This is an overview of the Nikon 500mm f/5.6E PF VR lens. It has been four years since I sold my favorite Nikkor AF-S 300mm f/4D lens. Since then, bird photography for me was just a waiting game until I got a new lens. My only lens which allowed me to taste bird photography in the mean time was the Nikon AF-S 70-200 f/2.8G VR II along with 1.4x TC II – a makeshift combo for larger birds. When Nikon announced the 300mm f/4E PF VR lens, I thought about getting it together with the 1.4x TC III, but knowing that reach is always an issue with little birds, my dream was to get the exotic 500mm f/4E FL VR. However, budget was an issue for such a hefty purchase, and on top of that, the weight of 3.1 kg was also a rather big negative factor. Although a number of budget-friendly lenses with good reach potential like the Nikon 200-500mm, Sigma / Tamron 150-600mm came out in between, none of them were able to match the quality I am used to getting from my Nikon 300mm f/4D. So, it was more a waiting game and I continued to try to survive in the genre with my makeshift combo…
Then come August 2018, Nikon announces the 500mm f/5.6 PF VR wonder lens – one stop slower than the conventional 500mm f/4 model, yet only 1460gm in weight and about 9.5 inches in length! This time, it was a PF lens, similar to Nikon’s 300mm f/4E PF VR lens. The specifications, as well as the price excited me greatly, but I was very skeptical about the Phase Fresnel element and diffractive optics in general. “Generally they are not as good as, refractive lenses” – this is what I have been told.

NIKON D810 + 500mm f/5.6 @ 500mm, ISO 1000, 1/1000, f/5.6
After reading a few reviews, I decided to purchase the PF lens over the 500mm f/4E FL VR. But availability of this lens was a great problem. After waiting 6 months, I managed to get one with the help of my good friend. So I decided to share my thoughts about the lens on Photography Life after happily using it for a month. For a more scientific review with data, graphs and other useful information, I suggest to wait until Nasim gets a sample in his hands. But in the meantime, I hope you find my field experience with the 500mm f/5.6E PF VR useful.
Table of Contents
1. The Combination Used
First of all, I would like to point out that my thoughts are based on my hand-held set up with the Nikon D810 and the lens, without any teleconverters attached. Performance with newer bodies like Nikon D5, D500, D850 and with TC 1.4 III is yet to be seen on my end to come to any serious conclusion. I am not a full-time professional and I haven’t been spoiled by such exotics as the 400mm f/2.8, 500mm f/4, 600mm f/4 and 800 f/5.6, so do accept my review of the lens with a pinch of salt.

NIKON D850 + 500mm f/5.6 @ 500mm, ISO 360, 1/320, f/5.6
2. Build Quality / Cosmetics
The build quality is very good just like all modern pro lenses. The lens looks gorgeous! The curves on the lens remind of its big brother. To me this is one of the few best-looking lenses in Nikon’s line up.

NIKON D810 + 500mm f/5.6 @ 500mm, ISO 1600, 1/200, f/7.1
This lens has all the nifty features from other gold ring telephotos, such as memory lock button, 4 focus buttons up-front in different directions, AF-L and AF-ON switch etc, though I have not used these buttons yet.
The lens is claimed to be fully weather sealed, it has a rubber gasket on the rear mount and has fluorine coating on its front element to keep the debris and droplets away. Although I haven’t used it yet in very rugged and tough conditions, it should be able to handle those conditions very well. I like to mention here I opt not to put any protective filter (95mm) up-front for two reasons: first, due to probable impact on lens IQ and second, with this lens being a PF lens, another glass element might add more flare to images.
The hood is actually very good and has a lock mechanism like the 70-200mm f/2.8 but more robust than that. Having said that, I have seen pretty bad hoods like that of the Nikon 200-500mm, which is so frisky that it comes out on its own sometimes. The hood in my opinion is enough to protect the front element, if used carefully.
The tripod collar is the same old Nikon technology without Arca-Swiss compatibility. From the reports of few photographers, I came to know about the loose tripod collar, but after I tightened it with quite a bit of force, I have not seen it loosen once. I will see if it happens after prolonged use in the future, but in the mean time, I am taking precaution regarding that issue and I keep checking the collar intermittently.
The focus ring is buttery smooth. Sometimes it accidentally rotates while handling, so I prefer to switch to A/M mode instead of M/A.

