Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E ED AFS VR Zoom Lens

The Need

Sea Lions at Haceta Head Viewpoint, Oregon Coast
Nikon D610, Nikkor 70-200mm f/4 @ 200mm

Last summer, August of 2015, I took a drive through parts of Oregon and Washington. Along the Oregon coast, at the Haceta Head lighthouse viewpoint (located a mile or two south of the lighthouse), I tried to shoot some sea lions that were in the small cove between the viewpoint and the point the light house is perched on. 

I don't do a lot of wildlife shots, but I do enough to know that a longer lens would certainly help. But besides that, I've had enough cases where I'd actually like to be able to zoom in on landscape features too, and to be able to do it in camera rather than cropping in post production.

For example, I wanted to shoot a mountain (I think it was Humphrey's Peak near Flagstaff, Arizona) but I didn't like the shot and didn't end up doing it. If you're close to a mountain often times you have a strange aspect or can't get it all in the shot. It'd be nice to zoom in from a distance and be able to isolate the subject from a better vantage point. At least that's what I'm telling myself in order to add a longer full frame lens to my growing collection!

I believe that getting a longer lens will answer some more of my composition needs. 

Why the Nikon?

I started out eyeing the Tamron 150-600 f/5-6.3 when it was announced in 2013 and thought I'd eventually add it to my collection. Then Sigma announced their 150-600mm f/5-6.3 in September 2014, in two versions. That also appeared interesting and after some time the reviews seemed to point towards the Sigma as being better than the Tamron. Okay, I adjusted my sights.

Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E ED AF-S VR

Jumping forward to August 2015, Nikon announced their 200-500mm f/5.6! Another option, with a constant aperture although with a shorter focal range. Hmmm...

After another bit of time, once the lens was available to the public, the reviews started coming out. The Nikon had a lot going for it and most reviews I read claimed a better image quality compared to the Tamron and Sigma, not to mention generally better build quality. Not all reviews came to that conclusion (see this Photography Life review, for example, which recommends the Sigma 150-600 Sport over the Nikkor).

The reviews swayed me towards the Nikon, however, included one of my faves, Thom Hogan. While he admits he hadn't had much time with the Tamrons or Sigmas, his assessment of the Nikon was very influential and consequently I've finally got one on order as of May 3, 2016 from Adorama. I'll see how much I like it, and may be able to talk a photographer I know who really likes her Sigma 150-600 Sport to do a test comparison with me. I'm not against trying the Sigma, but one other guy who I also take with a grain of salt, didn't have any reason to get the Sigma over the Nikkor - Ken Rockwell's review.

(update) Basically, I decided to get this lens instead of the Tamron or Sigma because:

• A common thread that the image quality (IQ) is better on the Nikon, and generally better throughout it's focal range.
• A constant aperture throughout the focal length. I don't know if I'll do it, but it supports using a teleconverter (Thom Hogan has tried it but doesn't generally use one either).
• 50mm missing on the short end - this might bother me, it might mean swapping lenses more if 200 is just too long. However I'm already swapping lenses more than my original mentor Jon B. (and suffering / putting up with dirty sensors as a result). 
• 100mm missing on the long end - from what I've read, with few exceptions, the Tamron and Sigma IQ is reported to fall off over 500mm anyway. 

Known issues

I know two things about this lens that will cause me to do something more or different:

1. I will need some sort of case for it that I can strap to a belt or hang over my shoulder. I haven't quite started looking in to this issue yet. I use a LowePro waist bag that I really like. This lens won't fit in it. I don't like backpacks (I have one but don't like using it). I just want a protective case for the single lens that attaches to my waist or hangs from my shoulder but isn't free to move around.
2. I will need to mount a plate compatible with my Manfrotto ball head. I have two plates so it won't be a problem, but I may want to pick up a third (I have the additional plate because I have two camera bodies). However, I've actually been looking at switching to some sort of arca-swiss setup that I can mount on my Manfrotto ball head (I really like it - the Manfrotto 468MGRC5).

When it arrives and I get to spend a bit of time with her, I mean it, I'll write a bit more about what I think. (update, 5/8/2016 3:41PM) The UPS tracking says it's arrived here in Phoenix!