Nikon 500mm f5.6PFE
Been shooting with the new 500mm f5.6 since it was released as NPS delivered days after they became available. While the Z series cameras were getting all the attention I found the 500 f5.6 to be the real gem. For a photographer that has to travel to events and have a huge amount of flexibility this lens is a no brainer. It’s a fantastic performer on the D5, D850 and D500. On the D850 the resolving power is impressive. Check out the first image below and see the eyes inside the goggles. (Those are all full frame images that are unedited except for b&w conversion). Flying with the 500 f5.6, as I have done over the last two months, is life changing. One camera bag, no extra cases, and no negotiating with crew to store a lens in the garment closet.
I was initially concerned with focus speed and the ability to pick up fast moving subjects. Photographing alpine ski racing is super challenging due to the high contrast, busy field of play and the speed of the athletes. Getting the lens to lock on to an athlete going 40-50mph with a lot of quick direction changes and movement is not easy. The 500mm f5.6 worked as well as the 500/600mm f4.
There is a bit of funkiness shooting strongly backlit subjects, as I mentioned in my first article, but it’s fairly easy to work around and control once you get the hang of it. You can actually use that funkiness to your advantage. See the b&w images below. Here are some recent alpine ski racing photos from Copper Mountain, Colorado. You can also see some great surfing images shot with the 500 f5.6 PFE lens on my Instagram feed #pixlproject
