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i am considering purchasing one of these lenses. i am leaning more towards the 600vr but i am not sure about the weight. the 500 is a lighter lens witch sounds better to me. i am curantly useing a nikon 70-200 2.8vr with nikon 2x converter on a D200. my tripod is an older gitzo 500 so it can suport the 600. i believe that there is about a 2.5lb diference between these lenses. any advice would be helpfull.
I pondered this quite a bit.
Currently I shoot a 500 AFSII and have ordered a 500 VR.
The reason is 2 fold...
1) Those 2.7 lbs make a huge difference if you do any amount of hiking around with it on your shoulder.
2) The 500 focusses 5 feet closer....13' vs 18'
I forgot one...the additional TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS :)
Don't just go by list prices either at places like B and H. I have mine on order locally and have it down to $7299.
My thoughts are similar to those Jim has. The 500 is lighter and cheaper and if you need to walk a lot that 3lbs or so can make a difference. On the other hand I bought a D3 and need the extra reach so I ordered the 600vr. I am 6' 3" and 230lbs so hopefully I can carry an extra 3lbs. ;)
If you have a D300 or a Dx camera you probably do not need the extra reach unless you always go after small birds or they are hard to approach in your area.
The 600 has that extra reach you may need for a Fx camera and my guess is there will be more of them in the future.
Nikon told me a few weeks ago or so ago they should be heading to the stores by the end of the month. I leave for Florida on Feb 3rd, hope I have the 600vr with me but I can wait till I get back to NY since the birds are more approachable in Florida then here so the old 500 will work fine.
Good luck with your decision!!
I leave on the 9th...I'm hoping my D300 and 500 AFSII are back from Nikon and I also hope the new VR is in by then?
