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

Capt_Spaulding

@Hiker +1

egosbar

Hiker said:

From what I have been reading here in the past several posts, the 200-500 has moved to near the top of my list. I'm also considering a Nikon 70-200 f4 to "replace" the 70-300. Just waiting for that sale. And Black Friday is not that far away!

im looking at the new 70-300 fx p version waiting on some more comparisons supposed to be sharp at 300 and a big improvement on the g version

DaveyJ

Still developing Final Cut Pro stuff. I admit I had a lot of intel before going out there as a former researcher in fish and wildlife. That really worked in Yellowstone. However in Grand Teton I got great scenery stuff and for wildlife it was considering the distant views.....little wildlife showing. Obviously there you needed a guide or some help locating them. In general though park officials who have years of experience in both parks say the Tetons have less wildlife. It also is smaller......My bear, wolf and mountain lion shots happened due to two guys with years of experience in YNP and they consider this sensitive information. Perhaps that stuff will make it in a documentary film as it would be one of the last chances as some of us are getting very old. That though will require other video added and right now our Florida situation is going to get the attention since Irma was pretty rough. Next time I go we will use a crew of three and the RED cameras, plus the Nikon's, I need a better Go Pro arrangement for UW photos and video, what I did get was pretty good. But in terms of gem clear, cold trout water, that is a great place! About ten Waters to cover, and it would be nice to hit the weather events I did as that enhances scenery. The Trout are quite selective, hard to catch!, and that adds to the charm!

The trip was totally worth it. The biggest gear excitement was easily the 200-500. I used the 16-80 for much of the photos and video and it was very good. I did though talk to a number of guys who were using the 200-500 and the take on that was nothing short of significant.

I did get to Mormon Row and got some nice photos there. Moulton Ranch Cabins has one irrigated acre right by the barn.....the historic barn irrigation ditches are still,there.....but unused. The single acre of green lawns and cabins, a lot of them for one acre, was quite a contrast with the historic barn. I hiked probably 25 miles in Grand Teton looking for Elk and Moose....without much to show for it. Surreal scenery though! The barricades went up as we drove out of the two passes from Yellowstone, and I can drive on winter roads, but if I go out again I will take my own 4WD and stay in more spartan housing or camp out. Staying in fairly luxurious rooms or cabins was good though in getting batteries charged and not having lens fogged. I do however get up and out photographing at first light and did the same in the evening. One of my primary targets was bugling Rocky Mountain Elk and I get some very good still and video. Although I saw some sparing though, the Bison battles were intense, but the Elk locking horns was not captured on either photos or video, and as it is pretty rough on the combatants, I was OK with that. The Bison don't seem to scar up much from some pretty epic clashes. I did have rough time getting pure sound bites of Elk bugling due to wind and other distracting noise, I probably need a recorder like I have used for some other work.

MattinNJ81

New member here. Does anyone happen to know if the 200-500 went on sale at all for Black Friday/Holiday last year? I have been waiting to pick one up (along with a D500) in the hopes that there will be some good sales on Black Friday, but if this isn't a lens that Nikon ever discounts I may get one sooner. Did anyone buy one on sale last year, or remember seeing any good deals?

DaveyJ

I waited for a very long time and spent more money and time than the discount would have been worth, Tamron G2 150-600 goes on sale once in awhile, but I have on,y seen one in the field, which I have used, and it is no 200-500 Nikon. The 200-500 lens is just probably Nikon's single best deal!

Capt_Spaulding

Sounds like a great trip Davey. I'm envious. Can't wait for the PAD burst.

Photobug

MattinNJ81 said:

New member here. Does anyone happen to know if the 200-500 went on sale at all for Black Friday/Holiday last year? I have been waiting to pick one up (along with a D500) in the hopes that there will be some good sales on Black Friday, but if this isn't a lens that Nikon ever discounts I may get one sooner. Did anyone buy one on sale last year, or remember seeing any good deals?

Nope, the 200-500 was not on sale for Black Friday. Don't think they reduced the price at all. FYI, you need a good lens case for that lens and I recommend the LowePro lens case...don't remember the model number but the dealer will know.

Photobug

DavyJ - bring on the PAD burst with your photos. Looking forward to seeing them.

MattinNJ81

Quoted:
Nope, the 200-500 was not on sale for Black Friday. Don't think they reduced the price at all. FYI, you need a good lens case for that lens and I recommend the LowePro lens case...don't remember the model number but the dealer will know.

Thanks, I may have to go ahead one buy it early then. Thanks also for the tip on the case, I have a Ruggard brand picked out but I'll look at the LowePro as well.

MattinNJ81

DaveyJ said:

I waited for a very long time and spent more money and time than the discount would have been worth, Tamron G2 150-600 goes on sale once in awhile, but I have on,y seen one in the field, which I have used, and it is no 200-500 Nikon. The 200-500 lens is just probably Nikon's single best deal!

I have been $aving and waiting for the 200-500 + D500 combo for about a year now. I am definitely waiting for the holiday sales on the D500 as they should be including the free battery grip at the very least. Now that I know the 200-500 won't be discounted I may pick one up sooner.

Photobug

+1 MattinNJ81

GPDen

Can confirm the Lowepro Lens Case 13 x 32cm is a great fit for the 200-500 and reasonably priced as well (£32 in UK). By the way MattinNJ81 you will not be disappointed with the lens, great price and brilliant optically IMHO - You can see some of my shots of golfers with it on PAD. Don't forget to post some of your images when you have the beast in your hands!

