Rented a 300mm f4 for a week

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Redtail55

Senior Member
So since I have about a week off from work I figured that I'd rent a Nikon 300mmf4 (not the new one )and give it a go . I'm contemplating buying one for myself this year so renting seemed like a good thing to do , and I have to say that with just a couple of days with it I'm sold .It's just a lot faster and sharper than my 70-300vr and by a large margin.On the first day with it I was not happy that it wasn't sunny enough outside but with the f4 aperture I got some great shots that I know would have been very soft with the 70-300 telezoom.The second day was very cold and even though I was shaking a bit I got some great shots of a Canvas Backed Duck and some Eagles , even though I didn't have tnhe shutter speed fast enough to prevent some blur I still ended up with some decent shots. So I'm off today again , sun is shining and we'll see what I end up with . BLD_6188.jpgBLD_6215.jpgBLD_6218.jpgBLD_6200.jpgBLD_6239.jpgBLD_6276.jpg
 
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J-see

Senior Member
Re: Rented a 300mmf4 for a week

I ordered the new 300mm version for birding. The Tam's nice and got reach but since I have to shoot at f/6.3 or f/7.1 to get it sharp, it's too demanding when it comes to light. Down here the best time to shoot is early in the morning when the birds wake up but most humans not yet. It's not the best time of day to shoot in regards to light.

I have been trying my 200mm f/4 to check if it makes much difference and it does. But the 200mm is too short for my taste. 300mm would be fine I guess.
 
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hrstrat57

Senior Member
Re: Rented a 300mmf4 for a week

Nice @Redtail55 !! Please update the thread all week, once the price comes down just a smidge bit more I will add this 300 F/4 to my arsenal!!! Right out of the box these pics are brilliant!!! Can't wait to see what you produce the rest of the week. I don't need VR as 90% of my use will be shooting surfing in bright light so this lens will be a deal for me
 
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Moab Man

Senior Member
Re: Rented a 300mmf4 for a week

I just bought this lens 3 days ago. My lens does back focus a bit so I tuned it in camera. I suspect you can do the same on your D300. Makes a difference in consistency and sharpness.
 
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Whiskeyman

Senior Member
Re: Rented a 300mmf4 for a week

Moab Man said:
I just bought this lens 3 days ago. My lens does back focus a bit so I tuned it in camera. I suspect you can do the same on your D300. Makes a difference in consistency and sharpness.
Click to expand...

What did you use to determine optimal focus? Manual process or automated?

WM
 
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Moab Man

Senior Member
Re: Rented a 300mmf4 for a week

@Whiskeyman

I have always been a little skeptical of computerized focus because it's not the real world. My logic is that the glass focusing at a real world distance will be different than what it would be close up focusing on a chart. I'm not saying it doesn't work, and I know Don loves his program, but for me I want real world focusing. So here is how I did it and the story that brought me to my method.

Yesterday...

I'm sitting in the park shooting various things trying out the lens as it is the first time I have got to shoot my new lens. The crows are making themselves available so I'm shooting them. One crow lands in the parking lot in front of me to pick at some bread and I turn to shoot it. It just so happens that after I shoot this bird and zoom in looking at the picture I realize the parking space lines, from my elevated location, is exactly like the manual tuning system of using a printed ruler pattern. Looking closer I can see exactly where the camera is focusing relative to the bird.

From this EUREKA moment I went home, the park is behind my house, grabbed my tripod and computer to sit down and formally dial it in. Shown in the picture below, I was 115 feet from a black mark that split one of the two parking spaces in half (could be replicated with chalk or a tape line). On my tripod I used that black line in the parking space to split right down the middle of the focus box in my camera viewfinder. From there I used a 2 second time delayed to fire each shot and then pixel peeped on my computer to dial in my focus.

Why 115 feet? From the distance I was at, to where the crow was, it was about the natural distance/limit at which I would shoot something smaller in size.

I found this worked perfectly to dial in my lens replicating a real world shooting distance that I would us it at.

manual_focus.jpg
 
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hrstrat57

Senior Member
Re: Rented a 300mmf4 for a week

This concerns me a little bit as I would have to configure the lens to 2 cameras at least.....

Thanks for the heads up!
 
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Whiskeyman

Senior Member
Re: Rented a 300mmf4 for a week

Moab Man said:
@Whiskeyman

I have always been a little skeptical of computerized focus because it's not the real world. My logic is that the glass focusing at a real world distance will be different than what it would be close up focusing on a chart. I'm not saying it doesn't work, and I know Don loves his program, but for me I want real world focusing. So here is how I did it and the story that brought me to my method.

Yesterday...

