Photography News issue 27

46 First tests

Photography News Issue 27 absolutephoto.com

Nikon200-500mm f/5.6EEDVRAF-S £1179

Specs

Format Full-frame and APS-C Mount Nikon Construction

Affordable super-telephoto lenses have been with us for a while; Sigma’s 150-600mm f/5-6.3 OS and Tamron’s SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 VC being two excellent examples. Now, giving up only a little focal range to that pair and offering a constant aperture, Nikon’s 200-500mm f/5.6 VR is offering enthusiasts huge reach and useful focal lengths for everything from sports and action to wildlife shots and even telephoto landscapes; all for under £1200, which is far less than its 80-400mm and 200-400mm lenses. Attaching the lens to a Nikon D800 for this test, the first thing that’s apparent is the weight. At 2.3kg, it’s a significant presence on your arm, and in your bag, so it’s not a lens to take out on the off-chance you might need it. That weight isn’t surprising; the 200-500mm is full of glass with a constant f/5.6 aperture and is very well built. It’s not particularly far off the weight of the Tamron (1951g) and Sigma (1930g or 2860g depending on the Contemporary or Sport version) lenses either. However, if you have a smaller Nikon DX body, like a D7200 or D5300, it will feel unbalanced; with the D800 it felt great, though I mostly supported it with a monopod or whatever I could lean on. The barrel is mostly high-grade plastic, but there’s metal there for added durability. Other good points are the rubber bumper on the end and that a tripod collar is included – features normally found on more expensive models.

Its Silent Wave Motor means the lens focuses accurately and is virtually silent; it’s no slouch, but not especially snappy either, taking a little under 1sec to travel from near to far. In Continuous mode I had no trouble following running subjects, and the 6m to infinity switch came in handy when shooting deer through grass or other foreground distractions. The closest focusing distance is 2.2m, which is decent at these focal lengths. Using the 200-500mm’s VR system delivered a significant benefit; at 500mmI got quite a fewsharp shots down at around 1/15sec, while almost all were perfect at 1/60sec; practically I would always increase ISO to get at least 1/100sec, but there’s scope not to. The f/5.6 aperture is a real boon, too; it gives a shallow depth-of-field and allows faster shutter speeds; another benefit is the support of the TC-14E 1.4x teleconverter, giving you an effective 280-700mm with autofocus at the central AF point (if your Nikon offers f/8 support). You can use the TC-17E and TC-20E teleconverters but AF won’t be supported. Focusing with the TC-14E fitted was identical in speed and accuracy. Handling-wise my main criticism was the speed of zooming. The ring is very large, well textured, and has a positive feel, but takes time to turn; a little under 180° to go from 200-500mm. This equated to three turns, which is slow. The focus ring has a similar travel. In both cases

19 elements in 12 groups Special lens elements 3 ED Coatings Super integrated coating Filter size 95mm Aperture range f/5.6-32 Diaphragm 9 blades Internal focus Yes Manual focus Yes, with M/A full-time override Minimum focus 2.2m Focus limiter Yes, 6m to infinity Maximummagnification 0.22x Distance scale Yes Depth-of-field scale No Image stabiliser Yes (Normal and Sport) Tripod collar Yes Lens hood HB-71 bayonet hood included Weather-sealed No Dimensions (lxd) 108x267.5mm (closed) Weight 2.3kg Contact nikon.co.uk

Below At 500mm, there’s plenty of reach, so you can fill the frame with your subjects, and the VR system provides sharp results down into the tenths of seconds range.

adjustments are accurate and in A/M mode you can easily apply manual focus adjustments after locking on with AF. The barrel extends around 8cm at 500mm, but has a reassuring solidity, and focusing is all internal. Another niggle is that the lens’s buttons are too far from the zoomring, which again slows operation. In our test, there was excellent sharpness at 200mm wide open, falling off fractionally at the edges. This sharpness was held onto until a little after f/11, falling off as diffraction set in. At the mid-range it’s sharpest between f/8 and f/11, but softens more towards the corners. This trend was repeated at 500mm with a little sharpness at f/5.6 and reaching the highest clarity at f/11. As you’d expect, the lens vignetted most noticeably at f/5.6, but this was minor and easily correctable. Flare and fringing were well controlled, distortions were negligible, and overall image quality was pleasing. KS

How it rates Verdict For those insisting on the Nikon seal of quality, the 200-500mm provides superb build, mostly good handling and good, occasionally excellent, image quality. Images are well detailed and thanks to the VR’s 4.5-stop advantage, camera shake is kept at bay; you can shoot at surprisingly low shutter speeds and still achieve excellent results. Focusing is more accurate than it is swift, but performed well overall. Features Everything you could ask for of a lens at this price point and more Performance Not the fastest AF, but image quality is solid throughout Handling Good, but zoom ring is slow to turn and the buttons are too far from it Value formoney There are cheaper rivals, but you shouldn’t feel short-changed Overall A versatile, high-quality and relatively affordable zoom for sports and wildlife Pros Build, price, image quality Cons AF speed, weight, zoom ring speed 25/25 22/25 21/25 22/25 90/100

200mm, full-frame

350mm, full-frame

500mm, full-frame

The f/5.6 aperture is a real boon too; it gives a shallow depth-of-field and allows faster shutter speeds

200mm, f/5.6

350mm, f/5.6

500mm, f/5.6

200mm, f/11

350mm, f/11

500mm, f/11

Test images Shooting a detailed subject, the 200-500mm f/5.6 performed well, showing a good level of detail across the zoom range. At the long end where it’s likely to be used the most, the greatest sharpness was observed between f/8 and f/11.

200mm, f/22

350mm, f/22

500mm, f/22