Review: AF-S NIKKOR 200–500 mm 1:5,6E ED VR

The new AF-S NIKKOR 200–500 mm 1:5,6E ED VR is an interesting choice for all wildlife photographers: zoom range from 200 mm to 500 mm, VR reduction, constant aperture, lightweight and a reasonable price.

We tested the AF-S NIKKOR 200–500 mm 1:5,6E ED VR on a trip to the Great Bear Rainforest in Canada for shooting bears, eagles, whales, wolves and other wildlife. The Great Bear Rainforest is a great place for testing lenses and cameras: frequently really wet and low light conditions and challenging animals.

The Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED is known for its image quality. But this is not the topic of this short review, we focus on some practical considerations.

What we found:

• Fast and accurate autofocus (but not comparable with the professionell prime lenses from Nikon).
• Effective image stabilisation.
• Combination of VR, size and weight allows hand holding even at low-light conditions.
• Good weather sealing (survived the Great Bear Rainforest).
• Works reasonable well with the TC-14E II (but slow minimum aperture f / 8.0)(see gallery).
• Zooming from 500 mm to 200 mm (or reverse) makes the lens slow for fast shootings, the zoom ring needs nearly 180° of rotation.
• The plastic lens hood is PITA! When using the Nikkor with a ThinkTank Hydrophobia rain cover the hood can snap out of the bayonet, resulting in missing shots. A solution is fixing the lens hood with duct tape!
• Sometimes a wider zoom range is missed, especially down to 100 mm. A 2nd camera with an attached AF-S NIKKOR 70–200 MM 1:4G ED VR (or similar) should be ready.
• The foot of the tripod-collar is not Arca-Style, so attaching an extra lens plate makes sense (e.g. the LP-62 from Kirk). But the foot has only one threaded insert attachment point, this might cause twisting of the lens plate.
• The tested lens is affected by the autofocus issue and needs a firmware upgrade by Nikon. This issue caused some missing shots!

Your Nikon 200-500 rating: (70 votes, average: 3.61 out of 5)

LATEST: Landscape Sample Images NIKKOR 200–500 mm

AF-S NIKKOR 200–500 mm 1:5,6E ED VR vs. AF-S NIKKOR 80–400 MM 1:4,5–5,6G ED VR

Some thoughts and experiences:

• 80-400:
  1. A bit overpriced
  2. Nice size and weight, fits in a Think Tank digital holster with attached hood.
  3. Missing the extended tele range (500 mm).
  4. Weak at the long end.
• 200-500:
  1. Slightly sharper then the 80-400 (without comparing charts)
  2. Missing the 80-200 zoom range of the 80-400.
  3. VR is more effective.
  4. Tripod collar is more sturdy.

Image Examples AF-S NIKKOR 200–500 mm 1:5,6E ED VR

Shooting:

• Hand-held from floating Zodiac.
• VR on and in sport mode.
• AF-C, matrix metering

Processing:

• Lightroom: Export as 16 bit TIFF-file to Capture One.
• Capture One: Nikon D750 or Nikon D600 Generic ICC-Profile, minor exposure adjustments, sharpening and noise reduction, export as TIFF-file.
• Photoshop: After Capture One processing some exposure adjustments, sharpening and noise reduction in Photoshop, final export as JPEG-file (sRGB, 50% quality, width: 800 px and 2.400 px).

Eagle; Nikon D600, Nikon AF-S 200-500mm f5.6E VR: ISO 3200, 1/200 Sek., f / 5.6, 500 mm

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Seagull, Nikon D750, Nikon AF-S 200-500mm f5.6E VR: ISO 1250, 1/4000 Sek., f / 9.0, 500 mm

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Grizzly; Nikon D750, Nikon AF-S 200-500mm f5.6E VR: ISO 2500, 1/250 Sek., f / 8.0, 310 mm

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Grizzly Mum and Cubs; Nikon D750, Nikon AF-S 200-500mm f5.6E VR: ISO 4000, 1/200 Sek., f / 7.1, 360 mm

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Humpback whale; Nikon D750, Nikon AF-S 200-500mm f5.6E VR: ISO 2500, 1/2500 Sek., f / 7.1, 500 mm

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Bald Eagle; Nikon D750, Nikon AF-S 200-500mm f5.6E VR + TC-14E II: ISO 6400, 1/800 Sek., f / 10, 700 mm

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Orca Whale; Nikon D750, Nikon AF-S 200-500mm f5.6E VR + TC-14E II: ISO 12800, 1/250 Sek., f / 8.0, 700 mm

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