OwlsEyes wrote:
Glad to hear others are getting there lenses this week... I feel bad for our Canadian brothers and sisters who seem to be left in the dark with the September shipments... weird how they could always get D850's be we can't, while the US seems to be receiving their pre-orders of the 500's... anyway, back to the point.
As I look at YouTube and various blogs, so many people are pushing to be the first to publish their opinions about the lens to drive traffic to their respective sites. This crazed behavior to show their new lens/camera with their sub-par images only serves to fuel the perception that company X or Y has failed to deliver when it comes to quality or qc, when the reality is likely more nuanced or different. The madness of being first means that the lens or camera is not being thoroughly evaluated in a variety of shooting conditions and in "appropriate" subjects for the focal length, etc... It is for this reason that I don't want to weigh in on a verdict with respect to VR or image quality...
For the record, the VR on my 300mmPF was inconsistent and varied from body to body. I think some of this might be alleviated by technique but I just keep VR off when I use the lens with my D810s, but use it when I shoot with my D500s.
Thanks. For 3600 bucks, I would expect the VR to work flawlessly. I can shoot my 200-500 all day at 1/80. Heck, the other day I took shots at 1/10 and it was great. It'll be simple enough to test on my new 500PF. I'm just a little leery since I was burned by the 300.
xGumbyx wrote:
This is making me sad! I'm in BC as well and I've also been in email contact with BJ Photo in Markham (they got me my D850 when no one else had one). Thus far in my dealings with BJ Photo it is sometimes difficult getting specific questions answered via email so I recommend calling them if you need an answer to a questions.
I sent in my initial inquiry Aug 28th and they responded the same day and said they expect a shipment very soon but did not answer my question on pricing.
I sent them follow up emails on September 2nd and 12th asking for their confirmed price on the lens and finally received a response on the 13th saying they'd get back to me with a price which they did on the 14th.
They have stated from the start that they have a fair number on order but have no idea how many Nikon will allot to them but they think it will be a good percentage of their order. On Aug 28th they also stated that they expected their shipment to arrive from Nikon "very soon" but as of the 14th they still weren't sure and on the 15th told me they'd update me once they knew more.
Don't take this to mean that I think BJ Photo is doing anything wrong. This is just my experience and probably similar to everyone in Canada by the sounds of it. It must be pretty frustrating as a retailer to deal with this type of stuff from Nikon over and over again for every major product that is released....Show more →
BJPhoto got right back to me via email and told me:
"We have more than a handful of people waiting for them, and no ETA from Nikon.
Unless Nikon Canada receives a reasonable shipment from Japan, it may be sometime that Canadian store start to see them beyond the very first orders."
TheCameraStore where I have my order into told me this:
"Unfortunately I don't have the best news. The Nikkor AF-S 500mm f5.6E PF ED VR is extremely backordered and they are predicting that we might only get a few this year. If I hear of any updates I will be sure to let you know."
CameraCanada who I have the best relationship with but didn't have their preorder link up soon enough told me this:
"Good to hear from you! The supply of this lens in Canada is truly awful. When the purchase projections were made by Nikon Canada they did not know the price so they did not order many. You can put an order in with me and we will not bill you until it arrives but we cannot guarantee anything. We will try but it is really really bad."
So yeah, the retailers are not happy at all.....as you can see it was Nikon Canada the put in too low of a purchase order from Japan and then as the retailers asked for copies Nikon Canada was left without any lenses to give them as lenses went to other countries that ordered more before price was even known.....
OwlsEyes wrote:
Glad to hear others are getting there lenses this week... I feel bad for our Canadian brothers and sisters who seem to be left in the dark with the September shipments... weird how they could always get D850's be we can't, while the US seems to be receiving their pre-orders of the 500's... anyway, back to the point.
As I look at YouTube and various blogs, so many people are pushing to be the first to publish their opinions about the lens to drive traffic to their respective sites. This crazed behavior to show their new lens/camera with their sub-par images only serves to fuel the perception that company X or Y has failed to deliver when it comes to quality or qc, when the reality is likely more nuanced or different. The madness of being first means that the lens or camera is not being thoroughly evaluated in a variety of shooting conditions and in "appropriate" subjects for the focal length, etc... It is for this reason that I don't want to weigh in on a verdict with respect to VR or image quality...
For the record, the VR on my 300mmPF was inconsistent and varied from body to body. I think some of this might be alleviated by technique but I just keep VR off when I use the lens with my D810s, but use it when I shoot with my D500s.
I have a fairly new 300PF copy...way newer than the supposed "fix"....I certainly have VR issues in the 1/100-1/160 range where the percentage of sharp shots drops off. I use the D500/grip and no grip and D850 grip and no grip to test....all have the issue to one degree or the other. I can handhold my 200-500 and 500E in that same range and see no issues. One solution on the D850 is to shoot in Qc mode with EFCS....that gets rid of the issue but is only suitable for certain situations where high FPS isn't required.
