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Nikon 500mm f5.6 pf availability5/28/2023 The air gap can cause aberrations and its removal was the major breakthrough that turned the original lackluster Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS into the spectacular EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II. Nikon do not specifically state if they have been able to eliminate the tiny air gap between the refractive and the diffractive lenses of the PF element in their bonding process. Both Canon’s EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II and the Nikon AF-S 500mm f/5.6 PF VR feature a single element with diffractive optics. The end result is that several standard elements can be replaced with a single PF element resulting in a much shorter, smaller and lighter lens. The diffractive element can then be bonded to a standard refractive element in order to cancel its chromatic aberration. The gratings diffract the incoming light rays, producing a reverse chromatic aberration profile as shown in the cartoon below. Very much like the Canon’s DO element, Nikon relies on microscopic gratings fabricated in the PF element. PF stands for Phase Fresnel, due to its resemblance to the original Fresnel lens of the 18th century. This new 500 is the second lens in the PF line up, the first being the AF-S 300mm f/4 PF. Nikon announced the development of the AF-S 500mm f/5.6 PF back in mid June 2018 with the first copies of the lens shipping to NPS members in late September.
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