300 mm PF?

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MikeA

MikeA

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I have a big heavy Sigma 150 - 600 mm lens and I am happy with it but it really is heavy. So for long walks I am now considering a 300 mm 4 E PF ED VR additto ally. Does anybody here have experience with this lens? The reviews sound good.

Best,

Mike
 
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I have the perfect solution for you! Just buy a 500 or 600mm F/4 lens.....then the Sigma will seem much lighter! 🤣 My biggest lens used to be the Sigma 150-600mm (which I thought was a little heavy) until I bought my 500mm F/4G a few months ago....now all of a sudden, the Sigma is my "walking around" lens. LOL

In all seriousness though, I have actually contemplated buying the 300mm PF as well for a true hiking lens.....it seems like an excellent lightweight option! I remember Steve doing a review of it. You can view his video here:
 
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Thank you, have not seen this video from Steve yet. It seems the 300 PF is exactly what I am looking for.
 
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If you can afford one - the answer is Yes. Definitely. There are several sound reasons why the 300 f4E PF is probably the most versatile prime yet designed for nature photography. Read this thread + links

Do I need a 300mm f/4 PF?

I don't read much about the 80-400mm f4.5-5.6g ED lens. I own one of these and I quite like it. However, I use it quite sparingly, usually on a tripod in a hide or from my truck window rested on a bean bag. I recently bought an 18-300mm f3.5-5.6 to use as my 'walkabout lens', the 80-400 is just...
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Steve’s video review, cited above, really captures the essence of this lens, what it‘s all about and how valuable it is for wildlife photographers. I’ve had mine now for a couple of years and simply love it. It mates very well with the 1.4 TC too to expand its usefulness. I had it on my D6 yesterday with the TC in my pocket as I walked through a local woodland looking for a pair of Barred Owls. Found the owls but so high up in the trees and just before sunset that nothing would produce keeper images. The lens however is a keeper.
 
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MikeA said:
So for long walks I am now considering a 300 mm 4 E PF ED VR additto ally. Does anybody here have experience with this lens?
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The 300mm PF is a very good lens for long walks alone or when coupled with a TC-14 iii for a bit more focal length. It was my go-to walk around lens until I picked up the 500mm PF which is very nice but a lot more expensive and more than twice the size. I still keep the 300mm PF handy to fill the gap between my 70-200mm lens and my 500mm PF or 600mm G lens depending on what I'm shooting with on a given day.

Actually all of the Nikon 300mm f/4 lenses are quite good but the 300mm f/4 PF is much smaller than its predecessors, includes VR and is overall a step above Nikon's earlier f/4 300mm lenses but for folks on a tight budget it's really hard to go wrong with any of them.
 
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fcotterill said:
If you can afford one - the answer is Yes. Definitely. There are several sound reasons why the 300 f4E PF is probably the most versatile prime yet designed for nature photography. Read this post + links

Do I need a 300mm f/4 PF?

I don't read much about the 80-400mm f4.5-5.6g ED lens. I own one of these and I quite like it. However, I use it quite sparingly, usually on a tripod in a hide or from my truck window rested on a bean bag. I recently bought an 18-300mm f3.5-5.6 to use as my 'walkabout lens', the 80-400 is just...
bcgforums.com bcgforums.com
Click to expand...
Thank you!!! Now I am already checking out prices....
 
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DRwyoming said:
Actually all of the Nikon 300mm f/4 lenses are quite good but the 300mm f/4 PF is much smaller than its predecessors, includes VR and is overall a step above Nikon's earlier f/4 300mm lenses but for folks on a tight budget it's really hard to go wrong with any of them.
Click to expand...

The older lenses are really quite good, even today. That's why I still hold onto my 4/300 "screwdriver" lens. Stopped down a third of a stop the results are pretty good, even by today's crazy standards. AND it's a very tough lens, mine survived several mishaps over the years. Also works reasonably well with a Kenko 1.4 converter.
 
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I have the 300 PF and love it. Lightweight and sharp. And it takes the TC14 very well. I use it mostly with my D750. And if I need more reach I use it with my D7200 and TC14 and have a very lightweight and sharp 630mm f5.6.
 
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I just received my new lens. The TC is not available. I hope Nikon will still provide it again soon. I can’t wait for the weekend to try it out, even though all wildlife has seemed to disappear due to the snow we got these last days. Now we even have Avian Flue too I heard in the news today. If I catch anything interesting I will give my first impressions.

Best,

Mike
 
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MikeA said:
I just received my new lens. The TC is not available. I hope Nikon will still provide it again soon. I can’t wait for the weekend to try it out, even though all wildlife has seemed to disappear due to the snow we got these last days. Now we even have Avian Flue too I heard in the news today. If I catch anything interesting I will give my first impressions.

Best,

Mike
Click to expand...

You might try to find a used TC. I got one on KEH.com for a good price, like new.
 
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Today I finally had at some time from a busy work load this week for a short walk to try out my new 300 PF on my D500 with out a tripod and hand held. It really is wonderfully light weight and for such a walk I would never consider to take my rather big and heavy Sigma 150 - 600 mm with me. Here are a few examples, even though strongly cropped (around only 5% of the frame). The images were all very sharp without any trouble, the VR works well and the AF works fast, no problem. The birds were scarce, high up in the trees and it was slightly foggy weather too. A TC will sure come in handy for this focal length - will order one soon used or when available again from Nikon to complete the lens for more reach. It seems I will have fun with this new part of my equipment too.

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Hello everyone and seasons greetings from Dublin Ireland. I'm new to the forum having joined in the summer. I have a D7000 and a recently acquired D780. I'm very happy with both. I need some extra reach lens wise and having read all of your comments on the 300 PF it seems the best way to go. Has anyone any views on whether I should also upgrade my D7000? I have a chance of buying an Astock/demo body only D7200 for the equivalent of less than $700.00. I thought to keep a DX body so as combined with a 1.4iii TC the 300 PF would give me even better reach?

TMac
 
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tmac said:
Hello everyone and seasons greetings from Dublin Ireland. I'm new to the forum having joined in the summer. I have a D7000 and a recently acquired D780. I'm very happy with both. I need some extra reach lens wise and having read all of your comments on the 300 PF it seems the best way to go. Has anyone any views on whether I should also upgrade my D7000? I have a chance of buying an Astock/demo body only D7200 for the equivalent of less than $700.00. I thought to keep a DX body so as combined with a 1.4iii TC the 300 PF would give me even better reach?

TMac
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I made an upgrade from D7000 to D500 and am happy. I did not want to change to a larger chip. DX helps me a lot for reach and also for macro.
 
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tmac said:
Hello everyone and seasons greetings from Dublin Ireland. I'm new to the forum having joined in the summer. I have a D7000 and a recently acquired D780. I'm very happy with both. I need some extra reach lens wise and having read all of your comments on the 300 PF it seems the best way to go. Has anyone any views on whether I should also upgrade my D7000? I have a chance of buying an Astock/demo body only D7200 for the equivalent of less than $700.00. I thought to keep a DX body so as combined with a 1.4iii TC the 300 PF would give me even better reach?

TMac
Click to expand...

I traded my D7000 for a D7200 and am very happy with it. I didn't have the money for a D500 at the time, but I've found the D7200 to be a very good camera that suits my needs well, and a big improvement over the D7000.
 
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