Nikon's New 300mm f/4 Looks Impressive

J

J-see

Senior Member
mikew said:
Dont know if you caught my post about some users having VR problems,well i have just read a piece from a guy thats tested 3 or 4 of these lenses with a D810 and a d7200,no problem with the D7200 but he has had problems getting sharp images from the D810 combination using VR,his tests have concluded its a vibration thats caused it from the mirror,he has cured it by fitting the battery grip.
I have no explanation how this has achieved it but thought i would post it for you to log in the back of your mind just in case.
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I read about it a while ago but after the Tamron I'm pretty used to VR problems. ;)

I'm not a real VR-user and shoot 90% of the time without. The moment I can set the shutter to 1/400s or higher, I disable VR.

She's still not available here so I'm still thinking about my prime options. It's basically the last lens I need since all my other lenses cover the whole range and are sharp enough to keep me satisfied.

I'd be using the lens most on the D750 anyways. That one I can push harder.
 
J

J-see

Senior Member
mikew said:
One of our members has just got a 500mm f4 the results are fantastic,even one with a 2x converter
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The 500mm is out of my "sane" price range. ;) I just did a bid on a vehicle since I need something big enough to travel and if the bid is accepted, the lens frenzy ends for me.

Well, a 300mm could always be added.
 
J

J-see

Senior Member
There's finally some word on its use with the TC. It seems to do a reasonable job even with the TC2x. Since I have that one, it'd be silly to not use it.

https://photographylife.com/reviews/nikon-300mm-f4e-pf-ed-vr


The lens is still not available here and the firmware fix will probably have something to do with it but I decided to just let my order continue and get this one. It's about 2k but the lens is light, short and sharp which makes it quite nice.
 
J

J-see

Senior Member
My store just got word from Nikon admitting they stopped all orders until the firmware fix and it'll now be available... soon.

Le sigh.

I give it two more weeks and then buy a used prime instead.
 
J

J-see

Senior Member
I was ready to pull the plug on my order. Since I enjoy landscape at least as much as birding I was checking out the 24mm tilt-shift and pondering how useful that would be. Another option would have been the D7200 purely for my 150-600mm.

I'm to the store to tell them to ditch the order since I'm sick of waiting but first window-drool a bit looking at the gear. The owner comes out to tell me he just got a mail that the lens will arrive within some hours. How about that?

If all goes well I'll be shooting her this afternoon but I still consider the possibility they got the order wrong and be shipping another lens instead. If, that'll be the last of it.
 
M

mikew_RIP

Senior Member
J-see said:
I was ready to pull the plug on my order. Since I enjoy landscape at least as much as birding I was checking out the 24mm tilt-shift and pondering how useful that would be. Another option would have been the D7200 purely for my 150-600mm.

I'm to the store to tell them to ditch the order since I'm sick of waiting but first window-drool a bit looking at the gear. The owner comes out to tell me he just got a mail that the lens will arrive within some hours. How about that?

If all goes well I'll be shooting her this afternoon but I still consider the possibility they got the order wrong and be shipping another lens instead. If, that'll be the last of it.
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Need to see some samples with the 2x converter :D haven't you done them yet
 
J

J-see

Senior Member
mikew said:
Need to see some samples with the 2x converter :D haven't you done them yet
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She arrived and I've been taking some quick shots. I'm uploading now so I'm curious.

Tomorrow if the weather allows I'll test the Tam @600mm vs the 300mm & TC. Both demand the same amount of light for that length to shoot them sharp so it's only about the final IQ. If it isn't raining I'm going to pod some shots to compare both.

What I can tell you is that the 300mm is light. Very light. It's almost as if I'm carrying my 18-35mm.
 
J

J-see

Senior Member
Some very quick shots. I still need to fine-tune her or at least check it. No sharpening applied, full shot and 100% crop. Quick handheld shooting as done in reality.

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Also no lens profile. I need to search for one.
 
Woodyg3

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
When I compared my Tamzooka at 420mm to my old Nikkor 300mm f/4 with 1.4x TC I found that the Nikkor was a tad sharper, and the colors were a little bit more saturated, but the difference was surprisingly small. I'll be interested in seeing how this new, little lens does.
 
J

J-see

Senior Member
Scott Murray said:
Not too bad at all.
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Indeed not too shabby. She's very light to handle and delivers good IQ, especially when considering I shot those at least 3 stops underexposed. They are post-sharpened of course and I use a two step, two different algorithms to sharpen which might make her look a bit better than she in reality is.

The only thing I noticed this far is a dancing focal point when using VR. I'd have to check if my other lenses do that too but it's the first time I really noticed. If I shoot a burst, I see the focal points move in between shots which is probably the VR reset. I can't say I ever noticed with my other VR lenses but then again, I don't use VR too often and if, I seldom shoot bursts.
 
J

J-see

Senior Member
I have no decent shot to show a comparison here and the weather isn't good enough to do it today but after doing some quick shooting of the Tam@600mm vs the 300mm&TC2.0 I can't say I see much difference in the shots I took.

The main difference is that I'm shooting the 300mm at f/8 now while I shoot the Tam at f/6.3 in regards to focus and that I do notice. The combo does focus but it's slower than the Tam because of the extension so even if the IQ would be slightly better, that advantage gets nullified because focus is slightly slower and will lead to less sharp shots. At least for BiF.

I was pondering about it and started questioning my reasoning. I shoot very technical. At least technical in the sense I always try to shoot max quality; cam and lens. I rather shoot the Tam at 400mm f/6.3 if there isn't enough light than at 600mm at f/8 instead of her best f/10. I have no problem with sacrificing some reach for quality.

Using a TC goes completely against that approach. Now I suddenly am very willing to sacrifice quality for reach. It's one of those cases where you lose track of the very intent and get caught into a "more more more" mindset. In landscape I suffered the "wider wider wider" for a while and I'm very familiar with "closer closer closer" in macro. I prefer to stick to my "better better better" for all types of photography.

So I decided to not use the TC except for err... exceptions.

I rather have a good shot with less subject than more subject in a not so good shot. If the bird is too far, there will be a day when it'll be closer. Patience is all it takes.
 
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