200-500f5.6 Priced Under $1,400: Are You Excited?

CEBlueclouds

kanuck said:

Hey Photobug & vtc2002 is there any chance you could slip a few images right to this forum from your 200-500?

Hello Kanuck, you can see some of mine here.... https://flic.kr/s/aHskmpfCJC

spraynpray

I think your use of high ISO is the limiting factor there Chuck. Lens looks great.

Photobug

kanuck, per your request, here are several images using the 200-500. Note, the first few were taken at a wildlife rescue for Big Cats and to avoid the fence, I was shooting at f5.6 so the depth of field is narrow. Some were taken with a D750 and a some with a D7100. Hope these help with your assessment.

Photobug

The above image also had a reflection of the sun off the chain link fence.

Photobug

Buffalo, Yellowstone National Park

Photobug

Photobug

Moose

Photobug

Missed focus on this one

Photobug

Photobug

Photobug

Photobug

Photobug

This one was cropped...taken with a D7100.

Photobug

Another crop with the D7100

CEBlueclouds

spraynpray said:

I think your use of high ISO is the limiting factor there Chuck. Lens looks great.

Would work on my technique Spraynpray and better light

vtc2002

@kanuck Sorry for the delay in responding. I took some for a client that I was hoping they would let me upload here but they are going to be published next month and wanted to wait until the magazine was out for awhile.
Here are some that I took for my family. They are all low light, moderate ISO and hand held. One of the reason I bought this lens was that it is pretty easy to take decent photos without a tripod or monopod. The lens has taken some abuse and has held up very well.

vtc2002

Couple more from today.

spraynpray

@vtc2002, That top shot - was it on a tripod? 1/50th@400mm? Looks like the VR is great if handheld! Nice and crispy at 2048 too for 400 ISO.

vtc2002

@spraynpray No, it was handheld. I needed a little more depth of field to get all of the petals in focus. All of the images above are handheld. I have been very please with the VR, focus speed/accuracy and the keeper rate I have been getting with the lens.

spraynpray

Now I'm drooling...

kanuck

Thanks for the sample uploads guys. Some pretty nice looking images. I don't think you lose much compared to the slightly faster 200-400mm but the looks of things. Its nice to see! I still wonder about some of the higher speed images and the focus although there have been lots of nice birds in flight images with it.

DaveyJ

Well finally I decided to,get the Nikon 200-500. Read very review I could get. The Tamron G2 150-600 gives it a lot. Of competition, yet the reviews lean, although very good for both super tele choice, led me to order a Nikon 200-500. Final cost at least $200 more to get it Arca Swiss tripod etc. compatible. Currently though they are out of stock at B&H.

Photobug

DaveyJ said:

Well finally I decided to,get the Nikon 200-500. Read very review I could get. The Tamron G2 150-600 gives it a lot. Of competition, yet the reviews lean, although very good for both super tele choice, led me to order a Nikon 200-500. Final cost at least $200 more to get it Arca Swiss tripod etc. compatible. Currently though they are out of stock at B&H.

Good for you. I actually got the RRS plate about one week before the lens as well. Thanks for sharing that my favorite store was out of stock on this item.

DaveyJ

Everybody, including Thom Hogan is using Black Rapid Straps for hand holding, carrying this lens with camera mounted, but there are a LOT of Black Rapid Strap models.....any idea what the best one to use is???

Photobug

DaveyJ said:

Everybody, including Thom Hogan is using Black Rapid Straps for hand holding, carrying this lens with camera mounted, but there are a LOT of Black Rapid Strap models.....any idea what the best one to use is???

I spent a lot of time looking at the Black Rapids family of slings when I added full frame DSLR to my tool box. I don't remember which one I liked but decided to go with the "Boss" strap rather than Black Rapid. It's not near as expensive as the BR sling. Boss strap attaches to one of the strap attachment points instead of the tripod socket. In fact, in one of the threads here on NR is a nice discussion on BR and Boss slings.

Here is the link: http://bosstrap.com/

I have been using mine for 2+ years and love it. There has been no wear issues or reliability issues. I love the wider strap on the Boss than the BR sling.