?: Lens recommendation for BIF on D500, your thoughts

[Dave Douglass]

I have my D500 set up with the Nikon 200-500 lens, and the Nikon 1.4 TC and I like using it with a gimbal mount on a monopod when possible or hand held. That is my one and only BIF set up so I have nothing to compare it with but I am very satisfied with the results. I wouldn't want to be without the zoom ability of this lens for bird photography.

 

[joe43]

I use a 500mm pf on my D500 for BIF. It is a wonderful combination. For interaction between two large birds, like two great egrets on or near a nest, I use a 300mm pf.

 

[rlitschgy]

I have a D500 and D850 with a 500pf, 500f/4 , 500f4, 500pf
What I take with me is the 300pf and 500pf

Since I bought the 500pf I have not carried the 500f4 due to the size.
I shoot from a kayak pretty regular the d500 with 300pf is nice and small size
Easily fits in the dry bag.

And is sweet for birds, otters and seals that I encounter here where I kayak .

Hi Gary quick question regarding your 300 f/4 PF lens and the kayak. I use the old version Nikons 300mm f/4 in my kayak on a tripod that works very well for me, but I can not hand hold this lens for BIF on my D500. You never mentioned a tripod so you must have experience hand holding your 300mm, do you find it reasonably easy to work with hand holding?
Thanks Ray

 

[Woodpecker]

Hi Gary quick question regarding your 300 f/4 PF lens and the kayak. I use the old version Nikons 300mm f/4 in my kayak on a tripod that works very well for me, but I can not hand hold this lens for BIF on my D500. You never mentioned a tripod so you must have experience hand holding your 300mm, do you find it reasonably easy to work with hand holding?
Thanks Ray

I would guess that this is because the 300 PF has a very good VR while to my knowledge its predecessor hasn't got VR. When handholding 300mm on a DX body you effectively try to handhold 450mm without VR and I would expect this to be a challenge, especially while siitting in a kayak.

 

[Gary Rather]

I would guess that this is because the 300 PF has a very good VR while to my knowledge its predecessor hasn't got VR. When handholding 300mm on a DX body you effectively try to handhold 450mm without VR and I would expect this to be a challenge, especially while siitting in a kayak.

Sorry just now saw the question.
I am shooting from the kayak. Usually at iso 400
And try to keep my shutter speed to 1/500 or so

I am in a kayak but in calm water (Elkhorn Slough) so actually pretty good for hand holding.
But I have been shooting some kind of action for a long time.
For my first 20 years of my photography I was shooting motorcycle road racing

So most of the wildlife is pretty much the same following moving objects.

And yes the VR helps

 

[wild-pics]

I carry two cameras with me in my backpack: D500+500pf and Z7+300pf for BIF. On a sunny day I use the 70-300 E lens on the Z7.

 

[ALTO]

I am looking at buying a used NIKON AFS 500 F4G ED VR
with my D500 and D850, for BIF and birds in general, has anybody used this combo ?

 

[DRwyoming]

I am looking at buying a used NIKON AFS 500 F4G ED VR
with my D500 and D850, for BIF and birds in general, has anybody used this combo ?

It's a great lens with razor sharp optics, good VR and fast AF but IMO it's a bit short if your primary interest is birds, especially smaller birds. It can certainly work, especially with the D500 and it's a very good focal length for all around wildlife work including mammals. I had that lens and used it with several cameras including a D800 and a D500 and it produced fantastic images but I often found myself wanting a bit more lens especially when photographing smaller birds and I traded mine in for the 600mm f/4 G lens that I still have and use a lot. Even with the 600mm version I find myself slapping on the 1.4x teleconverter pretty often when working smaller birds.

I do find the 500mm PF coupled to the D500 to be a great lens for hand held and mobile bird photography where the extra mobility can often help me get closer to my subjects but when working with big glass and small birds I really prefer at least a 600mm lens when possible. YMMV.

 

[ALTO]

Last weekend i was shooting sandhill cranes, low light, at about 60 yards with my d500 and 200-500 lens. I could not get a sharp image. Might be my
settings or technique. I was looking for more reach with a 4000.00 budget

 

[DRwyoming]

Last weekend i was shooting sandhill cranes, low light, at about 60 yards with my d500 and 200-500 lens. I could not get a sharp image. Might be my
settings or technique. I was looking for more reach with a 4000.00 budget

Hard to say what you're seeing with sharpness issues, perhaps you could post a couple of the images that are giving you trouble. Could be a settings issue (e.g. shutter speed or choice of focus point) but it could also be a back focus/ front focus issue that can be easily resolved with some AF fine tuning. Hard to guess without seeing the problem.

And of course to state the obvious a 500mm f/4 won't give any more reach than the 200-500mm f/5.6 racked out to 500mm. Of course the 500 f/4 will take a TC better than the slower f/5.6 zoom lens but the big advantage of the f/4 lens isn't reach so much as more light gathering and better ability to control backgrounds with its wider aperture.

You can probably find a 600mm f/4 G lens within your budget if you look around. Another option would be one of the Sigma or Tamron zooms that go out to 600mm (e.g. 150-600mm zoom) which are very good lenses and can still be hand held which is really tough with either the 500mm f/4 or 600mm f/4.

 

[Warren D]

Last weekend i was shooting sandhill cranes, low light, at about 60 yards with my d500 and 200-500 lens. I could not get a sharp image. Might be my
settings or technique. I was looking for more reach with a 4000.00 budget

I'd bet on atmospherics, they are more prominent at end of day than beginning. Even more so this time of year with drastic swings in temp.