AF-S NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR

When it works, it works great. I bought one a few years ago. The zoom seized while touring in Australia. I bought a brand new one in Cairns, and shipped my broken one to a friend back in Canada. Once I returned home, I got it repaired. I got a deal on the repair because I wrote a nice letter. Instead of paying $700, I paid $500 plus incidentals. I then sold it. Before heading off to Colombia, I found a DIY repair on youtube. I took screw drivers and tape with me. The zoom on this 16 month old lens seized. Not once, not twice, but four times in three weeks while on a bird photography tour. I performed the repairs in the evening once I got to a controlled environment. After my first repair, all subsequence repairs took me 15 minutes tops. The problem was a loose screw. So, a loose screw will cost you $700. That would be $2800 in repairs for me in three weeks, for one hour of labour. When I got home, the lens seized yet again. That’s five times in four weeks. One last DIY repair was done using loctite. It was either fix it myself, or throw it in the garbage. Yeah, I think I got it! Even though this lens is sharp, and focuses very quickly, I could not possibly recommend this lens to anyone. I know two other people that have had the exact same problem with this lens. You would think that Nikon would have done something to resolve this manufacturing problem, but I guess it takes greater than seven years to sort these things out. Come on Nikon, you can do better.

I'm very impressed with the performance. Just taking a bit to get accustomed to the weight, but loving the results.

Superb lens when used with my D800/e. Outstanding sharpness and no chromatic aberrations. Any distortions present are automatically corrected by in camera processing or in post processing. I use mine primarily for birding and couldn't be more pleased with this lens' performance in my typically subdued lighting conditions.

Superb lens when used with my D800/e. Outstanding sharpness and no chromatic aberrations. Any distortions present are automatically corrected by in camera processing or in post processing. I use mine primarily for birding and couldn't be more pleased with this lens' performance in my typically subdued lighting conditions.

Superbly sharp when used on my Nikon D800. Excellent VR allows me to capture most of my wildlife shots handheld and I usually leave my monopoly at home. This is a fairly heavy lens so those who are used to holding a large telephoto lens won't have any problems hand holding it. It does well in subdued lighting(dusk or dawn) and I've not experienced any issues with focus hunting, lens flare or ghost reflections when used near bright lighting. The lens performs very well at f5.6 and gets better when stopped down a couple of f-stops. There is little to no chromatic aberration and any geometric distortion at the extreme ends of its focal length are easily corrected in post processing. This is an excellent lens for bird/wildlife photography and one that will be in my camera bag for many years to come!!!

I hoped to snag the 180-600mm Z, but decided to give this lens a try and it has been nothing less than superb. Love it. Focuses fast, even in low light and yields great shots. These pictures were all taken around 1 hour before sunset with the sun dropping behind trees, and came out well. All were handheld w/o a monopod.

Powerful and versatile tool, at 2.3kg, it is quite possible to handheld it all day even with my Z9. I used this lens on the D7100 and Z9, it is sharp enough wide open for my purpose (nature photography). AF is a bit on the slow side but that's to be expected on a budget super tele. Owned the lens for 4+ years now, no issues whatsoever. One of the advantage of a zoom over prime is that sometimes you just need the 200mm when opportunity arises

Bought this refurbished from Nikon in November. So far it has proven to be a wise investment. I am satisfied with the decision to stick with the fixed aperture vs the variable one throughout the focal lengths. Not saying that's a terrible thing but I prefer the fixed. I bought this for wildlife, primarily birds. It will be going onto a Gimbal as it is quite heavy, especially attached to my D750...The VR helps tremendously when hand holding. All in all, if you're looking for a lens that is not going to break the bank or take half of your life savings to buy for birding, wildlife, etc this will suffice. Pictures I have been taking are sharp and clear with no Chromatic aberration, purple fringing, etc that I am seeing in them. AF is decent and keeps up with subject. The cons I would guess is the lens is not fully weatherproof, it is quite heavy and the zoom adjustment from 200-500 seems to take forever to get there, it takes me almost 2 full turns. Other than that, it's a great lens at a great price and I would highly recommend it.

I primarily use this lens on my D780 for wildlife and sports photography. I'm amazed at the contrast and sharpest at all focal points and aperture settings including low light conditions. The materials of construction are top notch and have no issues with the lens. I'm considering a prime telephoto however with the performance of this lens, it's difficult to justify. I've uploaded a recent photo of a Bull Elk in the Chequamegon National Forest taken on a cloudy and rainy evening in very low light conditions at a distance of ~60 yards.