Nikon 500 f/5.6 pf or 500 f/4 G VR/

[Calson]

I have been wanting a Nikon 500mm pf since I bought my 300mm pf. I think I am getting close to convincing the Boss it is an essential lens (to go with all my other essential lenses). There is a used 500mm f/4 G VR for sale at about the same price as the 500mm pf. I have searched on line for a comparison and have not been convinced which way to go.

Does anyone have enough experience with both lenses to convince me which way to go. Weight is not a real problem because I do most of my shooting near roads and I have tripod(s), monopods, and good gimbals to handle the weight. I shoot wildlife with D500 and D850 cameras and I want a prime lens instead of the 150-600 Tamron G2 I currently use.

Your help is appreciated.

Steve

I had the 500mm VR and sold it to get the 600mm f/4E lens and I have owned the 500mm PF lens VR lens since October 2018 and used all lenses extensively. If I could only own one of these my choice would be the 500mm f/4 VR lens. Both f/4 lenses can be used with teleconverters and still have acceptable autofocus performance which is not the case with the 500mm f/5.6 PF lens. A 500mm f/4 can be used as a 700mm f/5.6 or a 1000mm f/8 lens. A 600mm can often be too long a lens and result in over cropping of a subject with the loss of their body or of their surrounding environment. A 700mm f/5.6 lens setup provides double the image size of the 500mm f/6.6 PF lens which is significant.

With lower resolution cameras like a D5 or D6 there is a greater need to have as much image magnification as possible and so to use as long a lens as possible. With the D500 it is quite the opposite where a lens can be too long. On the other hand the D500 and the D580 with a 500mm lens provide a higher resolution image than a D5 with a 600mm lens.