AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

To answer a few questions:

- Yes, obviously I fine tuned the setup with the TC on the lens. There would be no point in doing it any other way.

- I have been using the TC-14E III for a couple of years now, so yes, it is the latest TC.

- The image sample I posted was not taken as a "test" shot. I snuck up on this eagle perched on the mossy limb by hiding behind trees hoping to get a nice shot in a nice setting. Once I was in the clear, I knew I only had a few seconds before he would fly, So I used 10fps hoping that one file would be sharp. I got off about 20 frames before he flew and none are sharp.

- It was very dark, as it is in most places in the forest around here. Tony you are very wise it was shot at ISO 800. Techs were f/8, 1/100's with the camera at -1 EV, so you can imagine how dark it was. I have been doing this a very long time and I know that very sharp images are possible at 1/100's when the gear is on a stable tripod and the subject is very still. I get very sharp images of perched owls at 1/2s

- I cannot explain the slight fringe of colour, but it is not from a "downward movement of the lens during exposure". It shows up in all 20 frames, and there was no downward movement at all, unless there is something faulty with my D500. However, I have no problems in any other situation with that issue and this camera. This camera has worked flawlessly from day one.

- Hugh, while your pintail sample is sharper than my eagle image, it is still not very sharp by my usable standards.

- Lastly, I did not post this image to debate what is going on; rather just to show the results I am getting with my 200-500 and TC . . . . that simple. I plan to go out to some different areas where there is better light when the rain stops here, and and see what I get there. That being said, I do not expect this lens and TC to perform very well. This same TC worked very well with my 500 f4 VR before I sold it, and this 200-500 works very well as it is without a TC.

To repeat . . . . . . . and only my opinion for my uses and to trying to help KK with his search, I cannot see how this combo could be considered to be very useful as a BIF combo. Obviously others are having some success, but for me it is close to impossible. Using the AF-ON button only, makes no difference at all for me. Without the TC, I have had some success for BIF, but compared to my 500 f4 VR, 300 f4 PF, older 300 f4 afs, 300 f2.8, etc., it is much worse.

Tim, I just spent a few minutes reading this thread. This did not come up so I'll mention it. Looking at your 100% crop of the eagle, it looks like a VR issue. The jumped exposure on the top of the head and the dragged catch light lead me to believe the VR jumped during shooting. I could be completely wrong, but try it without VR and see if it's sharper.

Thanks Alan . . . . will do I sure hope it isn't the VR though. The last thing I need is another repair issue with a lens. I remember that the 300 f4 PF had a VR issue at slower shutter speeds like this. Maybe the 200-500 has the same issue?

Tim Zurowski wrote:To answer a few questions:

- Yes, obviously I fine tuned the setup with the TC on the lens. There would be no point in doing it any other way.

- I have been using the TC-14E III for a couple of years now, so yes, it is the latest TC.

- The image sample I posted was not taken as a "test" shot. I snuck up on this eagle perched on the mossy limb by hiding behind trees hoping to get a nice shot in a nice setting. Once I was in the clear, I knew I only had a few seconds before he would fly, So I used 10fps hoping that one file would be sharp. I got off about 20 frames before he flew and none are sharp.

- It was very dark, as it is in most places in the forest around here. Tony you are very wise it was shot at ISO 800. Techs were f/8, 1/100's with the camera at -1 EV, so you can imagine how dark it was. I have been doing this a very long time and I know that very sharp images are possible at 1/100's when the gear is on a stable tripod and the subject is very still. I get very sharp images of perched owls at 1/2s

- I cannot explain the slight fringe of colour, but it is not from a "downward movement of the lens during exposure". It shows up in all 20 frames, and there was no downward movement at all, unless there is something faulty with my D500. However, I have no problems in any other situation with that issue and this camera. This camera has worked flawlessly from day one.

- Hugh, while your pintail sample is sharper than my eagle image, it is still not very sharp by my usable standards.

- Lastly, I did not post this image to debate what is going on; rather just to show the results I am getting with my 200-500 and TC . . . . that simple. I plan to go out to some different areas where there is better light when the rain stops here, and and see what I get there. That being said, I do not expect this lens and TC to perform very well. This same TC worked very well with my 500 f4 VR before I sold it, and this 200-500 works very well as it is without a TC.

To repeat . . . . . . . and only my opinion for my uses and to trying to help KK with his search, I cannot see how this combo could be considered to be very useful as a BIF combo. Obviously others are having some success, but for me it is close to impossible. Using the AF-ON button only, makes no difference at all for me. Without the TC, I have had some success for BIF, but compared to my 500 f4 VR, 300 f4 PF, older 300 f4 afs, 300 f2.8, etc., it is much worse.

Well Tim, as you said, it might not be useable for YOU for whatever reason but that doesn't mean it's unusable to others. You seem to be saying that others may be having success with it and at the same time saying you cannot see how it can be useable for BIF combo. So which is it? Not good for you, or not good for anyone? Keep in mind that your experience or problem with the gear doesn't mean that it would't work for others. So, I don't think you should be so dogmatic as to conclude that it is not usable for BIF. In addition, you are right that the the shot I posted is not too sharp. I didn't sharpen it intentionally to show the minimum you could be getting  with that combo. I'm sure you know that you can't expect no loss in sharpness using a converter on a lens and especially a zoom. As other have said, even shots with a 2.0 TC are sharper that what you posted. So if you don't want to admit that there is something wrong either with your gear or something else, thats fine. Do as you please. I too was only trying to help.  
So to summarize, you had ONE opportunity to get a shot with this eagle. Your results were bad and now you say you will try it in better conditions and different areas to see how it performs. Yet you already concluded that it's not good for flight shots? Okay, I'm done.

Wow Hugh . . . .  please calm down, This is just a simple discussion about a lens. I never said the lens was not good for BIF for others; I only said it was not good for me from my experiences. If you also read what I said, I recommended that KK not go by my "opinion" and try it for himself. I am happy that you and others are getting good results with it. Is it a crime to offer my findings with my experiences with this lens? After all, KK did ask for opinions from people that have and use this lens. I also said I am very happy with the lens for my kind of shooting when not used with the TC.  It is just a lens, don't take it so personally.