Tele-zooms for Nikon

[slogen51]

I take the lens hood off so it doesn't catch the fence while panning. At Lakenheath I can get good clean shots from six inches away from the fence provided I am zoomed to at least 200mm ( effectively 300mm on a crop sensor) . All this means I can pan without worrying about catching the fence.

We were chatting about this at Lakenheath the other day and I demonstrated taking a shot from about two feet of the fence using a wide f stop of f/4.5 for example - the depth of field was such that the fence was completely invisible.

Used my Nikon 200-500mm today at Marham - good lighting and very happy with the shots . The Nikon 200-500 is a very good lens for my D7200.

The only drawback apart from the weight has already been mentioned and that is the long twist required to zoom from say 200 out to 500 - this is an issue when jets are taking off fast and banking away from 06 at Lakenheath.

[TJF1]

I was only wondering really, I see a few people do this and to be honest I did wonder. Personally I never do and I never have a problem with leaving it on. What ever lens I use. Also I think it will protect the front of the lens from the fence. Still, we all do things differently. Happy shooting everybody and it’s always good to see your shots.

[slogen51]

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.

Used my 200-500 all day today on a D7200 at Lakenheath and Mildenhall in bright conditions- I love it. In my opinion it is pin sharp. Ok it's heavy and I wouldn't want to walk up mount Everest without a Sherpa to carry the lens for me.

Lakenheath were on 06 for departures and when you get to know the focal length for each type you can really fill the frame and still get very sharp photos of fast moving banking jets. On the D7200 crop sensor I am only zooming to 270-300mm well within the comfort range of the lens. .

I personally can recommend the Nikon 200-500 f/5.6 for Aviation photography - my second hand lens was less than £700 from memory.

[B58Hustler]

Could we please see some examples?

[slogen51]

I wouldn't hold your breath as I am still working through Air Defender. I am finding it quite difficult to sit down and go through my photos - there are always more numbers to chase !