Customer Ratings & Reviews

A fantastic lens with plenty of features, but not for the faint of heart. This lens is superb if you want to take photos of distant wildlife and objects, such as birds (which is what I use it for) there are plenty of features which allow customization. Picture quality is crisp as well. Some things that definitely need improvement are the mount and the rubber rings which are used to change the focus. The mount tends to loosen easily and that gets frustrating quickly. The rubber rings for focus tend to peel back or loosen over time.

Amazing lens, I can't say enough about Nikkor quality. Great clarity, very nice complement to my D750 and a mega zoom for my D5500! Great opportunity to get up close and personal with wildlife, all while they have no idea they're being watched. If you're on the fence, buy it, you won't be disappointed!

My husband has one and I had pretty much confiscated it for the last year. I finally bought my own! This is an excellent lens! Slightly heavy, but worth it!

Great telephoto lens. Use for sporting events outdoors. Great compression and still provides great bokah at 5.6. Perfer this over the other brands due to the constant aperture throughout the distance. Currently shoot mostly sons soccer games. Best during daylight, not as good as night shots or indoors. Use a 2.8 lens for that. Also can be a little tough with action up close. Currently use a D4s and D750 with this lens and works great. Can be heavy but I use on a monopod which works great.

The 200-500mm is Nikon's first reasonably priced ultra-telephoto. Love the lens. I have used it for wildlife and birds and find it works well with my D500. It can easily be handheld in daylight. The VR snaps everything into place.

Hands down one of Nikon’s best lens value. Sharper than the Sigma and Tamron. It is a hefty weight so I recommend you use with a monopod or tripod with a gimbal if you use it for birding. Super happy with the purchase.

I bought this not long after getting my D500. I use this for wildlife photography and I am very impressed with it. I am getting so close to the birds with the zoom range and getting really sharp images.

I use this lens for birds and wildlife. It definitely extends your reach. I've had this lens for about a month now and enjoy using it. I use a Black Rapid shoulder strap to carry it. I found that at 500mm, even with VR on, that I'm not as steady as I thought I was. When reviewing photos, I sometimes found my focus point to be "off" of where I was focusing. I had much better results when using my tripod. I would definitelyrecommend this lens.

I compared what I consider to be the 3 big contenders in this range. This Nikon, the Tamron 150-600, and the Sigma 150-600. I doubt you could go wrong with any of them. Even though it is a bit shorter in range I think the Nikon is a tad bit better overall. It has been a great addition to my gear. Overall sharpness is good at f5.6 and only gets better the higher you go. It is not bad in overcast conditions, but does prefer good sun light. I think it is sealed better against dust than the others, but time will tell on that point. While not light, the balance with a D750 is good. I look forward to getting many good shots with this lens.

This is a awesome lens and takes great photos! A little heavy but, worth it.

TERRIBLE PACKAGING. Obviously opened a number of times, sold as NEW. Should have been discounted as open box. I insisted to department manager to physically inspect the lens which was obviously opened and not in factory dressed condition. I was rudely reminded over and over of Best Buy’s restocking fee and had to sign before purchase. NO OPEN BOX should be under that policy, period. Yes, of course I could have purchased elsewhere and mail ordered but I was hoping for less shipping contact. It’s not the sales persons fault, they are under duress to recite the Best Buy return policy and make you sign it. I have spent a LOT of money over the years in Best Buy, it is completely irrelevant, but this may be my LAST PURCHASE in their stores. Great, amazing lens, CRAP POLICY!

Was very hesitant due to the f/5.6, already have the 70-200mm f/2.8. But was looking for further reach for wild life photography and it's AMAZING lens. Only downside it's the weight, Overall it's worth every Penny. I highly recommend it.

New to me this lens is a little heavy and photos are best if you are braced or the lens is on a tripod

I'm using this with my Nikon D810. Tack sharp with no adjustment. Smooth operation. Little heavy free handed but use it with monopod and simple lower end metal gimbal head.

This lens is AMAZING! It is sharp and fast, the perfect lens for wildlife.

I can count an owl's eyebrow hairs from across a lake if I wanted to! Ok, I don't even know if owls have eyebrows but you get the point! I've taken this out and gotten herons and geese from a distance and the detail is astonishing! Yes, you're going to need a decent amount of light at f/5.6 but that's what this lens is for--being out in the daylight and shooting animals and outdoor sports. The VR helps to alleviate the rather mediocre aperture setting, so you can compensate for the lower light with a longer shutter speed. The price is justified and i'm glad I got it!

I bought this lens to extend my wildlife photography experience. The lens is so amazing! especially with VR feature.

Amazing lense for the price. This lense captures outstanding images even when shooting handheld. The VR is excellent and focusing is acceptably fast.

So far so good. I got pictures with less noise with the VR off. All pictures turned out better than those shot with the Nikon 80-400, which is what I was hoping for. I'm not sure how the uploaded picture will look. It is really crisp on my large computer monitor. But I had to downsize the image in order to upload it for this review.

I LOVE this lens!!!! I have purchased THREE over the years and m now being forced to buy my 4th!!!! I run a kayaking/wildlife photography business in Alaska... My ONLY complaint about this lens is tht the mechanism that allows it to zoom in ad out eventually ALWAYS GETS STUCK... so you may end up with it being stuck on 200... or like the one I most recently purchased 6 months ago... is now stuck between 400 and 500. My lst one got stuck on 200... so NOW I am sending both off to hopefully be repaired... and being that I cannot go without this lens... I am forced to buy yet another! (Maybe they have a timed auto destruct on this lens button that allows it to zoom in and out? ...so you HAVE TO KEEP BUYING THEM maybe? :) Either way... REAT LENS... "BUT"... :) I wish they did not even HAVE that little toggle lock button... because it is clearly "defective."