Nikon 200-500

[Matthew Currie]

I love mine for birds, but it seems every time I even look at the lens with the idea of mounting it, every bird in the county flies away.  I've gotten a few specks of BIF that suggest it would be nice and sharp if I ever got within a half mile, and I got a nice mourning dove butt, but so far I feel like a one-man ecological disaster.

I have not used this as much as I'd like to, since winter in Vermont is pretty poor for it, but my initial impression is that it's nice and sharp, the AF is decent but not lightning fast, and the VR is superb. 

[elsa hoffmann]

Matthew, I also find that at some places you simply don't get near any kind of bird.
And then some species (Moorhen) have been eluding me since the day of creation. I simply get to see it's tail end and then it's gone.

Perhaps you need to travel  - I have photographed more than 40 species just in my garden - and I haven't even got them all, but I like to travel to get the exotic stuff I dont have in my garden

[Matthew Currie]

Of course I overstate a little, thought it's not been the best birding year ever.  I did get out to the pond with the intention of grabbing a very colorful duck, which had of course flow away before I got there, but at least I managed to spot a couple of sparrows.

Nothing very special, but I still find it amazing that I can hand hold 500 millimeters at 1/160 and get anything at all! 

[Hugh_3170]

Elsa, I must say that I am enjoying your bird images, especially those of the Malachite sunbirds in  these and some earlier posts of yours.

Their long curved beaks remind me a little of the Australian wattlebird, which is also a nectar feeder, but not so nicely coloured. 

I think with bird photography that sometimes even getting a image of an elusive species is quite an achievement, let alone  good images such as yours and those from others that have been posted here.   

[elsa hoffmann]

Matthew - I doubt I could get a bird sharp at 1/160... your little one looks really good!
I am cruising around 1/2000 to get decent shots - which means light is an issue at times. I do find the tracking slow - tried some yesterday - but have to admit that at least half the problem is me - not the lens.

Hugh - thank you for the compliment and comment. You are right  - as bird photography is fairly new to me (with a long lens) I am still getting the more usual stationery shots. I am trying to work on more interesting ones - and maybe one day I will actually recognize and notice more elusive species ...

I have NO clue what the LBJ's  are - but it seems they are gathering for migrating elsewhere.

 

[PeterN]

That last one is an impressive shot

[elsa hoffmann]

Thank you kindly Peter.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Never thought of Elsa as a birder. Must reconsider. Times they are a-changing.

When I do my feeble attempts at suchlike creatures they all are gone in the blink of an eye.

[ColSebastianMoran]

For birds. Yes, for birds. I like mine a lot. Here's an example, a big crop from a D7200 image at 500mm:

[Akira]

Elsa, I love the "birds of a feather flock together" shot in the last batch!

[BW]

This lens is not only suitable for birds. For me at least, its also a landscape lens.

[Frank Fremerey]

Borge: love the shot. Light and haze create a special atmosphere, composition creates a great sense of space.


Aprat from that: Can you tell us something about the AF? Speed? Precision? Hit Rate?

[Jakov Minić]

Børge's 50 shades of grey. Really nice!

[BW]

Borge: love the shot. Light and haze create a special atmosphere, composition creates a great sense of space.


Aprat from that: Can you tell us something about the AF? Speed? Precision? Hit Rate?

Price is always a part of the equation, and for the price of this lens it must be catch for anyone aspiring to be a wildlife photographer. Price apart, the AF-performance is not up to the task for fast action unless you are prepared (prefocused). But nowadays almost everybody stay at paid hides and the lens is fully up to that task. Its also light and quite easy to bring along on longer hiking trips. The VR is excellent and I wish I had the VR performance on my 600.

[pkol]

What a great photo Borge. I like the different layers/shades and the way they are going from very dark to bright to dark again... And the buildings in the foreground enhance the sense of vastness. Brilliant!