Let me start by saying I loved using this lens. Loved it. One of my main aims on a subantarctic trip is pelagic bird photography, which can often be a challenging task. While birds will follow the ship and get quite close, I often find myself needing a bit of extra reach to get the shots I’m after. Pairing this beast of a lens with the D500 yields an effective focal length of 750mm – absolutely perfect. The constant f/5.6 aperture throughout is also fantastic. Some of my favourite images were made with this lens.
Downsides – it’s a hefty beast, and when conditions get rough I’d much rather have the lighter 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 when moving around a rolling ship in the Southern Ocean. The 200-500mm is a bit unwieldy due to its length, which isn’t ideal when you’re packed in with a bunch of other photographers either!
At first I found it quite difficult to pan along with seabirds moving past the ship with this lens, but that was just because I was used the slightly wider field of view that the 80-400mm gives. The extra weight didn’t help either – but I soon got used to that. With a little practice, I was back in the zone, keeping up with the erratic flight of little Black-bellied Storm-petrels!
The other thing I don’t like at all about the lens is the lens hood. It doesn’t click on securely, and I actually taped it to the lens with two tabs of duct tape when I was using it on the ship, to make sure a slight knock didn’t send it to the bottom of the ocean (a slightly bigger knock ended up doing just that though!).
But, damn. I love this lens. It’s solidly sharp, well balanced, and an amazing tool for seabird photography. I’d love for it to be a part of my regular kit, but it’s probably not going to make it’s way into my camera bag any time soon. Why?
The 80-400mm is my lens. I love it for its versatility, light weight, and all-round ergonomics. It’s a lens that fits me perfectly as a photographer, and the 200-500mm isn’t going to replace that. Travelling with both was a bit too much for me, and I’m always serious about travelling as light as possible.
Would I recommend the 200-500mm? Hell yes. It’s amazing. If you’re a keen wildlife/bird photographer it is a fantastic (and relatively cheap!) option that gives phenomenal reach and quality. I would love to eventually have it for dedicated pelagic trips – but it would also be amazing in any number of other wildlife situations. I can see it being great for safari trips, fantastic for photographing little birds from hides – just about anything really.
