Which Nikon Telephoto Prime?

gcgraphs

gcgraphs

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GC
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Looking for a bit of help/ advice, please.

Will be looking for a new telephoto in the next month or so and have narrowed the choice to the current versions of either the 400mm f/2.8 or 500mm f/4. I'm erring towards the 400mm but do sometimes need some extra reach.

My question is does anyone have experience of using the TC-14E III coupled to the 400mm and how it then compares to the 500mm, mainly AF acquisition and tracking?

I'd mainly be shooting military and aviation stuff on a D850 and a couple of D500's.

Thanks,

GC
 
personally as I have a 400 2.8, (& i notice you have the 200-500mm) & use the 1.4 tele all the time - its a damm heavy beast.
If I change it (not planning on it soon though) I'd get the 600mm F4 & use that with a 1.4 - as reach is always never enough... lol
 
I wanted (and never bought) the 50-500 sigma. might be worth hiring some of the lenses or seeing if anyone near by has them to try..? Get to feel the weights and see what sort of picures you can get. Hiring at least would give you the taste...
 
Diving Pete said:
personally as I have a 400 2.8, (& i notice you have the 200-500mm) & use the 1.4 tele all the time - its a damm heavy beast.
If I change it (not planning on it soon though) I'd get the 600mm F4 & use that with a 1.4 - as reach is always never enough... lol
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Thanks Pete, I'm most likely going with the 400mm f/2.8 now:)

Diving Pete said:
if you are local to West London you are welcome to try my 400mm.
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Thanks for the kind offer but I'm up in the wilds of North Wales!

GC
 
I cannot really advise on Nikon lenses as I am a Canon user.
I would say, though, that I would get the focal length that you need rather than relying on extenders.

I used to have a 400 F2.8 and it was an excellent lens but hopelessly short for my (wildlife) needs. These days I use an 800 F5.6, though a 600 F4 is a more versatile compromise.

Try everything you can get your hands on before you decide - these toys are expensive!
 
Thanks for all the replies.

The EXIF from my 200-500mm f/5.6 shows c400mm is my most used focal length so I'm going to go with the 400mm f/2.8 FL...although I may well add the 500mm f/4 FL sometime down the road. Certainly don't need more than 500mm for the stuff I shoot.

GC
 
Old post I know but @gcgraphs did you get the 400 FL in the end and are you still happy with it?
 
AdamSi said:
Old post I know but @gcgraphs did you get the 400 FL in the end and are you still happy with it?
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No! opted for the 500mm f/4 FL after some further thinking and I'm getting on really well with it, If I need circa 400mm I'm more than happy with the 300mm f/2.8 and TC-E 1.4 III converter for the stuff I'm shooting.

GC
 
gcgraphs said:
No! opted for the 500mm f/4 FL after some further thinking and I'm getting on really well with it, If I need circa 400mm I'm more than happy with the 300mm f/2.8 and TC-E 1.4 III converter for the stuff I'm shooting.

GC
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Thank you, I am of same thinking in regards of the 400 with TC-14E III is 560 F4 and had a price that seemed too good to pass on (still serious money but at less than half the retail price I thought it is worth a look and wont loose anything on it if I need to move it on again) they had a 500 FL but it was too well used for my OCD and liking so had to pass on it
 
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