NIKON D810 + 500mm f/5.6 @ 500mm, ISO 1000, 1/1000, f/6.3
3. Ergonomics
The lens is a joy to use! After using it for a few days, my Nikon 70-200 f/2.8G VR II seemed heavy like a brick. The design makes it feel lighter although this lens is just 80 grams lighter than my 70-200mm. The diameter of the barrel of the lens near the mount is narrower and gradually broader to its end, whereas the 70-200 is the same diameter throughout. The lens makes you more agile as a photographer and working with this lens makes you faster in the field. Until now, I have used it for hours on stretch and hiked for hours without any fatigue. Even when I wait for the moment to capture action, I can hand-hold it for a longer period of time than any other lenses I have used before. Only in certain conditions like in a hide or where repetitive action happens, you might need to use a tripod. For general day-to-day use, I don’t feel like the combo needs a tripod or a monopod for support.

NIKON D810 + 500mm f/5.6 @ 500mm, ISO 800, 1/800, f/5.6
4. Autofocus Speed
Autofocus is blazing fast in good light. How fast? By my rough estimates, it is as good, or better than the old 300mm f/4D and far faster than the 200-500mm when used without the limiter switch (Full i.e. ∞ to 3m). Both focus acquisition and tracking are excellent, as well as the focus accuracy. To be honest, I was not expecting an f/5.6 lens to focus this fast. When the focus limiter is set to ∞ to 8m the focus speed is blazing fast, particularly in group AF focus on the D810, both in terms of acquisition and tracking (although not as good as the 70-200mm f/2.8, but still very close). The accuracy seems perfect for birds in flight in the distance, although I have not yet gotten an opportunity to test any close action yet. I have not experienced any hunting whatsoever.

NIKON D810 + 500mm f/5.6 @ 500mm, ISO 1600, 1/1000, f/8.0
In less than ideal conditions, I mean in overcast / poor light, contrasty backlit object or when shooting under very shaded and dense canopy, the focus accuracy suffers and the focus speed gets slower, as expected. The lens also tends to hunt when shooting through grass blades or in extreme backlit conditions, just like any other lens would.

NIKON D810 + 500mm f/5.6 @ 500mm, ISO 200, 1/2000, f/5.6
My only reservation is in regards to the minimum focus distance of the lens – 3 meters is bit too far for my taste. However, long super telephoto exotics have even worse minimum focus limitations. Sometimes when the subject comes too near, I just cannot shoot – I struggle to fill the frame at or just above 3 meters with smaller sparrow-sized birds with my full frame camera.

NIKON D810 + 500mm f/5.6 @ 500mm, ISO 900, 1/1000, f/5.6
5. Vibration Reduction
One word: amazing! I previously read some reports regarding VR problems when shooting at slow shutter-speeds with the 300 f/4E PF VR, so I was bit worried if the same issue was present on the 500mm PF VR as well. Here is my quick report on the lens VR. There are three modes of VR: 1. Off, 2. Normal, 3. Sport. When shooting at high shutter speeds say 1/1000th of a second, VR Off is not a problem for me. Sports VR is superb. At 1/60 sec and above, even at 1/2000th, Sports VR does not impact IQ. That’s amazing and it really works flawlessly. Normal mode is where I guess one could encounter problems, which I noticed and this also echoes the same observation in the review of E. J. Peiker. In normal mode, 1/60 sec and less, it works like a charm when used carefully. The lowest shutter speed with which I managed to get a sharp photo was at 1/25th of a second – that’s amazing for a 500mm lens. But above 1/60th of a second to up to 1/240th of a second, Normal VR produces inconsistent results in my experience. As a result, I decided to keep Sports VR on by default. Anyway, that range of shutter speeds on a 500mm lens probably warrants the use of a tripod and freezing of a subject is not possible, so it is not a big issue for me.

NIKON D810 + 500mm f/5.6 @ 500mm, ISO 450, 1/800, f/5.6
6. Image Quality
6.1. Sharpness
As expected from a modern Nikon super telephoto, this is a very sharp lens. Though the term sharpness of a lens is relative and multi-factorial, I want to point out a few things. The lens is very sharp wide open at f/5.6. I could not find any reason to stop down to achieve maximum sharpness. The only time I stopped down was in good light and to increase the depth of field.
Though corner sharpness is not an issue for me in this type of a lens and for its intended use, I found corner sharpness to be superb for distant shots where the whole frame is in focus, like a distant landscape.

