Best upgrade on a budget?

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StefanSC

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With the autumn/winter discount period looming, I am thinking of an upgrade to my wildlife kit that comes in at about 3000 USD.

Currently I am shooting with a Nikon D500, a Sigma 150-600mm C and a Nikkor AF-S 300mm f4D and TC14 II.
The things that are bugging me are the slow AF of both lenses, the lack of VR of the 300mm and the fact that sometimes the D500 and Sigma's VR produce baffling softness in the images.

I also have an m43 kit composed of the Panasonic G9 and some pro lenses.

I've narrowed my options to the following:

1) Grab a 500mm PF for the Nikon D500.
This means down the road I will most likely sell my m43 kit to fund a Z9 or some Z90/Z8 camera.

2) Grab either an Olympus OM-1 or an Olympus 300mm f4 (which has the better discounts basically).
This means that down the road I will most likely sell my Nikon kit (except my D810 that took a nose dive and a couple of prime lenses) to fund the other bit of kit that I didn't get.

What does the wisdom of the group say it's the best course of action?
 
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StefanSC said:
With the autumn/winter discount period looming, I am thinking of an upgrade to my wildlife kit that comes in at about 3000 USD.

Currently I am shooting with a Nikon D500, a Sigma 150-600mm C and a Nikkor AF-S 300mm f4D and TC14 II.
The things that are bugging me are the slow AF of both lenses, the lack of VR of the 300mm and the fact that sometimes the D500 and Sigma's VR produce baffling softness in the images.

I also have an m43 kit composed of the Panasonic G9 and some pro lenses.

I've narrowed my options to the following:

1) Grab a 500mm PF for the Nikon D500.
This means down the road I will most likely sell my m43 kit to fund a Z9 or some Z90/Z8 camera.

2) Grab either an Olympus OM-1 or an Olympus 300mm f4 (which has the better discounts basically).
This means that down the road I will most likely sell my Nikon kit (except my D810 that took a nose dive and a couple of prime lenses) to fund the other bit of kit that I didn't get.

What does the wisdom of the group say it's the best course of action?
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I’ve been shooting the D500 and the 500 PF for over three years. That combo takes some awesome shots. This combo will be with me for a while more until Nikon releases something that will convince me that it is time to go mirrorless. But even then I will probably hold onto that combo.
 
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When I returned to photography with the arrival of DLSRs (ah, the D70) the advice I was given, and it stuck, was to budget so I could spend most of my money on good glass that did what I wanted to do with it. I hear that advice in your thoughts on keeping the D500 and buying the 500 pf, which is GREAT lens. Though, if that 100-600 is doing its job for you, and you 'must' jump to mirrorless then you can look at one of the Z cameras (people on here are shooting great photos with the Z6ii and Z6). I'm being no help whatsoever, am I :)
 
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The D500 is a great wildlife camera, so if you shoot mostly wildlife, I’d stick with that. Do you like and use the flexibility of a zoom like the Sigma 150-600, or is most of your work at the long end? If the latter, then the 500PF would be a great choice. On the other hand, if you enjoy having zoom capability, then you might look at the Nikon 200-500, which is a great lens, with better AF and IQ than either the Sigma or Tamron equivalent, IMHO. Years ago, I rented and tested out all three, and found the 200-500 superior in almost every respect and, at only $1300 new, it’s a real bargain. Having said that, however, I would not call the AF “fast”, especially in low light conditions, and it gets even slower with a TC attached. Nonetheless, I find AF acceptable in most situations on the 200-500. If you opt for the 500PF, what will you use to cover the shorter range? The Nikon 70-200 f2.8 would be a great choice, but then that would exceed your $3000 budget.
 
They say the smart money bets on the glass. So I'd sell everything except the Nikon gear and go for the 500pf. This will get you on the path to Nikon full frame mirrorless eventually, since mirrorless is the future.
 
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I'm a D500 shooter, and have used the Nikon 300 af-s, Tamron 150-600 and Nikon 200-500 in the past. When I got a used 500 PF I was amazed at how much better the autofocus was, how much more consistent the focus was, and how much sharper my images were.
 
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My vote is for the OM1 and /or the 300mm f4. With the OM1 you will get a terrific lightweight body with very good bird autofocus, and with the 300 f4 you get a fast, professional-level tele with first-rate optics. Add the Olympus 1.4x teleconverter and you've got a terrific 420mm f5.6, which is the field of view equivalent to a full frame 840mm. Sell your G9 and maybe you can afford both the OM1 ($2200) and a second-hand 300mm f4 ($1800).

Sorry, but the D500 is becoming a dinosaur. Even if you add the 500mm pf the lens will not be as useful as it would be with a mirrorless body, even an older one like the Z7. With mirrorless you can use the TC14eiii to get a highly useful 700mm. f8 that autofocuses well. With the D500 not so much. Time to bail on the DSLR. One man's opinion.

The rap on M43 is that at high ISO there is too much noise, but with current noise reduction software (e.g., DxO and Topaz) you can go wayyyyy up in ISO and get good results. On my just-completed Ecuador trip I got quite usable results even at ISO 6400 using the OM1 (see attached Orange-billed sparrow pic).

