500mm Auto Focus or Manual?

[whamilton101]

Ok,

i'm about to purchase the Nikon 500mm lens f 4.0.
There's a huge money difference between the auto/manual focus lens.

I'd much rather save a few thousand and get the manual focus. Can anyone tell me the pros and cons of auto vs. manual?

thanks

[Andy]

Ok,

i'm about to purchase the Nikon 500mm lens f 4.0.
There's a huge money difference between the auto/manual focus lens.

I'd much rather save a few thousand and get the manual focus. Can anyone tell me the pros and cons of auto vs. manual?

thanks

many folks buy this lens for birding, wildlife, and sports. for any of these applications, autofocusing ability would be critical imo :deal

[ian408]

I shoot with the 500mm from Canon. AF works very well birding and on the
surfers--these are moving targets and I doubt it would be easy to MF on any
target moving like either of these subjects. And DOF being what it is, if you're
not right on the money, forget it. Get the AF. You won't be sorry.

What do you plan to shoot with it?

Ian

[whamilton101]

I do alot of big wildlife shooting in Kenya, i own the 300 AF and it's fabulous.

I'm getting ready for a week long wildlife shoot in Yellowstone at the begining of may and i'm looking for a lens with a bit more punch to it.

I'm just itching to get a new lens...but i'm afraid the manual focas may be a waste of money.

wh

[pathfinder]

I do alot of big wildlife shooting in Kenya, i own the 300 AF and it's fabulous.

I'm getting ready for a week long wildlife shoot in Yellowstone at the begining of may and i'm looking for a lens with a bit more punch to it.

I'm just itching to get a new lens...but i'm afraid the manual focas may be a waste of money.

wh

I shoot wildlife with a Canon 500 F4 L IS and can't imagine shooting without AF.. Just finding birds in the air, let alone focusing on them can be challenging. I suspect AF will capture 5x more crisp images with the 500mm than you will with manual focus. Conservatively!
For an experiment - take your 300AF and but a 2x telextender on it - now turn off the AF, and try shooting birds in flight.

Close ups of birds in flight require VERY precise focusing. I KNOW I would blow shots like this without AF. 600mm ( 300+2x) f 6.3 ( almost wide open aperature max is 5.6) 1/800th
http://pathfinder.smugmug.com/photos/19878140-M.jpg

[Harryb]

Ok,

i'm about to purchase the Nikon 500mm lens f 4.0.
There's a huge money difference between the auto/manual focus lens.

I'd much rather save a few thousand and get the manual focus. Can anyone tell me the pros and cons of auto vs. manual?

thanks
Go for the AF its well worth the money. When I first got my 300mm/f4 lens I tried it out with my Sigma 2.0 TC which meant I got the extra reach but lost AF. It was brutal. Unless I nailed the shot exactly (about 1 out of 3) it was delete city. I didn't even try to nail a moving target.

[whamilton101]

Thanks a bunch guys. I'll pass on the manual and save up some more pennies for the auto!

wh

[luckyrwe]

Buy the best and you only cry once!

[ian408]

Buy the best and you only cry once!
true dat!