NIKON D810 + 500mm f/5.6 @ 500mm, ISO 200, 1/1000, f/8.0
Near subject: From near focusing distance to about 50 feet. The lens is tack sharp depending upon the subject and shooting discipline! The acuity is very good and so is the micro-contrast. It renders fine feather details of birds so good that at times I have to think twice to enhance edge contrast in post-processing.

NIKON D810 + 500mm f/5.6 @ 500mm, ISO 1000, 1/1000, f/6.3
Far subject: I wonder how this lens renders details of distant subjects further than 50 feet distance. I have never witnessed such sharpness of far away objects in other lenses I have used, provided there is no atmospheric haze, heat distortion and fog.

NIKON D810 + 500mm f/5.6 @ 500mm, ISO 200, 1/800, f/5.6
But I have observed in overcast condition and in contrasty-backlit condition the acuity and contrast seems to be a bit less than the lens is capable of.

NIKON D810 + 500mm f/5.6 @ 500mm, ISO 1250, 1/1600, f/5.6
I am a sharpness freak and believe the 300mm f/4 to be a very sharp lens. Also, I expect that the 500mm f/4 would be bit sharper than this PF at 100%. I have a mixed experience regarding the sharpness of the 200-500mm. Out of two copies I have used, I found one copy to be not sharp enough to satisfy my taste and the other was “just good enough”. Having said that, this PF lens is ahead of the 200-500mm in sharpness, but definitely not three times better as the price.
In my opinion, it’s a little sharper than the 300mm f/4 bare and considerably better than the 200-500mm when seen at 100% zoom. But social media spoil those details so much that you have to depend on the subject separation from the background to see the difference of f/4 and f/5.6 lenses.
One observation I have never experienced with any other combo is that the 500mm PF with the D810 body at times produces moiré in some particular pattern in the micro-details of feather. Not always, but on more than a few occasions:

NIKON D810 + 500mm f/5.6 @ 500mm, ISO 800, 1/1250, f/5.6
6.2. Color
This lens produces well saturated, neutral color, like all other modern lenses from Nikon in my observation. I personally like warmer tones from the old G type lenses, but images have very good contrast.
6.3. Out of Focus Highlights / Bokeh
This lens produces very smooth background when used properly. When the background is at infinity and far away from the subject, the Nikon 500mm f/5.6E PF VR produces buttery-smooth, uniform background. But when there are highlighted objects, like dried stems or any other contrast pattern in the background nearer to the subject, the rendition becomes harsher for my taste:

NIKON D810 + 500mm f/5.6 @ 500mm, ISO 1800, 1/640, f/5.6
In my little use I found specular highlights to be not that smooth in some shots. Highlight have marveling pattern in the body and have a dark highlight circle on the edges. In the center of the image, the bokeh shapes are circular and on the edges of the frame they are like cat’s eyes. This observation does not affect the final frame as this is visible once you want to see the bokeh balls at 100%.

NIKON D810 + 500mm f/5.6 @ 500mm, ISO 1600, 1/800, f/5.6

NIKON D810 + 500mm f/5.6 @ 500mm, ISO 200, 1/5000, f/5.6

NIKON D810 + 500mm f/5.6 @ 500mm, ISO 200, 1/5000, f/5.6
Overall, I found bokeh and out of focus rendering to be quite pleasing and a tad smoother than what the 200-500mm produces. I found bokeh to be much better than what the 300 f/4 with the TC 1.4x combo can produce from the same distance, which is expected.
6.4. Flare
Although PF lenses are prone to flare, I have not yet witnessed it in normal shooting scenarios. Once I deliberately point the lens directly towards a bright subject like the sun, I do find ugly polychromatic flare, but that’s not a very realistic shooting scenario.
6.5. Vignetting
The lens vignettes at its edge wide open, which is easily corrected in Adobe Camera Raw, version 11.2 with a single click.
6.6. Chromatic Aberration
I have not seen any signs of lateral chromatic aberration.
6.7. Distortion
I could not find any distortion issues to be worried about.
7. Conclusion
Though these are my initial days of use, if I have to be very critical, then I only have two negative points to bring up. Number one is the one stop slower aperture of light gathering capability, which can be an issue when shooting in low-light conditions. Number two again has to do with the aperture – the f/4 lenses have better subject separation capabilities in comparison to this f/5.6 lens.

