This is a quick comparison of the total weight that has to be carried when using these two recent 500mm lenses from Nikon. I did this just for fun but it could be useful to anybody considering these two lenses or any other lens in this focal length range with similar weights and maximum aperture values.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, weight has become a serious consideration for me when buying new gear. Hand holding heavy gear for long periods of time is an issue and so is hiking with a heavy lens in a suitable backpack and a tripod. Hauling a heavy lens and tripod is uncomfortable and possibly pain inducing after awhile and I find myself leaving my heavy gear behind more and more especially since Nikon and other manufacturers have made serious progress in optical quality vs weight of gear which seemed to be mutually exclusive until not too long ago. Nikon's 300mm and 500mm phase fresnel lenses are great examples of this.

Here is a breakdown of comparative components that could be carried in a photo session and their respective weights (grand total included). Food for thought if you want to travel light but don't want to sacrifice too much optical quality. I did not include the camera in this comparison because the same camera body could be used with every lens, backpack, tripod and head combination. This comparison does not compare image quality of course. I realize that sometimes a fast lens setup is absolutely necessary. I'm only comparing a light and heavier setup with an equal focal length lens.

Nikon 500mm f/5.6 PF (1460 grams) + Think Tank Street Walker V2 backpack (1500 grams) + MeFoto Globetrotter CF tripod (1355 grams) + Jobu JR.3 DLX gimbal head (680 grams) = total weight of 4995 grams (11 lbs)

Nikon 500mm f/4 FL (3090 grams) + Lowepro flipside 500 AW II (2000 grams) + Benro C4770T CF tripod (2400 grams) + Jobu MK IV gimbal head (1010 grams) = total weight of 8500 grams (18.7 lbs)