🌀ALL 300mm 2.8 NIKKOR LENSES RATED🌀 Ultimate 300mm NIKKOR VIDEO 

Just got a mint 300mm AF 2.8 ED IF (the “slow” one) from Japan with the hard “wood” and metal case, a set of keys, hood and lens soft cap for 699 It’s HEAVY but I love how solid it feels the autofocus motor on the d850 makes it faster than I assumed it would be. But I’m a portrait photographer so I’m not really concerned with speed. The optical quality is WICKED and I’ve only shot some BS snapshots around the apartment. Waiting on one of my models to be available to try it out outside lol Thank you again Ken. Every lens I own has been off your recommendation

Thanks so much for your expertise in these lenses. Thanks to you I passed on a cheaper AF-I version and found a excellent AF-S version 2! Thanks again, keep up the great work. I also snagged the Sirui carbon fiber tripod and gimbal! You're the man!

good point pretty good glass

I love my old manual focus 300 2.8 Had it for so long , focus is as smooth as first day. And I really use it. 300mm f2.8 ai - s

Great video Ken , I love my 300mm VR1 although it's my only nikon lens I've had to fine tune the AF on both my D500 and D850 .My 300PF and 200-500 didn't require any tuning . Do Nikon offer a service to adjust these lenses so I don't have to AF tune on the camera bodies ?

Great review, thanks.

Great vid, no one else has this information!

Ken, thanks for another great video ! May I just add a tip for anybody wanting to buy these (or other lenses with a drop in filter holder). There are three different types of "drop in filter holders" for these lenses. Originally they were shipped with the drop in "drawer"/holder for screw in GLASS filters, as well as the drop in "drawer" for GEL filters which is a very different animal. Then there is the circular pola filter holder which was sold separately and offers a mechanism to rotate the built in pola filter. They all came in two sizes, 39 mm and 52 mm depending on the lens model. Now, if you intend to buy second hand any of these lenses, - make sure you get the "drawer" for screw in GLASS filters shipped with your lens and NOT the one for GEL filters (unless you need it for some odd purpose). I've had reports from three different buyers in December only, that they received the gel filter holder only when buying a NIKON 300 mm from Japan. If you don't get the proper screw in GLASS filter holder with a filter in place, your delivery is not complete. The lenses are supposed to have a glass filter in place for maximum optical performance. This according to NIKON. There are very few used 52 mm glass filter holders available on Ebay but lots of GEL filter holders. The supply of 39 mm glass filter holders is much more limited. And if you are looking for the pola filter holder, - you may still find the 52 mm unit every now and then. The 39 mm pola filter holder is however extremely difficult to find. And if you do, - you may find them almost as pricey as the lens itself. The last one I spotted on Ebay was USD 490,- Just a piece of advice from an old and ugly Norwegian with 50 yrs plus behind NIKON Cameras.......... Happy New Year to all.........

Hi Ken: I just picked up the 300 mm f2.8 VRII from eBay. I wish I had watched your video before, as I would have gotten the DII instead. Anyway, no real regrets with the VRII, but the question is: Do all VRII make this swirling sound when the VR is turned on and the shutter button pressed on the camera? Or is this a faulty lens that I got?

I have the AF-D, use it with a monopod for portraits...its sweet.

I am a great fan of you. I have been watching your videos for a couple of months. Which lens do you recommend for portrait? 200mm f2 ais, 300mm f2.8 ais , 300mm f2.8 afs or 400mm f2.8 ais? Thanks in advance.

Hardcore lens!!

Hi great review as always. Just a question, how does the AF-S d and the DII compare? Any material difference or just a newer version of the same? Hope to hear back :-)

How do the afs/afs2/vr/vr2 compare with eachother with a tc20eiii or tc14eii? I can't find any people who use the old afs with a tc20eiii

So, do you recommend the 500mm f4 af-s d virgin one as good as 300mm d virgin..? Focus speed & poke

Thanks for this Ken. CAN YOU PLEASE DO A REVIEW OF THE 500 F4 AF-S NON VR? (Nikon Telephoto AF-S Nikkor 500mm f/4D ED-IF Autofocus Lens). I am trying to choose between 300 F2.8 AF-S (non VR) and the 500 F4 (non VR) for Birding and wild life. I intend to use a 1.4 or 1.7 teleconverter both of which I already own both. I am biased towards the 500 F4 because of the reach, but I am crazy about image quality. Would the 1.4x on the 500 F4 affect the image quality that much. Because if not, I am thinking that would be a bonus having the 500 F4, which I can use by itself and still have the bonus of the 1.4x teleconverter if the need arise. Your thoughts please? directly here or if you want to do a video on the older 500 F4 non VR, that would be great too. Thanks much and sorry for the epistle here. lol

