Focal length breathing: yes, the 200-500mm exhibits this. At the closest focus distance the lens is somewhat less than 400mm. But this appears to be more variable than some lenses: you have to be at very near focus distances to see large focal length changes. Memory Cards & Storage SD Cards Micro SD cards CFexpress cards Compact Flash and CFast cards Card Readers SSD and USB Drives Scanners DSLR Lenses Canon Fit Lenses Nikon Fit Lenses Lens Accessories Lens Caps Lens Hoods Lens cloths and cleaning kits Lens Attachments

The score in the “features-department” is 1[-]/6[0]/6[+]. The minus-point being the high price. All in all there’s not much to differentiate Nikon’s newest offering from the competition. You may prefer its constant aperture of f5.6 but then the lens offers a smaller zoom-range and less reach. This lens is for long-distance use; it doesn't focus very close (7.2' or 2.2m minimum) and it is slow (only f/5.6 at every aperture) and it doesn't zoom wide (200mm minimum), and with these limitations allows it to be sold at a very low price. You can pay the same price for junk-brand lenses like the Tamron 150-600mm. On my F3 (1980), focus is of course manual, and VR doesn't work on manual cameras either. Metering and exposure work perfectly.

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I was also pleased to see that the minimum focusing distance is 2.2 metres (just 20cm more than the 200-400mm). I was expecting this to be somewhere closer to 3 metres, so that was a nice surprise. One of the most surprising things about this lens was the fact that it has a constant aperture throughout. Just like the 200-400mm, which has a constant aperture of f/4, this lens won’t vary its maximum aperture depending on your chosen zoom. I have yet to see a budget telephoto lens other than this one that offers this, as the rest will vary between f/5 and f/6.3 across the range. This is a real bonus for wildlife photographers as you often need all the light you can get. Nothing is more frustrating than having to zoom out just because your maximum aperture has shrunk. In Conclusion I rented one when they first came out, and I found that it was about a 350 ( 300 maybe ) to 500 zoom in one twist. But I use mine in that range most anyway. And if I were using 300mm for example, I'd still probably only want to zoom within that 150mm to 200mm that one twist would provide. There has to be some limitations. The Canon is a breakthrough professional lens that covers ultra-tele focal lengths, and also replaces all 70-200mm and macro lenses at the same time. Additional handling notes from John Lawson: Full zoom from one end to the other requires almost 180 degrees of rotation on the zoom ring. That is too far to go without stopping and resetting your grip. And that is not what you want to be doing when trying to maintain correct framing on a fast approaching subject such as a bird in flight. The best technique then is to grip the front of the lens barrel and use it as a push-pull zoom. That works for the most part but it can sometimes be difficult to keep a good grip on the barrel, especially with gloves on. Points off for that oversight. NIKON D750 + 200-500mm f/5.6 @ 500mm, ISO 100, 1/1000, f/5.6

Set the VR type to NORMAL. For wildlife and birds, NORMAL mode works great. NORMAL mode works great while I am hand holding the lens and even in the safari jeep. Binoculars & Scopes Binoculars Scopes Camera Bags & Cases Camera Bags Camera Bag Accessories Tripods & Heads Tripods Monopods, Minipods & clamps Tripod Heads & AccessoriesFull allows the lens to focus on the entire focusing range. I use Full all the time and have never missed the focus. On-camera Lighting Flashguns Canon Fit Flash Sony Fit Flash Nikon Fit Flash Fujifilm Fit Flash Micro Four Thirds Fit Flash Panasonic Lumix S Fit Flash Flash Accessories LED Camera Lights This is the minimum distance between the lens and an object at which the lens focuses. The Nikon 200-500 f/5.6 has a minimum focusing distance of 2.2m (7.2ft). For wildlife and bird photography, this is a perfect minimum distance. With a minimum focusing distance of 7.2ft, the lens acquires perfect focus in most cases. Autofocus Auto Focus: AF-S with SWM (silent wave motor), so it does work on D3x00/5×00-bodies. Manual-focus override is by simply turning the focus ring. Same with the competition. [+] The Nikon 200-500 is made mostly of plastic in China, which is the same as Nikon lenses that cost twice as much!