Nikon bird in flight lens handheld

Looking for suggestions of Nikon lens to capture birds in flight on both FX and DX cameras. Also but less important general birding capability. Someone mentioned these 3 -

1. Nikon 300mm f/2.8G IF-ED AF-S VR and it can be used with all teleconvertors including TC-20E III. And with this combination I believe I can get great optical performance and quality at 600mm. Nikon 300mm f/2.8G IF-ED AF-S VR weighs 6.39 lb (2.9kg) Price around $5,800. Is it worth it ?

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2. The Nikon 300mm f/4D ED IF AF-S on the other hand is around $1,400 and weighs 3.17 lb (1.44 kg) and nikon states can be used with no limitations with TC-14E II only. http://www.nikonusa.com/en_INC/IMG/A...omp_chart.html Potentially not as much reach as cant be used with TC-20E III. Cheaper by a long way. And lighter. No VR. F4 instead of F/2.8. Does this really matter in the real world. ?

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3. Nikon 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II Lens - Weighs 7.4 lb (3.36 kg) costs around $6,800 can be used with TC-14E II . Advantage of zoom but the heaviest.

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Any suggestions on these or others would be most welcome. Image quality is important. Kind regards, Peter

Peter,
I have the 300 f2.8 vrii lens and I am happy with it.
It is ok with the 2xiii tc, but much better at 500mm with the 1.7tc.
The IQ with the 1.4 and 1.7 is really good IMO.
I bought the "grey" market lens for $5200 if that matters to you.

Thanks for your comments Dan. The 300 f2.8 VR2 certainly sounds great and the reviews I have read are very encouraging. Interesting to hear about your Teleconvertor experiences.

I've got the 300 f/4, 200-400, and all the teleconverters. The 300 f/4 is all I want to handle for long durations handheld. I have tried the 200-400 but it is just a little too heavy without some sort of support. I've heard great reports on the quality of the 300 f/2.8 - but it is only slightly lighter than the 200-400. Earlier this year I spent 6 days on a pelagic birding trip where tripods were not effective so I have had plenty of time to try the various combinations. I retired the 200-400 after just an hour and used the 300 f/4 with the 1.4 teleconverter for more than 2500 images and 60 hours on deck.

For extra reach, the 300 f/4 works wonderfully with the 1.4 teleconverter. The 1.7 teleconverter is slow enough to make AF a little sluggish but it is still quite sharp. I don't like it with the 2.0 teleconverter - you just lose too much light for fast AF.

Now if you are willing to use a tripod, the situation changes. And it also depends on the size of the birds you intend to photograph.

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Originally Posted by ericbowles

I've got the 300 f/4, 200-400, and all the teleconverters. The 300 f/4 is all I want to handle for long durations handheld. I have tried the 200-400 but it is just a little too heavy without some sort of support. I've heard great reports on the quality of the 300 f/2.8 - but it is only slightly lighter than the 200-400. Earlier this year I spent 6 days on a pelagic birding trip where tripods were not effective so I have had plenty of time to try the various combinations. I retired the 200-400 after just an hour and used the 300 f/4 with the 1.4 teleconverter for more than 2500 images and 60 hours on deck.

For extra reach, the 300 f/4 works wonderfully with the 1.4 teleconverter. The 1.7 teleconverter is slow enough to make AF a little sluggish but it is still quite sharp. I don't like it with the 2.0 teleconverter - you just lose too much light for fast AF.

Now if you are willing to use a tripod, the situation changes. And it also depends on the size of the birds you intend to photograph.

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Thanks for sharing your information Eric.

I can see what you mean about weight:
Nikon 300mm f/4D ED IF AF-S weighs 3.17 lb (1.44 kg). This is approx half the weight of the 300mm f/2.8G below. Costs around $1,150 -$1,400.
Nikon 300mm f/2.8G IF-ED AF-S VR weighs 6.39 lb (2.9kg) around $5200 -$5,800
Nikon 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II Lens - Weighs 7.4 lb (3.36 kg)