra stop in low light might be useful in the 500/4 though.
 
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Not quite, looks more like the focus plane (or the moving bear) is off as the upper part of the photo actually is sharper for the 500 PF.
I think the potential difference in sharpness will probably be of mostly academical interest. A bit better AF and the extra stop in low light might be useful in the 500/4 though.
I see what you mean - I think the only softness I can see in the 500/f4 pic relative to the PF/f5.6 is the outer part of the ear and parts of the paw .... I'd say that's movement from the bear having a good old scratch. For the rest of it though the 500/f4 shows more detail.

I would have expected it to be closer in all honesty. You are already taking a 1 stop of light hit, and it's not cheap (relative to Nikon's other f5.6, the 200-500 .... it would be interesting to see a comparison between those two as well).

It's the 600PF f5.6 that I'm really interested in though (unless Canon beats them to the punch with their 600 f4 DO ! - then it's bye bye Nikon :) ....... but the way Nikon is pricing these things way up there, any 600PF f5.6 is going to have to go up against the Tammy 150-600 G2 and clearly best it to be in the running ......

Hopefully our Ozzie dollar has started to climb out of the toilet by then too :eek!:



Chosun :gh:
 
Out of interest what lenses/systems do you guys use at the moment? Jumping ship isn't cheap if you are already heavily invested and besides, it seems to swing from one company to another as to who is leading the way.
 
I see what you mean - I think the only softness I can see in the 500/f4 pic relative to the PF/f5.6 is the outer part of the ear and parts of the paw .... I'd say that's movement from the bear having a good old scratch. For the rest of it though the 500/f4 shows more detail.

I would have expected it to be closer in all honesty. You are already taking a 1 stop of light hit, and it's not cheap (relative to Nikon's other f5.6, the 200-500 .... it would be interesting to see a comparison between those two as well).

It's the 600PF f5.6 that I'm really interested in though (unless Canon beats them to the punch with their 600 f4 DO ! - then it's bye bye Nikon :) ....... but the way Nikon is pricing these things way up there, any 600PF f5.6 is going to have to go up against the Tammy 150-600 G2 and clearly best it to be in the running ......

Hopefully our Ozzie dollar has started to climb out of the toilet by then too :eek!:

Chosun :gh:

Closer to the bear or beer? B :) ;)

That is a crappy test and I really don't see any value in it if you want to compare the lens IQ in a serious way.

Both shots taken handheld, ISO and shutter speed is different (see EXIF), framing is different, focus plane is different. The subject is moving and it's not even the same light/shadows in the photos. Yeees...

We'll have to wait for more full res shots to see how close these lenses are in IQ.
 
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Out of interest what lenses/systems do you guys use at the moment? Jumping ship isn't cheap if you are already heavily invested and besides, it seems to swing from one company to another as to who is leading the way.
Dave, I'm using a Nikon D7200 with Tamron 150-600 f6.3 G2.

I also have a Tokina 12-28mm f4 Pro DX (which gives me an effective focal range of 18-56mm accounting for the 1.5x DX crop, and using the 1.3x in-camera crop at the top end - pretty handy).

Both versatile and lightish for what they are, but I'm looking for more speed and IQ. My issue is a ruptured lumbar disc injury playing up, so the big 600 f4's are out (Canon's new 600 f4 MkIII at 3kg sounds interesting, but is probably still too physically long for me - too much leverage. I know other people handle more weight/size, sometimes with ease - but that's just me at this point, and I do love the walk around aspect. The, at this stage, gestating/mythical? 600 f4 DO at about ~2.5kg and compact sounds ideal and would be around my max desired weight).

A 300 f2.8 + 2xTC, or 400 f4 DO II + 1.4xTC would give me a boost in speed and IQ, handles nicely and fits the weight criteria (I can manage these setups for hours), but so far only Canon offers these formats at a light enough weight, and I'm not overly impressed with the 7DMkII body's DR and hence IQ. There's not even a whisper of a MkIII yet (though Canon tend to be much quieter and less 'leaky' about their products in development than Nikon). Why Nikon hasn't come in with a 300 f2.8 FL nearer 2kg yet is beyond me, at 3kg it's not even a consideration - Canon has really totally stolen the march in lenses at this point.

The most likely prospect for a slight upgrade at this stage would be the rumoured 600 f5.6 PF probably on a D500(S?), though if it's not clearly better than the current rig, I can wait (and save!) for Canon's big DO as I don't have much time/fitness to get out at the moment anyway. I was interested to see if Nikon would release these new PF's in native Z mount, but it seems that won't be the case.

I'm not that heavily invested in a system that I won't totally write off what I have and completely change. Something like the 58mm f0.95 Noct sounds appealing, but I think it's another iteration or two or three, before I'm tempted Z way as an overall system. I think the future is mirrorless, but at this stage there's a good 5 to even 10 years of DSLR shooting available - I don't think Nikon or Canon will be in a rush to offer native mirrorless supertelephotos any time soon ..... they'd probably be quite happy for you to invest in both systems! :-O

It's almost like a game of cat and mouse between the photographic giants and their customers at this point ! :eek!: :cat:



Chosun :gh:
 
Closer to the bear or beer? B :) ;)

That is a crappy test and I really don't see any value in it if you want to compare the lens IQ in a serious way.

Both shots taken handheld, ISO and shutter speed is different (see EXIF), framing is different, focus plane is different. The subject is moving and it's not even the same light/shadows in the photos. Yeees...

We'll have to wait for more full res shots to see how close these lenses are in IQ.
Yep, agree with that :t:



Chosun :gh:
 
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