I bought this lens seconhand in my local camera store. It's mint. I use a Nikon 1.4 converter on a secondhand mint D300s all from the same store for £800. I use it at our local Wildlife and wetlands centre and get great pictures. I always wanted to do bird photography when I was young. I am 72 now and my dream has come true.
So I bought this lens the month it came out. Love it still. You forgot to mention that the tripod collar is crap. You can't get a motionless shot with it. If you want to use it on a tripod, you need an aftermarket collar. So add 150$ on top.
While I have been following you ever since you started posting videos in youtube this is my first comment. I have purchased all my lens and camera bodies based on your suggestions and I MUST admit I don't regret a bit! I recently purchased this 300mm lens (used) to take pictures of my daughter's soccer game. I was amazed by the quality...Yes, it is heavy with my D700 (again your suggestion!), so I ended up using a monopod......Thank you Sir!
I truly value your comments about Nikon and Fuji products. I used to own a Nikon 300mm f4 ED-IF non-VR lens few years ago and sold that out to buy different camera item. After watching this RU-vid comment I again bought this Nikon refurbished 300mm lens from B&H Photo. Believe it or not I am using the lens on Nikon Z50 body attached to FTZ adapter for bird photography.Although autofocus is bit slow compared to latest pricy nikon lenses, the image quality is far better than many newer lenses. I like it very much. It's even takes great picture in low light condition. It's metal body is sturdy and strong. I think that older Nikon products were made with care. The same is true for Nikon D500.
sound was excellent AP as was the video your production values are creeping up on your content values starting to look very cool you've come along way from your first videos grown so much bloody good effort AP
I've had the Nikon 200-500 and sigma 150-600 c. 200-500 is great. Sold it and switched brands for a while. Had a canon 400mm 5.6 L briefly and really liked the quality. For someone like me it was a great deal at $800 in "like new" condition. I'm back with nikon now. On a budget. Grabbed a couple d7200s, a 35mm 1.8g dx, tokina 14-20 f2, Tamron 90mm macro, and now I need a longer lens. I've been looking at this Nikon 300mm f4 but the issues some had with the focus motor scared me a bit. I also never thought about with canon but the 400mm 5.6 and the 300mm f4 Nikon don't have rubber seals at the mount. Should I be worried about this when using it outdoors for wildlife? I trust your opinion over others in forums. is it worth buying the 1.4 ii TC for this lens? Thanks in advance ✌️
Lens question for you. I recently switched from my em 1 to the d750 with the kit 24-120 f4. While going through some old things today I came across my old Nikon 4004 with the kit 35-70 3.3/4.5. What are your feelings on this old lens? It's in as new condition and it sure makes the d750 a more capable carry around camera for street photography. Thanks in advance for your comments and keep up the good work! Ron Topp
+ron topp THAT LENS was top 4 worst zoom lenses nikon ever made....... hheheh DERP! :/ its true, its a tiny little lens, but Nikon face-palmed it on that lens , Doooooh! :/
I just bought a very clean one of these. I wasn't sure about it, but the price was right. I was glad when I stumbled across this video saying you liked it. I am going to see how it does with wildlife. I was a little concerned it might be slow.
I have received this lens today. You rock man. I have been testing it and the AF is really not bad at all. Not as fast as the 70-200 f2.8 but really decent. It is alos a bit more "contrasty" than other zoom lenses that I have used. But what iI love the most so far it the bokeh. Really great bokeh considering it is only f4.
"For those unfamiliar with the lens, the lens aperture must be kept at f32 to make it compatible with Nikon Digital DSLR cameras". Such is the informaton on an advertized AF-S f4 300mmED-IF on eBay. I am puzzled?!
Quick question regarding the AF-S on this lens...I just bought a used copy in pristine condition on eBay, however there is a definite high pitched squeak/ noise when auto focussing, would you consider this a potential issue with the AF-S motor? And should I return the lens?
This is my birding lens! I use it with the 1.4x teleconverter 90% of the time. I agree, it produces great looking photos and it is built like a tank : )
I have a 70-300mm f4.5 -5.6 vr. I have never used a telephoto lens without VR. Do you find it difficult to shoot at shutter speed lower than 1/300s with 300mm f4d
Hi Ken, Just purchased this lens of your recommendation and are currently using it with my D7000. I have concerns with using with the Nikon Collar supplied. Do you have any suggestions for a possible third party collar. I’m hoping to upgrade my camera real soon to the D500 to use with Birds in flight. Thanks heaps for all of your helpful information. Keep on rocky on.
how was (is) this lens in low light? i understand the 2.8 may have an advantage, but would like to hear your opinion in low light scenes. what 300mm would you recommend for low light situations? f4 VR worth pursuing? low light situations would be taking pictures of a stage while the audience is either dimmed down or at times completely off. stage lights are on the speaker.
Hi Ken. So it doesn't have VR, but It's such a deal and shutter speed should take care of that, right? Did you find the twitchiness annoying after using all the VR lenses out there? I fear the issues of the PF version as you do. Plus the price for a used one of these is hard to resist. I hand hold mostly, but 300 mm handheld should not be an issue, right? I used to stop F16's with my minolta film cameras. Your thoughts? It does look optically amazing.
Before buying this lens I was confused between new nikon 200-500mm vr and this mighty old lens, but when I saw sample shots I was stunned and I bought this lens. I'm glad that I made the right choice, but nikon stopped the production of tc 14e II and new tc i4e III is not compatible!!!!!
+Anik Mahanta I bought this brand new and bought a 2nd hand TC14E. I also have the TC17E but it will slow the focusing speed which is difficult for BIF shots.
