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

It´s my first time doing wildlife photography, and was searching for a lens with good price as I am not planning to do more in this field, but now after I used it at National Park in West Yellowstone, lens became my mate and never left away while I am moving around.

Seeing the result is making you stop talking and let picture talks.

This lens is incredible, especially given the price.

Pros:
1. Tack sharp all the way through its focal range (I mostly shoot at 500mm and it´s excellent at 5.6, incredible when stopped down to f8)
2. Excellent VR - I almost never need to use a tripod during daylight, even in the rain. (This is especially impressive since I´m using a 1.5x crop sensor, making this lens a 300-750mm on my camera).
3. Autofocus is lightning fast and always accurate.
4. The tripod mount is nice and makes for a comfortable handle when handheld.
5. controls are intuitive and well-placed. focus ring moves smoothly.
6. Short minimum focusing distance for close-ups on small subjects.
7. People will stare - it´s huge and impressive.

Cons:
1. It´s huge. People will stare.
2. It´s quite heavy - I´ll keep a close eye on it until I buy a sturdier tripod mount.
3. Filters are huge, relatively expensive, and front-mounted (vs. those lenses where the filters drop in to the rear of the lens). You won´t really be able to manipulate a polarizer with the lens hood on.
4. The barrel is quite large in diameter. I have average/larger hands, and find myself having to reposition my hand often when zooming or manually focusing.
5. The lens does physically extend as you move from 200mm to 500mm. I suppose that´s to be expected, but just a heads-up.
6. Mine makes an electrical humming noise during long-exposure shots at night. Haven´t noticed any problems from this, but it makes me nervous not knowing why that´s happening.

I´m self-taught, with 2 years of experience, using an entry-level Nikon D5300 body. This lens out-classes the camera body I´m using and I´m still getting great shots with this - I feel like there is room for me to grow with this lens. At the same time, it´s been a very forgiving piece of equipment.

A month before this arrived, I rented a Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR Lens for some wildlife photography. I´ve had a vastly improved experience with the 200-500 compared to that older, more expensive lens. The autofocus is much faster, VR seems better. I only had that rental for a week, though, so my comparison is a bit limited.

Previously, I´d been using a 2x teleconverter on my AF Zoom-NIKKOR
80-200mm f/2.8D ED. On the crop sensor, that gave me 600mm at f5.6. The 200-500 gives me 750mm on that camera, and the image quality is orders of magnitude better.

At this point, my photos are limited more by my lack of experience and my opportunistic approach to wildlife photography (haven´t gotten into using blinds and camouflage... yet). And Nikon...these sample photos would look way better if they weren´t compressed into tiny images.... Anyway, if you´re thinking of getting this lens for wildlife, you won´t be disappointed.

I pre-ordered this lens based upon Previews which sounded almost too good to be true. When it arrived, I was out in the field with the lens mounted on my Nikon D7200 within minutes and found that all the promises of an amazing lens for an amazing price were right on the money. I have owned a number of Nikon lenses including pro-level telephotos that cost me over $5000 and this new 200-500mm is at the top of my list of favorites. My passion is photographing the natural world, especially birds in flight. My first images have been tack sharp throughout the entire range. The D7200 is a fantastic DX body and this lens brings out the best it has to offer. If you find the lens has been back-ordered because of high demand, trust me....it is well worth the wait!

This new Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6 zoom lens is definitely made for large field sports and wildlife. This lens is extremely sharp all the way up to 500mm. I have never seen a ´´super´´ telephoto hand held zoom lens this sharp throughout the entire focal length. The lens has some weight to it, but it is manageable and the results are well worth the effort. Nikon really got this one right, not to mention the relatively low price for such a powerful lens.

As a professional photographer for 40 years just retired, and an avid sports fan, this is a fabulous lens.
I was a racing photographer before I opened two studios. I have assortment of telephotos but none this large. I shoot with a D7100 for action. I also love nature and tested this lens at Bolsa Chica wetlands. VERY impressive.Quality excellent. Both of lens and results. Hand held amazing.

The lens can be used for handheld photography. Auto focusing is relatively fast and the images are sharp too. VR, low weight compared to other heavy telephoto zoom lenses, and the affordable price are great features. F/5.6 can be maintained throughout the zoom range.

I have been pleasantly surprised by this lens. Its image quality is excellent and its price point makes it affordable for a wide range of photographers. This is not a ´´cheap lens´´. This is an affordable lens, and that is a huge difference.

I have the 500mm f4E FL prime. However, upon learning about this lens I immediately realized that it has potential beside my prime lens. There are times when you need 500mm but suddenly you need to have less in a second. So, I went to my store, tested the lens indoors and outdoors and bought it.

I have done side by side shooting with the prime and the zoom on tripod and hand held. The zoom delivered excellent quality images, its VR was impeccable and it focused relatively fast. I say relatively since the 500mm prime is the absolute king when it comes to focusing speed.

Anyhow, All I can say that this lens is a home run from Nikon. Wildlife photographers who never could afford an exotic prime now can have a serious tool at their disposal. Or like in my case, have an alternative tool on hand.

Just received this lens today and took just over 100 shots of birds at in marsh. I hand-held for all shots and found the VR is fantastic! Images are tack sharp. It balances well with the D810 body. I´ve included a couple of images at 200 and 500mm so you can see the zoom range.

This Lens is very sharp and very comfortable to photograph nature at very short distance.
Overall the lens is very Good.