Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF

AF-S Ultralight Full-Frame VR Ultratele

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Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 E PF (95mm filters, 51.3 oz/1,463g, 10'/3m close focus, $3,297). bigger. I got mine at Adorama. I'd also get it at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

This junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to my personally-approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Nikon does not seal its boxes in any way, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, non-USA, store demo or used lens. Get yours only from the approved sources I use myself for the best prices, service, return policies and selection. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken.

 

May 2023   Nikon Reviews   Nikon Lenses   Nikon Flash   All Reviews

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Nikon 200-500mm

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Sample Images

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User's Guide   Recommendations

(More throughout the review)

Nikon: These are all shot hand-held as BASIC JPGs; no RAW files, NORMAL or FINE JPGs or tripods were used or needed.

Spanish Home, 01 December 2018

Spanish Home, 11:48 AM, 01 December 2018. 2007 Nikon D3, Nikon 500mm f/5.6 E PF, f/22 at 1/80 hand-held. bigger, full resolution or camera-original © JPG file. The superb vibration-reduction (VR) system lets me shoot at slow shutter speeds hand-held, even with my 11-year-old DSLR, so I can get everything in focus if I need to.

 

Desert Palms, 18 November 2018

Desert Palms, 9:27 AM, 18 November 2018. Nikon Z7 w/FTZ, Nikon 500mm f/5.6 E PF, f/5.6 at 1/400 hand-held. bigger, full resolution or camera-original © JPG file. This shot looks ugly as I had the Z7's midrange sharpening set to +5, which is way too much because it overemphasizes some contrasts. Notice how this lens is ultrasharp from corner-to-corner, and it's shot wide open. This lens is as optically perfect as anyone can measure; any lack of sharpness is caused by either thermal air currents between me and the palms a quarter-mile away and the fact that these palms are not flat and not lying in the same plane, thus very little is in perfect focus.

 

Introduction

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New   Good   Bad

Adorama Pays Top Dollar for Used Gear

Amazon

B&H Photo - Video - Pro Audio

Crutchfield

I buy only from these approved sources. I can't vouch for ads below.

This is an ultralight 500mm ultratele. It's the smallest and lightest non-reflex 500mm lens ever made by Nikon. It uses a Fresnel element to reduce the amount of glass while retaining the same optical properties as a conventional lens.

It only weighs as much as a 70-200mm f/2.8, but is a little bigger around and longer so it feels lighter (less dense).

It weighs 30 oz (almost 2 pounds or 840g) less than the 200-500mm zoom, and is over an inch (30mm) shorter!

This lens lives to be taken out, carried around and shot handheld. VR adds four stops of improvement for slow shutter speeds.

You have instant manual-focus override just by grabbing the focus ring at any time, and there are programmable AF lock buttons around the front of the lens.

I'd get my 500mm f/5.6 VR PF at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

 

New

blue ball icon © KenRockwell.com Fresnel element saves significant size and weight. Nikon markets this as "PF" or Phase Fresnel. This is the same technology used in lighthouse lenses to make big thin lenses do the same thing that thick, heavy lenses do.

 

Good

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Super light and small, about the same weight as a 70-200/2.8 and half what other 500mm lenses can weigh.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com 4-stop VR improvement, I easily hand-hold at 1/25 on a DSLR and probably less on internally-stabilized mirrorless.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Fluorine coating on front element to resist dirt and smudges.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com Four programmable AF-lock buttons.

green ball icon © KenRockwell.com AF memory recall (tap button to return to a preset focus distance so you don't miss first base or the bird that just returned to the nest).

 

Bad

red ball icon © KenRockwell.com $3,597.

red ball icon © KenRockwell.com Made in China.

red ball icon © KenRockwell.com Plastic filter thread.

 

Format

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User's Guide   Recommendations

I'd get my 500mm f/5.6 VR PF at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

This is a full frame FX DSLR lens and I'm reviewing it as such.

It works great on DX cameras, too, on which you may make the usual inferences.

 

Compatibility

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User's Guide   Recommendations

I'd get my 500mm f/5.6 VR PF at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

This is an F-mount lens for Nikon's DSLRs. Use the FTZ or FTZ II Adapter on Nikon's Mirrorless cameras.

This 500mm f/5.6E has a new electronic diaphragm; that's its "E" designation.

It works on all FX Nikon DSLRs, and works well on DX SLR Nikons introduced since about 2007.