I have a fairly new 300PF copy...way newer than the supposed "fix"....I certainly have VR issues in the 1/100-1/160 range where the percentage of sharp shots drops off. I use the D500/grip and no grip and D850 grip and no grip to test....all have the issue to one degree or the other. I can handhold my 200-500 and 500E in that same range and see no issues. One solution on the D850 is to shoot in Qc mode with EFCS....that gets rid of the issue but is only suitable for certain situations where high FPS isn't required.
That sucks! I was planning on buying the 300 pf and thought the vr problem has been fixed! I would use it with my D850 and D500
That sucks! I was planning on buying the 300 pf and thought the vr problem has been fixed! I would use it with my D850 and D500
It is still my favourite lens of all time despite the VR issue....but if you want to shoot in that SS range and don't want to use Qc in the D850 then you may want to consider something else. But it doesn't mean you can't get sharp shots in that range, you just get way less in any given burst than you do outside of the range....I even think the problem range pushes up to 1/200 and maybe 1/250 to some extent....I think I will do some more controlled testing of it soon and see if it is as bad as I think and to better see if grip/no grip makes any difference as some claim it does....when I did some brief testing many months ago I didn't see much difference.
The 300PF being so light does make stabilizing it harder than a heavier lens like the 200-500....vibrations aren't dampened as much and I think this is where the issue lies....the shutter vibration travels through the lens at those SS and the VR doesn't sync with it properly....I have a feeling the 500PF won't have these issues being a totally different design, length and weight....so far it seems it doesn't from reports on this thread....
My big worry is MM's findings with the 1.7TC....can anyone else test the 1.7TC for me....I know many will shame me for wanting to use that on a f/5.6 lens but I'm just like that and this may sound stupid but if it doesn't work with the 1.7TC I may not even buy the lens.....
It is still my favourite lens of all time despite the VR issue....but if you want to shoot in that SS range and don't want to use Qc in the D850 then you may want to consider something else. But it doesn't mean you can't get sharp shots in that range, you just get way less in any given burst than you do outside of the range....I even think the problem range pushes up to 1/200 and maybe 1/250 to some extent....I think I will do some more controlled testing of it soon and see if it is as bad as I think and to better see if grip/no grip makes any difference as some claim it does....when I did some brief testing many months ago I didn't see much difference.
The 300PF being so light does make stabilizing it harder than a heavier lens like the 200-500....vibrations aren't dampened as much and I think this is where the issue lies....the shutter vibration travels through the lens at those SS and the VR doesn't sync with it properly....I have a feeling the 500PF won't have these issues being a totally different design, length and weight....so far it seems it doesn't from reports on this thread....
My big worry is MM's findings with the 1.7TC....can anyone else test the 1.7TC for me....I know many will shame me for wanting to use that on a f/5.6 lens but I'm just like that and this may sound stupid but if it doesn't work with the 1.7TC I may not even buy the lens........Show more →
That was my problem. If I was in poor lighting under a tree canopy, I'd frequently drop down to around 1/80, and even then, ISO could be 4000+. The 300PF could not handle this situation. I think the issue was there on the D850, but it was much more of a problem on the D7200. Not sure I really buy the lightweight thing being the cause. I have a 70-300 AF-P, which is even lighter, and it's VR is great at all speeds.
And they show issues at exactly the same speeds the 300 had trouble. This was on a D500, and I have a D850, so I'm hopeful it won't be a problem. I really, really want to like this lens, but I can't see myself keeping it if the VR doesn't work right. I will know by this evening since mine is arriving today. I might even take a few shots at lunch if the FedEx guy shows up by then.
Well, that's certainly a fly in the ointment. One of the things I love about my 200-500 is the stellar VR. If the 500pf can't match it while costing $2400 more . . .
That was my problem. If I was in poor lighting under a tree canopy, I'd frequently drop down to around 1/80, and even then, ISO could be 4000+. The 300PF could not handle this situation. I think the issue was there on the D850, but it was much more of a problem on the D7200. Not sure I really buy the lightweight thing being the cause. I have a 70-300 AF-P, which is even lighter, and it's VR is great at all speeds.
And they show issues at exactly the same speeds the 300 had trouble. This was on a D500, and I have a D850, so I'm hopeful it won't be a problem. I really, really want to like this lens, but I can't see myself keeping it if the VR doesn't work right. I will know by this evening since mine is arriving today. I might even take a few shots at lunch if the FedEx guy shows up by then.
I'm actually less concerned about VR accuracy than I am about sharpness and AF speed. Despite the size, I will be using the lens on a tripod, but will be fine with a sidekick rather than the big gimbal. I will use the lens handheld from moving platforms (canoe, kayak, zodiac, etc...), but I am an "old-school" tripod guy and just care if the lens is sharper than anything else I am currently using.
