The Nikon D500 is a professional camera, despite the fact that it is a crop sensor body. So when choosing lenses for this camera, you should be looking to match it with similarly high-quality lenses.
Although Nikon released this camera in 2016, it is still an exceptional camera. So the best lenses for the Nikon D500 are going to be a mix of crop sensor (DX) and full frame lenses.
The first lens I would recommend for you is the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 because of its high image quality, versatile zoom range, and wide maximum aperture.
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1. Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8
The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 is the crop senor answer to the professional workhorse 24-70mm lens. You can put this on your camera and shoot just about anything other than telephoto shots.
This Sigma lens is a professional quality lens in a crop sensor size, which pairs well with the D500, a crop sensor camera aimed at professional and advanced amateur photographers.
The 18-35mm focal range is the equivalent of 27-52.5mm on a full-frame camera which makes this lens a pretty close cousin to the full-frame 24-70mm lens that you’ll find in most pro photographer’s bags. But in addition to the useful focal range, the constant f/1.8 aperture is something you won’t see in any other lens of this sort.
So the specs look good but is it sharp?
Yes, this is one of the sharpest crop-sensor lenses I’ve tested. When shooting wide open at f/1.8 you may see a small loss of sharpness at the edges but the center and mid-frame are excellent. Once you stop down to f/1.8 you’ll get excellent sharpness across the frame.
Pros
- Excellent image quality throughout the zoom range
- Affordable substitute for a pro-level 24-70mm lens
- Small and compact for an f/1.8 zoom lens
Cons
- Weather sealing isn’t as good as Nikon lenses
It also has a close focusing distance of 28cm/11.0in. which means you can get pretty close to foreground objects for close-up photos or you can shoot wide and include foreground elements in your shot for more drama and depth in your landscape shots.
Finally, Sigma made sure this lens was built pretty solid. It has a solid brass mount and a metal barrel that makes it both easy to handle and durable. It does lack a rubber gasket on the mount though which makes it less weather-sealed. But, that’s really my only complaint about this lens.
2. Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 GII
The 24-70mm f/2.8 is a “do-it-all” lens and if you plan to upgrade to full-frame soon, this Tamron is one of the best options on the market and a fraction of the cost compared to the Nikon version.
You don’t have to limit yourself to crop sensor lenses if you’re shooting with the D500. In fact, despite the fact that it is a crop sensor camera, the D500 is really a pro-level camera designed with lenses like this in mind.
The Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8 is one of the best overall lenses you can buy. In fact, it made my picks for the best Nikon lens overall.
To begin with, this lens covers arguably the most used focal lengths with a range of 24-70mm (36-105mm equivalent on the D500) and it has a wide maximum aperture of f/2.8 that is useful for shooting portraits with a shallow depth of field.
Pros
- Best image quality on this list
- Max aperture of f/2.8
- Less expansive than other 24-70mm options
Cons
- Might be overkill if you aren’t planning to upgrade to full-frame eventually
It also boasts excellent image quality with sharpness across the focal length range and minimal distortion. Even when shooting wide open at f/2.8 there is minimal edge softness. As a result, your images are going to be sharp whether you’re shooting portraits at 70mm and f/2.8 or landscapes at 24mm and f/10.
By using this lens on a crop sensor camera like the D500, you also get the benefit of only using the sharpest part of the lens. Almost all lenses have a small bit of softness around the edges, especially at their widest aperture, and this one is no exception.
But when using it on the D500, the image will be from the center part of the lens where it is at its sharpest, so you’ll get exceptional results, even at f/2.8. This is also why I don’t recommend the Nikon version of the 24-70mm f/2.8 for this camera because you’ll be paying almost double the price for edge-to-edge sharpness that you don’t really need.