You want the best choice possible for your budget, which means selecting one from various options in today’s market. 

You need to consider many factors before deciding on the best possible option, and most importantly, for what kind of photography you will use the lens the most.

Luckily for you:

In this buying guide, we shall mentor you through choosing the best lenses for the Nikon D500.

By the end of this tutorial, you will have complete knowledge of everything you need to know about selecting the best possible lens, what to look for, and what you need to avoid, and we will give you some tips when shopping for the mentioned items.

You will learn what is (in our opinion) the best lens for each main photography category and from which ones you need to steer clear.

First, we will say a few words about the Nikon D500 camera itself. Feel free to skip this part if you already have this camera.

Without any more hesitation, let’s get started!

Is Nikon D500 DSLR worth it?

Nikon D500 is a tremendous DX-format camera with imposing performance, but you will need a quality pair of lenses to extract most of it.

It was released around two years ago but still provides blazing performance and features.

Being Nikon’s flagship DSLR means it’s an excellent all-around camera with a unique attraction for action, telephoto, and wildlife photography.

With a 21 Megapixel sensor, you should be able to catch each detail to get clear shots with stunning backgrounds.

It comes packed with a bunch of new features from Nikon company such as 4K video shooting, ten fps Shooting, and Built-In Wi-Fi.

The Touchscreen LCD size is 3.2 inches with a tilting ability providing you with more than 2500 dots that allow you more unobstructed visibility right at the spot.

It’s compact, easy to hold in hand, and performs excellently in low-light conditions, which makes it perfect for night photography.

Verdict:

If you bought the D500, you made the right choice.

On the other hand, if you are considering getting it, then go for it. You won’t be disappointed.

But as previously stated, even the best cameras won’t work properly without a decent pair of lenses, so let’s check which Nikon D500 lenses are best for you.

Best all-around lens for everyday photography

Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G is ideal for an enthusiastic photographer who only needs one lens to cover all shooting situations.

It is a well-matched lens with a compact DX camera, such as the Nikon D500, which makes it ideal for many photographic situations, such as portraits, landscapes, wildlife, buildings, and more.

This is an FX lens, so the 18-200mm range is equal to 27-300mm in 35mm format; however, it is optimized for edge-to-edge sharpness in both FX and DX-format.

There is no need to worry since this lens will fit perfectly on your D500 camera.

The minimum focus distance is 18 inches to shoot macro photography. However, it does not mean it is ideal if something is possible.

To put it quickly:

If there were one lens that we recommended to take on a holiday or if you are traveling, it would be Nikon 18-200mm F/3.5-5.6G. It’s the best all-around lens for Nikon D500.

1. Nikon 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G

2. Sigma 18-300mm F3.5-6.3

Best Prime Lens for Portraits

Nikon 35mm F/1.8G is a prime lens for photographers on a budget who need a high-performance lens for portraits.

This fast and compact lens with precise autofocus allows for a neat user experience. Of course, it is not the best price, but we couldn’t miss out on including it here.

It has the best value of every portrait lens we have tested. 

We also loved the bokeh. That is beautiful and will make every portrait look stunning.

Here’s the thing:

This is a prime budget lens for a Nikon D500 camera and has decent performance. Don’t expect the highest quality from this lens, but we highly recommend it if you consider the value/price ratio.

Check out the alternatives below if you want something better than a 35mm F/1.8G lens.

1. Nikon 50mm f/1.8G

2. Nikon 85mm f/1.8G

3. Nikon 50mm f/1.4G

Best Macro Lens for Macro Photography

If you are looking for the best macro lens, look no further! You found it.

We were blown away by the sharpness of this little thing and its focus accuracy.

Its lightweight, compact, and pure macro lens (1:1 ratio) produces sharp images from infinity to life-size.

The minimum focusing distance is only 0.53 feet.

This is a case similar to one before, it is not the best macro lens in the world, but it does offer great value, and we think it will do an excellent job for anybody.

Listen:

Regarding macro photography, our top choice is this 40mm macro lens from Nikon.