Doug Greenberg
orangebilledsparrow.jpg
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You can't go wrong with the 500mm PF. It's an awesome match with the D500 if/when you go mirrorless it only gets better. That lens is the only reason I'm still shooting Nikon. Using in now with the Z9 and it's even faster/sharper than on the D500/D850/D5 that I used it with before. Probably the only f-mount lens that I'll keep indefinitely.
 
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StefanSC said:
With the autumn/winter discount period looming, I am thinking of an upgrade to my wildlife kit that comes in at about 3000 USD.

Currently I am shooting with a Nikon D500, a Sigma 150-600mm C and a Nikkor AF-S 300mm f4D and TC14 II.
The things that are bugging me are the slow AF of both lenses, the lack of VR of the 300mm and the fact that sometimes the D500 and Sigma's VR produce baffling softness in the images.

I also have an m43 kit composed of the Panasonic G9 and some pro lenses.

I've narrowed my options to the following:

1) Grab a 500mm PF for the Nikon D500.
This means down the road I will most likely sell my m43 kit to fund a Z9 or some Z90/Z8 camera.

2) Grab either an Olympus OM-1 or an Olympus 300mm f4 (which has the better discounts basically).
This means that down the road I will most likely sell my Nikon kit (except my D810 that took a nose dive and a couple of prime lenses) to fund the other bit of kit that I didn't get.

What does the wisdom of the group say it's the best course of action?
Click to expand...

Strictly between those two options I'd choose the 500PF with the Z9 upgrade in the future. I don't think the "either/or" for the OM-1/300F4 will get you want you want while the 500PF and D500 is a great combo that you'll have right away. I think there may be other questions you'll have to answer for yourself though before deciding. Do you eventually want to go FF? Is the size/weight of M43 an overriding factor in how you want to shoot? Do you ever see yourself stepping up to bigger faster glass (400F4.5, 800PF, 600F4 etc)? Is either system better for the other things you photograph?
 
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Thank you all for your valuable feedback. At first glance, the 500mm PF is the way to go.

But I am still open to feedback, as I am trying to maximize my bang for buck.

My logic right now goes like this:

If an Olympus 300mm f4 plus its TC14x match the image quality of the Nikon 500mm PF and if the OM-1 with it's bells and whistles (25+ fps, subject detection, blackout free EVF, pre-capture) will net me more keepers over the D500, then going m43 is the better bang for buck, even if it is a two step move.

If the Olympus 300mm f4 plus TC is inferior to the Nikon 500mm PF or the OM-1 doesn't really net me more keeper over the D500, then going the 500mm PF route seems to me to be the better option.

Finally, there are is these facts:
- I've never warmed up to Olympus bodies in the past (that's why I'm shooting m43 with Panasonic bodies and mostly Olympus lenses).
- This would be a big ticket item purchase for me so for the next 18-24 months I will be doing all my wildlife with whatever solution I choose. If my 100k actuation D500 decides to give up the ghost, I am up the creek, no paddle included.

Right now, a rental service where I could grab all three items for a week-end spin would be very handy. Unfortunately, rentals in my part of the world don't carry such items.
 
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StefanSC said:
- This would be a big ticket item purchase for me so for the next 18-24 months I will be doing all my wildlife with whatever solution I choose. If my 100k actuation D500 decides to give up the ghost, I am up the creek, no paddle included.
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if your d500 dies, you probably could pick up a used d500, d850 or d5 since a lot of folks have moved on to the z9. and, afaik, they still service the d500?
 
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A couple of thoughts. First and I would say most importantly, take a look at your wildlife photos and see what focal lengths you find yourself using the majority of the time. If you are constantly at 600mm and even then wanting more, then as good as the 500PF is, you might be disappointed. However, it looks from your review like you will be happy at 500mm, then, while I do not have one, from what I have read and seen, I do not see how you can go wrong with the 500PF. Your (and my) D500 is still the best crop sensor DSLR ever made Shoot it until it dies from exhaustion!
 
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I'd go with the 500 f5.6 pf, although my combination before was the 300 f4 pf and TC 14 III. That was a lightweight and effective combination. Effective 450 f4 and 620 f5.6 with the TC 14 III on the D500. The 500 is sharper by a little bit. Both work well with the Z6 II and Z9 with FTZ if you upgrade.
 
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I had a D-500 and a 500pf. I now have an OM-1, an Olympus 100-400 and an Olympus 300f4. I had a D-7200 Sigma 150-600C previous to the D-500/500pf.

