Nikon 200-500: Why you need it. Nikon has gained huge popularity for its affordable and durable super telephoto zoom lenses during these past several years. However, the high-end prime lenses were available only to those on the richer side of the social spectrum. Due to this pricing issue, Sigma and Tamron have been the most budget-friendly options and were having a great impression on the market. But Nikon users were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief when this big brand decided to launch the Nikon 200-500mm.

This lens was introduced to the market in August 2015 and it was designed to serve wildlife, sports, events, and wedding photographers alike with top quality results. After testing its zoom quality during wildlife shoots, it has provided amazing results. This low priced super telephoto lens offers killer results for sports and event photography as well, and it is rated high among its class for its reach.

If you are a passionate wildlife photographer or just love to capture shots at longer ranges, the Nikon 200-500mm is the best choice for you. However, before making the final purchase, it’s a good idea to go through its essential features. These details will help you understand why you need Nikon 200-500mm lens.

Build Quality of Nikon 200-500mm lens:

When compared to other ultra zoom rivals, the Nikon 200-500mm provides a premium and durable feel with its quality design. The outer body is finished with metal and plastic material. As a bonus, you will find it light in weight. Indeed, its compact size makes it suitable for wildlife photographers as you’ll more often than not have to trek around before you find any wildlife. Although, manufacturers have not added weather sealing to this lens the specially designed rubberized gasket helps to keep it safe from dust and other harmful elements. On the left side of the lens, you will find various switches to adjust the VR and focus.  It also has a rubberized manual focus ring allows you to fine-tune your focus as you see fit.

Focusing Performance of Nikon 200-500mm lens:

Even when tested with a lower-end Nikon D5500 camera body during a bird shoot, it produced amazing results. Moreover, even when handheld, it is much easier to capture animals, and birds in flight with this super silent and high-quality lens because of its light weight design and decent speed. It has stunning AF settings that can capture perfectly sharp images even in lower light. After thorough testing, it has received a high rating for its incredible focusing ability, sharpness, and lightweight design. It performs amazingly as it can capture even the most hyperactive of birds and other wild animals. When you want to capture fine details from far away subjects, this lens can help you to achieve it with its ability.

Image Quality of Nikon 200-500mm lens:

As a wildlife photographer you cannot afford to lose image quality because of the fact that animals are so unpredictable. With higher ISO ranges, this camera lens is capable enough to ensure great sharpness for a number of lighting situations. You will be quite impressed by the  beautiful results this lens produces without facing any distortion up to the large focal range. Although, it may show minor vignetting but this minor issue can be easily corrected in Photoshop and Lightroom. The Nikon 200-500mm lens is the best choice for you with its impressive performance in all light conditions. It can easily focus on backgrounds as well with its broad aperture range.

Stability of Nikon 200-500mm lens:

There is no doubt about it; the Nikon 200-500mm lens is extremely light in weight so it becomes easy to handle in tough locations. When you want to capture a shot of a fast subject (animal, athlete, car, plane, etc.) during one of your shooting sessions, this camera lens will not disappoint you by leaving you blurry images. The manufacturers at Nikon have designed this camera lens with a lovely vibration reduction feature that will allow you to shoot stable images with higher sharpness and clarity when you’re not using a tripod. The reduced vibration ensures shake free camera performance. However, it doesn’t mean that you have to compromise for shutter speed. When paired with its amazing ISO, further testing revealed that its performance is above and beyond satisfactory with the vibration reduction. You can also access a switch to operate this camera in normal and sports mode as per need. The sports mode feature allows you to capture sharper photos and improves the stability of your lens during your camera’s burst mode. It forces whatever image you are targeting in the viewfinder to remain in focus and stable regardless of its speed. Note that the sports mode works wonders when capturing flying birds, moving jets, and cars, giving you amazing clarity.

Performance of Nikon 200-500mm lens:

If we talk about lens performance, the Nikon 200-500mm lens provides admirable results. Similar to Nikon’s other super telephoto zoom lenses, this lens also gives the sharpest photos at 200mm. Unfortunately, as to be expected, the performance starts degrading slowly once you start to move closer towards the 500mm range. However, this lens gives impressive sharpness all the way up to 500mm with only very minor blurring. This lens ensures highly accurate performance in all light conditions and it can meet your wildlife/sports photography needs with ease. The Nikon 200-500mm offers great optical performance in all atmospheric conditions.

Pros:

●       It offers amazing value for its price!

●       It is known for its excellent image stabilization ability.

●       This camera works well at closer ranges as compared to other competitors on the market.

●       Its lightweight design makes it suitable for a wide range of photography.

Cons:

●       It suffers slow focusing issue in backlighting and low light conditions.

●       Zoom range needs some improvement.

The Verdict:

Nikon 200-500mm lens is one of the best budget Nikon camera lens on the market that can offer you professional results. It is light in weight and offers extremely sharp images so that its users can capture the best action shots ever. Although, focusing becomes an issue at low light, the pros greatly outweigh the cons in this case. The Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 200-500mm f/5.6E ED is one of the best performing lenses in its price range. For anyone interested in sports/wildlife/action photography, this lens should be at the very top of your wishlist.

If you are planning to trek out for a wildlife photography tour, it is a good idea to carry your compact and lightweight Nikon 200-500mm lens with you. It will not let you down with its high-quality, print-worthy images with fine details and incredible sharpness up to its corners.