D90 and Nikkor 200-500 compatiable?

I was going to order the Nikkor zoom 200-500mm 5.6 from Adroma, but they say that the lens and the D90 are not compatible. The camera does not communicate with the lens aperture. If the aperture is fixed at 5.6 do they really need to commuicate?

Yes it's an E lens and is not compatible with the D90.

It is "not compatible" in the sense that the D90 cannot control the aperture in E lenses, and the 200-500 AF-S VR will be stuck at f5.6 when mounted on a D90. Otherwise, that combo works fine in any other way. At least I mostly use the 200-500 wide open anyway, using that combo shouldn't be a major issue for most.

It is "not compatible" in the sense that the D90 cannot control the aperture in E lenses, and the 200-500 AF-S VR will be stuck at f5.6 when mounted on a D90. Otherwise, that combo works fine in any other way. At least I mostly use the 200-500 wide open anyway, using that combo shouldn't be a major issue for most.

hello Sir, I am new to this forum and a newbie at photography. I have a question as I have an opportunity to purchase the Nikon 200-500 5.6 E lens at a good price and I have the Nikon D90. I see that there has been some talk about compatibility. My question is, is it just the Aperture that won't work as you stated? I just want to be sure but I am not to concerned as I plan on upgrading the body and figured I didn't want to loose out on this deal. thanks

is it just the Aperture that won't work as you stated

Yes, the D90 cannot control the aperture on a E lens (like the 200-500); the aperture will always be a f/5.6. Everything else works fine.

My opinion is that the incompatibility between the D90 (or any other body that cannot control the aperture on E lenses) and the 200-500mm/f5.6 E AF-S VR is very minor. The aperture is stuck wide open all the time, i.e. at f5.6. Since I use that lens at f5.6 most of the time, anyway, this is a very minor issue, but to some people, it may not necessarily be minor.

I would say that the 200-500 gains a little sharpness on stopping down - f/8 is visibly, if slightly, better than f/5.6. The D90 isn't the most demanding target in the world, so it may be less visible than on the latest sensor with no AA filter. Being at f/5.6 isn't particularly bad news (and certainly better than the bodies which can't handle G lenses being stuck at, typically, f/22), but it's not entirely without limitation. (I've never actually tried my 200-500 on my D90; I should.)

 

The most likely alternative lens would be the Sigma 150-600mm Sport (if you can afford it) or the Contemporary version or one of the Tamrons (if you can't). I don't know whether they're also "E" aperture - does anyone else? Everything but the Nikkor is f/6.3 at the long end, which would put the AF unit of the D90 out of spec (it's only supposed to work down to f/5.6, although in my experience there's some wiggle room for AF units), so they're not perfect either.