It won't work properly on DSLR models introduced before 2007 or on any 35mm camera; the electronic diaphragm will only shoot wide-open.

If you don't mind shooting wide-open at f/5.6 (which is usually how we shoot this lens anyway), go ahead and shoot it on older cameras. Even on a 1959 Nikon F you can focus, meter and shoot wide open for ultra-sharp ultra-tele shots.

See Nikon Lens Compatibility for details on your camera. Read down the "AF-S"and "G" columns. You'll get the least of what these two columns say, as "G" is actually a downgrade with modern Nikon lenses that removes the aperture ring and therefore compatibility with older 35mm cameras.

It won't work with any of the Nikon 1 series (even with the FT1 Mount Adapter) or Pronea cameras — but who cares?

 

Specifications

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I'd get my 500mm f/5.6 VR PF at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 E PF. bigger.

Name

Nikon calls this the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR:

    NIKKOR: Nikon's brand name for all their lenses.

    E: Electronic diaphragm. Silent operation, but only works with cameras introduced since about 2007.

    AF-S and SWM: Silent Wave Autofocus Motor.

    VR: Vibration Reduction.

    PF: Phase Fresnel. Special large lens element that weighs very little.

    ED: Magic Extra-low Dispersion glass for reduced secondary chromatic aberration.

    IF: Internal focusing; nothing moves externally as focused.

    ∅95: 95mm filter thread.

 

Also has:

    D: Couples distance information to the 3D Matrix Meter.

    G: Gelded; has no aperture ring.

    Nano Crystal Coat (N): Magic anti-reflection coating that has a variable index of refraction that's far more effective against ghosts and internal reflections than traditional multicoating.

 

Optics

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF internal optical construction

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF internal optical construction. Fresnel and ED elements. bigger.

19 elements in 11 groups.

1 Fresnel element.

3 ED extra-low dispersion elements, which help reduce secondary axial chromatic aberration.

Internal focusing.

Fluorine front coating to resist dirt and smudges.

Nikon Super Integrated multicoating (SIC).

Nano coating.

 

Coverage

FX, 35mm and DX.

 

Diaphragm

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 E PF, diaphragm not shown. bigger.

9 rounded blades.

Stops down to f/32.

Round from f/5.6 to f/11. Nonagonal from f/22 to f/32.

 

Focal Length

500mm.

When used on DX cameras, it sees the same angle of view as a 750mm lens sees when used on an FX or 35mm camera.

See also Crop Factor.

 

Angle of View

5º diagonal on FX.

3.2º diagonal on DX.

 

Autofocus

Internal focusing.

No external movement as focused, so no air or dust is sucked in.

 

Focus Scale

Yes.

 

Infinity Focus Stop

No.

 

Depth of Field Scale.

No.

 

Reproduction Ratio Scale

No.

 

Infrared Focus Index

No.

 

Close Focus

10 feet (3 meters).

 

Maximum Reproduction Ratio

1:5.6 (0.18 ×).

 

Image Stabilizer

Rated 4 stops improvement.

 

Caps

Nikon LC-95 95mm snap-on front cap.

Standard Nikon LF-4 rear cap.

 

Filters

95mm diameter x 1.0mm pitch plastic threads.

 

Hood

Nikon HB-84 hood for 500mm f/5.6

Nikon HB-84 hood. bigger.

HB-84 bayonet hood, included. (also available at Adorama.)

It has a nice metal locking latch, and otherwise is just crappy plastic, not carbon fibre or alloy.

Nikon HB-84 hood for 500mm f/5.6

Metal locking pawl. bigger.

 

Case

Nikon CL-M5 case

Nikon CL-M5 case

Included CL-M5 case. bigger.
Included CL-M5 case,. bigger.

CL-M5 case, included.

 

Foot & Tripod Collar

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 E PF. bigger.

Included.

 

Size

4.17" maximum diameter × 9.33" extension from flange.

106 mm maximum diameter × 237 mm extension from flange.

 

Weight

51.261 oz. (1,463.28g) actual measured weight.

Nikon specifies 51.5 oz. (1,460 g).

 

Announced

12:09 AM, Thursday, 23 August 2018, NYC time.

 

Promised for

13 September 2018.

 

Included

Lens.

Tripod foot.

HB-84 bayonet hood.

CL-M5 case.

Nikon LC-95 95mm snap-on front cap.

Standard Nikon LF-4 rear cap.

 

Nikon's Model Number

20082.

 

Price, USA

May 2023

$3,297 at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield.