In many ways, I am most concerned about sharpness from the near to far range without compromise, as I love both wildlife portraiture and wildlife landscapes.
This weekend I will be testing it as best as the weather and subject will permit.
On another note, I am going to a Nikon Z presentation tonight and will be checking out the Z6 and compatibility of the FTZ converter... I am more curious than anything else.
henry albert wrote:
Well, that's certainly a fly in the ointment. One of the things I love about my 200-500 is the stellar VR. If the 500pf can't match it while costing $2400 more . . .
I see he did this on a D500, so results may vary on other bodies. The "problem" with the 300PF was very dependent on body, from what I've read. Still, though, I reckon many people will want to use this 500PF on a D500. It blows my mind that Nikon could eff up the VR again, especially after the 300PF service advisory. I hope I'm just being overly paranoid at the moment.
FedEx still did not come, so I won't be able to test until after work.
apertur3 wrote:
That was my problem. If I was in poor lighting under a tree canopy, I'd frequently drop down to around 1/80, and even then, ISO could be 4000+. The 300PF could not handle this situation.
I think for this situation you need a heavier and faster lens, something like the 300/2.8.
Personally I find that rarely are results at slow speeds good with any lens, if the subject is a living being that can move. I recall images with 200/2 at 1/50 to 1/100s where the subject is a person and the face is just a skin-colored blurry thing, with no features visible, no mouth, no nose, no eyes, because that person turned their head during the exposure. I therefore prefer to use faster shutter speeds and don't have serious problems with the 300 PF. However, if you must shoot with that lens at slow speeds, I can recommend the use of the D850 and Qc with EFCS ON, as arbitrage mentions, it alleviates the effect of shutter-induced blur. Timing will be different so it is something to get used to, but I've gotten really good results this way. Still, I tend to prefer 1/800s to 1/1250s with the 300 PF with mechanical shutter in use.
I am not surprised if it turns out the 500 PF would have a similar issue. I've even noticed with the older VR 70-200/2.8G II that hand held shots at 1/160s are less sharp than at faster speeds. It's just a part of life with a mechanical shutter and one is best to study how the equipment behaves and avoiding those speeds in practical use.
There are no miracle lenses that walk around the limits of physics. Every lens has its own tradeoffs.
In the future if Nikon are able to make a fast read time sensor, fully electronic shutter could be offered with minimal rolling shutter, and in that case it should make this issue go away to mirrorless users at least. For the time being the D850 is possibly the best option for those lenses and shutter speeds where the mechanical shutter would induce some loss in sharpness as it offers options to mitigate the issue. Still, my opinion is that a faster lens would work better in those circumstances. You can get faster shutter speeds which not only mitigate shutter induced vibration but also reduce subject motion related blur, and create beautiful blurred backgrounds as well.
I am a big fan of the 300 PF actually, but I recognize it has its limits. It's definitely one of my most used lenses within the last several years. I love it that I can just put it in the bag and not notice the additional weight, and it allows me to obtain telephoto images when traveling. It is a lens that I find great fun to use.
I received my copy of the 500mm f/5.6E PF lens on Monday. Took it to the zoo yesterday and was very happy with the handling, size, sharpness and VR. Here is a link to photos I took and my initial impressions of the lens.
That is worrisome. I just checked in Lightroom and during my recent trip to Australia targeting birds with my D810 and 200-500, 16.5% of my shots were between 1/50 and 1/125. Overall for 2018, my shots during that range were down to 13%. Still too high to consider it a non-issue.
kevinlisota wrote:
I received my copy of the 500mm f/5.6E PF lens on Monday. Took it to the zoo yesterday and was very happy with the handling, size, sharpness and VR. Here is a link to photos I took and my initial impressions of the lens.
akjackson1 wrote:
That is worrisome. I just checked in Lightroom and during my recent trip to Australia targeting birds with my D810 and 200-500, 16.5% of my shots were between 1/50 and 1/125. Overall for 2018, my shots during that range were down to 13%. Still too high to consider it a non-issue.
I am really sad to say this, but I think my lens will be going back. I did some test shots in the yard, went for a quick hike, and just did some indoor shots (all hand held) at speeds around 1/100. Unfortunately, I'm almost the exact same issue I saw with the 300PF. In each burst of shots, there are a few sharp ones, but many more blurry ones. I'm posting over in DPR if anyone is interested.
I don't get it. Why is VR so poor on these PF lenses? I did some side by side comparisons with my 200-500, and it nailed almost every shot. I'd say like a 90% keeper rate. This 500PF is more like 1 in 4 keepers at 1/80, 1/100, 1/125, etc.
Of course, I'm not only going to shoot it at slow shutter speeds, but why should I not be able to when needed? If I want to shoot at 1/100, I expect VR to work on a $3600 lens.
I would use it with my D850 and D500
