Mongo's Nikon 200-500mm has arrived !

[mongo]

Proof that even if you have been naughty and perhaps eaten one or two endangered species (that you promised not to), you may still get your wish for this lens.

The images will be in this and the second post in this thread as there are 8 in total


the ruler in the images is a 300mm ruler. The camera body is a D4s.


So image 6 is about 310mm all up


image 7 is about 400mm (with the hood)


image 8 is about 490mm (lens extended with hood)


Mongo thought he would be unhappy with the foot but must say , on first impressions, it seems sturdy but Mongo has yet to try it attached to a tripod in a real life situation. It will still need changes to attach to most current systems.


One instantly noticeable thing is the weight. Mongo was expecting it to be heavier. Mongo suspect it is heavier than his senses compute. Mongo thinks the main reason for that is that the lens is short, stocky, has great balance in the paws/easy handling and thus may give the impression of being lighter. For whatever reason, it is better than Mongo had prepared for on this issue.


Also had the quickest of looks through it and took a few random images. Again, the VR is instantly noticeable in its effect - very good. Focus seems pretty fast and sure. Sharpness also gives the impression (subject to some fine testing and pixel peeping) to be as good as has been said about it. Mongo needs to really try it wide open and then , say, up to 1 stop down in 1/3 increments. Also, must try the 1.4EII on it as a realist converter for practical use. Mongo is sceptical about the practicability of any bigger converter (even though it may work with the lens).

It comes with a soft pouch (with a stiff front for lens protection)


Lastly, no zoom creep.


A lot more to come when properly tested.


If you have any reasonable questions Mongo can try to give an answer to, please ask them. Mongo notes that they may be the type of question that will require him to look into while testing in the next short while.


regards

Mongo

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[mongo]

last 3 images

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[thegrump]

Now all you have to do is build a room, it which to house it.

[Gazza]

From a Canon owner... "But but but it's Blek..." :D


Now a little more serious.... Hope all goes well with your new purchase/toy/creative device - :th3:

[cupic]

MOngo Mongo.Seems the early bird catches the worm
With luck Xmas this year more stock to arrive ...Always looking at the worst case scenario
Will look closely @ the TC 1.4 II same what i have and the results in your test
95mm opening looks encouraging

cheers

[thegrump]

Just curious!!!!! is your arm long enough to manually focus this beast

[Cage]

I'm just a tad envious.

Very interested to see the results at the long end, and in particular with your 1.4 T/C.

[Mary Anne]

Happy Shooting and all that.

[mongo]

Mongo will post some very quick initial images but there is much more that needs to be investigated over coming days.


These are from D800E. Only problem is that Mongo forgot and left the camera set to “normal Jpeg” rather than RAW. So, this is not what Mongo is used. However, felt it was best to post these with small explanations along the way with each image. Hope it hops until Mongo shoots more images in Raw.


The first in each pair of images is an UNPROCESSED jpeg taken from a screen shot in order to see the focus point.


The second image is a slightly processed version of the original Jpeg (and remember, Mongo is not used to processing jpegs). He has, as much as possible processed them in the way he would have processed Raw images. There is a slight noise reduction, a mild high pass sharpening at 0.3 of a pixel and the it is a 100% crop of the original. All images taken handheld VR on

Again, this may require several posts in this thread to be able to post all the images.

first pair @500mm, f5.6, 1/800th, ISO400
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second pair @500mm f8, ISO640, 1/500th
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See next post

[mongo]

continuing from previous post

third pair @500mm with 1.4EII converter @f8 (ie wide open) , ISO1100, 1/800th
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fourth pair @500mm with 1.4EII converter @f11 (ie i stop down) , ISO2000, 1/800th
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Mongo found that the 1.4EII converter worked very well. Focus was reasonably quick, image quality wide open to be good (becoming very good by stopping down 1 stop). It may be possible that the image quality may have been just as good stopping down less than 1 full stop but have not yet tested for that.

results with 1.7 EII and 20EIII will be posted shortly

[mongo]

D4s with 200-500 and 1.7EII converter.