About $2,500 used if you know How to Win at eBay.

 

August~December 2018.

$3,597.

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF

Box, Nikon 500mm f/5.6 E PF. bigger.

 

Getting a Legal USA Version

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User's Guide   Recommendations

This section applies in the USA only.

I'd get my 500mm f/5.6 VR PF at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

Nikon stopped offering 5-year lens warranties in 2021 in an effort to save themselves money at our expense.

In the USA for lenses prior to 2021, be sure your box has a "5 Years" sticker as shown shown above, and most importantly for all models today be sure you get a USA warranty card with the same serial number as on the bottom of your lens:

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 USA Warranty Card

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 USA Warranty Card. bigger.

If you don't have this card or the serial numbers don't match, you got ripped off with a gray market version from another country. (The serial number on the box doesn't have to match, but if it doesn't it means you bought from a shady dealer who took lenses out of boxes and then resold them as new.) This is why I never buy anyplace other than from my personally approved sources. You just can't take the chance of buying elsewhere, especially at any retail store, because non-USA versions have no warranty in the USA, and you won't even be able to get firmware or service for it — even if you're willing to pay out-of-pocket for it when you need it!

Nikon USA enforces its trademarks strictly. It's unlikely, but possible that US customs won't let your camera back in the country if you bought a gray-market version in the USA, carried it overseas, and try to bring it back in. (If you take the chance of buying one overseas, be sure you have a receipt to prove you bought it overseas and be prepared to pay duty on it.)

If a gray market version saves you $1,000 it might be worth it, but for $200 or less I wouldn't risk having no warranty or support.

Always be sure to check yours while you can still return it, or just don't buy from unapproved sources or at retail so you'll be able to have your camera serviced and get free updated firmware as needed.

Get yours from the same places I do and you won't have a problem, but if you take the risk of getting yours elsewhere, be sure to check everything while you still can return it.

 

Performance

Top   Sample Images   Intro   Format

Compatibility   Specs   USA Version

Performance   Compared

User's Guide   Recommendations

 

Overall   Autofocus   Manual Focus   Breathing

Bokeh   Distortion   Ergonomics   Eyeblow   Falloff

Filters   Flare & Ghosts   Lateral Color Fringes

Macro   Mechanics   Sharpness

Stabilization   Sunstars   Teleconverters

 

I'd get my 500mm f/5.6 VR PF at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

 

Overall

Performance          top

The Nikon 500/5.6 is an ultralight and ultrasharp ultratele that is also ultraexpensive. It's for people who deserve the best of everything and want to carry as little as possible on their ultraluxury tours and living their comfortable lives.

 

Autofocus

Performance          top

Autofocus is very fast on a professional camera like my D3, but not quite as fast on consumer cameras like my Z7.

Like most ultra teles, AF can get stuck if you're so far out of focus that the finder sees nothing but one big blur. It's a huge help to the AF system in these cases if you turn the manual focus ring to bring it into approximate focus and let the AF system take it from there.

 

Manual Focus

performance          top

Manual focus and instant manual-focus override is easy; just turn the direct-coupled mechanical manual focus ring at any time.

 

Focus Breathing

Performance          top

Focus breathing is the image changing size as focused in and out. It's important to cinematographers because it looks funny if the image changes size as focus gets pulled back and forth between actors. If the lens does this, the image "breathes" by growing and contracting slightly as the dialog goes back and forth.

The image from this 500mm f/5.6 gets a little larger as focused more closely.

 

Bokeh

Performance          top

Bokeh, the feel or quality of out-of-focus areas as opposed to how far out of focus they are, is very good. As with most ultrateles, backgrounds completely disappear:

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF Bokeh

Davis 6250 weather station, 17 November 2018. Shot on Nikon Z7 at f/5.6 at 1/400 at ISO 64. bigger or camera-original © file.

As always, if you want to throw the background as far out of focus as possible, shoot at f/5.6 and get as close as possible.

 

Distortion

Performance          top

The Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF has minor to moderate pincushion distortion if shot without correction, but most digital cameras correct it by default so it's always invisible.

The Z6, Z7, D500, D90, D3100, D3200, D3300, D5000, D5100, D5200, D5300, D5500, D5600, D7000, D7100, D7200, D7500, D5, D4, D4s, D600, D610, D750, D800, D800E, D810, Df and all newer cameras can be set to correct the distortion automatically in-camera — so long as you have the latest camera firmware installed.