We can confidently say that this is one of the best macro lenses for the Nikon D500 camera.

If you are still looking to spend more to improve in some way, check out 85mm f/3.5G or 105mm f/2.8G below.

Best Wide-Angle Lens for Landscapes

We don’t always mention third-party products, but when we do, it’s for a reason. Such is the case with the Tokina 11-16mm F/2.8 lens.

Build quality is excellent, which may be because the elements used for making these lenses are on the next level quality-wise.

You may experience some distortion at 10mm, but this can be fixed in post-processing, so it’s not an issue.

Some people also complain of a short focal range, but this lens design and quality ensure you don’t think about it often.

If you don’t have anything against buying Tokina lenses for Nikon D500, you will love the Tokina 11-16MM F/2.8 lens!

Here’s the thing:

If you still prefer Nikon because of the brand image, check out this Nikon lens for landscapes.

We suggest checking out the Sigma lens below if you don’t mind buying lenses from a third-party company. 

Best Telephoto Lens for Wildlife Photography

Nikon 55-300mm F/4.5-5.6G is the best telephoto lens for action and wildlife photography.

It has a powerful zoom with precise autofocus that may sometimes drag you down in speed.

This zoom lens for Nikon D500 has a sturdy build that offers photos with vibrant colors.

One of the drawbacks is a loss in sharpness at the telephoto end, so we advise using a tripod if you want to get maximum from this Nikon lens.

The focal length range is good, but some people may need more, so feel free to check out our alternatives if you need a focal length of 500mm and more.

Listen:

This telephoto lens will do a fantastic job for photographers who are into wildlife photography.

Still, for most photographers, this will be the top choice as it will provide you with plenty of performance and powerful zooming abilities.

BEST Nikon D500 lens kit

Nikon 16-80mm F/2.8-4 lens was produced by Nikon company for a D500 model of the camera.

It’s a lightweight lens with a dominant five times zoom, making it perfect for traveling and blogging since you won’t feel the weight of this lens when you hold it in your hands.

It consists of 4 Vibration Reduction stops that also performs great in low light thanks to this feature.

As for this landscape lens, its versatility makes it ideal for various situations, but it is most useful for landscapes and portraits.

The downside is plastic build, which can present problems in rough use, but this can be neglected if you consider how light this lens is.

The minimum focus distance is about 1.15 feet, while the maximum aperture is an f/2.8-4.

Here’s the thing:

This is the best lens kit for you if you are looking for versatile, lightweight lenses and want a Nikon D500 camera.

Tips for smart Nikon D500 lenses shopping

So have you learned which Nikon D500 lenses are best for a different style of photography when we talk about the Nikon D500 DX-format cameras?

If you still can’t decide on the right lens, you should get this high-quality one.

Now you surely know what the best lenses for Nikon D500 are.

Still, there are a few things you need to make sure of before deciding to purchase your next favorite lens.

Visit your local shop.

If you have a shop near your area, check out the lens you were planning to buy since everybody has different perspectives and styles of shooting, and you may not like what others do.

This is usually not the case, but it does happen from time to time, so getting your hands on it before deciding to spend all the budget on one lens is a great idea.

Read more reviews

Make sure to read a few more reviews about the lens that caught your attention to learn what experience other photographers, like you, had with it.

The best way to do this is to click “Learn More” and read Amazon reviews for a particular lens since they are brutally honest.

You can also read other guides on our blogs, such as Best lenses for Nikon D5600 and Nikon D7100 lenses.

Please send us a message.

And, finally but not least important, you can post a comment or send us a message with your inquiries or doubts, and we will do our best to assist you.

Choose the best Nikon D500 lens.

We provided you with a buying guide of recommended lenses for the Nikon D500, and now it’s time to choose which lens best suits your needs.

We hope we helped you choose the best lens for this D500 camera from Nikon, and if you want to show appreciation, feel free to buy it through our link since it is our only way of monetization.

Best of luck in finding the perfect lens for your needs!