So I'm thinking of buying this lens. I've read about it and the most expensive AF-S, AF-S II and AF-S VR. I know I will have to learn the technique to manual focus it, and it will be almost impossible to successfully handhold it, or get birds in flight....
The AF versions are still expensive to me, and I don't want to get a third party, so...
What kind of photographs will I have to give up?. Is it a mistake to buy this lens? Should I better save for the real thing (I mean the AF-S VR version)?
Any comment , experience or thought welcomed
PD: Forgot to say I use a Nikon D300
I think you will find it very frustrating with manual focus. Any kind of wildlife moves and birds in flight would be a total loss without AF. I would vote of saving for the AF one. I bought the AFSII 500 last year and just love it!
I've owned both the P and the now the AFS II, and its a huge world of difference. With the manaul you are spending a lot of your brain power on focus, and each little movement by the subject is more and more work. I found that detracted from my composition and exposure a bit. If you get the P I would highly recommend getting a custom screen from Katz eye but without any marking. The screen just brightens up the view finder and makes it much much easy to show absolute sharpness compared to a stock screen. Don't get a split focus screen as its not effective with that long lens.
You do give up BIF opts unless you go the prefocus route, and you give up fast action. Both are amazingly sharp but I think having AF frees you up much more to be more creative and productive while you shoot, and with the AF models, you can always MF if needed. For double the cost of the P an AF model is worth every penny, literally worth its weight in silver.
Hi Jose With the type of photography you do I don't think you will enjoy manual focusing !!! Any other AF lens option would be a good one !!
btw the Canon lenses cost a lot less and won't see a difference in quality !!! When I sold my 600 VR and looked at what I could buy in terms on Canon made it go back !!!! My original intention was getting a 500 VR as a replacement. Not trying to switch you but something to think about :)
i don't have much experience shooting with 500mm as i've only had my 500 VR for a month or so, but i find it very hard to accuratly manual focus, using the small viewfinder of the D300, on something like a songbird. BTW, i'm 31 years old and have 20/20 vision.
i did see a gentleman at the Venice Rookery in Florida last winter that was shooting with the 500mm P and D300, but he was shooting perched GBH's and Egrets, much larger targets than songbirds.
personally, i think i would get much more satisfaction from an AF lens and would be well worth the price.
Scott at times is good to go manual ... and its easy. Keep it on AF but turn the focusing ring ... go just past the subject and come back ... fire at the beep not when it looks sharp !!!
In some circumstances you have to go manual since the AF is not going to work. One I that comes to mind is a bird wading in water with strong glare.
i do agree that sometimes it is necessary to manual focus. speaking for me personally, i just wouldn't want to have to trust my eyesight using a small viewfinder to get the subject in focus all of the time.
from my understanding, isn't it only the canon system that employs a 'beep' to confirm focus? the Nikon system only offers the focus confirmation 'dot' in the lower left of the viewfinder?
I have been thinking about the kind of pics I like to try, and "static" is not the adjective that comes to me :-)
I love to manual focus, as to hold that ring and see how it comes sharp as I focus gives me some kind of joy, but if you want to get fast action scenes as I intend, really, I'm gonna need that AF-S and VR (and also lots of luck) , so I will have to wait for some months.
Thanks for your wise feedback....
Although AF is obviously preferable and I would much prefer the new 500 VR to the old AI-P, I can't understand why people would advise against such a lens disregarding it completely for action due to manual focus.
I use a digiscoping system and don't have a lot of problems focusing action shots, and some times I have less problems with MF than with AF.
I'm considering that lens myself, no way I can justify the 500 VR being a hobbyist, so the AI-P is quite desirable for me, at the price it costs 2nd hand I doubt if I want to sell it a year latter I'd lose much money anyway, if any. And being a F/4 lens I can only think it's actually easier to focus than my scope at F/7.5.
For the price a setup like this costs it's surprisingly good, my Nikkor 300mm F4 couldn't compare to this with a 2x TC on and the reach was off course no where near the same.
But I really could use the speed of the nikkor 500mm F4.
Nikkor ED 500 f/4 P
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