Nikon 600mm f/5.6 IF-ED user reviews

I have recently bought one of these for my d200 and it is really very good, i have found it to be sharp when used on a good tripod, the ca is not bad (but it is fitted with an unidentified 122mm filter). I love the silky smooth internal focusing and the pro-rugged build ( like a bit off a tank). And the best bit is the price though i have noticed that they are becoming scarcer and thus more expensive in the light of suitable dslr,s becoming available on the used market. yes i love this lens. wos.

I puchased my lens for astrophotography and it's excellent. 99% of the time I'm shooting wide open and with a IR modified DSLR. THe lens shows almost no chromatic aberration and it's very well corrected for coma. I find it works very well with the TC14B converter.
The few times I used this lens for conventional photography I found the results outstanding.

I just got a brand new one from B+H, latest version with a service address card from 2006. I mounted it on my D200 and tried to find CA. Nothing that I could see, I used the same target that shows CA quite visibly with my 18-200 at the 200 mm setting. I think this lens will be great for large animal photography.

This lens handles well and has great construction. I have the last incarnation "5.6n" which offers a bit closer focusing, external shade, and is slightly heavier. Tripod collar is excellent and the lens offers a mechanical "focus memory" detent that is user selected. It is fairly light for a 600mm and handles nicely on both a monopod and a tripod.

Image quality is not quite up to today's standards with noticible CA on my D2x. On film it isn't quite as bad. The lens is fairly slow so I shoot it wide open to f8 at all times. i have not tried it with a smaller aperture, although I am sure it will suffer diffraction induced softness. The lens needs a good support and despite the aforementioned CA, give sharp images.

They are fairly inexpensive due to lower demand then the f4 version and the combination of weight, size and good image quality make this lens a winner if you can give up the AF.