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by Scott Fairbairn on Wed Sep 12, 2018 8:20 pm
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Actual lab test of it.
https://www.lenstip.com/index.php?test= ... est_ob=540
 

by E.J. Peiker on Thu Sep 13, 2018 4:05 am
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Scott Fairbairn wrote:Actual lab test of it.
https://www.lenstip.com/index.php?test= ... est_ob=540
I think the most concerning thing from the standpoint of a wildlife or sports shooter is that they assess the AF speed to be relatively slow...  But then looking at his reviews of other super teles, he is clearly not an experienced photographer with this sort of lens.  He rates them all slow.  His measure is the amount of time it takes to go from minimum focus to infinity focus which is not really a good measure.  In fact some of the spectacular in the real world 500 f/4's that he reviewed are slower in this test than this lens is.
 

by absu on Thu Sep 13, 2018 4:54 am
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E.J. Peiker wrote:
Scott Fairbairn wrote:Actual lab test of it.
https://www.lenstip.com/index.php?test= ... est_ob=540
I think the most concerning thing from the standpoint of a wildlife or sports shooter is that they assess the AF speed to be relatively slow...
In that case Nikon should have to stop manufacture of 500 f4E. This extra stop of light may not create sufficient throttle to overcome huge price gap when newer one has so much other things in its plate.
Anirban Basu

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by Gary Irwin on Thu Sep 13, 2018 7:35 am
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Based only on the specs and comments made in the review it looks to me that the 500PF is performing like a scaled up 300PF but with the loss of a stop. For many folks it looks like they will be quite satisfied with that. Unfortunately I really didn't like my 300PF that much...AF was just not where I needed it to be (especially when using a TC14EIII), and then there's the loss of a critical stop. So it's increasingly likely I'll take a pass on the 500PF and start looking in earnest for a used 500E...which will hopefully be flooding the market soon. ;)
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by rene on Thu Sep 13, 2018 11:05 am
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Just been told that i will receive my 500PF tomorrow here in the UK. Looking forward putting it on the D850 and hit the local park for some test shots. I happily live with a 5.6 lens and reduced weight over a large F4 lens!
Rene
 

by Marc on Thu Sep 13, 2018 12:42 pm
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Just received confirmation of my order and will receive delivery to my home in Zug/SWITZERLAND tomorrow. :D

Look forward to using it on my upcoming Botswana assignment on the 26th.
Price inc tax was US$3680 (with conversion from CHF) 

Cheers
Marc 
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by E.J. Peiker on Thu Sep 13, 2018 3:59 pm
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Definitely take a couple of minutes and let us know what you think after using it in the real world of wildlife photography :)
 

by Tim Zurowski on Thu Sep 13, 2018 4:06 pm
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E.J. Peiker wrote:Definitely take a couple of minutes and let us know what you think after using it in the real world of wildlife photography :)
Yes please :)  And EJ, if/when you ever get your hands on one, I would love to hear your thoughts. I am actually going back on my words a bit on this one. While I really want a 600 f5.6, I am now considering this lens. The 200-500 is a great lens at a great price, and I would really miss the zoom ability, but I feel this 5.6 prime might be a bit sharper, better/faster AF, lighter and smaller. All features that I could use as I am getting older.
 

by rene on Fri Sep 14, 2018 6:49 am
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So DHL delivered the 500PF this morning. Light in London isn't great but decided to head off to the local park to take a few images. These are my, non scientific, findings of the lens.

1. It is very small indeed!
2. Love the weight, or should i say lack of it
3. Balances well on the D850
4. The short lens makes it very easy to follow bird around in fight when not mounted on a tripod
5. Build quality is, in my opinion, on par with the F4 Pro Nikon lenses
6. AF is excellent on the D850 both in AFC and AFS, i did not encounter any issues whatsoever and i think its pretty quick
7. I like the removable lens foot. Hopefully RRS or Kirk will soon come with an ARCA style replacement foot. It is very similar to the Sony lens foot on my 100-400
8. I also have a 200-500 and have not come around to compare images of that lens with the 500PF. Will do when i have a moment.
9. Dealer didnt have a 1.4 converter to try out but i think i will pass on this anyway.

All in all i think its a great lens but of course i needs to spend a bit more time with it in the field. Originally i was looking at the Sony 400F2.8 but weight, cost and focal length of that lens made me decide to go for the 500PF.  I will definitely keep it. Anything for less weight and i can live  with an F stop less to be honest. I have enclosed a few pictures, no post processing, just JPEGS ( i know they don't mean a lot in terms of quality check). Again: nothing special. Light wasn't great.
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
 

by DChan on Fri Sep 14, 2018 10:16 am
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rene wrote: Light in London isn't great but decided to head off to the local park to take a few images. . Light wasn't great....
I would rather like to know how a lens perform under non-ideal situations. A lens which can only do well in ideal situation has limited uses and is not a good lens to me.
 

by rene on Fri Sep 14, 2018 10:21 am
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I was simply giving my first impression of the lens. I was in the park just for a short while . Take it for what it is. I photograph under all kind of conditions. For more scientific tests and pixel peeping you will need to look elsewhere I’m afraid. I go out tomorrow again
Rene
 

by ricardo00 on Fri Sep 14, 2018 12:21 pm
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rene wrote:So DHL delivered the 500PF this morning. Light in London isn't great but decided to head off to the local park to take a few images. These are my, non scientific, findings of the lens.

