NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR

drr1531 · Feb 27, 2021

Some excellent images, Richard. All nice but I really like the overall images of the wattlebird and honey eater. Very well done.

Richard_M said:
...Another thing I have noticed is how close many of the birds are using this lens. I'm guessing the 200-500mm suffers from focus breathing.

According to Tom Hogan's review of the 200-500 it does breath significantly. He claims the effective FL at minimum focus distance is more like 400mm. However, regardless of that the specified max reproduction ratio is slightly higher on the 200-500 at .22x versus .18x on the 500 PF.

...The lens would be close to min focus for this shot. Which would make the focus freeze if I was to try and refocus the next shot on a subject in the distance. Refocusing wasn't an issue if the next shot was still in the general vicinity.

I've not noticed this behavior but then again I rarely shoot at minimum focus range. I'll drag mine out and give it a test today when I get a few minutes. The only body I have with me is the D850.

Richard_M · Feb 27, 2021

drr1531 said:
Some excellent images, Richard. All nice but I really like the overall images of the wattlebird and honey eater. Very well done.

Thank you

drr1531 said:
According to Tom Hogan's review of the 200-500 it does breath significantly. He claims the effective FL at minimum focus distance is more like 400mm. However, regardless of that the specified max reproduction ratio is slightly higher on the 200-500 at .22x versus .18x on the 500 PF.

Thanks for the information. The birds do appear to be closer, particularly when near minimum focus

drr1531 said:
I've not noticed this behavior but then again I rarely shoot at minimum focus range. I'll drag mine out and give it a test today when I get a few minutes. The only body I have with me is the D850.

It could be my camera, it might need a firmware update.
The same issue occurs if the focus is at the far end, and the next shot is close by.

drr1531 · Feb 27, 2021

I ran a quick test today with my 500 PF mounted on a D850. Could not replicate the behavior described. The only issue I was able to create was occasionally if I tried to focus at something closer than minimum focus range and then something just slightly beyond minimum focus. In those cases maybe one out of five times the lens either did nothing or "chattered" making minute changes back and forth. In every case releasing the AF-On button(I use BBF) momentarily and pressing it again corrected the problem. No issues at all going from long range to minimum focus range or the reverse. As stated in your last post I'd make sure the firmware is up to date and give it another test. Hope you get it worked out.

Butlerkid · Feb 27, 2021

Your images are looking super sharp.....almost too sharp! LOL! Enjoy the lens!

Richard_M · Feb 27, 2021

Thank you for checking it out Dan, very much appreciated!

Richard_M · Feb 27, 2021

Butlerkid said:
Your images are looking super sharp.....almost too sharp! LOL! Enjoy the lens!

Thank you Karen.
Its the last day of Summer today downunder, my birding outings will be minimal over the next few months, at least I’ll be ready for Spring.

Butlerkid · Feb 27, 2021

We here are impatiently waiting for Spring.......

drr1531 · Feb 27, 2021

Richard_M said:
Its the last day of Summer today downunder, my birding outings will be minimal over the next few months, at least I’ll be ready for Spring.

What will you be too busy shoveling snow soon?

Speaking of spring, we hope you folks get covid taken care of down there. Yesterday we booked a flight to Sydney for mid November. Hopefully we won't have to cancel this time.

Richard_M · Feb 27, 2021

Butlerkid said:
We here are impatiently waiting for Spring.......

I can only imagine what some of you experience during winter. We have had a mild summer, which is great as we didn’t get the devastating bushfires like we had last season. I guess we could be in for a cold winter.

drr1531 said:
What will you be too busy shoveling snow soon?

Speaking of spring, we hope you folks get covid taken care of down there. Yesterday we booked a flight to Sydney for mid November. Hopefully we won't have to cancel this time.

Luckily no snow where we live. We do have a beautiful autumn, hopefully we can get out and experience it this year.

I also hope we, like the rest of the world can get on top of COVID. Not only for international travel, but to get some normality back into our lives. The constant lockdowns, closing borders, and rule changes gets tiring real quick, let alone the health risks of COVID.

Fingers crossed your trip doesn’t get cancelled

drr1531 · Feb 27, 2021

Oh I forgot to mention that when I tested the lens I did so with single point, group focus, and auto. No noticeable difference in either case.

Richard_M · Feb 28, 2021

drr1531 said:
Oh I forgot to mention that when I tested the lens I did so with single point, group focus, and auto. No noticeable difference in either case.

Thank you so much for doing these tests for me, very much appreciated.

I did a bit of testing at home and couldn’t replicate it either. Not sure if it was to do with low contrast backdrops as it was with birding. I’ll try it again in the field next weekend.

warth man · Feb 28, 2021

Richard_M said:
Thank you Lance

Another thing I have noticed is how close many of the birds are using this lens. I'm guessing the 200-500mm suffers from focus breathing.

Eastern Yellow Robin's are quite small, approx. 160mm or 6in. This is a full frame (no cropping), there is not a lot of area left around the bird. The lens would be close to min focus for this shot. Which would make the focus freeze if I was to try and refocus the next shot on a subject in the distance. Refocusing wasn't an issue if the next shot was still in the general vicinity.

View attachment 1679484

I think you have all the wildlife in Australia trained to sit for you. Wonderful series - again!

Richard_M · Feb 28, 2021

warth man said:
I think you have all the wildlife in Australia trained to sit for you. Wonderful series - again!

LOL, I wish. I tend to go to reserves and gardens with youngish trees, as they are not so high. Even then the birds are not always willing to show themselves in the open, let alone stay still long enough to get some photos, particularly when they hear the shutter.

Thank you for your kind comments

Varmint · Mar 22, 2021

Beautiful shots, this thread could get me into birds! Where do you go to see such a variety of birds?

PS I don’t think #14 is a bird.

Richard_M · Mar 22, 2021

Varmint said:
Beautiful shots, this thread could get me into birds! Where do you go to see such a variety of birds?

PS I don’t think #14 is a bird.

Thank you!

The majority of my images come from local gardens and reserves.

One of my favorite gardens is the Australian Gardens in Cranbourne which is part of the Royal Botanic Gardens

This is one of the images from their site which I have linked above.