NIKON D810 + 500mm f/5.6 @ 500mm, ISO 1250, 1/1250, f/5.6
But I am immensely impressed with the overall output of this feather-weight telephoto. It is a lightweight champion with fast autofocus, great build quality, fantastic image quality, it is a joy to use and it has wonderful out of focus rendering at f/5.6. Truly amazing and definitely worthy of very high praises.
8. Recommendation
There are better pros in the world to recommend lenses and I will wait to see what Nasim says in his upcoming review. I can only say that I found the lost zeal in bird photography after getting this lens. Every lens purchase is a compromise and no lens is perfect. But for a person like me who wants a lightweight, and cheaper (yes, not that cheap folks) lens, yet one that has the most features of f/4 exotic super telephoto lenses in a small and portable package, there is simply no competitor on the market as of now. The only issue is, you have to wait, because the lens is nowhere to be found – Nikon just cannot make enough of these! But trust me when I say that the wait is totally worth it… It’s a great little super-tele in its own right.

NIKON D810 + 500mm f/5.6 @ 500mm, ISO 1600, 1/1000, f/7.1
Hi Chandan,
I wanted to thank you for posting your review of the Nikkor 500PF and for sharing your bird images from Pangolakha Sanctuary. Your images are stunning. So are the birds themselves. They are distinct from those in Oregon, USA where I live.
Your experiences with your 500mm f/5.6 PF lens corresponds with mine. It is a very sharp lens, sharper than the 300mm f/4 PF and the sharper and quicker to focus than the Nikkor 200-500mm. The f/5.6 minimum aperture helps keep the lens small and light compared to the faster Nikkor 500mm f/4, but at the expense of subject separation, higher ISOs, dim light focus acquisition, and, teleconverter utility. The 500mm f/5.6PF lens is revolutionary and compelling; its upsides far outweigh its downsides for users needing a light, portable, sharp telephoto that is hand holdable. It is a game changer for many wildlife photographer.
I’m glad that you emphasized how well the lens handles compared to the Nikkor 200-500; the 500mm PF’s lighter weight AND the tapering design (with much narrower grip diameter) make it nicer and easier to hold in the hand than the 200-500 lens and very quick and easy to use in the field.
The major drawbacks of the lens construction of the 500mm f/5.6 PF is that it has a fragile, two-part barrel and has a failure-prone, quick release tripod foot. This lens, in particular, should not be dropped, but design of the stock tripod foot makes it likely that it will be. The 500mm PF tends to separate at the joint between the two parts of the barrel when dropped; the joint is located about 1cm behind the switches on the lens.
I recommend that the stock tripod foot either be removed entirely (if the lens will be hand held exclusively) or replaced with a non-quick release, Arca-Swiss compatible aftermarket tripod foot. The best that I have used is the newly released Hejnar H129-500. This Arca-Swiss compatible foot will not disengage unintentionally from lens like the stock foot (and other brands of quick-release feet). The H129-500 is the only foot that extends backwards far enough to balance the heaviest Nikon bodies (with teleconverter) on a gimbal head. The H129-500 also extends farther forward than the stock foot, making it easy to grip and carry this lens by foot. The Hejnar H129-500 is made in the USA and is available direct from Hejnar Photo: www.hejnarphotostore.com/produ…29-500.htm
Regards,
Alan Woods
Portland, Oregon, USA
Thanks a lot Alan. Really glad to know that your findings matches mine.
The 200-500VR is an excellent lens if you need a zoom, but the 500PF is the better lens; it’s sharper, takes the TC14EIII better (remarkably good even at f8) and is faster to focus. It’s MUCH smaller and lighter … almost shocking when you pick it up and handle it. VR effectiveness is possibly the only area where the 500PF comes up short against the 200-500. And did I say sharp? At closer ranges it’s as sharp as my 8.4lb 600/4E. No kidding. My only gripe is that it’s limited to f5.6.
Thanks taking the time to write a great article. I’ve rented the 200-500 on two occasions. Tried hand held without much success. Moving through the zoom range was an issue as well, at least for me. I have the 300PF and use it regularly with the TC 1.4III with no issues on my D500. “Played” with the 500PF for over 30 minutes while visiting B&H. Incredibly sharp with quick focus. Shot at f5.6 and f8 using the TC 1.4III. Left very impressed and planning on ordering when saved halfway to purchase price. Unfortunate wait time is so incredibly long.
