So I gather from everyone’s responses (thank you!) that no wiggle developed either? That is the lens barrels didn’t become worn to the point where they were loose with respect to each other?

I am considering purchasing a Nikon Z lens 24-120. The zoom lens uses two concentric barrels, presumably necessary to extend over the full range. My concern is whether, over time, this two-barrel extension will droop or become loose enough such that the alignment of the optics inside will diminish. Does anyone have experience with such a system and its concentricity over time?

Thank you in advance

I take mostly BIF and write both as RAW and Fine jpeg - perhaps this is too much to expect and I will be better removing the SD card or loosening the jpeg quality.

Thank you all for your responses. To clarify, the slow down occurs after a first burst of about 5-10 frames. I stop, wait perhaps 10 seconds and on this next series after just a few frames it comes to a crawl. If I wait perhaps 30 seconds I can start up again and get 5-10 frames without issue. A response from ricardo00 asked about writing to a second slower SD card. I do also write to a fast SD card at the same time - I should have considered this - perhaps simply removing that card would help.

I have a Sony XQD camera card for my Nikon D500 for BIF imaging but the camera still slows down during rapid acquisition- will a CFExpress B card improve image acquisition speed for my D500 or is the limitation elsewhere?

Thanks in advance!

I have read that, from an optics perspective only, F-8 is in general the best optical setting for most lenses (though obviously not every image will be best at F-8). If this is true, does this suggest that parameters such as diffraction and aberrations are minimized at F-8? Some other reason? Or is this simply not true and F-8 is not generally the best optical condition?

Thanks in advance for your help, it is much appreciated.

Thanks - good to know I have a few more years - I really like my D500

Does this suggest repairs on a D500 will be difficult to get?

Thanks to everyone who replied - the responses have been very helpful! BTW I take wildlife photos, often BIF, so my Nikon 200-500 is heavy - that is one lens I haven’t used with the monopod yet - maybe later this week.

I recently bought a monopod so that I could carry it around more easily than a tripod. However while I was using it I found that my images were not any better than when I hand-held the camera. Are there best-practice methods for optimizing image stabilization using a monopod?

A good question. My inquiry is primarily just so that I can learn and understand more about lenses.

Hello,

I have always wondered exactly what makes more expensive lenses "better". I have read that they have very fancy coatings and use better glass, but I always have wondered how that actually shows up in the pictures. I have never had the money to buy any such lenses, and since I don't have any first-hand experience with them, I am asking for some more experienced eyes to help me with this. Below are two pictures that I took. The Blue Heron was using a Nikon D7200 with a 200-500mm lens and the Osprey was taken using a Nikon D500 with a 70-300mm P lens. Both images are untouched by any photoshopping, just cropped. What would improvements would I see if I had the more expensive lenses? Better colors? Sharper detail? Something else?

As always, thank you in advance for your help, I always learn a lot here.

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Hello, I realize this response is probably too late for the flower show, but one thing I have tried lately is to bring just one lens to events such as these, and then challenging myself to get the best image I can given my (self-imposed) limitations. There are disadvantages and limitations, of course, but there are some interesting advantages. I don't have to bring multiple lenses (added weight) and keep swapping them out, I don't have to expose the inside of my camera to any dust and dirt that may be around, and I find it easier to walk among the crowds, and of course the challenge! This weekend I went to the local flower garden and on Saturday and used a fast, prime lens, and on Sunday took a much slower zoom lens (28-105 mm) that can be switched back and forth (with a sliding button on the same lens) to a macro lens. I found myself looking at the same flowers but with a completely different set of eyes - it was very interesting. This is not the best solution for everyone or every situation, of course, but I like the challenge involved with it; it also makes photography more fun for me. Having said all that I do make reasonable choices; I don't take a telephoto lens to a flower show! Anyway, just food for thought. I hope the garden show went well for you.

Is the cleanliness of the amplifier gain an issue? Fewer pixels means larger pixels, hence more signal (perhaps better for fast moving objects?) But if the amplifier is clean enough then it seems S/N is no longer an issue. So, returning to my initial question, do manufacturers quantify the gain in such a way that we can compare sensor to sensor?

So I am really curious - how do you prevent unauthorized use of your pictures once they are online? What if someone downloads (or simply “print screens”) your images and claims them as their own? I assume there is a way to protect them?