I previously reviewed the Nikon 500mm f4 lens in December, 2009. I decided to do an updated review on this lens because I wrote the first review after owning the lens for only one month and it was based on first impressions. For almost two years, I have had the opportunity to use this lens locally and to travel with this lens, and now have much more to share on the Nikon 500mm f4 lens. The accessories I use along with this lens are the Nikon drop in circular polarizer, the Lowepro Vertex 300 backpack, Andy Bigg’s Gura Gear Kiboko backpack, a Wimberly Gimble head, the Gitzo 3531 tripod, and the Gitzo leveling base. The cameras I use with this lens are the Nikon D3S, D700, and D7000. As you can see from this list, this is not a piece of equipment that you can just purchase and throw onto a body and start shooting. It will not fit into most camera bags and while it is hand holdable for short durations, it really does need a solid tripod and gimble tripod head for sharp images. Click "More" to read my in depth review, images I shot, and my pros and cons list.
My first impressions of this lens were very favorable (as it should have been considering the total investment involved). The more I use this lens the happier I am with the results. The lens has been to Africa and bounced around on rough dusty roads. It has flown to Florida numerous times for bird photography and has been to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons for elk, bears, and bison. I have not seen any problems with this lens.
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Focus is still fast and accurate and works very well for birds in flight. Great images even shot wide open. This lens also takes teleconverters fairly well. The Nikon 1.4X or the new version of the 2X teleconverter do not degrade the images to an appreciable extent. However, they do slow down focus considerably. Even the 1.4X slows down focus enough that it makes birds in flight problematic. I have taken tack sharp birds in flight images with the 500mm and either the 1.4X or 2X teleconverter, but those are usually restricted to large slow flight birds like great blue herons, pelicans, vultures etc. Note: Nikon claims that the 2X teleconverter on the 500mm f4 will not autofocus since the set up is now at f8. On the D3S it will autofocus if there is enough light present. While too slow for fast moving subjects, it will work fine for slower moving animals or even some large birds in flight.
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This lens helps with controlling depth of field. A long lens and shooting wide open most of the time produces an image with very shallow depth of field. At times too shallow as a leopard’s or great blue heron’s tail might be out of focus while the rest of the subject is very sharp.
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Vibration reduction works well in the tripod setting. I recommend using the tripod setting for shooting off a bean bag. I have had decent success shooting handheld for brief stints and using the Normal VR setting. However, it is a handful and a tripod is preferable yet there are times the subject will not pose long enough to set up the tripod.
What are the downsides to the 500mm f4? Image wise, there is little to fault with this lens. Yes, it costs more than my first two cars—combined. It can be very hard to find. I waited about 3 months to get mine. It weighs over 8 pounds so it is a lot of weight to carry around all day. This means that if you like to move a lot and shoot on the fly then you need to ask yourself are you willing to carry all that weight and support gear in the field. I do it routinely but my arms and wrists are hurting at days end.
Speaking of weight, this lens fits in the Lowepro Vertex 300 with a body attached and it is carry on legal for most US airlines. That bag will also have room for another lens and maybe body (probably not). That is about all it has room for when packed with the 500mm lens. Include a laptop, a few filters, spare battery and memory cards and you could easily be carrying 30+ pounds on your back through the airport. This Lowepro bag does not meet international carry on restrictions. For international flights, I use the Gura Gear Kiboko bag. This bag weighs about 4 pounds with the dividers removed. It will carry the 500mm f4 mounted on a DX body (like the D7000) and it will carry at the same time the Nikon 200-400mm f4 lens mounted on a D3S body. With batteries removed etc, this will get you around the 26 pound carry on limit for most airlines and its physical dimensions meet current international rules. It even fit in the overhead bin on a smaller connecting flight. This bag will not carry the 500mm f4 mounted on the D3S body—that is how close the tolerances are to meet international regulations. The bag uses a butterfly set up with a permanent divider down the middle. I was skeptical of that design but it really works much better for how I use the bag versus the traditional open up the entire backpack.
If you are considering a long telephoto lens, I highly recommend the Nikon 500mm f4. It has proven to be very reliable even under some rough conditions. Most of all is that it takes wonderful images. Focus is very accurate, tracks well. I imagine that the Nikon 600mm f4 takes equally sharp images with equally fast focus (I have not used that lens). However, the minimum focus distance is approx. 20 feet versus 13 feet for the 500mm. At times, that could mean missing the shot. Second, the 600mm is much larger. It would not be carried on legally for international flights with a camera body attached. Third, it weighs a lot more than the 500mm and when traveling by air that weight difference might mean it gets gate checked.
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Pros:
- Sharp images
- Fast focus
- Fairly easy to travel with
- f4 is fast enough for low light and offers good narrow depth of field
Cons:
- Okay it is expensive
- Weight—can be difficult to hand hold for long, if airlines are restricting carry on weight, this goes a long ways towards hitting your limit
- Requires a good tripod and gimble mount
- Requires a camera backpack to haul it around in. Even then, there will be limited room in the bag for other gear.
- If you like the ‘run and gun’ approach to photography, it will slow you down with the added gear and total weight
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