80-400 / 200-500 / 70-300

RichardMills

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Currently i have a 70-300vr and 200-500 which i use with a D500. I switched from pentax to nikon primarily so i could get longer glass (at a reasonable price)

But I find the 200-500 too heavy to walk around with all day and find 200 too long sometimes but like everything else about it. I dont use it very often.

I use the 70-300 as a good walk around all day lens and think the image quality is pretty good if the subject is not too far away. I dont find the vr that good and the af isnt the quickest.

Before i purchased the 200-500 i looked at the 80-400 but quickly wrote it off because of its price.

What is the general consensus about the 80-400 vs the other two? Is it worth its price (i was looking at £1569 grey).

Im thinking it may be the best of both worlds for me. I will loose the long end of the 200-500 (which is where ive mainly used it) but i loose weight and gain the wide end. Vs the 70-300 i gain iq, vr, af and 100mm.
 
Thom Hogan's review of the 200-500 compares it to the 80-400 and focuses on the weight and ability to hand hold.
He comes out in favour of the 80-400 for 'walkabout' use with good IQ, whilst favouring the 200-500 even over the 200-400 f4, disregarding the weight issue in both.
 
I had the newer 80-400mm and the 200-500mm, ending up selling the 80-400mm as I found the AF acquisition and tracking much better on 200-500mm. Mainly shooting military/combat and aviation on a D500.

GC
 
Thom Hogan's review of the 200-500 compares it to the 80-400 and focuses on the weight and ability to hand hold.
He comes out in favour of the 80-400 for 'walkabout' use with good IQ, whilst favouring the 200-500 even over the 200-400 f4, disregarding the weight issue in both.

Yep read this one yesterday in my search. (spend the majority of yesterday reading reviews and comments). Its the weight and walkabout use that appeals.
 
I had the newer 80-400mm and the 200-500mm, ending up selling the 80-400mm as I found the AF acquisition and tracking much better on 200-500mm. Mainly shooting military/combat and aviation on a D500.

GC

Aviation is one of the reasons i purchased the 200-500. But i didn't make anywhere last year what with back issues to use the lens.
 
buy a cheap gimbel from e bay £40 and put on a monopod
you can then walk about all day with the 200-500 no problem
 
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