Features
Handling
Performance
Verdict
Specification
A 500mm lens is never going to be a truly compact lens, but the new Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR is certainly, relatively speaking, as compact as it could get. It is also quite light for such a lens, so much so that the initial impression when first picking it up is a very favourable one. This is achieved in large part by the use of lighter, more conventional glass, with the addition of the Phase Fresnel element that offers a new way to control the CA (Chromatic Aberration) that has always been the bane of long telephoto optics. An intriguing solution, so let's see how the end result holds up and if the performance matches up to the theory.
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR Handling and Features
Weighing in at 1460g without hood or caps, or 1550g with hood, the lens immediately impresses with its lightness and fairly compact size. This matches very well with the Nikon D810 36MP body used for this review. The lightness is a real aid to handling and the lens could be used for many hours, hand held, without undue fatigue.
The hood is generously sized and fits via a bayonet mount to the front of the lens. There is a locking catch for added security. Within the bayonet, a standard 95mm diameter filter thread is provided.
As we move along the lens barrel towards the camera body, first up are four equally spaced buttons that all behave identically to engage whatever focus function is selected with the Focus Function Selector switch, more of which later. Behind this is the wide manual focus ring. Focusing is down to 3 metres, or 9.8 feet. The focusing can be set in various ways, but again more of this later. AF is provided via a Silent Wave Motor and this largely locks on with fast, silent precision. However, in lower light there can be a degree of hunting, especially when using Live View. Distances are indicated on a compact scale behind a clear plastic window. There is no depth of field scale.
Behind this we find a variety of switches. The focus mode selector offers A/M (AF priority – manual focus can be used at any time but the focus ring has to be substantially moved for this to happen), M/A (Manual priority – AF can be instantly overridden by MF) or MF (Manual Focus only).
The Focus Limit switch offers the choice of Full or of limiting the focusing to a longer range of 8m to infinity. The limiter will help to speed up AF for longer range subjects.
The Vibration Reduction switch offers three settings – Off (used when fixed to a tripod), Normal (Still subjects and general use) and Sport (Moving subjects and panning).
The Focus Function switch defines the function of the four switches at the front of the lens. AF-L is focus lock, Memory Recall recalls the focus position set using the memory recall button and AF-ON starts AF operation.
There is a rotating tripod collar with tripod mount, and as usual this rotating collar is very useful when moving between landscape and portrait orientations.
Finally, the Memory Recall button can be used to store a given focus distance, and then recalled instantly using any of the four buttons at the front of the lens. An example of use might be to select a particular branch that a bird tends to return to, enabling the instant selection of the appropriate focus distance as and when needed. The distance is kept in memory even when the camera is switched off or the lens removed.
This is an E lens, indicating an electromagnetic diaphragm. This ensures swift and accurate aperture openings even under high frame rates. The diaphragm blades are rounded to help improve bokeh. VR (Vibration Reduction) is claimed to give four stops advantage, a very useful feature in a long lens in particular. However, it is worth bearing in mind that VR will be of no help to reduce subject movement, so, for example, birds and other wildlife will still need fast shutter speeds to arrest movement.
Optical construction is 19 elements in 11 groups, including 3 ED (Extra Low Dispersion), 1 PF (Phase Fresnel), elements with nano-crystal coatings and a Fluorine coating on the front element to repel water, dirt and grease. The PF element is something new, this being only the second Nikon lens to use it, and is credited with enabling the manufacture of a more compact, lighter lens. In terms of handling, this is fantastic. The downside indicated is that whilst CA can be well controlled, there can be coloured ring flare as a consequence. This can be minimised using PF Flare Control software, which is fair enough, although it does strike me that ten years or more from now, whoever buys such a lens second hand may find it more difficult to be aware of or find the software solution. With the cost of the lens in mind, the question of how it behaves without the correction has at least to be looked at. The answer is that during the review period no ring type flare was noted.
The lens is compatible with Nikon's teleconverters TC-14E III, TC-20E III and TC-17E II.
