Tele-zooms for Nikon

[Neptune-8]

A lot of my friends are Canon users and I have always been massively impressed with the excellent results they get from their Canon EF 100-400 or RF 100-500 tele-lenses.

For my sins I generated from Pentax slide cameras to Nikon DSLRs and currently use a D90 (still my favourite camera) and a D7200. I have various small lenses, plus the very versatile 18-200 which tends to be my day-to-day/go anywhere lens. I also have the 70-300 VR ED f4-5-5-6G. I find this can produce acceptable images in the best conditions but generally I am reluctant to use it much as the results tend to be harsh, 'soft' and lack that bit of sparkle especially when using at airshows.

I would love a Nikkor lens that was anywhere near as good as the Canons above. However, the choice seems a bit limited to the Nikkor 200-500 ED VR f5.6 or the 80-400 ED VR f4.5-5.6, which get mixed reviews. Does anyone have any experience of using these lenses please? I know there is always the Sigma or Tamron route but I feel that Nikon should at the very minimum have something that can compete favourably with Canon.

Ideally I would be looking for something up to the price of a Canon but certainly not into the mega-thousands!

Thanks for any thoughts.

John

[Supra]

Probably a comment you likely might expect from a Canon-user. Think outside the box! How about trading at least one Nikon (7200) for Canon Body & accessing more reasonably priced (lighter weight) Canon lenses of the performance you've seen from your friends! Additional bonus is that you won't have to sit separately from them!

[Neptune-8]

Well I am probably far too many years down the Nikon route now to start changing my allegiance and in any event, it would have to be either all-Nikon or all-Canon, not half and half. I have too much other dedicated kit to think about a complete overhaul, so I am probably stuck with Nikon. Nice thought though. And my comment about good Canon tele-lens results by others does not mean that I come second-best all the time, so I am allowed to sit near them and do come up with better results from time to time!

[daggerfan]

I use a Nikkor 200-500mm lens with a D500 body mainly for wildlife but occasionally for aircraft. It's a cracker of a lens but a bit of a weighty beast to handle.

My go-to set-up for aircraft is a D610 body with (sorry to muddy the waters) a Tamron VC 100-400mm lens. I bought the lens just over five years ago and it's certainly been one of my better buys. Maybe I just got a particularly good example. As a bonus, the Tamron's zoom ring turns in the same direction as my Nikon zooms, so I don't get confused!

[slogen51]

I purchased a second hand 200-500 nikkor f/5.6 just as a back up long lens that I didn't expect to use much but hey presto I love it - I think it works well on a D7200 when zooming from 200-300 ( crop sensor on the D7200 means that is roughly 300-440). I think the 200-500 VR ED 5.6 is very sharp at the lower end 200-300 and still good at 500 in decent light

My personal go to Nikon lens for my D7200 is my second hand 70-200 F/2.8 - super fast focusing and very sharp in the sweet spot - except my lens is damaged so I have sent it off for a repair at a rather ripe £450 price tag.

I have been with canon users who have experienced focus hunting issues when shooting through fences , probably why every canon comes with a B&Q voucher for a ladder

[XWP29]

I purchased a second hand 200-500 nikkor f/5.6 just as a back up long lens that I didn't expect to use much but hey presto I love it - I think it works well on a D7200 when zooming from 200-300 ( crop sensor on the D7200 means that is roughly 300-440). I think the 200-500 VR ED 5.6 is very sharp at the lower end 200-300 and still good at 500 in decent light

My personal go to Nikon lens for my D7200 is my second hand 70-200 F/2.8 - super fast focusing and very sharp in the sweet spot - except my lens is damaged so I have sent it off for a repair at a rather ripe £450 price tag.

I have been with canon users who have experienced focus hunting issues when shooting through fences , probably why every canon comes with a B&Q voucher for a ladder

Poppycock oh he of the left behind steps, wide open aperture, remove lens hoods, single or centre cluster focussing and select one of the many focus options, switch off focus searching and there you go.

[slogen51]

I don't need to do any of that with the D7200 it just locks on through the fence - no hunting

Nikons Rock!

[XWP29]

I don't need to do any of that with the D7200 it just locks on through the fence - no hunting

Nikons Rock!

Crop camera

[Neptune-8]

Thanks slogen51. I accept that most tele lenses fall off in performance at the higher magnification end but in your experience, would you say that the Nikkor 200-500 lens could still produce very acceptable sharp results of fast jets at up to its 400 setting? That should be more than enough in most situations. Also, the lens appears to be a bit of a weighty beast, apparently weighing in at 2.3kg (compared with my 70-300 at 745g!) - how do you find handling this? Another consideration if the fixed f5.6 but I suppose depth of field on flying stuff is not really an issue.I guess my next move should be to visit a camera shop and ask to try one out for myself to get the feel of it.

[KevinJ]

I've had the 200-500 for about 6 years and it's hands down the sharpest big zoom I've ever owned, even better than the 200-400 f4 I had. Mines pin sharp throughout the range even wide open.

