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by whitehead on Thu Mar 04, 2021 6:11 am
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I have just started considering another rehash of gear to reduce weight further and increase portability in the field. I have been looking at the 500PF, a lens I wanted to buy a long time ago but never did because of availability issues. 

My question is..... My current main setup is a D5 and a 500FL (with the 1.4x attached most of the time). My subject matter is quite changeable but I am thinking of birds from a temp blind on a a tripod for the setup. Why do I want to reduce weight? Because most of my trips involve a very long hike through a sweaty tropical forest before I find a spot I want to concentrate on - after that its a pop-up blind and a tripod and a long wait.

I am not yet ready to move to mirrorless as I am stuck in a Nikon world and am waiting for the "Z9".

So my question is, the 500pf over my FL makes sense on paper but what above image quality? Am I going to be able to see a marked difference? BTW f4 vs f5.6 is not an issue for me in terms of bokeh or light loss. Buying the PF will make my back and ageing legs happy but are there any downsides?

Cheers for any advice.

Paul
 

by Jim Zipp on Thu Mar 04, 2021 7:58 am
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I've owned super teles like 300's, 400, 500's, 600's and even 800mm from both Canon and Nikon. The last couple of years I've been using the 500PF and couldn't be happier. I do sometimes miss using the Canon 600 and 2X for warblers etc but with Nikon the 2X was never an option anyway. The 500PF works well with the 1.4 and with the newer bodies with better performance at higher iso's and higher pixel counts have allowed a bit of cropping so I don't miss it enough to want to lug one around that much. The 500 has been a joy to use and is also much easier for hand holding. So, long story short, some disadvantages but advantages far outweigh them for MY personal use. Now as you said, we just need Nikon to step up with a better mirrorless body. If Canon had an equal 500 I'd probably
have already gone back to them for the R5 body alone. (biggest advantage to me is with them, no more calibrating lenses!)
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by Scott Fairbairn on Thu Mar 04, 2021 11:58 am
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I have the 500PF, D500 and Z7. The 500 is an absolute joy to use, and it works well with the 1.4x. I mainly shoot Sony now, but when I want a lightweight rig, I reach for the 500. I tend to do hikes and shoot whatever I find, macro to birds. The PF's advantage is that I won't hesitate to carry it with me even if I don't expect to use it. It is so small and lightweight that putting it into a small shoulder bag is hardly noticeable. In the old days of carrying 500 and 600 f4's, I wouldn't carry a full set of lenses. If I were doing macro, I'd carry that kit, but I'd hesitate to carry a long lens.
I'm toying with the idea of ordering a Nikon F to Sony mount AF converter so that I can use that lens more.
 

by Phil Shaw on Fri Mar 05, 2021 3:04 pm
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Scott Fairbairn wrote: I'm toying with the idea of ordering a Nikon F to Sony mount AF converter so that I can use that lens more.
I'm largely invested in Sony now, but I still have a D850 (way too loud) plus a 180-400 f4 and 500pf.  The reviews of the converters that I have seen (and the different marques seem to refer to the same oem) are not very positive.  I would welcome an improved Nikon to Sony converter or a better Nikon mirrorless body.
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by George DeCamp on Fri Mar 05, 2021 5:38 pm
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I've been using the 500pf since the day it came out, was lucky to get it right away. At first it felt like a toy in my hands and couldn't get used to it for a few days and then it all clicked. I have a 600vr as well and my go to lens is the 500pf! I am pretty sure it will work well with the Z9 even though it would need a converter, and by the way Nikon said (dpreview talked to them recently) the Z9 will be here by end of the year, normally they announce sometime around October.....I'm sure I’ll get one when they are available.

I'm sure they will develop a 500pf for the Z system and maybe even a 600pf but until they do the converter will suffice but I'm sure there will be some tradeoff using it with a converter.

