I went to visit ZOO AVE today to photograph some exotic Central & South American wildlife. I was using mainly setup #1 & when the opportunity arised , I would then try setup #2.
Setup #1 - 750mm focal length
- Nikon D500
- Nikkor 500mm f5.6E PF ED VR
Setup #2 - 1050mm focal length
- Nikon D500
- Nikkor 500mm f5.6E PF ED VR
- Nikkor 1.4x TC-EIII
Let me first share the results from setup #2 as I only had one opportunity to photograph subjects which were really far enough to use this focal length.
The Nikkor 500mm f5.6E PF ED VR + Nikkor 1.4x TC-EIII performed so well.
- AF worked very well
- Easily autofocused on subject(s) even with Tele-Converter attached
- Details rendered by the 500mm with Tele-Converter was actually pretty incredible.
- Results were obtained by hand-holding setup which was a testament on the ease of handling.
Geoffroy's Tamarin
Setup #2 - 1050mm focal length ISO1000 f8.0 1/320s Hand-Held
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Geoffroy's Tamarin
Setup #2 - 1050mm focal length ISO1000 f8.0 1/1000s Hand-Held
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Results from Setup #1 - All images hand-held of course
The Nikkor 500mm f5.6E PF ED VR
- AF performance superb with the Nikon D500
- Image Quality superb
- Details rendered superb
- All images captured by hand-holding
The 500mm f5.6E PF ED VR is so compact & hand-holdable that I could easily use "slower" shutter speeds (like the Macaw image) and still obtain tack sharp captures.
To put the compactness in perspective , the 500mm PF is about the height of a regular Coca Cola Glass bottle.
Spectacled Owl
Setup #1 - 750mm focal length ISO1600 f5.6 1/320s Hand-Held
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Crested Cara Cara
Setup #1 - 750mm focal length ISO1250 f6.3 1/500s Hand-Held
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Setup #1 - 750mm focal length ISO1250 f6.3 1/500s Hand-Held
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Esmerald Toucan
Setup #1 - 750mm focal length ISO1250 f6.3 1/500s Hand-Held
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Blue & Yellow Macaw
Setup #1 - 750mm focal length ISO2000 f8.0 1/250s Hand-Held
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Tufted Marmoset
Setup #1 - 750mm focal length ISO3200 f6.3 1/500s Hand-Held
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Green Iguana
Setup #1 - 750mm focal length ISO400 f5.6 1/1000s Hand-Held
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Humming Bird in Flight
Setup #1 - 750mm focal length ISO2000 f5.6 1/2500s Hand-Held
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Closing Comments
The 500mm PF (Phase Fresnel) lens is the most amazing super telephoto lens that I have used. The image quality it produces are just superb. Autofocus performance is also silent & top notch.
The most incredible aspect of this lens is the compactness & the portability , just unbelievable.
Pairing it with the DX sensor DSLRs like the D500 will result in an ultra compact 750mm focal length setup or you can easily extend the focal length to 1050mm by just adding a 1.4x TC and the entire setup is still hand holdable !
If you are a Nikon DSLR or Nikon Mirrorless (Z Series) user , my take is that this 500mm f5.6E PF ED VR lens is a MUST buy as it will open up new photographic opportunities that you may not have tried or even dreamt of.
Once my 500mm PF arrives , it is going to be my new Landscape , Portrait and Street Photography lens on top of its normal duties when photographing wildlife & sports genre.
Cheers,
Andrew