I was surprised people dinged the 200-500 over the issue of internal dust. That is the nature of ALL lenses that are “breathers”. Most of the time this is a complete non issue in terms of real impact to images. In truth, if you have the right focal length, angle, distance to fence, and distance to subject, you can shoot through a chain link fence and it be just as sharp as if nothing was between you and the subject. I know – I have done it. Visible dust in a lens is more of a psychological issue than a practical one – in general. I’m not saying invite dust into the system – keep it clean and you minimize the risk, but I have yet to see it ever impact an image – especially when evaluating with a high res camera body (D800, D810, D850, etc.)
I wonder why autofocus is so slow with a 300mm f/2.8 + TC-20E III when this 500mm lens with the same effective maximum aperture (f/5.6) is so fast.
@ PL / Nasim:
I am following your website since it was recommeded to me by a photographer some years ago and I want to say thank you to you and all the guys putting so much time and energy in PL and for everything I learned from you starting from photography basics thourhg to purchaisng decisions.
Nevertheless I would like to ask you a question that might correlate with other people’s thoughts here:
May be I am wrong but for quite some time PL ssems to focus on all kinds of new stuff like mirrorless cameras and the corresponding lenses, which I can fully understand because it is a technology getting more and more into focus. However, there are quite a number of comments on the website saying more or less that for the nature and wildlife fraction the DSLR will most likely remain 1st choice for quite some time.
We all know that you are incredibly busy with all the things around PL and your “normal life” as a photographer, but against the background mentioned above it would be really great, if a PL test of the 500 PF would be done and published. After even normal nobodies like me can get the lens within days, it shouldn’t be a problem for a reknowned PL photographer to get hands on the required copies these days …
Hi Chandra,
I just want to thank you for this article, because to me it was the one of the first available resource for reliable information about this lens from a user perspective that seemed worth being taken in consideration. As you I am still looking forward to see test results from PL itself.
I rewarded myself for the work on a project that kept me away from home and phtotography for quite some time and by buying this lens an – believe it or not – between the decision to do it and holding it in my hands it took just three days. Sometimes the old school way of taking the phone and calling local delers in the surrounding really helps :-)
Because I got it shortly before XMAS the time to test it was limited. But all I can say is, that it is is a REALLY nice lens and a breeze to use. I own the 500 f4 G as well and all lenses go through AF fine adjustment with both of my D750 bodies before getting to serious use and the results are great. Putting the image quality in relation to the weight and handling of the lens I would actually prefer the 500 PF in most situations, because – as John Sherman wrote – the priority it is often to get the shot rather than to might have got the shot with perhaps 3% more image quality. The only limitation is that the lens is 1 full stop slower than its big brother which in dim light conditions drastically reduce the number of working AF sensors on the D750 once you have to got to f8 – either by stopping down or when using the use of the TC14 on it,
Regarding picture quality with TC 14 I haven’t had the chance to do much testing, but it looks like the picture quality is still very, very good. The only downside of it is that the number of keepers goes down when lighting conditions become difficult as the lens starts hunting earlier than it f4 counterpart with TC.
I know that this is very subjective and very much depends on the way somebody is using her/his equipment. But I had the 200-500 f5.6 and the 500 f5.6 PF here trying them side by side and I have sent back the 200-500 straight away after a couple of days. The 500 PF is my Xmas present 2019 :-)
Nice write up Chandra. After waiting for 1 year my dealer in Hyderabad, Indian rang me up few days back to say that he can deliver the 500 PF by 06 Oct.I can not wait to get my hands on it for the birding season which has juts started .We just returned from Great rann of Kutch ,India after shooting the passage migrants.Wish we had the lend before that.Both (self & wife) always like to move around for observing & shooting birds & this lens is exactly meant for that