Good luck with your decision! Check my facebook page (link in sig), all photos the last several weeks or so are with the D500, 1.4x and 500pf. Prior to that most are with the D850 and 500pf. I keep switching depending on how close I can get to the subject! 
 

by photoman4343 on Sat Mar 06, 2021 11:37 am
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I got one of the first Nikon 500mm f5.6 pf's when they came out. I use it on my D500 and sometimes on my D850. I love it as its image quality is very good and matches my Nikon 500mm f4.E lens that I also own. I carry it on a Black Rapid Sport strap. .

For field use, I love using the 500mm f5.6 PF on a monopod with the Wimberly monopod head. I am 78 and hand holding any lens these days is not what it used to be.

The only design issue I know of is its tripod collar foot. Just be careful and make sure the foot is tightly secured.

I need to sell my 500mm f4 E as I have not used it since I got the 500mm f5.6.
Joe Smith
 

by Karl Egressy on Sat Mar 06, 2021 2:27 pm
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Scott Fairbairn wrote:I have the 500PF, D500 and Z7. The 500 is an absolute joy to use, and it works well with the 1.4x. I mainly shoot Sony now, but when I want a lightweight rig, I reach for the 500. I tend to do hikes and shoot whatever I find, macro to birds. The PF's advantage is that I won't hesitate to carry it with me even if I don't expect to use it. It is so small and lightweight that putting it into a small shoulder bag is hardly noticeable. In the old days of carrying 500 and 600 f4's, I wouldn't carry a full set of lenses. If I were doing macro, I'd carry that kit, but I'd hesitate to carry a long lens.
I'm toying with the idea of ordering a Nikon F to Sony mount AF converter so that I can use that lens more.

Hi Scott, I was looking into it too but so far I did not find any mount AF converter that had a good review. Have you found one yet?
 

by Karl Egressy on Sat Mar 06, 2021 2:38 pm
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The sole reason I switched to Nikon from Canon was the weight of the Nikon 500 f 5.6 PF. Last time I carried the 500 f 4.0 Canon for about four km, made my back hurting so much that I could hardly move for a week. It was an easy decision after and I never regretted it. I'm 78 now and still shoot HH with the Nikon
500 f5.6 PF. Lately I'm using Sony as well and just ordered a 100-400 as I had hard time hand holding the Sony 200-600 lens. I have four tripods and heads but I find them making my shooting complicated most of the time. Using the tripods for BIF is a no-no for me.
 

by Scott Fairbairn on Sun Mar 07, 2021 12:57 am
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Karl Egressy wrote:
Scott Fairbairn wrote:I have the 500PF, D500 and Z7. The 500 is an absolute joy to use, and it works well with the 1.4x. I mainly shoot Sony now, but when I want a lightweight rig, I reach for the 500. I tend to do hikes and shoot whatever I find, macro to birds. The PF's advantage is that I won't hesitate to carry it with me even if I don't expect to use it. It is so small and lightweight that putting it into a small shoulder bag is hardly noticeable. In the old days of carrying 500 and 600 f4's, I wouldn't carry a full set of lenses. If I were doing macro, I'd carry that kit, but I'd hesitate to carry a long lens.
I'm toying with the idea of ordering a Nikon F to Sony mount AF converter so that I can use that lens more.

Hi Scott, I was looking into it too but so far I did not find any mount AF converter that had a good review. Have you found one yet?

This is the one I'm looking at, but I haven't seen any reviews. 
https://petapixel.com/2021/02/12/monste ... s-adapter/
 

by Cynthia Crawford on Wed Mar 10, 2021 11:25 am
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My 500 PF lives on my D500 and I can actually carry that combo , even with fairly sever arthritis. I'd welcome a lighter Nikon mirrorless, but I'm in no hurry. I hate the idea of changing systems (i.e. Sony or back to Canon, since I sold all my Canon gear. ) This lens also works beautifully with the D850, but that's a bit more weight. I find the 1.4 TC slows things down quite a bit on either camera. I don't know about the D5- it's pretty heavy too, I would guess. D500 is decent.

Hope that helps. .
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by whitehead on Wed Mar 24, 2021 6:51 pm
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Thanks all, very good advice
 

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