WooHoo! Nikkor 300mm f/4!

danbroad

danbroad

Suspended / Banned
Messages
1,634
Name
Dan
Edit My Images
No
Finally plucked up the courage to buy this... and after ringing round nearly every camera shop in the country, found one! Don't tell my wife, for goodness' sake!

Strikes me that I use my 70-200 2.8 with teleconverter at almost exclusively at the long end, which is where no zoom performs at its best... Plus, with a teleconverter, I PP back the contrast and colour - even though I have a remarkably well paired Sigma EX 2xTC and 70-200 2.8, which work flawlessly together [and I will probably sell together at a later date..]

So, I'm looking forward to being able to post some images on Flickr taken with the lens, and although I'll lose 100m of effective reach, the increased punch, colour and sharpness should mean that I can crop and PP with increased quality. It also means my kit now consists of a 50mm prime and a 300mm prime; I have the 18-200 which is my travel lens, but for 99% of my shoots, it's either portraits at 50, or wildlife at 300.

Do any of you own this lens? It's one of a very rare breed that gets a 5 star build rating at photozone... I'm told that the lens provides a 'shock' value similar to that seen when you move from the kit lens to the 50mm prime...
 
Ahhh... missed that thread - I have no preference as to whether it's black or grey - do you get L lens owners trying to sneak a peek as to why none of their lenses look like that?!

Anyway, given the difficulty in obtaining one [ended up asking Nikon UK as to where there may be one - otherwise it's a two month back-order], and he general high regard this lens seems to command, it should hold its value very well.

I was tempted for a while to switch back to Canon and go for the 300L f/4, but in the end IS doesn't matter to me - it's a tripod lens anyway, and IS seems like expensive electronics to go wrong ten years down the line... I sometimes worry about it on my 18-200.. Also, tried out a 40D in the shop this morning to make up my mind.. just can't get on with the Canon ergonomics. No offense meant to our Canon brethren, just my own personal preference..
 
Nice lens.. You enjoy it! ;) Its time i bought something.......:thinking:



Kev.
 
I have a sigma 120-300mm with a 1.4x TC and a 2X, with the 1.4x the PQ is excellent, with the 2x there is a very noticeable drop, if you try your 70-200 witha 1.4x TC I bet the results would be a lot better, admittedly not as good as a prime.

also check that the 300mm will accept a teleconvertor before trying it as not all TCs work with all lenses, some foul the elements and can cause damage, aplogies if you know this already but I wouldn't want to read a My 300mm F/4 is knackered thread
 
1.4 TC on the 300 F4 AF-S works fine
 
I have this lens (sort of - actually LensesForHire does) and it's very good. Not as good as the 300mm f/2.8 VR though, which is awesome - as it should be for a £3,000 price tag.

It's a shame Nikon decided not to put VR in the lens though. To my ind that means it doesn't stack up partcularly well against Canon's 300mm f/4 L IS, which is just as good optically.
 
Post some photo's taken with your new 300mm! I'd love one of those lenses!
 
Down at the National Bird of Prey centre, I met a well-known pro [Linda Wright] who was shooting with a [Canon] 300mm 2.8.. I agree, awesome lens. As they should be for £2500 plus..

But, given that most shots are at f/4-8 to guarantee your eyes-in-focus moment [the holy grail of wildlife shoots], and as sensor tech increases so nowadays ISO 1600 is fair game, isn't it cheaper/lighter to go with this and double the ISO in camera?

Just my opinion, although I prefer APS-C for the extra focal length with the crop... Maybe my next camera, probs a D400 or whatever replaces the D300 in a couple of years time, will likely have virtually noise-free ISO 1600 if things continue as they are..

This and a D700 together cost less than the 300mm 2.8.... you certainly don't get those admiring glances, though..
 
Has it arrived yet?
 
Not yet... getting impatient! Our rural postal service runs to its own time.. [jurassic, cretaceous or triassic].. plus I'm working nights tonight, so off to bed momentarily... I bet the doorbell rings just as I fall off to sleep....

Darn it all.. still, wonder if the patients would mind if I took it to work later..
 
Got it yet?
 
arrived today!! Wow, great build; mine's a black one. The box is enormous - how in heaven's name am I going to hide this from my wife????

Right, in typical fashion, raining cats and dogs right now, and work next two days. Saturday it is then!!
 
danbroad said:
arrived today!! Wow, great build; mine's a black one. The box is enormous - how in heaven's name am I going to hide this from my wife????
Click to expand...

