JRiepe Loc: Southern Illinois

Hi everyone, I haven't been on this site for quite some time but I have a question I'm hoping someone can help me with. I shoot wildlife, mostly birds and birds in flight. I've been using a Nikon D7200 and the Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens with a maximum aperture at 600mm of f/6.4. I will be receiving a new Nikon D500 today. I just read that not all 153 focusing points on the Nikon D500 are available with any lens that has an aperture opening of less than f/5.6. How important is this when shooting BIF? Also should I go ahead and buy the Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6 lens or wait until after I have the opportunity to see how the Tamron works to see if I really need it? The question is more or less not advising me what to do but what would you do. I will say that 99% of my bird shots are not BIF but of course having a great focusing system that is not 100% available isn't the best either. I thank all in advance who are willing to give me their thoughts.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

If you own the 150-600 already, I'd certainly test with the D500 before buying something new. Rather than guessing, you might rent a candidate lens rather than buying on a guess.

jtang2

My wife has the D500 and used to have the Nikon 200-500; her results were very good in terms of focus. No experience with the Tamron or slower lens, but having the extra opening is a plus. Hope this helps.

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

I don't think you will ever use all 153 focus points. The ones you will use will be available. That is certainly true with my D850 which is much like the D500 when it comes to focus. No problem with my 150-600 g2.

CO

All of the focusing points are available. I think what you may be referring to is the sensitivity of the autofocus points. The center nine points are rated to work reliably I think with an f/8 aperture. The rest are in the f/5.6 to f/8 range. There are 99 cross type autofocus points. I'm not totally sure of the exact count though. More research could be done on this.

Drip Dry McFleye

I never worried about the number of focus points being available. My preference is for "small group". It works really well for me with the D500 and the 80-400 and 500PF. You might want to go to the Back Country Gallery and read what Steve Perry and others there have to say about BIF. BCG is a wildlife photography oriented site. There is also a forum to join if you so desire.

Geegee Loc: Peterborough, Ont.

When I shoot BIF with my D500 and Tamron 150-600 G2 I use a gimbal on a monopod. The monopod takes the weight as I have shoulder injuries and the gimbal gives me balanced freedom of movement. For BIF I use a red dot sight mounted on the hot shoe and have the camera set to back button focus with the focus system set to group focus, that is, the four centremost points. In fact I have my regular BBF button always set to single point focus and the secondary joystick button always set to BBF group focus so I am ready for almost every situation.

I recently discovered that in the winter, if my camera is in the warm car and I take it out quickly when I see a birding opportunity, I leave the lens hood off. If the front element is warm and the air is cold, heat distortion can take place in the air pocket in the lens hood.

This system works well and I would recommend it.

Strodav Loc: Houston, Tx

I started birding with a D7200 and Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3 G2, both of which I still have, then bought a used D500, which I still use for birding with the G2 and a Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6. Both lenses work just fine with your D500. The D500 will AF up to an f/8 aperture lens, but just in the center of the frame. At f/6.3 you can move the focus points with no troubles at all.

The settings I use for BIF, which I got from Steve Perry, are BBF, manual mode, auto ISO, matrix metering, AF-C, 25 focus points. For still birds I like single point, but if they might take to wing, then Grp. Shutter speed 1/1000 give or take depending on the light (VR works well with both lenses so you can get away with 1/500), wide open aperture, auto ISO from 100 - 1600 on bright days, but 3200 on cloudly days.

Enjoy the D500, it is an excellent camera for wildlife / birding and sports.

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

Just MHO. I would ditch the Tamron and go with the 200~500. I've had two Tamron long zooms and will not have another. The D500 and the Nikon 200~500 zoom is an excellent combination for BIFs!

JRiepe Loc: Southern Illinois

Thank you all for your replies. I'll start off with the Tamron to see how things go and if I'm not happy I can always move on to another lens. I have four Tamrons and they've always served me well.

CO

Here are the specs on the D500's autofocus points.

All 153 autofocus points are compatible with f/5.6 or faster lenses
The center 15 points work with f/8 lenses
99 are cross-type

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

I have no problem with Tamron in general. I have a couple that I really like. But BOTH of my long zoom Tamrons went to shite on the long end. One was worthless beyond about 400mm. The other was ok but not great out to about 450mm and was then also worthless. I bought them for the extra little bit of reach beyond the 500mm of the Nikon but that didn't work worth a darn! The Nikon is very sharp out to 500mm. I am over the moon happy with them (I own two of them)!

Strodav Loc: Houston, Tx

This is just to share my experience with the Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3 G2. At the end of the day, if you are willing to test and tune, then the G2, and other Sigma and Tamron lenses, are a good value. If you are not, stay with Nikon glass. I ended up sending my D7200 and G2 back to Tamron for calibration together when I was getting soft images at 600mm. After calibration by Tamron, it was no better. To make a very long story short, I ended up learning how to test lens calibration and how to tune using the Tamron tap-In. Once tuned, I started getting very good results with the G2. I have several Tamron and Sigma lenses and all benefited from tuning. Interesting thing is once calibrated for one of my 4 Nikon dslr bodies, I get good results on all of my bodies.

Comparing the G2 and 200-500mm f/5.6, they are about equal sharpness in the center, but the D500 is sharper in the corners. Focus locks better with the Nikon glass compared to the G2, which can be a bit twitchy, especially in lower light. Focus breathing is an issue with G2, and you really have to be at infinity to get to 600mm. I consider it more of a 530 or 540mm lens. On the other hand, the 200-500mm is heavier and AF is a bit slower than the G2, but like I said, the Nikon glass locks and holds it better than the G2. I still use both. In fact, I actually like the G2 a bit better than the 200-500mm f/5.6 with my Z9.

JRiepe Loc: Southern Illinois

As far as the Tamron 150-600mm I'm happy with the images I'm getting from it so as far as moving fron the Tamron to the Nikon 200-500mm my only reason for doing so would be to take advantage of all the focus points which in reality I may never need. I'm going out this morning on my first test run with the Nikon D500. I was also considering the PF 500 but I prefer a zoom.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

When I am shooting birds in flight with my D500 I only use GROUP AUTO FOCUS, GAF puts four dots in the middle of the screen, as long as the bird is within these four dots, the bird and it's eye will be in focus.
Try out your Tamron first and then decide on the 200-500. I used the 200-500 on the D500.
Below is an example of this combo. You also want a shutter speed of at least 1/1500 sec. or HIGHER.