500mm (850mm equivalent) @f11 (effectively stopped down about 2/3 of a stop), ISO2200, 1/1000th @ 100% crop
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500mm (850mm equivalent) @f11 (effectively stopped down about 2/3 of a stop), ISO800, 1/1000th @ 100% crop
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Important things to keep in mind:-
all were handheld with VR on
focus did hunt a bit and had to be manually overridden in "MA" mode but this was done easily and sometimes, the lens would find focus unassisted
it was quite overcast and raining at the time the images were taken and light was not the best

For the above reasons, Mongo has delayed the 20EII shots as he feels a lot of the result may be due to these factors - not the least of which hime trying to focus with his finger while holding the lens he has not used before.

One thing Mongo can say with reasonable certainty (and he hopes this will be proved subsequently) is ;-

1. the 1.7 and X2 converters do work even if they may need manual assistance or even used manually outright
2. the 1.7 can give very good results that Mongo would be happy to get
3. the X2 converter (and to some extent, the 1.7 converter) seem to need some degree of AF fine tuning from Mongo's initial experience. However, it remains to be seen if this is the case or simply Mongo's fault and the conditions being less than ideal on the day. Either way, Mongo is very optimistic about the future for use with these converters.
4. the question that still remains after all this is the SPEED of AF with these converters. This will require some specific testing to be done soon.
5. all initial feedback from this lens (including build quality which Mongo failed to mention) is quite positive and begs further exploration.


Keep tuned

[Lance B]

Congrats on the new toy, Mongo! The results look very encouraging, as are the results I have seen elsewhere. Look forward to having a little play with it when we next meet up. :)

[mongo]

Congrats on the new toy, Mongo! The results look very encouraging, as are the results I have seen elsewhere. Look forward to having a little play with it when we next meet up. :)


thanks Lance - look forward to it.

[Cage]

Some pretty impressive results there Mongo for a quick 'n' dirty test. :th3:

I'll be following this thread with interest.

[mongo]

Just curious!!!!! is your arm long enough to manually focus this beast

yes

[feathers]

Mongo,... just when l think l have my gas problem under control, ... you post another beauty:eek.
a great presentation. :nod:

[mongo]

Mongo,... just when l think l have my gas problem under control, ... you post another beauty:eek.
a great presentation. :nod:


feathers ...did you mean "glass" or do you really mean "gas" .....??? either way, Mongo has problems with both ! :D Having said that, so far, Mongo thinks this new glass is a gas ! (does that expression show Mongo's age ???)

[knumbnutz]

Whats it like side by side and weight wise to the 70-200f2.8 VR ?

[mongo]

Whats it like side by side and weight wise to the 70-200f2.8 VR ?

Mongo will give you an answer tomorrow morning

[Shelley]

Mongo has outdone himself... congrats... look forward to results in the field.

[mongo]

for Kumbnutz......here is the side by side comparison

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As you can see , the difference is substantial.

- 1.6kgs Vs 2.3kgs
- one is significantly wide and longer (particularly when you remember to add about 80mm to the length of the 200-500 when fully extended to 500mm (see image #5 above) whereas the 70-200mm does not change length when zooming)
- both are reasonably well balanced but the 70-200 holds its balance well at all focal lengths whereas the 200-500mm is likely to change a little when fully extended
- they are quite different lenses for different purposes and have their own character and handling characteristics.

[bigshowoz]

Congrats on your new toy , look forward to your review and pics . will this lens be good for sports ?

[mongo]

Congrats on your new toy , look forward to your review and pics . will this lens be good for sports ?


thanks bigshowoz. Mongo will be testing it largely on birding and surfing. That should be a reasonably good test for sports generally. Even now, Mongo thinks it will be an excellent sports lens (much as the 200-400mm was intended) . However, this is on the basis of a bare lens without teleconverters. Mongo he is pretty sure he can say that even now. However, that is not to say that it will not also be great with converters but this latter possibility remains to be tested.

