Nikon 200-500 with which camera ?

[Pistnbroke]

After a couple of years of frustration with the Tamron 150-600 G1....never consistent focus etc  I bought a Nikon 200-500 .
Now do I use it on the D7100 for more POI  or the D810.....buffering etc is not an issue for me .

Yes I can test and will but remember the 7 Ps  ...prior preparation prevents pi$$ poor photography

[Gary Irwin]

If you’re mostly into static shots, either camer will work of course. I personally much prefer FX, and the D810 is “still” a phenominal camera in terms of IQ. But if you’re planning on shooting lots of action well....I tried the 200-500VR on a D810 and the AF was abysmally slow. The 200-500VR works much better on the new generation of AF in the D5/D850/D500. Many have said the D500 is the ideal match for the 200-500VR if you’re into birds/wildlife. Arthur Morris wrote recently that the D5+200-500VR is the best BIF setup money can buy in his opinion.

[Pistnbroke]

not planning on buying more cameras until we see how Nikon go mirror less ...will wait and test  when it arrives unless anyone got  personal knowledge

[elsa hoffmann]

I shot with a D800 paired with the 200-500 for almost 2 years. Brilliant combo. But slow. IQ was seriously good.
I acquired a D500 which is now permanently paired with the 200-500.
IQ wise I prefer the D800. But lacking speed is an issue. I do believe the D500 is not quite where the D800 is. But it has other benefits. You might find the same with the D7100 - but it depends on what you shoot. If you have to push ISO, you will find the D810 better.

[Pistnbroke]

Well if you look at the Angry Photographer  today you will see all the math and the answer is the D7100

[Frank Fremerey]

After a couple of years of frustration with the Tamron 150-600 G1....never consistent focus etc  I bought a Nikon 200-500 .
Now do I use it on the D7100 for more POI  or the D810.....buffering etc is not an issue for me .

Yes I can test and will but remember the 7 Ps  ...prior preparation prevents pi$$ poor photography

ideal is the D500...

...she does produce terrific jpegs 😅

[Ilkka Nissilä]

The D810 does have group area AF which I found to work very well for action subjects, and the buffer is much more generous than in the D7100.

[Macro_Cosmos]

Ideally the D850 for resolution, D5 for speed, and D500 filling the gap between both.

But then, people with all 3 will reach for those behemoth sized primes.

I'd say a D500 would be great, D7200 is a nice camera too, if we want to keep the budget in check. 

[Frank Fremerey]

https://www.e-infin.com/eu/item/2954/nikon_d500_digital_slr_camera_body_(kit_box)

1326€ is a joke. And this is a reliable source. I paid 2700€ for it with grip, 1000€ more if you discount the grip, but I go her on day one. White balance and HighISO up to 20.000 usable plus super AF and 10 fps. The D500 is the way to go at that price. I would sure think hard about the choice between D750 and D500. The D750 has better tonality, but what is it worth in bad light if the White Balance is off? Looking at ISO  20.000 the D500 beats even the D850, because the big sister has a lot of chrominance noise. The high ISO champion is the D5 and her tonality is outworldishly great. Combined with the Exspeed 5 White Balance she is the champion. but resolution? Tonality at low ISO? Operational Noise without a blimp??? gosh. bad, bad D5

[Frank Fremerey]

https://www.e-infin.com/eu/item/2991/nikon_d5_dslr_camera_body_double_xqd_version_(dual_xqd_slots)


wow that is a sweet price spot. I am hard pressed to resist. next year for sure.

[OCD]

After a couple of years of frustration with the Tamron 150-600 G1....never consistent focus etc  I bought a Nikon 200-500 .
Now do I use it on the D7100 for more POI  or the D810.....buffering etc is not an issue for me .

Yes I can test and will but remember the 7 Ps  ...prior preparation prevents pi$$ poor photography

I'd say use the 200-500mm on your D7100 and roll with it.  If it falls short in some regard, like AF or what not, then you can consider a D7500 or D500.  But I'd use what I have and evaluate based on using the lens.  FWIW:  I like the approach of buying the lens, and then using the existing gear and deciding for oneself if they need more features of a more expensive or newer camera body. 

[MILLIREHM]

Do you really need a new camera body?
If so I'd consider the D500 to be a perfect match. You get a relatively compact body, fast AF and 10fps  - without battery pack!! With the MBD-17 you get better balance on big glass and more pics per charge but not more fps - the cropped range of the 200-500 is also favorable. No need to upgrade to an FX body because of this lens
Of course the D5 or D5S is fitting this lens perfectly and has faster AF but does not travel and hike like the D500 does.
D8xx can be used as well, fps is slow, and you can easily switch to DX if needed. D800(E) and MB_D12 plus EN-EL 18 gives you 6fps instead of 4 when set to DX-mode.
BTW: For some purposes the 200-500 is a better choice even when  "behemoth sized primes" are available

[Frank Fremerey]

Only downside of the lens is 2300 gramms weight

[Pistnbroke]

OCD    dead on me thinks ..with Nikon mirror less DX on the horizon I don't intend to change the D7100 yet ..I have one as a spare for the weddings and use the other to do the service video.

As for other comments though useful and thanks  it reminds me of marking exam questions ....read the question  !!!

PS   I thought one of you would have picked up on the 7Ps    because there are only 6 ....that's the joke ..lack of preparation

[MILLIREHM]

Only downside of the lens is 2300 gramms weight

Well the lens has got more downsides:
It extends while zooming - not optimal when you are in a hide

it lacks other "pro"-Features:
it has no AF-lock keys (Big glas and the 70-200 has, the 80-400 doesnt)
the lens shade mount has no lock
the tripod mount has just one thread (well the collar should be extended anyway=

given the weight it has no mount for a lens strap - it should have because it is too heavy to be carried hangig on the cameras bayonet (all third party replacement collars are without this feature as well) - i know that some people mount a strap on the tripod mount but I don' t like that approach

It weights 2300 gramms but the 200-400 has 3200 and is less compact.

NEVERTHELESS
I see it as a perfect combo between range, speed (fixed aperture), size, weight, image quality, (and price) often the #1 of my choice - and I like the soom mechanism , it  goes smooth and usable (i didnt like that on the Sigma 150-600 SPORTS for instance) and it has one of the best VR modules (if needed, I switch it off most of the time) - perfect lens for handheld bird-in-flight shots