FYI...I just spoke to one of the more reputable camera stores in Canada who are usually the ones to get stock earliest and in greatest numbers for exotic lenses (ie they had D850s on shelf in November last year).
The guy told me that in the first allotment that there will only be 10 lenses....not to their store but to ALL OF CANADA.....
I was contacting him to possibly switch my preorder over to them now that they are giving free shipping (and they have been very good to me in the past)...but now I will keep my preorder at TCS and see how it all shakes out.
OwlsEyes wrote:
Absolutely nothing wrong with that combination.
We have made so many good wildlife pictures w/ the 200-500... That fact does not change by the introduction of a new lens!
Regards, bruce
Thanks for the encouragement. Everything I'm hearing has me thinking I'm going to like the combination.
arbitrage wrote:
The guy told me that in the first allotment that there will only be 10 lenses....not to their store but to ALL OF CANADA.....
Well I would not place much credence in what any of the retailers tell you. A reputable retailer told me they will be getting 19. Another one told me that are not allowed to give out that information. Another would not tell me how many are on their waiting list.
Bottom line is, they like to keep this info secret in order to keep you believing the pre-orders are building up so fast that you had better order yours today. Also, if you even get on their secret waiting list, they can allot the lens to anyone they want to in any order.
Imagemaster wrote:
Well I would not place much credence in what any of the retailers tell you. A reputable retailer told me they will be getting 19. Another one told me that are not allowed to give out that information. Another would not tell me how many are on their waiting list.
Bottom line is, they like to keep this info secret in order to keep you believing the pre-orders are building up so fast that you had better order yours today. Also, if you even get on their secret waiting list, they can allot the lens to anyone they want to in any order....Show more →
i agree...I don't really think they know for sure. They did tell me they only had 3 on the wait list but that may have been another tactic to get me to switch my order over to them. TCS told me they had no idea about how many would come and I never asked them about how long the lineup was...I didn't order till at least 24 hours after orders were open. But TCS had the first available listing that I could find so I went with them....no PST and no shipping charge...but they don't always get lots of stock in their hot demand orders....
Eric it's a gamble.
Did the same thing before the FE100-400GM got here and was lucky.
I bet I'm going to be lucky this time too.
No Elinder, it has not been verified and yes it looks very close.
Of course I'll post up if it is a go, or not.
arbitrage wrote:
FYI...I just spoke to one of the more reputable camera stores in Canada who are usually the ones to get stock earliest and in greatest numbers for exotic lenses (ie they had D850s on shelf in November last year).
The guy told me that in the first allotment that there will only be 10 lenses....not to their store but to ALL OF CANADA.....
I was contacting him to possibly switch my preorder over to them now that they are giving free shipping (and they have been very good to me in the past)...but now I will keep my preorder at TCS and see how it all shakes out....Show more →
Sounded like Canada got the same amount of allotment as Thailand from what I was told
and after the first batch, it will be a long wait
MedicineMan404 wrote:
Eric it's a gamble.
Did the same thing before the FE100-400GM got here and was lucky.
I bet I'm going to be lucky this time too.
No Elinder, it has not been verified and yes it looks very close.
Of course I'll post up if it is a go, or not.
So that is the 70-200 E FL foot, correct? I bet it will work...
I'm looking forward to seeing/hearing what people think of the 500pf. My usual setup is d850 with 500e, and d500 with 300pf. I love that little lens, it gets me pictures I would not otherwise get to take, especially on local mtn bike rides where critters sometimes hang out. The 500e is spectacular in every way, and for me is light enough and well balanced enough to handhold for long periods of time. That being said, smaller and lighter is a big advantage in terms of handling. If af performance and sharpness are close to the 500e it gets to be a difficult decision for me. You give up some light and dof, and I doubt the tc will work as well...Maybe I'll get the 500pf as an addition at some point!
cohenfive wrote:
I'm looking forward to seeing/hearing what people think of the 500pf. My usual setup is d850 with 500e, and d500 with 300pf. I love that little lens, it gets me pictures I would not otherwise get to take, especially on local mtn bike rides where critters sometimes hang out. The 500e is spectacular in every way, and for me is light enough and well balanced enough to handhold for long periods of time. That being said, smaller and lighter is a big advantage in terms of handling. If af performance and sharpness are close to the 500e it gets to be a difficult decision for me. You give up some light and dof, and I doubt the tc will work as well...Maybe I'll get the 500pf as an addition at some point!...Show more →
I'm struggling with the same decision....my 500E is only a couple months in my stable....I also can easily handle the weight but the size limits its use for me as I don't kayak with it and I don't like the attention it draws out in more populated areas. Also as you say my 300PF has got me all sorts of shots that I would never have got with a 500E or even the 200-500 that I also have.
