tiphareth51 Loc: Somewhere near North Pole, Alaska

My Nikon 200-500 stays on my D810. It is a phenomenal lens and one which I use to capture wildlife. Imho, it was a very worthwhile purchase.

Fatford Loc: Rock Hill, South Carolina

I recently bought that lenses and use it on my D5500.
Excellent results. Now if my hummingbirds would come back!

OLDVIRGINIA

Use mine on my D750. Thumbs up, absolutely.

Nickaroo

I tried the Nikon 200-500 f5.6 and tested it against the Tamron 150-600g2. I found that even at f8 the Tamron autofocuses just as good as the Nikon. Just because the Nikon is a f5.6 does not mean anything. The sweet spot of most zooms happens to be around f8. Now, with all of that being said and as a tester of Nikon gear, Nikon really does produce the best optics in my opinion. But the one thing that I can't stand is the tripod mounting plate. I really wish that Nikon would adopt the Arca-Swiss mount that Tamron has. I had to have a total reversal shoulder replacement last year and it was due to a severe fall which broke the humerus practically in half. The surgeons ran into complications and thought that I would never have full use of my right arm. Well I can now lift it to about 60 degrees above the half way point and I have been able to golf and do my photography business without any problems, by the way I happen to be a 4-handicap on the course. But after all that I have stated here, I cannot just lug around my d850 or d500 with these heavy zooms all day. So I do use my tripod a lot even with the 70-200. Third party lenses are catching up real quick to Canon and Nikon Optics. I prefer my Nikon 600mm f/4 over all of these lenses that I have added my 2-cents on. The 200-500 is a great lens, but my 600 f/4 with the 1.4 teleconverter on my cameras just blows by all of these lenses on my DX d500 or when I use my d850 in DX mode. There are some really good shots that have been posted by UHG members. But do not discount Sigma or Tamron. They are really good lenses and Tamron offers a 3-day turnaround on repairs at very reasonable and great low prices. I really do enjoy seeing people being happy with their lens choices as Nikon really is good, but the cost of repairs and turnaround time by Nikon is way too much.

chrisg-optical Loc: New York, NY

It is an excellent lens as is...Nikon probably loses money on this lens it should be priced higher (shhh...don't tell them!) Some improvements they can make (while keeping everything else): better hood design, weather sealing, fluorine/nano crystal coating - but then, it would then be a gold ring $2000+ lens. Size and weight are probably limited by physics for a 200-500 fixed 5.6 lens, unless they resort to PF glass, ooppps now a $2500 lens...but as is an amazing lens.

racerrich3 Loc: Los Angeles, Ca.

[quote=19104]I just got this lens and I am blown away. The vr is phenomenal. Handheld shots at 500 mm at 1/30 of sec. The focus is so smooth and fast. And it focuses as close as 8 feet. I would love to see the output on dx d500.

used it on my D500 at the race track.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

That was good viewed on the computer? Very good!

That is 4 stops from the rule of thumb for shutter speed (1/500). Impressive. Methinks you must have a steady hand as well.

Glad you are liking the lens and thank you for the report!

Strodav Loc: Houston, Tx

For those interested in an after market arca swiss Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6 VR lens collar: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=ishoot+200-500mm+tripod+mount&ref=nb_sb_noss . I've had one for a few months now. It is virtually identical to the Nikon collar that came with the lens, but of course, has an arca swiss mount and its only $54. Quality and finish are excellent. It does take a while to get here as it was shipped directly from China DHL.

joer Loc: Colorado/Illinois

The Canon shooters are the lucky ones...they have the 400mm f5.6.

brontodon

>> I decided on the 200-500 over the others but have not ordered one due to all the reports that say this lens and the others have problems with the manufacturing and some of the lenses produced are much sharper than others of the same brand. They say on all the lenses, Nikon included you should do extensive test to check the sharpness right away to see if you need to exchange it for another lens. I don't want to go through that. How many people have received "less than sharp" lenses? <<

I had these same concerns. I ordered one anyway and received a lens whose box had been opened. I notified the retailer who quickly sent me a second lens. The performance of both was identical, as far as I could tell -- but I haven't been blown away by either one. I haven't determined whether the lens isn't great, or if it's my technique. I'm hoping it's the latter, because I can improve my technique, but I can't just keep exchanging lenses!

Strodav Loc: Houston, Tx

Sorry to hear your having issues. I bought mine at the local photography shop got it home and mounted it up on my D850. Took some casual shots to make sure it was working then mounted it on a tripod and took some shots using a remote release of a resolution target. I am very happy with the results. I have since taken it out birding mounted up on my D500. It performed flawlessly and when I did my thing, I got very sharp images. I hope you get it straightened out.

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

I also had two of the 200-500 lenses. Both were exactly the same. Sharp through out the zoom range. I have done many shows using just this lens. I have a show coming up in Youngstown, Ohio this fall and many of my images were taken with this lens. As I have said many times before here, and I will say it again, "there are no BAD copies, only BAD photographers".
Below is a grab shot using the 200-500, it is not in the show, just a grab shot. Thought you might like to see what this lens is capable of. Again, just a grab shot. If you have a chance, please come to my show.

User ID

ME, for one !

ALL my Nikkors are, to use your words "Less than sharp".
It's endemic. But regardless, I do sleep OK, and generally,
viewers reliably fail to notice such optical travesties.

Sinewsworn Loc: Port Orchard, WA

As above, use the Nikkor 200-500 f5.6 on both my D7200 and D500 with outstanding results, when I do my part.
Some mention weather seal. Below are two photos taken the other day in the rain! The lens is partly sealed and does well in misty conditions. I do not allow the lens to sit in the rain however.

D500 Nikkor 200-500 f5.6, 1/2000, f5.6, ISO high to me-2500 to 5000. Hand held. VR in Sport position.

I heartily recommend this lens. Takes nice portraits, too.

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