[knumbnutz]

Thanks Mongo.
Super looking weapon. Interesting in comparison, i think while heavy-ish, it will balance well enough i suppose. It seems very similar to the sigma120-300F2.8 i have and I am sure the 600mmF5.6 of the sigma with TC will not be as good as 500F5.6 of the nikon. I have the older model, and keep thinking about options.... but I think the new model sigma may still appeal to me, but I would love side by side on this setup!

[mongo]

Thanks Mongo.
Super looking weapon. Interesting in comparison, i think while heavy-ish, it will balance well enough i suppose. It seems very similar to the sigma120-300F2.8 i have and I am sure the 600mmF5.6 of the sigma with TC will not be as good as 500F5.6 of the nikon. I have the older model, and keep thinking about options.... but I think the new model sigma may still appeal to me, but I would love side by side on this setup!

It would be nice to get a side by side comparison as you say. Now that the lens has been released and actually in stores, it is only a matter of time before you will find all the comparisons you can think of on the net. BTW, Mongo was all ready to purchase the Tamron 150-600 or the Sigma sport 150-600mm on the very day the new Nikon was announced. So, Mongo has no doubt that these other lenses would also be a fine choice for this sort of lighter long range quality lens. Good luck with your choices

[knumbnutz]

Good luck with choice.....na the luck needs to be with the money that i dont have for it!

[cupic]

To follow on from Mongo assessment here another from a pro Roy Mangersnes


https://roymangersnes.wordpress.com/2015/09/25/field-test-nikkor-200-500mm-f56e-ed/

Im impressed as I thought so and not with too many shortcomings

cheers

[cupic]

With more to come from Mongo testing I found a few more for any in doubt of this bargain zoom lens

http://www.feddestudios.com/blog/500

http://jesuise.tumblr.com/post/129717552776/review-of-new-nikon-200-500mm-f56-telephoto



If this was done earlier I would have been just behind Mongo on this lens hanging out so bad for this bad boy to come :(:(:(

cheers

[mongo]

a note of caution re some AF issues. Lens is now with Nikon to be assessed and calibrated.

Will let you know the outcome

[J.davis]

I wrote a huge thread reply to Mongo about the lens, but the system had a hic-up.
In a nutshell, The nikon lens would be equivalent to the Sigma 150-600 C.
The Sigma USB Dock will adjust many things including, focus at different ranges and distances , and AF and speed.
This is IMO a better setup for the average user, and about $!k cheaper.
Mongo, I believe the old saying about 'changing bodies' is now null and void, as the bodies resolve much better these days and are getting better.
Todays bodies give a far better picture, even with basic lenses.

[cupic]

Spoke to the shop where the orders pending and it seems the slow boat from
Nikon is even slower for the unlucky ones down under......I mean cmon Nikon
Our money dollar/yen is still good .Send over more ASAP before the Sigma 150-500 S gets a call up
Signed
Im Depressed :hb::hb:

[mongo]

Spoke to the shop where the orders pending and it seems the slow boat from
Nikon is even slower for the unlucky ones down under......I mean cmon Nikon
Our money dollar/yen is still good .Send over more ASAP before the Sigma 150-500 S gets a call up
Signed
Im Depressed :hb::hb:


remember what Mongo said above re the potential AF issues. Mongo would hold off if he were you until Mongo finds out what is wrong. Mongo has the feeling his 200-500 was not the only one to report an AF problem.
Mongo will let you know soon enough what the outcome is. Until then, Mongo would not be in such a hurry if he were you.

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I wrote a huge thread reply to Mongo about the lens, but the system had a hic-up.
In a nutshell, The nikon lens would be equivalent to the Sigma 150-600 C.
The Sigma USB Dock will adjust many things including, focus at different ranges and distances , and AF and speed.
This is IMO a better setup for the average user, and about $!k cheaper.
Mongo, I believe the old saying about 'changing bodies' is now null and void, as the bodies resolve much better these days and are getting better.
Todays bodies give a far better picture, even with basic lenses.

thanks John. Mongo would think that the 200-500 properly working is more parallel to the Sigma 150-600 sport which is much heavier and more expensive. Mongo is hopeful they will sort this out soon.