Thinking about these 3 combos.
1-Could not really hand-hold the D-7200/Sigma 150-600C.
2-I could hand-hold the D-500/500pf. AF was considerably quicker and the pictures sharper. Note, however, that I changed both camera and lens. I did not like the TC 1.4 III on the D-500/500pf.
3-My go to lens on the OM-1 is the 100-400 not the 300f4 so I have little experience with that combo. My experience with the OM-1/100-400 is that I get more keepers than the D-500/500pf because the camera is better at focusing on the eye than I am. The AF is even faster, if you can believe that than the D-500. Picture quality is about the same. Noise reduction software is more important with the OM-1 because of the equivalent F-stop difference (12.6 on the Om-1/100-400 F/6.3 versus 8.4 on the D-500/500pf f/5.6)

In direct response to your query, I expect that the OM-1/300pf will take better pictures than the D-500/500pf BUT I think the reach (600mm equ.) is barely enough. You are currently at 900mm equ. and even dropping to the 750mm of the 500pf will be noticeable.

I have an Olympus 1.4 TC. It is tiny but I am unfamiliar with the OM-1/300f4/1.4TC. I can try that combo this weekend and let you know.

Either way you may miss the zoom a lot.

Regards,
Tom
 
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D500 + 500pf is a winning combo. Had it and love it still. If you are looking for a end game, probably the om-1 is the way to go, the more advance AF system brings a lot to the table however, the only upgrade path going forward would be the 150-400 pro which I feel is more costly than it should be, plus it is hard to find used copy too.

If you are still open to upgrading the system in the future, 500pf maybe better option, with z9 and probably a future smaller body should be in line. 500pf on the z9 works very well even with a 1.4 tc on it. - reach will be at 700mm with tc and 1050 at dx crop with tc. it will be heavier and larger of cos.

Also why you didn't warm up to Olympus prior could be important, is it the feel? ergo, these two factors would matters a lot to me if I were considering. hope it helps.
 
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The "Z9 in the future" is a prospective $5400 investment, serious money. The OM1 costs $2200. The OM1 is an improvement over previous Olympus bodies in terms of the menu system, plus it has excellent bird AF. The Olympus 300 f4 will work well with your G9, and adding the 1.4x compromises image quality pretty much imperceptibly. You won't get dual image stabilization with the G9 but what you will get is pretty darned good. But nobody else can tell you what will "work" best for you. Personally, I think the D500 is a "yesterday's camera," and I sold mine.
 
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StefanSC said:
Thank you all for your valuable feedback. At first glance, the 500mm PF is the way to go.

But I am still open to feedback, as I am trying to maximize my bang for buck.

My logic right now goes like this:

If an Olympus 300mm f4 plus its TC14x match the image quality of the Nikon 500mm PF and if the OM-1 with it's bells and whistles (25+ fps, subject detection, blackout free EVF, pre-capture) will net me more keepers over the D500, then going m43 is the better bang for buck, even if it is a two step move.
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I don't know if I'd say the IQ of the 300F4+TC will match the bare 500PF. Both are excellent lenses but adding a TC will always have an impact, if that impact matters to your photography only you can decide.

What you will probably get though is more keepers, and/or easier to get keepers because of all those bells and whistles. You also get complete silent shooting (which I mentioned before is huge for me).

I haven't had the OM-1/300F4 all that long but you can check out the few photos I have with that setup + the TC in this flickr album. I have an album with the 500PF as well, a lot more photos since I had that combo a lot longer that I've had the OM-1.
 
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I just picked up the 500PF a few months ago and I absolutely love it. The fact that I can handhold it far easier than the 200-500mm I was using previously is a game changer. It's sharp, it's fast, and it's lightweight. Can't go wrong there!

And, although I sold my D500 before getting the PF, I loved that camera too and I imagine it would have made a top notch combo. So that'd be my vote. I may be biased, though. And I've never tried the Olympus setups, so can't really compare.
 
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D-500/500pf and Om-1/1100-400 are different animals. If you get a 500pf you are planning on getting Nikon's upgrade to the D-500. If you get the OM-1 you think that Nikon won't come out with an upgrade any time soon.
 
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Earlier this year I acquired a D500, which I use with a Sigma 100-400mm lens for bird photography. It is a very good combo. But I found out that when the lens is zoomed out to 400mm it has an f/6.3 maximum aperture AF might not be reliable and fast when using off-center AF points. Only the central 45 AF sensors seem to work well at f/6.3. If you want all of the AF sensors to work well you should use a lens with a maximum aperture of f/5.6. (I do find that I seem have no AF issues when I zoom back to 300mm, which has a maximum aperture of f/6. You might find that your Sigma 150-600 will focus a bit faster and more reliably when zoomed to 450mm or so than it does at 600mm.) Mirrorless cameras should not have this problem as the geometry of on-sensor AF does not have the aperture limitations of DSLR AF modules.

I would consider getting a 500mm f/5.6 PF lens for your D500. It is a well-liked and very capable combination. Perhaps consider using your 150-600 only at 500mm for a bit to see if 500mm alone is too restrictive. Less expensive Nikon options are the 300mm f/4 PF and 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E AF-P lenses, which reputedly have very fast AF. But you likely won’t have the reach you are looking for.

You could get an OM System 100-400mm zoom (supposedly the same optics as the Sigma) or 300mm f/4 lens to use with your G9. Getting an OM-1 adds to the expense, but seems to be well liked by bird and wildlife photographers who use it.

Good luck with making a decision.
 
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