I'm sitting in the park shooting various things trying out the lens as it is the first time I have got to shoot my new lens. The crows are making themselves available so I'm shooting them. One crow lands in the parking lot in front of me to pick at some bread and I turn to shoot it. It just so happens that after I shoot this bird and zoom in looking at the picture I realize the parking space lines, from my elevated location, is exactly like the manual tuning system of using a printed ruler pattern. Looking closer I can see exactly where the camera is focusing relative to the bird.

From this EUREKA moment I went home, the park is behind my house, grabbed my tripod and computer to sit down and formally dial it in. Shown in the picture below, I was 115 feet from a black mark that split one of the two parking spaces in half (could be replicated with chalk or a tape line). On my tripod I used that black line in the parking space to split right down the middle of the focus box in my camera viewfinder. From there I used a 2 second time delayed to fire each shot and then pixel peeped on my computer to dial in my focus.

Why 115 feet? From the distance I was at, to where the crow was, it was about the natural distance/limit at which I would shoot something smaller in size.

I found this worked perfectly to dial in my lens replicating a real world shooting distance that I would us it at.

View attachment 140682
Click to expand...

That is a very practical approach. I may try to emulate it. Thanks Moabman!

Now that you have the lens tuned in, how do you like it?


WM
 
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Moab Man

Senior Member
Re: Rented a 300mmf4 for a week

Whiskeyman said:
That is a very practical approach. I may try to emulate it. Thanks Moabman!

Now that you have the lens tuned in, how do you like it?


WM
Click to expand...
what I'm shooting is sharper and focus is consistent since the target is now in the center of my focus range and not on the front edge.

I had to do it one other time for using the 1.7 teleconvertor.
 
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Whiskeyman

Senior Member
Re: Rented a 300mmf4 for a week

Moab Man said:
what I'm shooting is sharper and focus is consistent since the target is now in the center of my focus range and not on the front edge.

I had to do it one other time for using the 1.7 teleconvertor.
Click to expand...

I'v done the same with some of my lenses and TCs, with mixed results, but not with the technique you described.

How do you like the lens, though? Do you feel its IQ suits you?

WM
 
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Redtail55

Senior Member
Re: Rented a 300mmf4 for a week

How much did you adjust your lens by in Auto Fine tune ? I have noticed that the lens hunts quite a bit to capture focus at times and when I take a single picture it's not in focus as opposed to a burst capture. So if I fine tune it will this correct the hunting at times ?
 
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Moab Man

Senior Member
Re: Rented a 300mmf4 for a week

Redtail55 said:
How much did you adjust your lens by in Auto Fine tune ? I have noticed that the lens hunts quite a bit to capture focus at times and when I take a single picture it's not in focus as opposed to a burst capture. So if I fine tune it will this correct the hunting at times ?
Click to expand...

I have my focus brought forward by 5. 10 when using my 1.7 teleconvertor.
 
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Moab Man

Senior Member
Re: Rented a 300mmf4 for a week

Whiskeyman said:
I'v done the same with some of my lenses and TCs, with mixed results, but not with the technique you described.

How do you like the lens, though? Do you feel its IQ suits you?

WM
Click to expand...

Image quality is good, very happy with it. And as I use it more, I get better with it. The lens is best used with a monopod and not handheld. You can hand hold, but it's just too easy to lose your target. What I mean is that with a zoom I would back out, locate, and then zoom in. It takes a bit of practice finding your target with this amount of magnification. The telephoto really makes it much easier to stay on target - small targets.

My shooting today, after fine tuning the focus at the end of the day yesterday, was much more consistent. I've also become much more practiced at being very still when shooting with this lens - attention to proper technique and body posturing since there is no VR is critical.

Here is a link to my thread where I have posted my images.

http://nikonites.com/project-365-an...ction-8.html?highlight=moab+man#axzz3RsyhMvR5
 
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J-see

Senior Member
Re: Rented a 300mmf4 for a week

How does it focus with the TC attached? Does it hunt or is f/4 enough light for AF to function?
 
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Moab Man

Senior Member
Re: Rented a 300mmf4 for a week

J-see said:
How does it focus with the TC attached? Does it hunt or is f/4 enough light for AF to function?
Click to expand...

I find less of an issue with low light than I do with simply there not being enough contrast. For example, I shot a lab in the water retrieving a ball completely in the shade and the camera ISO had to jump all the way up to 1250. There was clear contrast between the dog and the water and it had no trouble. Today, in full bright sun, the TC had difficulty had difficulty focusing in on some distant standing eagles. Their brown color against the brown grasses and it struggled.

Granted, with low light contrast tends to be lost, but lower light or bright light a lack of contrast will trip it up.
 
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Redtail55

Senior Member
Re: Rented a 300mmf4 for a week

Moab Man - Which of your cameras are you using this lens on ? DX or FX ? Have you tried on both formats ? Which format is better suited to this lens ?
 
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