[cupic]

I spoke to DCW and the earliest shipment is Dec
As the Sigma S is mucho more I be waiting on your update
Hopefully wont have to wait too long on Nikon response to you
BTW where did you source it from?
cheers

[Cage]

Geez mate, I hope Nikon get it sorted for you pronto hasto.

How disappointing for you. :(

[Lance B]

I tried Mongo's 200-500 last weekend and I was most impressed by it's resultant image quality. It was only a short play whilst we concentrated on the Pardalote family in lowish light and the lens focused reasonably well, but it was on my D810 which in known to have better AF than Mongo's D800E. I don't mean to hijack Mongo's thread, but here are a few samples from that day.

D810 + 200-500 f5.6 @ 500mm, f8, 1/250sec, ISO1000 Monopod

http://www.pbase.com/lance_b/image/161402604/original.jpg

A crop to a more pleasing size, IMO

http://www.pbase.com/lance_b/image/161402605/original.jpg

100% crop of original photo:

http://www.pbase.com/lance_b/image/161402606/original.jpg

D810 + 200-500 f5.6 @ 500mm, f8, 1/250sec, ISO2000 Monopod

http://www.pbase.com/lance_b/image/161402607/original.jpg

Cropped to a more pleasing size, IMO:

http://www.pbase.com/lance_b/image/161402608/original.jpg

100% crop of original photo:

http://www.pbase.com/lance_b/image/161402609/original.jpg

D810 + 200-500 f5.6 @ 500mm, f8, 1/250sec, ISO2000 Monopod

http://www.pbase.com/lance_b/image/161402610/original.jpg

Cropped to a more pleasing size, IMO:

http://www.pbase.com/lance_b/image/161402611/original.jpg

100% crop of original photo:

http://www.pbase.com/lance_b/image/161402612/original.jpg

[cupic]

To me IMHO it may be body problem and not glass
Time will tell
BTW lance I can almost see the birds smile when you arrive on the scene :)

cheers

[J.davis]

Lance, how far are you from the subject, and how much PP has been done.
The NSW versions of the birds seem to be more 'polished' than those I have found.

[Lance B]

To me IMHO it may be body problem and not glass
Time will tell
BTW lance I can almost see the birds smile when you arrive on the scene :)

cheers

Thank you very much for your kind comment, cupic!

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Lance, how far are you from the subject, and how much PP has been done.
The NSW versions of the birds seem to be more 'polished' than those I have found.

I'd say I was about 4.5 mts away. My normal amount of processing is applied, the same as what I woud do for any other lens. That involves, saturation, WB adjust, exposure/highlight adjust in the RAW converter and saved to 16bit TIFF. Then in Photoshop I may use some noise reduction, levels adjustment and tweak colour balance, then reduce for web and lightly sharpen.

[J.davis]

Bit more work than I do, Thanks for the info.
I don't get that close, but I try. :)

[mongo]

I spoke to DCW and the earliest shipment is Dec
As the Sigma S is mucho more I be waiting on your update
Hopefully wont have to wait too long on Nikon response to you
BTW where did you source it from?
cheers


got it from Digital Camera Warehouse ($1700)

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Geez mate, I hope Nikon get it sorted for you pronto hasto.

How disappointing for you. :(


Only a little disappointed for inconvenience. It should be sorted out.

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very big thanks for posting your images with this lens and your 810 Lance - it will give the members a far spread of results.

Also, As Cubic has said, it may be body and not glass issues. The lens itself is sharp enough as Lance's results and some of Mongo have shown. IT IS THE AUTO FOCUS ACQUISITION SPEED AND ACCURACY ON MOVING OBJECTS THAT IS THE CURRENT PROBLEM. The lens works very well on stationary objects.

here is a simple image taken wide open at f5.6 at 500mm

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[cupic]

From CameraLabs
Focus, build quality, and image stabilization

Focus accuracy and repeatability is critical to consistently produce sharp shots. Repeatability (the accuracy of focus on the same subject after repeated focus-acquisition) of this lens is very good (measured 97,2% in FoCal) with no outliers over a series of 40 shots. And there is no performance variation whether the lens focuses from infinity or from a closer distance. At 500mm focal length the lens focuses in around 1 sec from infinity to 5m, which is slow. One reason is that the lens starts searching in the wrong direction (beyond infinity) before turning around. That happens at focal lengths longer than 300mm and only when the previous focus was close to infinity. At 300mm the lens focuses in about 0.7 sec from infinity to 5m which is good.
Unfortunately my tests showed that the shutter slap of the D810 still introduces unwanted blur at shutter speeds around 1/25. So be careful and use electronic first curtain to eliminate this source of shake if you shoot from a tripod.