If you forget and turn off correction or shoot on film, it's easy to correct fully with Photoshop's lens correction filter with a value of -2.00 when shot at 10 meters. If you shoot with correction, use a value of -0.30 at 10 meters for exacting work.

These aren't facts or specifications, they are the results of my research that requires hours of photography and calculations on the resulting data.

 

Ergonomics

Performance          top

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 E PF. bigger.

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 E PF. bigger.

Ergonomics are very good. This lens is even easier to shoot hand-held all day than a 70-200/2.8 zoom because it's the same weight, and you don't have to zoom it.

The front grip is just that; a grip.

The four AF lock buttons fall under your thumb, and the manual focus ring is easy to flick with your index finger with the lens cradled in your left hand.

Pull your left hand back a bit and the slide switches fall under your thumb.

 

Eyeblow

performance          top

The 500/5.6 has no eyeblow; no air pumps in or out of the back of the lens as it's focused.

 

Falloff

Performance          top

Falloff on FX and 35mm is completely invisible, even without Vignette Control.

It won't be an issue at all on DX (see crop factor).

I've greatly exaggerated the falloff by shooting a gray field and placing these on a gray background; it will not look this bad in actual photos of real things:

 

 

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF falloff on FX at infinity, Vignette Correction NORMAL on Z7 + FTZ:

f/5.6
f/8
Nikon 500mm f/5.6 falloff
Nikon 500mm f/5.6 falloff
Nikon 500mm f/5.6 falloff
Nikon 500mm f/5.6 falloff
f/11
f/16

© 2018 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF falloff on FX and 35mm at infinity, Vignette Correction OFF with Z7 + FTZ:

f/5.6
f/8
Nikon 500mm f/5.6 falloff
Nikon 500mm f/5.6 falloff
Nikon 500mm f/5.6 falloff
Nikon 500mm f/5.6 falloff
f/11
f/16

© 2018 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.

 

Filters, use with

performance          top

There's no need for thin filters.

Go ahead and use your standard rotating polarizer and grad filters; there won't be any vignetting even with a few stacked filters.

The one gotcha is the crappy plastic filter thread. You must be careful not to cross-thread filters as you mount them.

 

Flare & Ghosts

Performance          top

It's quite resistant to flare and ghosts, which is superb realizing that it has a Fresnel element.

Point this into the sun at sunset and you ought to be good.

 

Lateral Color Fringes

Performance          top

There are no color fringes as shot on Nikon cameras, which by default correct for any that may be there.

 

Macro Performance

Performance          top

Macro doesn't get that close:

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 macro performance

Casio G-Shock Solar Atomic Watch, 01 December 2018. Nikon Z7, f/5.6 at 1/200. bigger or camera-original © file.

 

But it it super-sharp even wide-open at f/5.6:

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 macro performance

1,200 × 900 pixel crop from above. bigger or camera-original © file. If this is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at a huge 27½″ × 41¼″ (70 × 105 cm) at this same high magnification. If this is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, the complete image would print at a mammoth 55 × 82½″ (1.4 × 2.1 meters) at this same extremely high magnification!

 

Mechanical Quality

Performance          top

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 E PF. bigger.

The Nikon 500mm f/5.6 is made mostly of plastic in China, with mostly metal innards. I'll give them a little bit of a pass here as the whole point of this lens is light weight.

 

Hood

Crappy plastic bayonet, with metal locking pawl. For $3,600 I expect an alloy or carbon fibre hood with a rubber bumper.

It has no rubber bumper; it's just lightweight plastic.

 

Nikon HB-84 hood for 500mm f/5.6

HB-84 bayonet hood. bigger.

 

Nikon HB-84 hood for 500mm f/5.6

Metal locking pawl. bigger.

 

Front Lens Bumper

Thin rubber.

 

Filter Threads

Soft plastic.

 

Hood Bayonet Mount

Plastic.

 

Gold ED Band

Yes.

 

Front Barrel Exterior

Plastic.

 

Focus Lock Buttons

Rubber covered.

 

Focus Ring

Rubber-covered plastic.

 

Mid Barrel

Section with focus window: all plastic.

 

Slide Switches

Plastic.

 

Tripod Collar

Metal.

The collar doesn't come off the lens, but the foot slides off the collar.

The foot has two ¼″ × 20 tripod threads.

If you lose the foot, the collar's stub has a standard ¼″ × 20 tripod thread.

 

Rear Barrel Exterior

Section with SET MEMORY button: plastic.