Hi Ken, I am the one film guy in the world left using the Nikon AF-S 300mm F/4D ED-IF Lens on my Nikon F6. I live near wild horses and I use this setup to photograph them and make silver prints in the darkroom. The lens is very fast in terms of AF and the F2.8 aperture has allowed me many times to get images not otherwise possible. Excellent video and thanks for doing what you do.

looking at getting the VR II for the price you quoted for the VR I about $2500, question is if I'm looking for long glass should the 300 be my first buy or should I go longer. It would be great if you made a video listing your dream long glass lens with a new price, what it's really worth price and a don't even think twice about it just buy it price!

Greetings and thank you for the highly informative video on nikkor 300mm's. I'm curious to know if you heard 300mm VR1 lens making a squeaky noise while focusing in auto and manual? I recently purchased a 300mm 2.8 VR1 and has a loud squeak during focusing. Any recommendations on troubleshooting or next course of action?

Master ken! All Internal Focus lens will Auto Focus in all nikon screw drive motor bodies?? Am i right?

Nikon Telephoto 300mm f/2.8 D-AF/i ED(IF) Autofocus Lens Nikon Telephoto 300mm f/2.8n ED(IF) AF Autofocus Lens Which one should I get on used?

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/2.8 D ED II is the lens you cant get parts for? I am looking for my first 300 2.8

Dear Ken and all other photography lovers of the Nikon 300mm f2.8 focal length lenses! I have both the Nikon 300mm f2.0 IF-ED AIS, the Nikon 300mm f2.8 IF-ED AIS and the Nikon 300mm f2.8 AF-I IF-ED lenses, all of them have been used and are still "running". And they are all extremely great lenses! The heavy beast (about 7.5 kg) 300 f2.0 is only used some 10 to 15 meters away from my car. To be honest, most of the time I use the 2.8 AIS version. It's a great performer and I really think that I don't need to use other versions. I always use a tripod for my pictures. So please think twice, do as Ken says: "Don't piss away your money!"

I own a couple of older 300mm f2.8 prime a Tamron SP 300mm f2.8 MF and a Tokina ATX 300mm f2.8 AF and they give superb image quality ! COMPARED TO WHAT ! I hear you say ? lol Compared to my friends Nikon VR 1 version 300mm f2.8 costing several thousand £s or $s! with all the mount adapters now available from the web and focus peaking available these have a new lease of life :) oh and I still prefer the Tamron MF watch most of your reviews and always come away amused and enlightened. Thank you and keep them coming !.

Hello, i bought some months ago the nikon 300mm 2.8 af-s first gen you recommended in this video. The AF Motor broke, Nikon cant fix it. No parts left aswell. Sweet, wasted much money

I have the VRII and monopod, plus lens strap. Whether or not the monopod is on a surface it’s convenient to support the lens by holding the top of the monopod. Why? Because the 300mm f2.8 really is that heavy.

I could only afford the 300mm F4. It does just fine thank you!

What is the elctronic differance between VR1 and VR2??? Maybe only a higher Voltage???

I will buy a nikkor 300mm 1:2.8 AF ED, is this one good? Made in Japan. I will just use it for astrophotography and with my Nikon D850. I will never use it in AF mode. The only problem is there is no screw on the collar, so i can not tighten the collar on the lens. It will rotate. Can i fix it? The price is 350 euros for the lens. I can link a image of the lens.

HI..Love the video im looking to buy a 300mm lens..the AF-1 300MM F2.8 D ED is very sharp BUT everyone or most say the AF is Slooooow? In the past i had the Tokina 300MM AT-X PRO F2.8 Gold Ring version which i used for some sports wildlife and airshows and was fine have you ever used one and your thoughts between the 2 lenses im on a tight budget so the AF-S Version are out of my price range sadly Cheers

Have you tried any of the 300mm 2.8 on the new Z 6 II.

Ken, could we have your thoughts about the Nikon 300 f 2.8 vs 200-400mm f4 and again vs 200-500mmm. I own the 300mm f2.8 and the 200-500mm 5.6 for wildlife but I wonder if i should sell one of them to get the 200-400mm f4? It seems like a "do it all lens"? Thanks, and keep up the great work!

