The great news is that unlike Nikon's G (gelded) lenses that won't work at all on older 35mm cameras, this "E" lens works fine with all 35mm and digital Nikons made since 1959, so long as you shoot it at f/5. Additionally, an electromagnetic aperture mechanism is integrated into the lens design to provide greater exposure control stability that is especially beneficial when working with faster continuous shooting rates. Autofocus: I was prepared for just about anything here, as I’ve heard a lot of conflicting assessments about this lens.

which at 500mm gives something a bit less than 5:1 magnification, a reasonable close focus capability though not approaching macro. This is because primes have larger glass areas, have better quality glass and wider apertures, therefore letting in more light helping with the auto focus amongst other things.It's easy to read a "HIGH VOLTAGE" sticker on a power pole a mile away at 500mm handheld on a 36MP D810. Although I have used this lens with the Nikon D850 and D700, I've taken more than 95% of my photos with the Nikon D500. Although Nikon 200-500 can work with teleconverters to extend your focal length, I don’t usually recommend using them. Shoot at a reasonably high ISO (depends on your camera) but generally ISO 2000 to 4000 can provide a great balance between image quality and noise.

However, I wanted to provide you with my experience to give you some valuable information to best inform your personal use.In some ways, it’s more illustrative to consider what is missing from the 200-500mm: no Nano coating, no drop-in filters, and no stated weather-sealing. Good samples can produce excellent results, while bad ones will make the experience of owning a lens pretty frustrating. This compact lens is graced with Nikon's Electromagnetic Aperture to ensure consistent exposures throughout and the latest Vibration Reduction (VR) system with 4.

If you’re looking for a completely stable system, you might try the Really Right Stuff Long Lens Support or Kirk’s custom solution for the 200-500mm. Sigma and Tamron have poor track records supporting compatibility and repair for lenses over 7 years old, even if the optics can be OK sometimes. While these are not the super lightweight fluorite elements we see on the latest high-end super telephotos, two out of the three elements on that front are extra-low dispersion lens elements, which help improve the overall sharpness and contrast of the lens by significantly reducing spherical aberration. It means we can shoot it in dim light and never need a tripod unless we're shooting time exposures or star trails.Weather-sealing protects the lens from dust and moisture, adding durability in various environmental conditions. Unlike the new Canon 100-400mm II that focuses so close that it replaces 70-200mm and macro lenses, this Nikon 200-500mm can't zoom wide enough or focus close enough to replace a general-purpose telephoto. However, it's important to remember that proper care and maintenance are essential for any lens, mainly when used in adverse conditions. This type of focus hunt I have experienced while photographing birds in flight against blue sky at longer distances.

ED glass elements are employed to achieve high optical performance with minimal chromatic aberration. While the 200-500mm’s implementation is the best I’ve seen in decades from Nikon, I can still get a little vibration out of it when shooting on a stable platform. Indeed, you can barely get from 200mm to 300mm without having to change your hand position from shooting ready. My other slight frustration with the handling was that the focus ring is nearer the camera body than the zoom ring, the opposite of the telephoto lenses I generally use, and not in an optimal place for someone who manually tweaks focus a lot, as it’s behind the center of gravity point.The lens is obviously not the fastest focuser, but claiming that it is good only for static subjects is not accurate either. While this might not be a deal-breaker for some, it's worth considering when evaluating the overall user experience.