AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4D IF-ED

[Bill Jobes]

Is anyone using this lens?

I was considering it, perhaps with the 1.4 TC, as a walk-around BIF lens.

[Alan Melle]

I used to have this lens before I got the 200-400VR. This is a wonderfully sharp lens!

[Randy Stout]

Bill:

I am pretty sure Fabs used this setup a lot in the past. Hopefully she will chime in.

Randy

[Harold Davis]

awesome lens for the price!! cant say about using it with the 1.4x. i'd imagine it is OK. just a little slower AF.

[Bill Jobes]

Thanks for the replies so far !

I also have the 200-400VR, Alan ... I'm just looking for something a bit lighter for long hikes.

It's good to hear the positive reviews on the 300 F/4 !

[Mark Hopgood]

I have one + the 200-400.

I think it is a great lens, light, sharp and does not lose too much with the converter. I have only used it with my D700. I also used it recently with Kenko extension tubes and it performed well there although those pesky dragonflies were somewhat elusive.

I highly recommend it. I have bought the RRS foot to go with it as the original had a poor reputation. I never used it with the original foot so can't really comment although the RRS fot worked well.

[Howard Burkert]

Nice lens for flight images and works great with the 1.4 extender. Sharp lens but make sure it is a AF-S for quick focus. Nice for hand held flight tracking.

Best,
Howard

[Van Hilliard]

I too have the 300 and the 200-400. I haven't used the 300 much lately because I also shoot Canon and have the 400 5.6 lens, which would accomplish the same thing as the 300 Nikon+1,4. When I used it without TC in the past, I found it to be acceptably fast and exceptionally sharp. with a Nikon 1.4 converter, it still focused fairly well but I didn't think it did as well as the Canon 5.6. It certainly is considerably more portable than the 200-400 and with TC, provides a versatile and sharp option.

[Bill Jobes]

Thanks everyone for all the great information.

Van, I can relate to the Canon 400 5.6 example, as that lens and the 1Dn were my favorites for flight when I was shooting with Canon gear.

This is exactly what I'm trying to replicate with Nikon equipment.

Since I don't use the 200-400, I just might replace it with the 300 F/4 and the 1.4 TC. :D

[Nicolas Frève]

Very sharp and fast autofocus.

All my Snowy Owl shots have been taken last week with this lens.

http://www.pbase.com/nicolasfreve/harfang_des_neiges

[Bill Jobes]

Those are beautiful photos, Nicolas !

They're great selling tools for the 300 F/4 .

[Alfredo Fernández]

Hey,
Nikon maybe is going to release a 120-450mm just in a month...
so i hope that the 120-450mm drop the price of the 300f4...so i can affort it (16 years old)
thx
bye

[Andy MacDougall]

I had a 300 f4 with 1.4tc and it is a great lens, portable and fast with great IQ. Even takes a 1.7 in good light and still AFs if a little slowly. Sold it for 300 2.8 which is even better but not quite so portable ! but takes the 1.7 a lot better.

Andy

[Jeffrey Smigielski]

Nice lens for flight images and works great with the 1.4 extender. Sharp lens but make sure it is a AF-S for quick focus. Nice for hand held flight tracking.

Best,
Howard

Just curious if the AF-S version is much quicker focus than the AF version that I currently have.