And from photo.net

If you have a static subject under dim light, those cross-type AF points will lock focus ok as long as your subject has decent contrast. Any moving subject under dim light is going to be very problematic.

BTW Lance you have a fan again on

http://photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00dVDu?start=50

Greg S , Oct 02, 2015; 12:33 p.m.

These were the photos that caused me to put in an order for the 200-500. I have held out on buying a travel zoom for many years, but the price/performance on this one makes it an easy decision.
http://www.pbase.com/lance_b/nikon_200_to_500


Will research a bit more to see if any other AF problems exist but still stills me that glass is good

cheers

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[QUOTE=mongo;1317741]got it from Digital Camera Warehouse ($1700)

Yes ( Me too)

I thought so that Mongo used the internet to deal the best deal still Dec unless the Nikkor gods decides to increase the supply to us


cheers

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And from a well respected Brad Hill

http://www.naturalart.ca/voice/blog.html#200-500FIRST

Will be reading his opinion end of month

cheers

[Lance B]

Unfortunately my tests showed that the shutter slap of the D810 still introduces unwanted blur at shutter speeds around 1/25. So be careful and use electronic first curtain to eliminate this source of shake if you shoot from a tripod.

And from photo.net

If you have a static subject under dim light, those cross-type AF points will lock focus ok as long as your subject has decent contrast. Any moving subject under dim light is going to be very problematic.

BTW Lance you have a fan again on

http://photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/00dVDu?start=50

Greg S , Oct 02, 2015; 12:33 p.m.

These were the photos that caused me to put in an order for the 200-500. I have held out on buying a travel zoom for many years, but the price/performance on this one makes it an easy decision.
http://www.pbase.com/lance_b/nikon_200_to_500




Thank you for the info, Cupic. Greg S actually contacted me on PBase. :)

I had seen the Brad Hill blog, he seems to like the 200-500 very much.

[oneeyedphoto]

Thanks very much Mongo for posting the use of this with the 1.7, which is exactly what I've been trying to find image samples on with this lens. :th3:Looks like it's a winner in good light, so wondering how you found it in the overcast conditions since your original post? Are you still really happy with it or have you got a few more observations to share with us, now that you've lived with it a little longer? I'm thinking of getting one to use with the D800e & 1.7 combo.

[mongo]

Thanks very much Mongo for posting the use of this with the 1.7, which is exactly what I've been trying to find image samples on with this lens. :th3:Looks like it's a winner in good light, so wondering how you found it in the overcast conditions since your original post? Are you still really happy with it or have you got a few more observations to share with us, now that you've lived with it a little longer? I'm thinking of getting one to use with the D800e & 1.7 combo.

Sorry for the late reply but had not gone back to look at this thread until today. Yes, a lot has happened since the early posts. You may have noticed from some of Mongo's more recent threads featuring images with this lens that Mongo is quite happy with it now that it is calibrated and extra fine tuned to his cameras.

Mongo has found that in overcast type conditions it does not necessarily not work, it is like most other lenses that you just have to compensate with extra ISO or more open aperture to get the best results you can in those circumstances. Mongo would not recommend using a 1,7 converter on it as a regular thing. That is not to say you cannot but Mongo would not rely on it if that was the usual configuration you have in mind. It is OK for static subject and in very good light with converter but would not push it as a regular use in all conditions type use. Even Mongo has not since had reason to use any converter on this lens. What Mongo may tend to do instead (and he is not saying this is the best alternative), is to shoot in 30 X 20 crop mode on the D800E some times. At the time, Mongo used converters just for test purposes to see the parameters the lens could be taken to and still work acceptably. Hope this info helps