Hi Ken I like your videos very much. I would like to suggest that the AF-I lenses while at this time have no parts available also have a very good track record regarding long life. Even better than the later models. Why? because the AF-I lenses had Micro motors which almost never fail, while Silent Wave motors in all later models fail very often. Also the AFS type I and Type II and VR Type I's are also in the Parts No Longer realm, so getting them fixed is now, or soon to be a problem.Just my two cents worth. Anytime someone buys used they run the risk of where to get it fixed once it needs repair.

Where you got those nice Nikon stickers from? Can you please let me know where to buy them? Thanks

Picked up the AF-S version for $500 including the filter holder. I'll just use it until the focus motor dies and then get used to manual focusing I guess :)

Now I gotta wait a month for the craze to cool before getting one

So you didn’t mention anything about optics in comparison... I own the 300mm 2.8 ai ... is it any different in rendition than the new ones ? I use it for portraits

How is the 300 2.8 vrII with the TC x2?

Putting your filters in, how do you rotate your circular polarizing filter? 🤔

Hey Ken! Just got into wildlife and macro photography, got the D500 and 100mm Tokina you suggested (which are amazing). For a zoom lens, how would the 100mm-400mm Tamron be for wildlife vs the 200-500 nikkor?

Af-D version with stuck aperture ring is listed for 250$ on ebay now :)

I just borrowed at Nikkor 300 2.8 DII. What do you think of this lens. I am a sports photographer. Should I sell my 200-500 5.6 vr and keep the 300? Thank you.

I have the AF-I 300 mm 2.8 D and on my D800 and above is fast auto focus.

How is the 300mm f4.5 ais? Those are pretty cheap and I wonder how the optics are?

This is 2nd video on 300mm f/2.8. I was looking for 200-400mm f/4 lens review but I haven't found your thoughts?

Hi Ken....I need some good adviceI do 99% bird photography. I use my (2007) 300mm F2.8 VR 1 + 2X teleconverter (version III ) on a Gitzo tripod with a gimbal mount..... with my TERRIFIC D500.Generally thrilled with the quality.....considering I use a 2X t.c. ! ( and I love the reach, for birds ! )Now , I'm getting older....and lugging the gear is getting tougher.I am on tripod all the time, basically, because that's what I want.To make things easy....but.....to lighten my load:I was thinking of selling some of the gear and getting:The new 300mm F4 PF and the latest version 1.4X teleconverterOR:...just the 200-500mm.With the D500's capabilities...... I'm not too worried about stops of light (loss)....my main concern is loss of reach !What to do..... make the change....or soldier on for now, and just do less bushwacking with my current gear ?Great videos...recently discovered....and Thanks !...for your advice !Chuck.

Does the Hk-30 lens hood fit the 300mm f2.8 af-s IF-ED i?

Are you saying do not buy the 300mm 2.8 D?

How bout the 600mm f4 lenses

All these lenses look great, but unless you are a sports photographer or you are into wildlife photography, it is not very convenient to use them because they seem to be huge and heavy!

Which one is the sharpest?

Would you buy a lens on eBay if the seller is from Japan?

I want one, but gad, what a beast!

I looked on ebay just to see how many and how much the AF-I version was "trying" to sell for and they are plenty for around the $1,200.00 range. I'll make sure and stay away from that one. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Wich site is that on your video screen?????

I have a mint condition 300mm f2.8 afn ( you called it af-d). Super sharp and beauty bokeh. Its perfect for portraiture

Can someone please put in a comment here listing each lens Ken recommends with full alphabet soup letters and specs behind it?!?! It's hard to see from the video and there is like a bunch of copies, I would like to view the correct ones on ebay.

Got the VR II for $3,500 from Roberts (per your recommendation on the Robert's..Thank you very much!). It's stellar. Thoughts on adding a 1.7x Teleconverter? Thanks for all you do!

Ken you forgot the links.

Just found out today, Nikon no longer sells parts for the 300mm 2.8 AF-S II.

stop showing off your giant pickles

1st

Serious fat glass....

why too much channel here in youtube reviewing, example 70-200mm, 300mm, 400mm, 500mm, 600mm, 14-24mm, d800, d810, d850, d500, d4, d5, the 1.8, the 1.4, the 1.8. why no one cares about 70-300mm non vr and cheap camera?