Looking to pick up a 200-500 Nikon. Is it as good as everyone says?

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blong10

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I looking to purchase a Nikon 850 with the 200-500 lens coming up soon and I was wondering if it's good for wildlife photography. I mostly shoot birds in flight and stationary birds. I was also looking at the Tamron 150-600mm G2 as well but have heard at the long end it's not as sharp as the Nikon 200-500 at the long end. Anyone shooting with a D850 and this lens? Thanks
 
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D500 with the 200-500. Sharp enough for a polar bear :). It can be a little slow to acquire focus, and zooming is slow because you have to rotate the ring a long way, but I love the images.
 
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Hello, although I am not shooting with the D850, I am shooting with the D810 and Nikon 200-500mm lens, and can say for sure this is a sharp lens. It dose have a learning curve, especially with a camera with lot's of megapixels. You may want to rent the combo for a few days just to see if it meets your expectations. I am very happy with mine considering the price of the lens. Hope this helps, and I am sure someone who owns a D850 & 200-500mm lens combo will chime in also! Good luck! Mike J.
 
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Mike J. said:
Hello, although I am not shooting with the D850, I am shooting with the D810 and Nikon 200-500mm lens, and can say for sure this is a sharp lens. It dose have a learning curve, especially with a camera with lot's of megapixels. You may want to rent the combo for a few days just to see if it meets your expectations. I am very happy with mine considering the price of the lens. Hope this helps, and I am sure someone who owns a D850 & 200-500mm lens combo will chime in also! Good luck! Mike J.
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I think that's a great idea on renting both the D850 and the 200-500 to get a good feel for them
 
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My wife and I both used the 200-500 with D500's and later with D850's. To me its the best value in a long Nikon lens and they produced some wonderful images. That said we now have the 500pf's, though not as versatile as a zoom we shoot at 500mm most of the time anyway. The focus and tracking on the PF is much better and quicker as well. I have a 500f4 FL ED VR and it is another step up, particularly with a 1.4 tel. What I have come to find, particularly at altitude the 500f4 is heavy even though it weighs just 6.5lbs. Add a gripped D850 with its heavy battery and its quite a load to carry any distance. I find myself using the 500pf lens more and more vs the f4 except for short walking distance tripod work.
 
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I have great success with the 200-500 lens. It is so much lighter and smaller than the old 200-400 lens that I traded in the old lens for the new model. I photograph lots of birds and the lens is easy to use without a tripod for quick shots on the wing. The attached photo of a Perigrine Falcon was taken this year at Winter Wingers. The bird was flown between two handlers so our photo class could get good shots.
 
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Can only add that it has been a superb lens for me. Some of my very best wildlife shots have been taken with it. Fantastic value for money. Have heard that samples can vary (mine was and has been A-OK and have had it almost five years). Have used it with D750/500/850 and it has always served me well. I've had the good fortune to test a 180-400 f4 but at nearly 8 to 10 times the price of a 200-500, I can't go there.
 
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If I could afford it, I'd get the 500 PF f/5.6. Meanwhile I am really happy with my 200-500 and don't feel any need at all look at other lenses. I had both versions of the Tamrom 150-600 and they just weren't as sharp, and the VR is significantly better on the Nikon in my experience. The zoom comes in handy fairly often for me. Recently I even had to zoom back for a little humming bird who was hovering pretty close by. I do wish the zoom zoomed quicker with a shorter turn of the barrel. When I was shooting Sandhill Cranes the big guys would fly very close and it could be hard to zoom quickly enough to keep them in the frame. All in all, though, this is a really great lens and it never comes off of my D500. Ever. (I use a D7200 for landscapes and my extremely rare people shots. :) )
 
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I have been thinking about purchasing the 200-500 but was hoping to find it used. Having not found one in about a year of searching locally its obvious everybody who has purchased one is hanging onto it.
 
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Bluenoser said:
I have been thinking about purchasing the 200-500 but was hoping to find it used. Having not found one in about a year of searching locally its obvious everybody who has purchased one is hanging onto it.
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I find them used on Facebook pages and marketplace weekly. This is a great lens but not one I’d buy new.
 
I have that combo and I do like it. I replaced my Tamron 150-600mm A011 with the Nikon 200-500. If I had to do it again I would probably go for a Tamron 150-600 G2 personally. I wish I had one of each to do an updated comparison side by each. I wouldn't write a Tamron off or the Sigma versions. I have seen nice photos from all of them. 🤷‍♂️
 
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