Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED Vibration Reduction Zoom Lens with Auto Focus for Nikon DSLR Cameras

As a person that enjoys photographing birds I have been waiting for this lens for many years. I have been using the Nikon 300 f4 for years with a 1.4 to shoot birds but it was never flexible enough for me. This lens focuses very quickly and Ive found it to have great picture quality. Having the VR function is very helpful for handheld shooting is awesome. Ive been eagle hunting to get some good pictures for the past two weeks but for some reason they are all hiding on me now. I am just thrilled at the potential of this on my D7100. The only issue, that was not a surprise is it is heavy. I actually pulled a muscle in my neck while out shooting with this monster. Bring a tripod or monopod while using it. If for no other reason to get the weight off your neck. Oh and the reason I finally pulled the trigger on buying it now was the free filter, these are BIG filters and starting around $125 so that was a great discount. Thanks Amason.

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I took me a while to justify getting this but I finally caved. I mainly to wildlife/birds and without getting into crazy Prime lenses, this is it. It is heavy but that comes with the territory. It is super sharp at max zoom which is awesome. If I had to nit pick the one thing that is hard to get used to is that twisting to zoom on this can take like 3 regrips to from min to max zoom. I usually just grab the front near the hood attachment and push it out to zoom when I need to get something really fast. This is to be expected though when you want a lense from 200-500mm. this is priced fair in comparison to Sigmas and Tamerons and while I do not own those, I have gotten to shoot with them and really do believe this lense does perform better. My main target is flying birds, especially raptors and after having this I could never go back to something smaller. As with any Camera gear purchase, do your research, a big lense is not always better, it all depends on what will use it for. For the regular photographer, this is not something they really need, If are really into wild animals or other things that require a lot of magnification , this is something to consider.

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Ive been using the 200-500mm on my D7200 for all my nature photography and on a crop sensor I am getting a 750mm all out from this lens; Its all Ive herd and read on reviews well worth it. Ive been using my D7200 sensor on 1.3X factor in order to step up my FPS and increase the focus speed of the lens. This lens has a lot of glass although well worth it its a bit slower in locking on focus Compared to my FX-70-300mm but still well worth it and more. Its 4 lb 9.8 oz so if your a free hand photographer like me be ready for the weight. Chromatic aberration? None that I have seen so far and I am getting some sharp Images as well. This is a tough sturdy well made lens No joke! nothing flimsy about this Nikkor and NO lens creep. It came in Nikon boxing with lens hood and I got a five (5) warranty for registering it with in ten days of purchase Although Amazon will offer its own warranty before closing the Order.

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This Nikon 200-500mm lens fits a special niche to complement my assortment of other shorter telephotos. For the price, the lens sharpness is on par with much more expensive prime telephotos. The constant f/5.6 aperture is great when zooming out to 500mm without losing another stop of light and slower shutter speeds, especially for outdoor sports or birding. The autofocus is very fast and VR gives you ~4 extra stops extra performance in lower light situations and hand holding. The lens hood is huge and I was able to narrow down to an Ape Case lens case to fit both the lens and reversed lens hood. Many other cases just fit the lens but not with the hood. I permanently store this lens in the lens case along with the Nikon lens bag. A 95mm protective filter is not the cheapest filter out there, but cheap insurance to have one. Another needed aftermarket purchase is a sturdy ~70mm length arca plate. This will save you from needing to spend another $200+ on a replacement collar/foot combination from RRS or Kirk. The arca plate screws into the original collar and can be used with a monopod or tripod. My greatest long distance photos were from the once in a lifetime super blood blue moon. I shot this mounted on a tripod and using a remote trigger in mirror up position to minimize shutter and mirror vibrations. Recently I purchased a 1.4 teleconverter for my 70-200mm f/2.8g lens. It can also be used on this lens too for an effective 700mm at f/6.3. If you are considering this lens, do consider if you need something wider as <100mm.. If so then a 80-400mm would be my 2nd choice. But if starting at 200mm is a needed minimum, then this 200-500mm is the best price performance without adding another digit to the price tag.

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Super lens! I am 511" and 210lbs and I can hand hold this without too much difficulty. I attached three photos - sunset, full moon, and iguana - all handheld at full zoom. In the sunset, the trees in the foreground are about 2500 away; the bridge is about 3.5 miles away; and we all know how far away the sun is. The iguana is about 200away and I did crop the photo. I using it on a Nikon D5100.

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One of the reasons I buy from Amazon - no, Im not a shill - is its seamless return policy. Id only used it once, when I returned an 18-300mm lens that Id bought for my D7100 because it wasnt substantially better than my 18-140mm kit lens. By allowing me to do that, though, I was able to buy a 70-200mm f/2.8 that changed my photography life. Amazon has its reasons. Fast forward. I now shoot with a D750. The 70-200 - and the 14-24mm and 24-70mm - are still my reference. A week before the 200-500mm was delivered I shot a series with the 70-200mm coupled with a TC-20e 2X extender: Very good, but the degradation at 400mm was obvious. Still, when I received the 200-500 I unpacked carefully, and saved the packaging. If the IQ wasnt going to be substantially better than what I had, I was going to send it back. In fact, I assumed Id do so. I just threw the packaging away. 1. Image quality is almost - not quite, but almost - up with the Nikon pro zooms. Color, excellent, bokeh, beautiful and smooth. 2. VR is as advertised: 4.5 stops. Stunning. 3. Auto focus is slower than the other pro lenses, but accurate. Fast enough to capture an eagle leaving its nest at 300 yards. 4. With a body that handles noise well - I love the D750 - its easy to shoot at even ISO 1600 and crank the shutter speed up to 1/4000 to get the in-flight bird shots we all love. Bottom line: Fabulous. Way better than expected. The holy trinity, for me, has become the holy quartet...

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Love this lens.. upgraded from a Nikon 300mm f4 after the motor died. This lens is just as sharp if not sharper. Focus is faster than my 300mm with 1.4tc attached. Love love having Vr.

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