AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR

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Sports. Wildlife. Nature. This fast-focusing super-telephoto lens perfectly balances size and performance. Feel the freedom of 500 mm of reach, a compact build, and outstanding image quality.
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Conquer distance. Go where you need.

Land. Sea. Air. Lighten your load but not your reach with this compact f/5.6 500 mm super-telephoto prime lens.

 

Use of a Phase Fresnel (PF) lens element noticeably reduces the weight of this prime lens, without degrading image quality. A minimum focus distance of just 3 m furthers creative potential. Whether you’re capturing macro images of flowers in frost, or portraits of athlete’s faces. Should you need greater flexibility, you can increase your reach with an optional Nikon 1.4x, 1.7x, or 2x teleconverter.¹

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Robust and agile

Aerial views of the rally stage. Raptors in flight. Shoot stills and video in remote or challenging situations, without worrying about your lens.

 

The Phase Fresnel (PF) lens element helps keep the lens compact, and a fluorine coating repels water, dust, and dirt. Every movable part of the lens barrel is sealed to protect from dust and water droplets. Ball bearings in the tripod collar ring ensure smooth transitions between horizontal and vertical shooting.

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Crisp clarity

Wildlife at sunset. Subjects under harsh streetlights. Benefit from edge-to-edge sharpness, and minimal light fall-off and flare, even when shooting wide open or in backlit situations.

 

Three ED glass elements ensure images with vivid colour and deep contrast. Nikon’s antireflective Nano Crystal Coat ensures clear images with minimal flare and ghosting, even in backlit conditions. PF lens flare is effectively minimised, and the superior resolving power of this lens ensures excellent reproduction of point light sources. Even at the periphery of the frame.

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Sharp and steady

Keep pace with the action, and the light. Nikon's Vibration Reduction and SPORT VR let you shoot without worrying about the effects of camera shake.

 

Designed to reduce the blur caused by camera movement, Nikon's Vibration Reduction (VR) lets you shoot at shutter speeds up to 4 stops slower than without VR.² VR activates the instant you press the camera’s exposure button halfway, and operation is quiet. SPORT VR mode is helpful when shooting exceptionally fast action, or when panning. It delivers a more stable viewfinder image, even during continuous shooting, without compromising image quality.

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High-speed autofocus

This lens responds swiftly and precisely when your subject moves. An electromagnetic diaphragm delivers precise exposures at high frame rates.


Nikon’s Silent Wave Motor enables ultra-fast, ultra-quiet autofocus performance. Advanced AF tracking keeps pace with fast-moving subjects—even when they’re moving erratically, at random speeds, or approaching the camera quickly. The electromagnetic diaphragm ensures fast automatic exposure control, and maximum accuracy. The two-position focus-limit switch (FULL and ∞–8 m) offers additional control over subject-acquisition speed.

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Smooth focus control

A fox’s burrow. A bend in the racetrack. Easily fine-tune focusing—adapt to the moment with breathtaking precision.


Focus functions inherited from Nikon’s professional lenses offer superb control. A/M and M/A focus mode switches let you switch from autofocus to manual focus simply by turning the focus ring. The focus ring boasts a knurled covering that enables a firm grip. And the Memory Recall function lets you store a focus distance for repeated use. Perfect when you want to focus on a bird’s favourite hunting perch.

Technical Specifications

Focal length500 mm
Maximum aperturef/5.6
Minimum aperturef/32
Lens construction19 elements in 11 groups (including 3 ED lens elements, 1 PF (phase Fresnel) lens element, lens elements with Nano-Crystal coatings, and a fluorine-coated front lens element)
Angle of viewNikon FX-format D-SLR cameras: 5°, Nikon DX-format D-SLR cameras: 3° 10'

Minimum focus distance

3.0 m (9.8 ft) from focal plane
Vibration reductionYes
No. of diaphragm blades9 (rounded diaphragm opening)
Additional information

¹ Autofocus capability might be limited when using specific teleconverters. Please refer to your product manual.
² Based on CIPA standards.


Material code
AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR - JAA535DA