 

Identity

14 karat gold-filled debossed metal plate around focus distance window.

Printed on bottom of barrel.

 

Internals

Seem like mostly metal!

 

Dust Gasket at Mount

Yes.

 

Mount

Dull chromed metal.

 

Markings

Just paint, no engraving.

 

Serial Number

Sticker glued into recess in the bottom of the lens barrel — tacky! These fall out, and then Nikon won't service or repair it.

 

Date Code

None found.

 

Noises When Shaken

Moderate clicking.

 

Made in

China.

 

Sharpness

Performance          top

This is among the world's sharpest lenses. The only limitation to picture sharpness will be your skill as a photographer.

If you're not getting ultra-sharp pictures with this, be sure not to shoot at f/16 or smaller where all lenses are softer due to diffraction, always shoot at ISO 100 or slower because cameras become softer at ISO 200 and above. Beware of atmospheric heat shimmer which makes it very difficult to get ultrasharp shots father away than a few hundred feet unless conditions are extraordinarily clear. Be sure everything is in perfect focus, set your camera's sharpening as you want it (I set mine to the maximum) and be sure nothing is moving, either camera or subject. If you want to ensure a soft image with any lens, shoot at f/16 at ISO 1,600 at default sharpening in daylight through heat shimmer of rapidly moving subjects at differing distances in the same image.

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 MTF

Nikon's MTF chart at 10 cyc/mm and 30 cyc/mm.

 

Image Stabilization (Vibration Reduction or VR)

Performance          top

Vibration Reduction (VR or Image Stabilization) works extremely well. I get super sharp shots at 1/25 hand-held on my old DSLR, and the internal stabilization of the Z6 and Z7 ought to allow even slower speeds.

If I need to shoot at f/22 or f/32 hand-held for more depth-of-field, no problem even with an 11-year-old DSLR:

Spanish Home, 01 December 2018

Spanish Home, 11:48 AM, 01 December 2018. 2007 Nikon D3, Nikon 500mm f/5.6 E PF, f/22 at 1/80 hand-held at ISO 200. bigger, full resolution or camera-original © JPG file.

 

Sunstars

Performance          top

With a rounded diaphragm at large apertures that becomes nonagonal at the smallest apertures, I get 18-pointed sunstars on brilliant points of light mostly at the smallest apertures.

 

Teleconverters

It works with Nikon's TC-E series teleconverters, but be sure your camera's AF system is happy with an f/8 equivalent lens when used with the TC-14E III, which Nikon recommends.

I'd not use the stronger converters on DSLRs, which make it even slower for the AF system and makes your finder even darker (f/9.5 with the TC-17 and f/11 with the TC-20E III).

Mirrorless cameras work very well with even stacked teleconverters because they can autofocus with very slow lens combinations.

 

Compared

Top   Sample Images   Intro   Format

Compatibility   Specs   USA Version

Performance   Compared

User's Guide   Recommendations

I'd get my 500mm f/5.6 VR PF at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

It only weighs as much as a 70-200mm f/2.8, but is a little bigger around and longer so it feels lighter (less dense).

It weighs 30 oz (almost 2 pounds or 840g) less than the 200-500mm zoom, and is over an inch (30mm) shorter! While slightly sharper in the laboratory then 200-500mm zoom, in actual practice it's the same. The zoom focuses more closely.

This 500mm lens will be much better than using shorter lenses and teleconverters not only in sharpness, but mostly in AF speed and overall AF performance.

 

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF User's Guide

Top   Sample Images   Intro   Format

Compatibility   Specs   USA Version

Performance   Compared

User's Guide   Recommendations

 

I'd get my 500mm f/5.6 VR PF at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

 

Filters

The filter thread is soft plastic that's easy to cross thread.

To avoid cross-threading you should put your filter as flat as you can against the front of the lens and turn it backwards (counterclockwise as seen from the front) until you feel a slight click, which means that the threads just mated properly. Now screw it in slowly (clockwise as sen from the front) and it should turn smoothly. If it doesn't turn smoothly as you screw-on the filter, STOP, back it out again until you feel the slight click of the threads matching up, and try again. Don't ever force it because you will be grinding new threads into the weak plastic of your $3,600 lens.

 

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF

AF lock buttons towards left side of lens between the two rubber rings. bigger.

AF Lock Buttons

These are the four unmarked buttons towards the front of the lens.

