Nikon AF-S 70-300mm VR

I am thinking of selling my Sigma 150-500 because with my ill health its just too heavy to be carried around for too long. I was thinking of buying a Nikon 70-300 and maybe a teleconverter would this work ? If so which converter ?

This has raised its head a few times and i think general the answer is its not worth it,i dont think the Nikon TCs fit but the Kenco 1.4 does,again though cant remember seeing any rave reports about the combination.

Thanks Mike

make sure you get the 70-300 vr g

maybe the 80-400 would be better for you

Hope you have a easier and cheaper path than i did,i was nearly two years swapping and changing unwilling to admit the gear was too heavy,one way i could have got around it and stayed with Nikon DX was a D7200 the new 300mm pf and 1.4 converter,ime sure i would have been unhappy though with it not being a Zoom.
The other thing i considered was using my 70-300 on the D7200 and carrying my V2 with FT-1 for when i wanted more reach,this would have given the 70-300 a FOV = to 189-810mm and the V2 has a great sensor.

I had the Nikkor 70-300 and have the kenko 1.4 TC and the combination was very soft and not good in low light - my experience anyway.

In fact I have been very disappointed in the Kenko 1.4X. Tried it on my 50-150 f2.8 Sigma today and it slowed the focus down quite considerably (so not good for birds hopping around) and was again soft whereas without the TC the lens is really sharp

Thanks for all you input

egosbar said:

make sure you get the 70-300 vr g

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Vr G......??

JH Foto said:

I am thinking of selling my Sigma 150-500 because with my ill health its just too heavy to be carried around for too long. I was thinking of buying a Nikon 70-300 and maybe a teleconverter would this work ? If so which converter ?

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The newer Kenko 1.4 TC will work on that lens. Auto focus will be very slow, but the IQ does not suffer much. Tracking with it will be very tough.

Lawrence said:

I had the Nikkor 70-300 and have the kenko 1.4 TC and the combination was very soft and not good in low light - my experience anyway.

In fact I have been very disappointed in the Kenko 1.4X. Tried it on my 50-150 f2.8 Sigma today and it slowed the focus down quite considerably (so not good for birds hopping around) and was again soft whereas without the TC the lens is really sharp

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It seems that it's a hit and miss which lenses it will benefit. On the Nikon 200-500mm the images are just as sharp as without it, and the focus does not slow down by much. (of course I increase the shutterspeed when I use it)
Also, on my older Nikkor 28-105mm the IQ desn't seem to suffer, but focusing slows more.

On the 70-300mm, my experience is, that the IQ drops a little, but the focus slows down a lot. Nearly impossible to track with it!

To sum it up, I'm thrilled with it on my 200-500 mm lens. I would not buy it to put it on the 70-300mm VR-G lens.

After purchasing the 200-500 and the TC14E II, I started thinking about using the TC with my 70-300 VR and I didn't find many saying it was a good combination and many said it just wouldn't happen due to some tab/slot on the TC that had to be machined off for it to mate. The camera you use it on makes a difference too, I found out. Nikon site has a compatibility chart for their TC's. I am not sure about Kenko.

The compatibility chart says ok depending on conditions ?

mikew said:

http://www.kenkoglobal.com/photo/Total_Compatibility_Table_PDF.pdf

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Too bad this table does not discuss any third party (tokina, sigma, Tamron, etc.)

Bikerbrent said:

Too bad this table does not discuss any third party (tokina, sigma, Tamron, etc.)

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If ime honest i never read it,picked the link up from another forum a while ago and filed for use on occasions like this.

I am confused...............................................:hurt:

I really wouldnt bother with a tc on the 70-300vr.
If you are restricted weight wise due to ill health a great albeit expensive option would be something like the sony RX10 mk iii and a few spare batteries.(I have read that panasonic have an update to their fz1000 which would be a great deal cheaper) which would be a nice compact all in one system.
For someone who cannot carry much this sort of camera would be liberating.

I have been down the Bridge Camera road, I even owned a FZ1000 and although very good I came back to Nikon which is where I would prefer to stay. I just have to sort out a telephoto solution.

@jhphoto it is a nice lightweight budget lens and should be killer on your D7200 with no need for a TC - images will crop fine to at least 400mm equivalent.

My copy is great but a little soft at 300. I shoot it at about 280 and crop instead. Try multiple copies in your LCS if possible - shoot pics and chk on your laptop. You may find a copy that is sharp all the way to 300.

Perhaps another choice might be the new Nikkor 300 f4 VR tele.... It's on my short wish list!

good luck! Let us know what you decide!