Gkiatta

I want to buy a lens for my d500 what is difference between 24x70 2.8 vr and a16x80 2.8 vr I know price is big difference one is dx and one is fx help

traderjohn Loc: New York City

I think you might have answered your own question.

steve_stoneblossom Loc: Rhode Island, USA

Technically, the 16-80 is not a constant f2.8, but a variable f2.8-4.

CWGordon

The FX is going to play bigger than it’s listed when it is on that 500. You will get a modest telescopic effect because of the smaller sensor. Maybe you want that, but I suggest staying with DX lenses unless shooting faraway subjects or small birds. Even then, get a long telephoto to maximize your “reach.”

Flickwet Loc: NEOhio

It is a DX camera, put a DX lens on it, unless someday that d500 doesn't do it for you then get a full frame, you will lose on the wide end, gain in telephoto. FWIW, I shoot a 24-120 vr on my DX because I like the cropped range of 36-180mm, and you use the sweet spot of the lens. Sooo, if you're willing to give up the wide end buy the FX, if you're not, buy the DX.

steve_stoneblossom Loc: Rhode Island, USA

If you own a full frame camera, or plan to upgrade in the future, it makes sense to buy FX lenses. Otherwise you'd be better off with DX lenses specifically designed for your DX camera.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

The D500 sensor is essentially the same as one end of a D850 sensor. Better lenses give better results on the D500 to exactly the same extent that better lenses give better results on the D850. You will find that the Gold Ring lenses provide exactly the same benefits on that camera as they do on the best full frame camera. The only crop frame Gold Ring DX lens that I am aware of is the 17-55mm f2.8. I use it with excellent results, and I also use premium full frame lenses on the D500.

I have found the D500 to be a "baby D850" in almost every respect. That guides my decisions about it.

steve_stoneblossom Loc: Rhode Island, USA

Agreed. But IF, and ONLY if, the buyer is CERTAIN that he/she will not switch to full frame in the future, it would not be prudent to invest in expensive, heavy, high quality full frame lenses, particularly zooms.

Conversely, if the switch to full frame is a possibility, the opposite would apply.

juan_uy Loc: Uruguay

Doesn't the 16-80mm f/2.8-4 also have the "gold ring"?

Flickwet Loc: NEOhio

Yep, the 16-85 does not.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

You are correct. I quit buying DX lenses many years ago, so am not up to speed on all of the newer ones. The 17-55 and an older 18-200 are the only DX lenses I own. The 17-55 is outstanding in all respects, even though it is older, and the 18-200 is, at best, mediocre.

I just took a look at the reviews on Nikon's site for the 16-80 and was pretty surprised at how mixed they are. It seems that people that also own better lenses are pretty hard on it, while those who have stepped up to it are pretty favorable. So my thought is that it would require some critical evaluation before purchase, especially for a price just over $1,000. This would be especially true for use on a high capability camera like the D500. (The 16-80 is also an "E" lens, which won't work on older cameras and requires a firmware update on many others.)

One last comment...unless one is taking architectural photographs or other 'hard' geometrical subjects, my thought is that most of us can afford to be pretty tolerant of a little bit of barrel or pincushion distortion. In most cases, it simply doesn't matter. Corner vignetting or edge/corner softness can be a different matter, though. While mostly correctable, they can be a real annoyance.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Really?

I thought the sensor was the main difference between the D500 any of Nikon's FX cameras. The D500 is probably closer to the D5 in more ways than it is to the D850.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

I'm not familiar with the D5, so I can't speak to that. I've heard the same comparison, though. What I do know is that I have a D500 and a D850, and the D500's controls and menus are virtually identical except, of course, for the new functions that are available on the D850 but not the D500. And careful calculation reveals that pixel density is almost identical on the two cameras. So is image "character," when they are set up the same. Low light performance is not quite the same, but it is very close. (And I'm aware of the new 'Nikon' sensor in the D850, but so far I've not found it to be radically different from the Sonys that we are accustomed to.)

I am finding that the D500 is very different from the camera that it is and has been hoopla'd to be (sports & wildlife). I'd have bought one much sooner without all the misinformation.

Bill_de Loc: US

Add the 12 -24 f/4.0 and 10.5 Fisheye to the list of Gold Ring.

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larryepage Loc: North Texas area

Thanks Bill. That is good to know. I'll eventually want more wide angle capability for the D500. I'll have to get better in the loop on Nikkor DX lenses.