[Yunglee]

Hi,

I've got the Nikon 200-500 f/5.6 as my main telephoto lens and find it very good for aviation photography

Positive points:

• Sharp under good conditions and sharp enough under moderate conditions when taking in to account all other factors that might imapct image quality such as heat haze, distance, light etc

• Good zoom range for most aviation photogrpahy situations

• good VR/ stabilisation

• Works well on both dx crop bodies like D7200 and also full frame like D610/ D850 and also great on mirrorless like Z7

Negative points:

• It's a heavy beast especially when coupled with a big camera body like a D500 or D850

• The zoom turn from 200mm to 500mm is a LONG turn making tracking something from far to close a little challenging - but not impossible

• 200mm is to far for some situations/ airport locations

• Autofocus is not fast, but I would say more than OK for aircraft and fast landing jets in particular

I've not owned the 80-400, either version, but the newer one is supposed to be good. I have owned and sold both the Tamron 150-600's and disliked both for various reasons. I borrowed the Nikon 70-300VR ED f4-5-5-6G for over a years and hated it! But I have and still use the Nikon AF-P 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR - I find this an excellent lens in almost all conditions and sold my 70-200 to get it, mainly as I tended to use the 70-200 with a teleconverter making it a heavy combitation. I'd say with good techneque the differences for aviations photography between a 70-200 and the 70-300 are marginal, except under certain conditions where the superior optics in most 70-200's would shine or where the air is clean enough (lack of heat haze etc) for the clarity to really bite. Those are my findings and people may disagree based on their own experiences.

I have access to a Tamron 100-400, although I've only used it for wildlife photography. I thought it was excellent and optically very sharp. But I found the autofocus would hunt, and that was with a D850 and battery grip in sunny weather in Majorca!

Below are links to my photo's with these various lens
Nikon 200-500mm
https://www.flickr.com/search/?sort=dat ... view_all=1

Nikon 70-300 AF-P VR
https://www.flickr.com/search/?sort=dat ... view_all=1

Nikon 70-200 f/2.8
https://www.flickr.com/search/?sort=dat ... view_all=1

Tamron 150-600mm G2
https://www.flickr.com/search/?sort=dat ... view_all=1

Tamron 100-400
https://www.flickr.com/search/?sort=dat ... view_all=1

Hope this info helps, Lee.

[Neptune-8]

Well many thanks guys for all the helpful and useful information, very much appreciated. I think I have enough now to go away and have a long hard think about. My nearest camera shop (Skears Photographic in Northampton) does stock most Nikon tele lenses - new as well as used - so I will pay them a visit and see if I can try out a couple of lenses for myself. The 200-500 and the new 70-300 (E version) both seem very competitive.

[slogen51]

I also own and use a new Nikon 70-300 ED VR AF-P plastic lens

I really like it now mainly because it is light and compact which is a major consideration when standing around.

I should say this lens broke all by itself after the warranty had recently expired and cost £270 to repair!

I reckon these days in good lighting any modern camera lens combination will take perfectly acceptable pictures without the need to spend a fortune.

[Black Mike]

Well many thanks guys for all the helpful and useful information, very much appreciated. I think I have enough now to go away and have a long hard think about. My nearest camera shop (Skears Photographic in Northampton) does stock most Nikon tele lenses - new as well as used - so I will pay them a visit and see if I can try out a couple of lenses for myself. The 200-500 and the new 70-300 (E version) both seem very competitive.

There are loads of second hand lenses at places like WEX, LCE, MPB, MIFSUD, Ffordes and others if new prices are a bit steep for you.

[B58Hustler]

Hi Neptune. Maybe just get a second hand 300 f4 (the AF-S version) and never look back.
This was on my D7200. This lens also works beautifully with the 1.4 x TC.
Regards, Jay.



F-16C by Jayson Cork, on Flickr

[Neptune-8]

Thanks Jay. Do you mean the AF-S 70-300 f4.5-5.6G ED VR? If so, that's what I have and use with the D7200 but I could never obtain a shot as crystal clear as that F-16 above.

[B58Hustler]

No, this is the 300mm prime.They are available from around £400 upwards, and whilst not as versatile as a zoom give superb results at all apertures.
I have no plans to sell mine any time soon. They are prone to AF motor failure though.

[daggerfan]

No, this is the 300mm prime.They are available from around £400 upwards, and whilst not as versatile as a zoom give superb results at all apertures.
I have no plans to sell mine any time soon. They are prone to AF motor failure though.

MPB currently have a few examples of this lens, including one "like new" for £364.

[TJF1]

So, why take a lens off when shooting through a fence???

I’m intrigued.

Having used the Nikon 200-500 lens in the past I agree this lens is very good when coupled with the Nikon D500 body.

[B58Hustler]

I think what XWP was saying is that if you remove the hood, you can get close to the fence thereby reducing the likelihood of getting bits of fence in the shot.
I, however tend to pan through the mesh at lower shutter speeds so the relative speed means that the fence doesn't register, although this is difficult as the low shutter speed means the aperture is small.
The upshot of this is that you will use a low ISO by default.
If I'm shooting an aircraft that is stationary or taxiing head on I will always remove the lens hood and get the front element as near to the fence as possible and shoot at around f5/5.6.
Wide open is not usually in the 'sweet spot'.
It's a black art..........