A mint condition 50-300mm f/4.5 ED AIS Nikkor. The most amazing thing is was shipped out of Japan yesterday Fedex!
One of my neighbors house is 70m (about 225ft) away and there are 2" light bulbs strung out along the length. I mounted the lens on the D850 and shot from 50 to 300mm at f/8 hand held. From 135mm to 300mm you could resolve the filaments in the bulbs. From 50-105 you could not really see the filaments but the bulbs themselves were crystal clear.
I got this primarily as a good "walking around" lens for me and my wife go to Charleston but I am sure it might come in handy on birding walks too, especially if it is mounted on the D500. It is not a lightweight, about 5 lbs but it is built in the old Nikon tradition of construction; basically a tank. Total with the D850 it comes in at 7.6 pounds, very carriable. Like most long Nikkors, there are rings on the tripod collar when you can attach your camera strap so as not to overstress the lugs on the camera body. In used lenses these tend to me minus a lot of their paint but these are pristine. The glass is absolutely perfect; no scratches, cleaning marks, haze, fungus or even dust particles. And all this for right at $300 plus $50 shipping. I remember in the late 80's when these lenses came out they were going for over a grand and really wanted one but could never convince the Purchasing Manager to release the funds!
I will go out tomorrow to Brookgreen Gardens and shoot a bunch with it.
One of my neighbors house is 70m (about 225ft) away and there are 2" light bulbs strung out along the length. I mounted the lens on the D850 and shot from 50 to 300mm at f/8 hand held. From 135mm to 300mm you could resolve the filaments in the bulbs. From 50-105 you could not really see the filaments but the bulbs themselves were crystal clear.
I got this primarily as a good "walking around" lens for me and my wife go to Charleston but I am sure it might come in handy on birding walks too, especially if it is mounted on the D500. It is not a lightweight, about 5 lbs but it is built in the old Nikon tradition of construction; basically a tank. Total with the D850 it comes in at 7.6 pounds, very carriable. Like most long Nikkors, there are rings on the tripod collar when you can attach your camera strap so as not to overstress the lugs on the camera body. In used lenses these tend to me minus a lot of their paint but these are pristine. The glass is absolutely perfect; no scratches, cleaning marks, haze, fungus or even dust particles. And all this for right at $300 plus $50 shipping. I remember in the late 80's when these lenses came out they were going for over a grand and really wanted one but could never convince the Purchasing Manager to release the funds!
I will go out tomorrow to Brookgreen Gardens and shoot a bunch with it.
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