Normally they lock autofocus (AF-L) when pressed and held, which is vary handy on older cameras where you might want to lock focus and recompose, or if you're tracking a moving subject if it temporarily goes behind distractions.

Many cameras let you reprogram these buttons. They'll all have the same function; there are four of them so there is always one in the same place regardless of how you have the lens rotated.

You also can set their function to MEMORY RECALL or AF-ON below.

 

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 E PF. bigger.

A/M — M/A — M

A/M: Auto Focus. You have instant manual focus override by turning the focus ring at any time when in AF-S (single AF). If you're in AF-C (continuous AF) the camera will keep overriding you unless you move the focus ring fast and far enough to focus on a new subject. In this position the camera will tend to ignore (override) minor motion of the manual focus ring in continuous AF.

M/A: Auto Focus. You have instant manual focus override by turning the focus ring at any time. Your manual focus setting will stay as set, even if the camera is in AF-C continuous AF. Avoid this setting if you have a habit of knocking the manual focus ring since even the slightest motion will stop the AF system.

M: Manual Focus only.

 

Full — ∞ - 8m

This is a focus limiter.

Leave it in FULL.

The ∞ - 8m position prevents the lens from autofocusing closer than 8 meters (25 feet). Use this setting only if you're having a problem with the lens attempting to focus on irrelevant close items, or if for some reason the lens is "hunting" from near to far looking for distant subjects.

 

OFF — VR NORMAL — SPORT

Leave it in NORMAL.

Use SPORT if you're trying to track objects which change direction unpredictably.

Don't turn it OFF unless you're on a very sturdy tripod, or if you're making exposures longer than about a second on any kind of tripod.

 

MEMORY SET

This is a little button hidden on the barrel near the lens mount.

Tap it to save the current focus distance to be recalled by any of the front buttons if you set them to MEMORY RECALL with the next switch:

 

AF-L — MEMORY RECALL — AF-ON

This sets the function of the four AF lock buttons at the front of the lens. Your camera may also offer other options to program this button, especially when it's set to its default of AF-L.

 

AF-L: Autofocus Lock.

Leave it here, which locks autofocus as long as you hold the button. This can be handy of you need to lock focus and recompose, or if you're tracking a moving target and know it's going to duck behind an obstruction on which you don't want to focus.

 

MEMORY RECALL

This makes the lens zip back to whatever focus distance you set previously by tapping the MEMORY SET button near the lens mount. Just one tap is enough to set or recall and the lens will motor all the way home; you don't have to hold either button.

This is very handy to make the lens focus immediately to home plate, a goal, infinity (set it on the moon) or your hummingbird feeder. Mine stores this distance even if I turn off my camera or put the lens away, so astronomers can set infinity when they can, and it should be ready next time.

 

AF-ON

Activate Autofocus. This is the same as any other AF-ON button; it becomes useful when you've disabled the default AF-ON when you hold the shutter button. Used this way you hold AF-ON to focus, and it locks when you release it.

 

This turns the beep on or off.

If it's on, it beeps once to let you know you've set a new focus distance, and it beeps twice when the lens gets to the MEMORY RECALL focus distance after you've hit a front button to recall it.

 

Recommendations

Top   Sample Images   Intro   Format

Compatibility   Specs   USA Version

Performance   Compared

User's Guide   Recommendations

I'd get my 500mm f/5.6 VR PF at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

This is for people who need an ultralong, ultralight lens, and anyone who needs an ultrahigh performance ultratele. If you want the best and lightest ultratele for your Nikon, this is it.

I use a clear (UV) protective filter instead of a cap. I only use a cap when I throw this in my bag, otherwise I leave a clear protective filter on my lens at all times so I'm ready to shoot instantly.

I'd use a 95mm B+W 010 UV filter or Nikon's 95mm NC filter to protect this lens.

A better filter for twice the price is the 95mm Hoya EVO UV. It has special dirt, dust and smudge resistant multicoatings to stay cleaner longer. Seeing how filters last forever, there's no reason not to get the better filter since it will still be working for you decades from now.

I'd get my 500mm f/5.6 VR PF at Adorama, at Amazon, at B&H or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

This junk-free, 100% content website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to my personally-approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Nikon does not seal its boxes in any way, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, non-USA, store demo or used lens. Get yours only from the approved sources I use myself for the best prices, service, return policies and selection.

Thanks for helping me help you!

Ken Rockwell.

 

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Ken Rockwell.

 

 

 

05 May 2023 warranty, prices, 01 December 2018, 30 November 2018, 25 August 2018