Tell her it cost £80, works for me, I've got a bag full of £80 lenses, mind you the 120-300mm F/2.8 was a difficult sell :lol:
 
wack61 said:
Tell her it cost £80, works for me, I've got a bag full of £80 lenses, mind you the 120-300mm F/2.8 was a difficult sell :lol:
Click to expand...

wish i could do that lol, other half knows what i pay for lenses and then goes mad at her dad as he generally has the more expensive ones :lol:

looks like a cracking lens, i looked at one now long back, i'd be interested to see some example shots from it
 
danbroad said:
arrived today!! Wow, great build; mine's a black one. The box is enormous - how in heaven's name am I going to hide this from my wife????
Click to expand...
A Canon user I know took the following line. She only ever sees one big white lens at any one time..... therefore there is only one big white lens.
 
wack61 said:
Tell her it cost £80, works for me, I've got a bag full of £80 lenses, mind you the 120-300mm F/2.8 was a difficult sell :lol:
Click to expand...

Do what my missus does to me.....
Whenever I see her wearing something new, and I comment on it she says...."I bought it ages ago, don't you remember? I just haven't worn it lately".

Trouble is, as I get older I can't remember...and she plays on it

:thinking::thinking::thinking::thinking::thinking::thinking:
 
Enjoy:)
 
I own the "other" white 300mm f/4 lens (the brand will remain unspoken and therefore mysterious) and I just love the focal length and the f/stop. I am sure you will be extremely happy with yours. It gives me a nice 420mm f/5.6 with a 1.4x TC,

Would I rather have a 300mm f/2.8? Perhaps and perhaps not...

My mystery brand (hint: it IS an "L" of a lens) 300mm f/4 weighs 1,190 g.; less than half of the 3,550 g. the f/2.8 model weighs and it costs less than 1/3 the (USA) price of the f/2.8 (which IS "L"ishly expensive).

I would not want to carry the bigger lens and certainly could not afford to purchase it if I were willing to carry it.
 
The box is enormous - how in heaven's name am I going to hide this from my wife????
Click to expand...


Tell her you sold a lens to fund this one :D Worked for me with a 500 f4.
 
OK then, finally got a day to myself to give this a spin. First impressions:

WOW! It's SHARP! Really sharp! I've not been blown away by a lens like this since getting the 50mm prime; I expected the 70-200 to be good, and it was, but the 300/4 blows it away. Not only that, but it seems superb even wide open at f/4. I've about three hundred shots [mostly of an obliging brown bear] to go though yet, so I'll post a linky to my flickr account once some shots are up. [BTW, please visit my flickr account - danbroad1000 - and leave some comments anyway, I feel left out and lonely! First one to comment on all my photos wins a car! [Or something of equal or lesser cost, terms and conditions apply etc etc etc]... anyway...]

As is always the case with a new lens, the temptation is to shoot wide open all the time - and I'm a sucker for temptation - so there'll be quite a few binned due to DoF issues... but I did play around from f/4 to f/8 - so I'm sure there's a keeper in there somewhere.

Also noticed that 300mm's pretty much the perfect zoo lens; not once did I feel the need to go further, and didn't have to step back much. I wonder if I'll even require a 1.4x TC here...
 
Cracking lens, I have one and love it, pairs well with the Nikon 1.7 TC, enjoy mate..............:thumbs:
 
OK, just managed to post an image on Flickr - barely processed [no pun intended] other than a frame and a modicum of USM. For some reason Flickr's rejected nearly all of my images this last 24hrs, they won't upload. It's not actually the best image I've ever taken - for that, see "thought" on my wildlife page - but I can see the potential with this lens for sure. A couple more trips to the zoo should get my eye in...

If you visit my flickr account, I'd sure love to hear some comment - good or bad, at least I'd feel like my uploading's worthwhile!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/danbroad/
 
danbroad said:
OK, just managed to post an image on Flickr - barely processed [no pun intended] other than a frame and a modicum of USM. For some reason Flickr's rejected nearly all of my images this last 24hrs, they won't upload. It's not actually the best image I've ever taken - for that, see "thought" on my wildlife page - but I can see the potential with this lens for sure. A couple more trips to the zoo should get my eye in...

If you visit my flickr account, I'd sure love to hear some comment - good or bad, at least I'd feel like my uploading's worthwhile!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/danbroad/
Click to expand...

It seems like a cracking shot mate, I'd like to see it bigger though :thumbs:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top