Thank you for the great review on the Nikon 300mm f4. I will be using it on my D7200. DX equiv 450 f4......what more would you need. Due to your review I found a great condition second hand (as good as new) For $800 aud. I love the lens and will be taking it to South Africa soon. Keep up the great reviews Ian Tempany Cairns Australia
hi, i have a question that i hope you could answer to: is this lens should be used with tc1.4? or the image quality and focus speed would decrease too badly?
Theoria Apophasis thank you for the answer. and do you believe that it is possible to handhold it and still get tack sharp images? im talking about 1/500 1/300, because i tried that with my old 70-300vr and its very blurry.
"They don't make things like they used to baby" Ain't that the fucking truth. I bought a Samsung TV 2 years ago and I already had to replace it. Diffusers in front of the LED's fell off and created round circular bright spots on my screen. Would have cost more to repair than get a new one. Two damned years and it died. Unbelievable that a design that would allow that shit to happen was allowed to be sold to the public.
Hey Ken, how you doing? Been a while! lol Upgraded to the d500 and looking for a new lens purchase. I saw 2 lenses, one is this and the other is 80-200 2.8D (theres actually 2 at the shop one is 3rd gen and the other 4th gen. 80 bucks apart) Which would you recommend getting first? the prime or the zoom?
80-200 f2.8 4th gen $840 good as new 80-200 f2.8 4rd gen $600 mint 300 f4 ed if $600 good as new 180 f2.8 also at $600 good as new these are my options. I'm teaching now, so i'm using it mostly for events, sometimes sports, (highschool kids, but they're slow so not an issue for af hahahah) and portraits.
Mr. Wheeler on your recommendation I bought and found this Lens for Less than 500 Canadian today and got it ......I want to put a teleconverter on it the 1.4 times Nikon was suggested what do you say about this teleconverter ??
Hi Ken !!! How good is the 75-300 push pull old nikkor lens. They are soooo cheap all over the place but do you recomend it ? The other option I am looking at is the 70-210 4 -5.6D. Zoom reach not being an issue , which one would you recommend I should get. THANKS A BUNCH BUDDY !! 👍🏻💪🏻
@Alfio Lora Some people have mentioned also the 'partial vacuum' created within the lens body of push-pulls (on the push stroke) which, according to them, can/will draw dust into the body over time. I have no push-pulls so am only repeating what I've heard, so, a grain of salt is in order. Enjoy!
Am looking for a lens for no more than £1200 to shoot air displays/wildlife, would this lens be suitable to do that, I have a Nikon D90 ?, any pointers would be appreciated !
Supersharp lens... I believe the sharpest lens i have ever used. downside is that it doesnt have the VR. means I can not lower my shutter below 300mm w/o TC, 500mm on TC17E. need to bump up my ISO at low light conditions, usually I used it in birding. Used the monopod but it's sometimes difficult to used specially when the bird is above you. VR version is so slow and twice the cost of this. Just my opinion sir... but I agree this is a super sharp lens...
+Theoria Apophasis sorry it was past my bedtime when I typed this :) Would the older AF 300mm f4 ED lens glass be as sharp as the 300mm f4 ED IF AF-S.?
This 300mm AF-S, the AF and MF (IF) are all similarly priced on eBay at the moment. The older (non-IF) f/4.5 is a bit cheaper. I need to determine which of these lenses is superior for portraiture with best micro-contrast.
Glad you are starting to talk more about telephoto lenses. I love bird and wildlife photography. I have the tamron 70-200 and tamron 150-600 but would like some good primes. I can get the 300mm f/4 imported version for $950. Is that a good idea. Also can't wait for the D500 to come out (almost crossed over to canon) but will wait a year for the price of the d500 to come down.
i know! i already own 70-210mm range covered ( 70-210 f4 that you recommended, F#$% great ) but i cant choose between this two..if you had to pick one.....
Do you think my 300 F4 AF-S on top of my D7100 will survive for indoor basketball? - (ignore the D7100 buffer issue) I am talking about the low light and getting the image.
Thanks lol. Not sure what to make of your response. But I think you are saying it will be fine. I asked because everyone is saying use F2.8 lense or wider for indoor. I checked some shots I saw on flickr just now of someone who used a D200. at ISO 800. The shots looked "ok". So I think I should be fine with the better ISO of D7100. This is the link. www.flickr.com/search/?group_id=293777%40N25&view_all=1&text=basketball
Hi, I just tested this lens on a D800E and compared it against a 70-300 VR2 and Im not sure about the results. Either my 70-300 is overperforming, or the AF-S 300 f4 had some issues. Handheld the 70-300 (with VR on) beat the 300 f4 (1/320th of a second) so I thought maybe its a stabilization problem so I put both of them on a tripod. Still the 70-300 (VR off) beat the 300. So I figured the it might be a focusing problem and noticed the 300 was back focusing. after compensating for that issue, still the 70-300 was slightly sharper or almost no difference. I am sure you own both lenses, would you try to do the same test as I did and see if you get the same results? BTW thanks for the lens tips, I bought a 105 f2,5 after your recommendation, a 55 f 2,8 (radio active) 200 f4 and a 135 f 2,8 and I must say I am very happy with all of them. After comparing them to modern lenses with studiolight I seem to get just as sharp or sharper result from those lenses as modern ones.
indeed youre correct, the 70 300 VR G is smoking fast, and faster than the 300mm F4 AFS i do own both lenses, …………the slow boy however is a prime that renders better saturation and microcontrast but youre correct