photoman43

My favorite is a Nikon 500mm f5.6 PF prime lens used alone or with a Nikon 1.4x tc.

The lens I would recommend if you can afford it (money and weight) is the Nikon 600mm f4 as for birds, you need as much reach or focal length as you can afford. And if you get a long f4 lens, then you will likely need a good series 4 or 5 tripod and gimbal head as long lens photography requires a system of equipment, not just the lens and camera.

uhaas2009

I have the 200-500 what’s a good lens. It’s a heavy lens and the zoom ring isn’t that Comfortable for me. And I miss the programmable button on the lens. I never tried other lenses with this kind of length.

keywest305 Loc: Baltimore Md.

I also have the D850 and then D500 plus D4s. The 850 with my Nikon 200-500 is excellent choice. You wont be sorry. Cropping with the 850 comes easy.

Nicholas J DeSciose

200 mm to 500 mm extraordinary lens unbelievably sharp. The vibration reduction works exceptionally well. Amazes me.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

First...I don't shoot birds. Birds are OK at a distance, but my grandparents had a parakeet when I was very young, and they would sometimes let it fly free in the house. It would flutter too close to my ears, and once it landed on my shoulder and pooped on my shirt. I do, however, have a D850 and shoot other things through long lenses. One of the major benefits of the D850 and all of the resolution that it provides is the ability to crop images and still have a tremendous amount of visual information left. Some say that is wasteful. I say that position is nonsense. When shooting things that move, whether animate or inanimate, I like having some margin area that I can use to provide situational awareness...an approaching signal bridge (or another train) when shooting trains, for example. I can then crop a little bit, if necessary, to tighten things up and still have a 30mp image left.

So I may shoot with my 300mm f/4 lens even if the final framing would be better at 500mm. I get an extra stop and a lot less weight. And yes, you can switch to DX format and just shoot that way to start. I've done that. But when you do that with the D850, the viewfinder hard-masks the view to the new format...it doesn't just put a reference frame in the field of view. So it works (and you save the memory space from the start), but you don't get the situational awareness that the wider view would provide.

Bottom line...you've got a great camera. Always pursue good technique, but also trust your camera.

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

I disagree.

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

My thoughts exactly. Right now, I only have a D500 & D7200, but I see a D850 in my future. For my personal shooting preferences, it should serve me very well. My only real concern is that the max FPS is a bit below that of the D500, but I'm definitely leaning toward the D850. I have friends who shoot the same subjects under the same conditions as I do and who have that camera. They love it. Also, I hear no cursing from them about missed shots when we shoot side by side.

SuperflyTNT Loc: Manassas VA

And exactly what is the benefit? I can get the exact same crop in post, or I can crop less. I have more frame to work with if I’m tracking something. It only looks like you’re getting magnification but you’re not.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

With the D810, when you switch to crop mode, the entire viewfinder stays clear, but guidelines appear to assist with framing using the DX area of the sensor. With the D850, however, selecting DX (or any of the other available non-FX formats) enables an opaque mask around the periphery of the viewfinder, completely blocking the view of anything except the DX area. If you want to see the full frame, you have to shoot full frame format with the D850.

slcarn Loc: Draper, Utah USA

I have the D850 and use the 500mm pf combination for BIF and Closeups. Both the camera and lens are a lot of fun to use and are capable of producing spectacular photos. I also have a D500 and a 300mm pf lens (and 1.4 TC) which I also use with the D850 for sports (high school lacrosse and Division 1 baseball).

Congratulations on purchasing a wonderfully capable camera!

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MG Audet

If you can, the 500mm f/5.6 is fantastic with the D850 for birding. I had the 200 - 500mm and sold it -- no regrets. I have a 1.4 teleconverter which I do not use. Would not recommend a 2x for lots of reason, image quality, auto focus and loss of light. With the D850's large sensor you have some room to crop.

TonyBrown

Try the 500pf. You can carry it around all day. Much lighter than the 200-500 and gives great results.

JeffDavidson Loc: Originally Detroit Now Los Angeles

I am a firm believer that useing a lens designed by the camera manufacturer is the best way to go to insure compatibility and that everything works well together. I use the Nikon 200-500mm zoom for a lot of birds in flight, etc., and am very happy with the results.

I have used it on my D5 and my D850.

nealbralley Loc: Kansas

I had a Nikkor 200-500 lens, and it was amply sharp. I recently bit the bullet and traded it in for a Nikkor 500mm PF lens. The 500mm is about twice as expensive, but it is much lighter and smaller. Both the Nikkor lenses have the same maximum aperture of f/5.6. I believe the 500mm lens is sharper, but that is not to say that the 200-500 isn't also sharp because it is. The 200-500 gives you the advantage of being able to zoom, obviously. I have seen excellent photographs taken with the Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3. Nikkor 200-500 will maintain a constant aperture as you zoom over the lens' entire focal length's range. The Tamron's lens will change aperture as you zoom to a more telephoto focal length. They are all excellent lenses. You can getting winning shots with any of those lenses.

btbg

The difference between the Sigma contemporary and the Nikon 200-500 is small. The Nikon is a little faster. The two perform almost identical on tests, but the Nikon does focus slightly faster. You have to decide if you are willing to give up the extra 100mm of reach for the slight gain in fstop.

I shoot with the Sigma 150-600 sport, not because it is better or worse than the other two. It's just built heavier and cost less than the Nikon. I find the extra zoom to be beneficial, but I shoot with a D5, which has less megapixels than the D850, so does not crop as well.