Loving the 500PF so far. Still blows my mind how small this rig is compared to my old setup of 1D IV + 500/4 + 1.4x. And the D500 is wonderful to work with.
Just finished my first full week as a new Nikon shooter, and I'm absolutely impressed by just how awesome this D500 + 500pf combo is. The IQ right out of camera is staggering, the shots are so sharp and crisp, really a joy to work with. The best part, of course, is the feather-weight of the 500pf; when handled side by side with my 600III, it just feels like it's about to float out of my hands if I'm not careful Just swapped in a Hejnar foot, and the rig feels even nicer to hand hold.
Comparisons abound, but my Canon and Nikon setups are completely different so I can't really do a fair head to head. Both have their strengths and compromises, but let me just say that the Nikon kit is really is turning out to be much more competitive than I expected, seeing as it is 100mm shorter, 1-stop slower, and however many stops more of high ISO noise the D500 loses vs. the 1DX2/600III. So far, none of it has in any way cramped my style of shooting, and I'm having a really great time with it! At some point I expect I'll encounter conditions that will ultimately favor the reach/aperture of the 600 f/4, and I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
Here's a case where I stopped the shot down to get the bird in focus, but had to apply some gaussian blur to isolate the bird from the the surrounding background. The faster 500/4 wouldn't have helped in this case.
Gary Irwin wrote:
Here's a case where I stopped the shot down to get the bird in focus, but had to apply some gaussian blur to isolate the bird from the the surrounding background. The faster 500/4 wouldn't have helped in this case.
Nice shot and PP.
Exactly, you need to be able to shoot the 500E wide open or at least f/4-f/5 to make it worth the extra weight and immobility. I'm really, really close to letting mine go...I just love using the 500PF too much...lugging the 500E around is a chore. I'm basically only using the 500E in my backyard setups these days and usually at 700 or 850mm. The value to me of the 500E is the 700-850 end of things more so than the f/4 at 500.
My first day with the 500pf was mixed when paired with the Z6. So last week I took some time an visited a local Raptor rehab center who had a Raptor's day out in the Sun.
This time around the pair performed flawlessly. Photos are cropped and exported from C1 Pro 12
Exactly, you need to be able to shoot the 500E wide open or at least f/4-f/5 to make it worth the extra weight and immobility. I'm really, really close to letting mine go...I just love using the 500PF too much...lugging the 500E around is a chore. I'm basically only using the 500E in my backyard setups these days and usually at 700 or 850mm. The value to me of the 500E is the 700-850 end of things more so than the f/4 at 500.
Thanks Geoff.
I have to admit the 500PF is a nice respite from lugging the 600 around. The 500PF is proving to be an excellent option for when I can get reasonably close to birds, or can call them in. I think it will also work well when shooting loons from a canoe next month -- it's light enough that I can hold it for lengthy periods of time waiting for the perfect moment, and since I'm shooting on the water the background clutter (due to being restricted to @f5.6) isn't an issue like it can be in the woods. But if I already owned a 500E, I'm really not sure the 500PF would be all that useful since I don't travel.
All that being said, my 600E isn't going anywhere, since the 500PF is too short for most wild birds around here and I am forced to rely on my 600+TC14EIII for a sharp, reasonably fast 850mm @f5.6 most of the time.
That's just wonderful. Beautiful low key image. Beautiful out of focus transitions as well. "A bird ID lens?" Well it's a little bit more than that, I would say.
Excellent series Geoff! I really like the last one. I think the 500PF is perfect for shooting from watercraft...I'm looking forward to trying it on loons next month...even though I can brace the 600 on my knees in the canoe, it does get tiring after a while.
I have been trying some different things with the 500 lens. It does not disappoint but sometimes the backgrounds are a llittle rough. Over the last couple of days I have tried the 1.4 tele on the 500 with little success. Every photo has come out soft trying different focus modes and focus points. the Nikon 1.4 vr II works great on all of my other Nikon lenses like the 300 pf and my 70-200 f2.8.
None of the photos below were using the 1.4 tele. Couple of different bodies in the 850 and 500.
Just swapped in a Hejnar foot, and the rig feels even nicer to hand hold. 