DaveyJ

I am puzzled about the case deal. This is a tough lens and with the D7500 and the D7200 with the 16-80 I have used it for weeks in the field. The only time either were cased was to transport on planes and there used the Lowe Backpack as my carry on. That weighed 39 pounds. Once the straps were in place it was very comfortable. In the field I use a Oben carbon fiber tripod,and use that sometimes as a hiking staff folded up,but with all legs extended. I had a Storm Guard cover but never used it with snow and rain.The big lens hood on both lens made them pretty easy to just shoot and rarely used the lens caps even.The barricades went up to stop travel into YNP so it was not very easy weather. I was dressed for,the hiking and photos, from LL Bean boots to a slick jacket. If I had camped out each night though the lack of protection for cameras and lens might have been an issue. The imagery though is awesome.

retread

MattinNJ81 said:

DaveyJ said:

I waited for a very long time and spent more money and time than the discount would have been worth, Tamron G2 150-600 goes on sale once in awhile, but I have on,y seen one in the field, which I have used, and it is no 200-500 Nikon. The 200-500 lens is just probably Nikon's single best deal!

I have been $aving and waiting for the 200-500 + D500 combo for about a year now. I am definitely waiting for the holiday sales on the D500 as they should be including the free battery grip at the very least. Now that I know the 200-500 won't be discounted I may pick one up sooner.

I have a D500 and have borrowed a 200-500 from Nikon for a hour or so. Good sharp lens. I own a Tamron 150-600 G2. Also a good lens. Both are lacking when the sun starts to go down. My next planed lens purchase is a Sigma 120-300 f2.8 for when the sun goes down and the lights come on for night time sports and wild life at the ends of the day. It does not have the reach of the others but will reach as far as I need for sports and has f2.8.

MattinNJ81

retread said:

MattinNJ81 said:

DaveyJ said:

I waited for a very long time and spent more money and time than the discount would have been worth, Tamron G2 150-600 goes on sale once in awhile, but I have on,y seen one in the field, which I have used, and it is no 200-500 Nikon. The 200-500 lens is just probably Nikon's single best deal!

I have been $aving and waiting for the 200-500 + D500 combo for about a year now. I am definitely waiting for the holiday sales on the D500 as they should be including the free battery grip at the very least. Now that I know the 200-500 won't be discounted I may pick one up sooner.

I have a D500 and have borrowed a 200-500 from Nikon for a hour or so. Good sharp lens. I own a Tamron 150-600 G2. Also a good lens. Both are lacking when the sun starts to go down. My next planed lens purchase is a Sigma 120-300 f2.8 for when the sun goes down and the lights come on for night time sports and wild life at the ends of the day. It does not have the reach of the others but will reach as far as I need for sports and has f2.8.

Thanks for the info. The Sigma is way out of my budget for the time being, especially once I buy the 200-500 and D500. I have heard the 200-500 isn't great for low light because of the maximum f/5.6, but I think that's a reasonable trade off for the price reach you get with it, especially on a cop sensor.

MattinNJ81

GPDen said:

Can confirm the Lowepro Lens Case 13 x 32cm is a great fit for the 200-500 and reasonably priced as well (£32 in UK). By the way MattinNJ81 you will not be disappointed with the lens, great price and brilliant optically IMHO - You can see some of my shots of golfers with it on PAD. Don't forget to post some of your images when you have the beast in your hands!

Thanks for the info. What is PAD?

retread

MattinNJ81 said:

Thanks for the info. The Sigma is way out of my budget for the time being, especially once I buy the 200-500 and D500. I have heard the 200-500 isn't great for low light because of the maximum f/5.6, but I think that's a reasonable trade off for the price reach you get with it, especially on a cop sensor.

The Sigma is a pricy lens for sure. I have an envelope in the desk drawer I stick a few bucks in form time to time. Someday it will add up to enough.

DaveyJ

I find the 200-500 has the attributes of a wildlife lens I am looking for. Once the light drops below useful for this lens, the action is nit that useful as the Nikkor 70-200 2.8 gets footage, but not very useful. So the 200-500 and the 16-80 are all I need or want.

retread

Nikon has the D500 refurbished for $1,500 in an email I just received if you will consider a refurbished.

MattinNJ81

retread said:

Nikon has the D500 refurbished for $1,500 in an email I just received if you will consider a refurbished.

My plan right now is to get the D500 with the 16-80mm lens kit, which goes for about $2400. While on promotion, the battery grip is usually included for free and I'm hoping there is a bit of a discount to the sale price as well. Between that kit, the 200-500 lens and the macro lenses I already have, I should be set for quite some time. It's a hefty investment, but worthwhile to upgrade from my D3300 and 55-200mm lens I've been using.

dissent

MattinNJ81 said:

Thanks for the info. What is PAD?

PAD is the Photo A Day thread. Contributions welcome, one per day (see first post in the monthly thread).

vtc2002

They also have a refurbished 200-500 for $1250 plus an extra 10% off with free shipping.

MattinNJ81

vtc2002 said:

They also have a refurbished 200-500 for $1250 plus an extra 10% off with free shipping.

I have seen that, bit I think I would prefer to go with a new one. Plus at BestBuy I can get 12 months (maybe 18 during holiday) of interest free payments, so I don't have to lay out all the money at once. Thanks though.

MattinNJ81

dissent said:

MattinNJ81 said:

Thanks for the info. What is PAD?

PAD is the Photo A Day thread. Contributions welcome, one per day (see first post in the monthly thread).

Oh duh, thanks.

GPDen

Sorry about the delay but been travelling from Spain to France over the last few days so not on-line to keep up with the conversation here. First re the case thing, my comment re the Lowepro was that it's a really good storage case, much better than the soft pouch the lens comes with, but it's really only good for that and transporting from shoot to shoot etc. I don't go hiking but if I did I wouldn't take this lens in the same case, it would ideally required a backpack jobbie (I seem to recall looking at Think Tanks Glass Limo but that was overkill for me). Thanks to dissent for explaining what PAD is for MattinNJ81. That's all from me!