Nikon 200-500 advice needed

the black fox

the black fox

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I’m currently considering getting one of the Nikon 200-500 VR lenses , but wondering what the general thoughts are on them I have seen posts re- a screw coming loose in the zoom and just looked at the MPB offering of six lenses which are ALL stated to have moisture in them . .. ..it makes me a tad wary of getting one .. and a lot of others for sale suffer from chips/ marks to the lens front , any views on this .
 
Marks on the lens glass will be down to handling of course, never heard of moisture in them before and mine certainly didn't suffer.
From some of what I have seen (and returned) recently I wonder if it says more about MPB than the lens itself.
 
The screw issue is common , a guy I know had to go on him zoom mechanism just jams ,lots of YouTube vids about it
had try of my mates it is big poorly balanced, the af is on the slow side , but it was sharp
 
I may be getting one at some stage in the not too distant future. Noticed it sometimes gets in a pickle with the AF and stops attempting to 'sweep' the focus range unless you help it along a bit by rotating the focus ring nearer to the target range. From doing some research, that may simply be a firmware issue and can be rectified with an update (if I do get the lens, I'll have to ask Fixation very nicely if they'll do it for me).

Aside from that, seemed a nice enough big heavyish zoom. Quickly learned I'm awful at trying to acquire a moving target with a long lens, but I bought a 2x tele to shove on the back of my 70-200 and that's giving me a little bit of practice in the meantime.
 
O.k sat on the fence with this , I’ve owned a sigma 150-600 in the past both sport and contemporary versions and in fact tried a friends on Fri , it’s lighter ,it’s updateable but the results weren’t amazing ..
The other option is a 300mm f4 not the pf version one but the earlier one ,coupled with a 1.4 and 1.7 t.c combo ,owned one previously with good results ,but it has no I.s and no VR plus the focus motor can be a problem ?.
 
I had a 200-500mm previously, and it was a great lens.... But! it also had the screw problem, which locked the zoom at about 250mm, and I think it was around £350 for the repair.
I also had the 300mm and 1.4 TC combo before and there wasn't much in it for image quality, but the AF and VR of the 200-500 was a plus.
The 500mm PF is a fantastic lens, but maybe not what you're looking for.
 
pretty well decided on a 300mm f4 pf + t.c's the light weight being the deciding factor
 
And just bought one on evil bay .. to many ifs and buts plus weight with the 200-500
 
the black fox said:
pretty well decided on a 300mm f4 pf + t.c's the light weight being the deciding factor
Click to expand...
I use a 300mm f4 pf with a 1.4TC, (with a D500 until a year ago) it's a great combination and focusses down to 1.3m which is incredibly useful for thing like dragonflies or even just small birds that come close. With the TC it’s a max magnification of about x0.34

I also had a 200 - 500, and although I had no technical problems with it, I found it awkward to use, The lens was "thick"to hold, the zooming needed turning too much to get through the zoom range, it changed balance as you zoomed, and didn't have as big a maximum magnification as the 300mm +1 .4 combination.

I don't think you can go wrong with the 300mm +1.4 combination.

According to this comparison. The 300mm PF +1.4TC gives similar performance to both the 100-400 Z zoom and the 180-600mm Z zoom at 400mm

Although this is about Z - mount lens the 300mm and 200-500 are included.

Best Telephoto Options in the Z Mount | Thom Hogan

What's the best telephoto option for a Z camera at 200-800mm?
www.zsystemuser.com
 
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Cheers both , I had the previous iteration of the lens a few years ago and it was my go to lens combined with the 1.4 and 1.7 tc’s which I will be going for once again funds allowing .
I still have my Olympus OM1 with a 300+1.4 tc combo which gives similar reach so I have now got a choice .. depending on the mood I’m in
 
the black fox said:
O.k sat on the fence with this , I’ve owned a sigma 150-600 in the past both sport and contemporary versions and in fact tried a friends on Fri , it’s lighter ,it’s updateable but the results weren’t amazing ..
The other option is a 300mm f4 not the pf version one but the earlier one ,coupled with a 1.4 and 1.7 t.c combo ,owned one previously with good results ,but it has no I.s and no VR plus the focus motor can be a problem ?.
Click to expand...
I had the Sigma 150-600 C until recently and agreed that out of the box it wasn't particularly sharp. A couple of hours with the dock sorted that and I got some amazing shots. The 150-600 was getting a bit heavy so I px'd it for a 100-400 C and 1.4TC; repeat the AF adjustment twice (one without and then with the TC) and all good (y)
 
I bought the 200-500 when it was new, and it never disappointed me. It was better behaved than my 80-400G, but after that went to Nikon, and I scratched the 500/4 itch one of the zooms had to go to make way. Sold my 200-500 in excellent condition to MPB, no mechanical issues whatsoever, but I made the right choice in keeping the 80-400G. I did have the AF-S 300/4 (non-VR) but happier with the 80-400.
 
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