Nikon Telephoto AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4.0D ED-IF

[Romy Ocon]

FEATURES:

This profesional quality telephoto lens is Ideal for a wide range of picture taking, from sports and action, to extraordinary tight-close-up portraits, to general landscape photography.
Extra Low Dispersion optical glass elements virtually eradicate secondary optical chromatic aberrations; such aberrations are typical in ordinary telephoto optics.

• High optical performance even with a teleconverter attached
• ED glass elements
• Fulltime manual focus override in autofocus mode
• Light gray color repels heat


SPECS:

Filter Size 77mm
f/Stop Range 4-32
Minimum Focus Distance 4.8'
Magnification 1:3.7
Zoom/Focus Control Not applicable
Angle of View 8 Degrees
Groups/Elements 6/10
Tripod Collar Yes
Length 8.8"
Maximum Diameter 3.5"
Weight 3.10 lb
Usable Nikon Teleconverter TC-14e TC-14e (maintains autofocusing)
or TC-20e, TC-14b (both manual focus only) & TC-201 (manual focus only and occassional vignetting)

[Teddy Regpala]

My birding lens ... for now.
Great birding lens for beginners, and those in a budget.
Combined with my Nikon D300 (1.5x crop sensor), and Nikkor teleconverters TC14EII (1.4x) and TC17EII (1.7x), a very flexible setup which suits my budget.

Caveat emptor:
- non-VR (does not have a built-in stabilization IS/OS/etc), you'll be forced to improve your handholding and shooting skills, which is not a bad thing.
- tripod collar. It's well-documented that the collar has issues. I personally can't noticed it, but I replaced it with a Kirk NC300 nontheless as I prefer the Arca-swiss type compatible quick release. RRS do have a replacement collar for this lens, but I prefer the Kirk's implementation.

Having said all that, I can't say anything more bad about it, the rest are all praises.

It's an f/4 lens, and priced accordingly. With Nikkor TCs, the actual focal length is being reported to the body:
- TC 1.4 @ 420mm f/5.6 - body supports full AF at this aperture
- TC 1.7 @ 500mm f/6.7 - body STILL supports full AF at this aperture!

You get to 500mm cheaply with this setup, with full AF provided there's enough light, otherwise it will hunt. Well, even an f/2.8 lens will hunt if there's not enough light ... go figure.

Here's a sample of images using TC 1.7, I'll post images used with the bare lens and a TC 1.4 later. I posted these images before.

Nikon D300, AFS 300/4, TC 1.7, @ 500mm, manual exposure: 1/400s, F8, Auto ISO 800, cropped, handheld


Same as above, except for Auto ISO 500


I've tried (rented) the 80-400 f/3.5-5.6 AF before, it's a great lens, very flexible. These are the cons that made me go for the 300mm instead:
- not AF-S, still using the slower screwdriver-type for focus
- can't use a TC without doing some DIY mods. This is actually the deal-breaker. It sure is longer than the 300, but it's stucked at the focal length. And even if it can, it looks like this:
- bare @400mm - f/5.6
- assuming you can use a TC 1.4 - @ 560mm (or 550mm reported?) - f/8 ! Not sure if you can AF if the lighting is not favorable.

In the interim, I'm happy with my setup. I'm looking forward to my next lens though (whenever that is). ;D

[Romy Ocon]

Superb detail and color rendition, Ted!