I like John Monfort’s comments here are mine. I recently obtained my 500E and have only tested it in my neighborhood. (Suffering with a sciatic leg issue.)In my opinion, I think Nikon should have put a slot in the front hood so that you could rotate a 95mm CPL filter while the hood is attached. To rotate the CPL filer you have to remove the front hood. I wonder if anyone will come up with a solution.
The issue of carrying the lens by the foot is a non-issue if you properly tighten the foot screw. Steve Perry did not tighten the foot screw. He may have added that part of his video simply as a reminder to tighten the foot screw.
Next, I put a 1.4 Nikon Extender on the lens and focus was no problem but I did have to grab my monopod. Also, I added a 4 inch rail to foot on the lens for attaching to a RRS head for monopod use. Wow, I found the longer foot to be a help in hand-holding and in resting the lens on logs, fence posts, and such. Hand-holding this lens is doable depending on your age. At 72 I am able to hand-hold for several shots but in the field I will have my monopod handy. If I am going to use a tripod then my longer lens is my choice. I believe the 500E was designed to be hand-held as it is lighter and shorter than other primes and zooms in the 500mm category.
I tried the lens on a D500, and D850 with very nice results. My shooting buddy put in on his Z7 and shot it with and without the 1.4 extender for meny hours. He was impressed and offered to buy my lens telling me that being an NPS photographer I could get another. NOPE! but he is allowed to borrow my lens anytime. All the falloff, bokeh, and sharpness technical issues are not a part of my comments. For that techno stuff go to DXO and read the charts. I prefer to look at my shots on the computer screen and in prints.
Lastly, cost, OUCH – 3600.00 is not a small amount by any means – thank goodness the stock market is doing well. Whew, I did get this one buy the supreme commander with no problems as I used those points you get at your bank to offset the cost. For the cost conscious I am sure the Nikon 200-500 is a more cost effective lens that will produce nice results.
Just my thoughts, good shooting to all, Dale
I was lucky to get the 500mmf5.6 this last March. I also own a number of Nikon’s other exotic lenses such as the 400mmf2.8 (newest version), the 180-400f4, the 300mmf4 PF, the 70-200f2.8E etc. I also have the D850, D500 and the Z7. I am also crazy about sharpness along other things such as bokeh.
Let me say first, that the 500mmf5.6 is first and foremost, a birding lens. In my case I use it for photographing birds of all types in their natural environment. Birds always present challenges in that they just do not want to get close to us humans. Unless you are in some time of bird hide or have concocted a feeding station of some sort, you will fill find it difficult to get most smaller birds to ever even begin to fill the image of your camera sensor.
The large lenses do allow for wonderful photos of those elusive birds, but the weight and size make for difficulties that many of us just don’t want to put up with. This lens, coupled with Nikon’s newest high resolution 45mp cameras, come a long way in solving this problem. Let me tell you how.
First, the 500mmf5.6 is insanely sharp. This allows for extensive cropping if the situation requires. Secondly, this lens has fantastic VR, which helps greatly if the bird is just perching in a tree in dim light. Thirdly, it is so much lighter that it can be carried easily on most any walk or hike. I cannot emphasize how important that is. This is the lens you can almost always take with you. This is the lens that lets you rediscover birds that you would never before bothered to photograph. Sure, a big prime like the 500mmf4 would also do this, but, remember, you left it at home. The lens you have with you is the lens you use, not the one on the shelf.
Wait, there is more. The 500mmf5.6 works well with the 1.4 TC. I mean really well. Yes, it will focus, and if your aim is to get that small bird on that distant branch, you can! And you can do it without a tripod. If you are lucky enough to have a Z7 mirrorless camera, you will also find that focus is actually enhanced over a D850. You are not limited to just a few focal points but most all points across the camera frame. The EVF of this camera makes it much easier to find the bird in the bush as it is much brighter than a DSLR can provide in its optical viewfinder. In short, I can now go on a walk and get bird shots that I only dreamed of getting a year ago.
So, if you are a birder, get this lens, dump the tripod and just go for a walk in the woods.
PS: If there is one caveat to this lens it is the fact that the minimum focal distance is 10′
Thanks a ton for your input. That’s make the standings of the 500PF even better.