It is hard to fault the lens in terms of its handling. Restricting the aperture to f/5.6 and the unique optical design both help to ensure a more compact, lighter lens. Hunting in lower light is a bit of an issue, as is a tendency to suffer loss of contrast against the light, but in good light and with normal subjects it is just so easy to use that it is a pleasure.
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR Performance
The lens is consistently sharp, edge to edge being very even. Both centre and edge are very good from f/5.6 to f/16 and it is only beyond there that it softens. f/22 and f/32 are not as crisp, but they are usable where depth of field is the priority.
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR MTF Charts
How to read our MTF chartsThe blue column represents readings from the centre of the picture frame at the various apertures and the green is from the edges.The scale on the left side is an indication of actual image resolution as LW/PH and is described in detail above. The taller the column, the better the lens performance. For this review, the lens was tested on a Nikon D810 using Imatest. |
CA (Chromatic Aberration) is very well controlled both centre and edge. There are conventional lenses that may have even lower CA, but at a real cost in bulk and weight. The lens has a PF element to reduce CA without having to use special, heavier glass. This enables a smaller, lighter lens, and the PF element is clearly working very well.
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR Chromatic Aberration Charts
How to read our CA chartsChromatic aberration (CA) is the lens' inability to focus on the sensor or film all colours of visible light at the same point. Severe chromatic aberration gives a noticeable fringing or a halo effect around sharp edges within the picture. It can be cured in software.Apochromatic lenses have special lens elements (aspheric, extra-low dispersion etc) to minimize the problem, hence they usually cost more. For this review, the lens was tested on a Nikon D810 using Imatest. |
Distortion is +0.40% pincushion, an excellent result for a telephoto lens.
Bokeh is an interesting mix, with beautiful, smooth gradation where there are large masses of tone in the background. The only slight question mark is with areas of very fine detail, such as a backdrop of fine branches and twigs, which can tend towards looking a bit “busy”.
Flare was not generally observed in normally lit subjects, but backlight did cause a significant lowering of contrast.
Vignetting is not an issue, starting off at -0.7 EV at open aperture, reducing to -0.4 at f/8 and then less than one third of a stop throughout the rest of the range.
VR (Vibration Reduction) delivers the promised four stops advantage with ease. This enables some amazingly slow shutter speeds with still subjects, but moving ones will, as mentioned above, still need high shutter speeds.
In summary, an excellent overall performance. We will be adding more photos shortly.
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR Sample Photos
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR Aperture range
Value For Money
The AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR is priced at £3699. To put that in perspective, the AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/4 FL ED VR has a rather larger price tag of £9199.
Nikon users could well be tempted by the AF-S Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR at £1299, although the new lens does actually perform rather better than the zoom, there's no denying that the price difference is significant.
To complete the price picture, there are a few other lenses on the market that help us to judge the level of the new Nikkor.
HD Pentax-DA 560mm f/5.6 ED AW, £3709
Canon EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM, £8599
Sigma 500mm f/4 DG OS HSM Sport, £4999
The new Nikkor lens is not cheap for sure, but it does justify its price level and is competitive.
For more options have a look at the Top 14 Best Nikon Lenses, or have a look at the Top 10 Best Super Telephoto prime lenses.
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR Verdict
It's a powerful package; light, compact, efficient and very high quality. It is probably one of the easiest 500mm lenses to use as a consequence of the reduced weight and size, as they are specialised lenses that challenge us photographically to get the best out of them. Even on a tripod, the slightest nudge will send the images into paroxysms of shake, so achieving the sharpest results needs the sharpest techniques.
Hand held, the VR system locks on admirably and makes a huge difference to the success rate.
All in all, the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR is a tremendous ultra-telephoto lens that is Highly Recommended.
|
The Nikon AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR is a light and compact 500mm lens ideal for sports and wildlife shooting. |
Own this lens? Let us know what you think of it in the EQDB.
Spotted a mistake? Let us know in the EQDB.