AF-S VR Nikkor 500mm f/4G ED Review

I had always wanted to do wildlife photography, but it took me a long time to buy an appropriate lens. 400mm is a little too short for me, even on DX. That left the 500mm and 600mm lenses. Since I go hiking, travel a lot, and also often carry the 17-35mm and 200mm macro lenses with me at the same time, this pretty much rules out the 600mm based on weight and size. If it was not for its price tag, the decision for the 500mm f/4 lens would be easy. If I was primarily interested in songbirds and photographed only locally, I would buy the 600mm lens instead. In 2010 however, it is difficult enough to travel with a 500mm lens on a regional jet. In a padded bag, it may not fit in the overhead compartment or under the seat in front, and most people would not want to check such an expensive item.

Here is a 100% crop of a 500mm image:

Detail of "Great Blue Heron", Old Hickory Lake, TN, 100% pixel level
Nikon D200 (mod.), 500mm, 1/1500s, f/4, ISO 100, VR, Camera Raw

Color, contrast, and resolution wide open at f/4 are astounding with incredible dimensionality, easily outresolving current sensors. In fact, my favorite use of the 500mm lens is "naked" (that is, without converters) at f/4. The rendition of the out-of-focus elements is pleasant and non-distracting. Reach on a DX body such as the D300s is ample for mammals and bigger birds. The 500mm lens does take both the TC-14E II and the TC-17E II teleconverters very well, though there is mild and inevitable loss of contrast and resolution. I try to stop down to f/8 when I use either converter. I have not yet tried the TC-20E III teleconverter with its aspherical element. Reviewing my personal statistics, the TC-17E II sees more frequent use than the TC-14E II for its bigger reach. Combined with the TC-17E II, the 500mm is suitable for photographing songbirds. While the acutance (edge contrast) of the following image is not as high, the sharpness is still fairly impressive:

Detail of "Female Western Bluebird", Bosque del Apache, NM, 100% pixel level
Nikon D300s, 500mm, TC-17E II, 1/250s, f/8, ISO 400, VR, Camera Raw

Of course, it requires impeccable long-lens technique to maximize this lens' potential. While I can hand-hold this lens briefly, I almost always use a tripod with my ballhead. There are two VR modes: tripod and normal. Tripod mode is very effective in reducing high frequency, low amplitude vibrations; this is readily apparent when looking through the viewfinder. However, tripod mode still requires good long-lens technique; otherwise, it can actually introduce vibrations. Normal mode is for low frequency, high amplitude vibrations as occur with hand-held technique, but also with panning. I have used the VR modes for every single image I have taken. Many images with normal mode have been as critically sharp as those taken with support equipment, though framing benefits from the use of a tripod. I do not use the teleconverters with hand-held technique. While I use manual focus most of the time, autofocus is helpful for hand-held images and birds in flight and extremely fast. Manual focus is smooth, comfortable, and precise. Nikon rates the autofocus performance with the teleconverters conservatively, stating that a maximum aperture of f/5.6 is still compatible with AF, but f/6.7 is not. Thus, the TC-17E II would not be expected to work with AF, but with good light it often does, even though hunting may occur.

Regarding the other buttons, I do not find the focus limiter or the lens beep useful. Lens recall is helpful to autofocus to preset distances. Closest focusing distance is 4m in AF mode (reproduction ratio [RR] 1/6.87) and 3.85m in MF (RR 1/6.57). On FX, an object about 23.7cm by 15.8cm would fill a frame at closest focusing distance (on DX: about 15.7cm by 10.5cm). A teleconverter would not change the minimum focusing distance, but increase the RR (by 1.4 for a 1.4x teleconverter). When focusing closely, the effective focal length is decreased. A 1.4x teleconverter would decrease the depth of field by 1.4x.

As far as accessories go, the 500mm lens comes with its carbon fiber HK-34 lens hood and a soft slip-on front lens "cap". In its front position, the HK-34 makes a big lens look HUGE. The front element is not part of the 14 elements in 11 groups (3 ED and 1 Nano Crystal Coat) that make up its optical design, but serves as a protective element. Nikon also supplies a 52mm NC screw-in filter that is attached to the slip-in filter holder. Nikon makes an optional circular polarizing (CP) filter, but I have not found CP useful for the teles while I use it all the time with my wide-angle lens. The built-in rotating tripod collar comes with a replaceable tripod foot; a monopod foot is also supplied. I would have preferred a sturdy Arca-style foot instead, so I ended up buying an RRS LCF-16 lens replacement foot that I highly recommend, but there is still some flex. Otherwise, the lens is everything I had hoped it would be. It is somewhat difficult to handle as a function of its focal length, not its construction. Both Bosque del Apache galleries and both SW Florida galleries on my homepage were shot with this lens only and the D300s.

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