1. It is very small indeed!
2. Love the weight, or should i say lack of it
3. Balances well on the D850
4. The short lens makes it very easy to follow bird around in fight when not mounted on a tripod
5. Build quality is, in my opinion, on par with the F4 Pro Nikon lenses
6. AF is excellent on the D850 both in AFC and AFS, i did not encounter any issues whatsoever and i think its pretty quick
7. I like the removable lens foot. Hopefully RRS or Kirk will soon come with an ARCA style replacement foot. It is very similar to the Sony lens foot on my 100-400
8. I also have a 200-500 and have not come around to compare images of that lens with the 500PF. Will do when i have a moment.
9. Dealer didnt have a 1.4 converter to try out but i think i will pass on this anyway.

All in all i think its a great lens but of course i needs to spend a bit more time with it in the field. Originally i was looking at the Sony 400F2.8 but weight, cost and focal length of that lens made me decide to go for the 500PF.  I will definitely keep it. Anything for less weight and i can live  with an F stop less to be honest. I have enclosed a few pictures, no post processing, just JPEGS ( i know they don't mean a lot in terms of quality check). Again: nothing special. Light wasn't great.








  I also took delivery of my lens yesterday and spent several hours photographing.  Since we have lots of sun in California, put my 1.4TC on and left it on (kept meaning to take it off but never got around to it).  Agree with all of the above!  It is so nice not to have the weight of my 500mm f/4G, didn't even bother with my tripod (which I brought along).  However really won't be able to say much for a while.  Posted a few pics on my flickr (and hopefully will be posting more in the upcoming days) but so far I am quite happy.  I am sure it can't compare to a 500 f/4E or 400mm f/2.8, especially in low light but what would you expect? 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/60519499@N00/

(a reduced pic since can't figure out how to send the URL link to post the full size pic
Image
 

by George DeCamp on Fri Sep 14, 2018 2:40 pm
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Thanks Rene and Ricardo! We were evacuated from Myrtle Beach so had lens shipped to Scoff at lenscoat so he can make a template since he didn’t have one to use yet.

By the way foot is supposed to be the same as the 70-200/2.8 foot so I ordered one last week (RRS) and have it in the closet....if it’s still there! lol
 

by Marc on Fri Sep 14, 2018 2:56 pm
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Not that I would dream of rubbing it in for those still waiting,  :mrgreen: I took delivery of my new 500PF

Here side by side next to my 70-200E f/2.8 very similar in size and weight, this will make a great walking/ birding lens granting a 750mm f5.6 (FOV) on a DX body ......very cool.
Whilst it "feels" bigger in the hand, weight wise there is just 30gm's difference.

70-200E is 1430 gm's / 50.5 oz
500PF is 1460 gm's / 51.2 oz.

It does balance better on a gripped body/D5, but there's not a lot in it really.

Have found AF quite fast, sure one cannot possibly compare it to my lightening AF fast 400 2.8E or 70-200E and should never have even thought it would, but found it faster than my 300PF, and beats the 200-500 (as it should) plus let's not forget once you have the 8M limiter set it's fast indeed and still makes for a perfect BIF lens, it just rocks on my D5 I can tell you!

Off to Botswana on the 26th to put it through its paces :wink:

Cheers
Marc
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by Tim Zurowski on Fri Sep 14, 2018 3:13 pm
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This is great new guys. Glad to hear they are being received :) If anyone has the time or ambition, it would be awesome if you could post some "unprocessed" 100% crops.
 

by rene on Fri Sep 14, 2018 3:27 pm
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I will try to get unprocessed crops tomorrow
 

by SantaFeJoe on Fri Sep 14, 2018 4:15 pm
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I see nothing impressive in this article from Nikon:

Nikon 500

Hope better samples come out soon, especially flying  towards the photographer.

Joe
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by Gary Irwin on Fri Sep 14, 2018 4:38 pm
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SantaFeJoe wrote:I see nothing impressive in this article from Nikon:

Nikon 500

Hope better samples come out soon, especially flying  towards the photographer.

Joe
Well as the lens start shipping I'm sure there will be plenty of examples to view...you could start with this...

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/61650731

Aside from the obvious size and weight considerations early reports are the lens is acceptably sharp as is AF performance (i.e. acceptable) -- a solid and unique entry into the prosumer market. It certainly looks like it will sell well, though not quite as well as the 200-500VR I expect.
Gary Likes Nature.
 

by E.J. Peiker on Fri Sep 14, 2018 4:47 pm
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Clearly capable of great flight shots based on the DPReview link!
 

by SantaFeJoe on Fri Sep 14, 2018 6:35 pm
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Lance Blackburn is clearly getting the most out of the lens in your link, Gary. Why doesn’t Nikon get someone who specializes in wildlife or birds to use and write about their lenses and cameras? That was the gist of my post. Even the writing is WL photography 101. Very disappointing to see a company not show the best of their equipments’ capabilities! Keith is definitely capable, but it seem the article and photos seem rushed.

https://www.ladzinski.com/Wildlife/1/thumbs

You just know any Nikon lens of this level is more capable than those images in Nikons’ article suggest.

Joe
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