I've been considering selling the 300PF, 500E and 200-500 and only owning the 500PF
But there is value in having a zoom and the 200-500 is a relatively inexpensive lens so not really worth selling it...may as well keep it for the times when a zoom is important (it was really valuable on my Florida trip but not so much at home). Then the 300PF may become redundant if the 500PF is light enough to get the type of "fast reaction" shots that I get with my 300PF....also I usually have a 1.4 or greater TC on the 300PF so not really using the f/4 benefit.....I won't sell the 300PF until the 500PF arrives but once I compare them and see how long I can hold the 500PF up to my eye then I will likely sell the 300PF.
The 500E becomes the most difficult choice as the f/4 is a huge benefit when I can make use of it. And not only the f/4 but how that creates a 700/5.6 and 850/6.3 and 1000/8.....the 500PF is obviously a stop behind at all those focal lengths and likely won't work at 1000/11 and may not work at 850/9.5....and even if it does focus okay and IQ is okay it is hard to find light to shoot those apertures.
So the 500E is the most likely to stay in the stable....but even it may go if I find myself always reaching for the 500PF when I go out to shoot. Surely the 500PF will become my default kayak lens and default lens for avoiding attention out at local marshes, parks etc....
I am faced with a similar, but slightly different, choice. Between Tamy and I, we have the 200-500, 200-400, 300pf and soon (hopefully) to arrive 300PF. I used the 300PF during a workshop last summer as a way to get a bit of relief from trying to shoot the 200-400 from a zodiac. After 7 days of handheld photography, it proved itself invaluable. With the exception of my recent trip to Iceland where weight was significant, the 300PF remain unused. Like many, the acquisition of new gear has to be revenue neutral (or close to it), so something(s?) has to be sold in order to support the purchase of the 500mmPF lens.
On Friday I brought all three of my current lenses to my classroom where I have a stuffed great horned and screech owl (I teach biology to afford to be a photographer ). I set all three lenses at 300mm and shot at f/4, f/4.5, and f/5.6. I used my D500 and D810. I shot at AFC-S using autofocus to simulate real world shooting and AFS-S w/ mirror up to compare optical quality in controlled conditions.
In the end, the 200-400VR was significantly better than the 300PF (at all three apertures) and the 200-500 was too close to call at f5.6. While it does not acquire focus as fast as the 300PF, I do like to shoot the 200-500 from our kayak and canoe, and I have it tuned to one of our D500's (it stays). I have decided to hold on to my 200-400VR. I have developed a relationship with this lens... and I need to know that the 500mmPF + 70-200mm f/2.8 can replace what I currently do w/ the 200-400 lens.
Lack of use and possibly moderate image quality due to sample variation (?) has led me to the inevitable conclusion... the 300mmPF is the first to go.
I will be doing some extensive shooting with the 500PF as soon as it arrives. I'll do the "stuffed-owl" test and hopefully spend some time with it at the beaver pond where low-light and high ISO shooting will challenge it's capacity to resolve low contrast subjects...
Good news for me... I don't have a 500mmE, so I can't contemplate its sale
I had a chance to handle 500/5.6 PF yesterday and had a few minutes with it. Sorry I did not have a chance to shoot anything decent but took a few snap shots just to see how it perform. Also I did not have a chance to fine tune it with my D850 before shooting it.
A few things, you can definitely use 70-200/2.8e FL replacement foot with 500/5.6 PF.
AF is very fast, may be not quite as instantaneous like 500/4e FL but much faster than 200-500. It took about 1 s to go from 4-5m range to 20m focusing range.
TC1.4e iii works perfectly fine but TC2.0e iii did not work at all. D850 could not lock focus on anything with single point, group or d72 mode. I guess not too surprising at f11.
pf2 by Suteetat S, on Flickr
with TC1.4e iii, iso 1/500, iso 110
AF spot was on the head but I guess I would need to fine tune it. Looked like the focus was actually more on the wing/feet.
). I set all three lenses at 300mm and shot at f/4, f/4.5, and f/5.6. I used my D500 and D810. I shot at AFC-S using autofocus to simulate real world shooting and AFS-S w/ mirror up to compare optical quality in controlled conditions. 
