Author Topic: NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED (The Best Hiking Telephoto Lens ever)  (Read 21461 times)

Frank Fremerey

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Re: NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED (The Best Hiking Telephoto Lens ever)
« Reply #90 on: April 14, 2018, 20:28:25 »
I just bought a used 17x II for 199€
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Frank Fremerey

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Re: NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED (The Best Hiking Telephoto Lens ever)
« Reply #91 on: April 21, 2018, 12:14:11 »
Here is my first try with the 17E II on the D500:

1) original Frame
2) 100% crop (right click "view image" to see it in full)

colors are a bit off, due to green cast in the canopy
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JKoerner007

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Re: NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED (The Best Hiking Telephoto Lens ever)
« Reply #92 on: April 22, 2018, 00:20:36 »
Nice Frank.

Here are some recent images taken with my own 300 PF + the D500, all hand-held, all with the TC 1.4x TCE III:



Desert Bighorn Ewe (Ovis canadensis nelsoni), Joshua Tree, CA



Desert Bighorn Ewes (Ovis canadensis nelsoni), Joshua Tree, CA



Hooded Oriole (Icterus cucullatus), La Verne, CA



Hooded Oriole (Icterus cucullatus), La Verne, CA



Great Basin Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis longipes), Joshua Tree, CA



Sagebrush Checkerspot (Chlosyne acastus), Joshua Tree, CA



Common Ringlet (Coenonympha tullia), Laguna Canyon, CA


To understand how much detail this great little lens retains, the last image is an 80% crop from the original, and (while not perfect) is acceptable enough for display.

Below is the original ...

Hope you like them :)



Frank Fremerey

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Re: NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED (The Best Hiking Telephoto Lens ever)
« Reply #93 on: April 22, 2018, 09:50:34 »
The 14E III seems to not reduce IQ in any way. I guess I will get one of these ASAP. Thank you for sharing this convincing footage.
You are out there. You and your camera. You can shoot or not shoot as you please. Discover the world, Your world. Show it to us. Or we might never see it.

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elsid

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Re: NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED (The Best Hiking Telephoto Lens ever)
« Reply #94 on: April 22, 2018, 20:19:59 »
Officially Nikon says you cannot use the TC 20 with the 300 PF. It works. I am posting some shots taken with D810+TC 20 III+300 PF.
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Ilkka Nissilä

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Re: NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED (The Best Hiking Telephoto Lens ever)
« Reply #95 on: April 22, 2018, 21:45:23 »
Nikon say there are AF limitations with 1.7x and 2x (but otherwise the 300 PF is TC compatible).

http://cdn-5.nikon-cdn.com/Assets/Common-Assets/Images/Teleconverter-Compatibility/EN_Comp_chart.html

Frank Fremerey

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Re: NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED (The Best Hiking Telephoto Lens ever)
« Reply #96 on: April 23, 2018, 08:34:30 »
yes. I can use GRP but not AUTO and such stuff. my problem is reduced resolution and color fidelity, which I will test to prove or falsify
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Daniel Bliss

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Re: NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED (The Best Hiking Telephoto Lens ever)
« Reply #97 on: April 28, 2018, 06:06:02 »
How are things going for people with the teleconverters? So far I've used my 300PF with the original TC14E autofocus converter from the 1990s, but while the acuity is impressive, the focus is flaky and the VR worse when the TC is attached. How does the jump from the TC14E (or the apparently similar TC14EII) to the TC14EIII affect things?

Øivind Tøien

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Re: NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED (The Best Hiking Telephoto Lens ever)
« Reply #98 on: April 28, 2018, 08:38:29 »
How are things going for people with the teleconverters? So far I've used my 300PF with the original TC14E autofocus converter from the 1990s, but while the acuity is impressive, the focus is flaky and the VR worse when the TC is attached. How does the jump from the TC14E (or the apparently similar TC14EII) to the TC14EIII affect things?

I have not noticed any particular problems when using the 300PF with TC-14E (I). The following captures were both with VR on, 0 focus tuning. That said I had to look to find practical captures with the TC. A 24 Mpix DX sensor in combination with the high resolution of the 300 PF makes less need for the TC,  and there is some laziness involved with respect to carrying and mounting the TC. Besides I like the balance and weight  of the 300PF better without the TC. But when needed I have no hesitation to mount it. The 300PF is always used with TC for moon and sun imaging (latter with solar filter!), and I am most often taking advantage of the small sensor/high pixel pitch of the AW1 then.

One should keep in mind that longer focal length and the relative light loss of a TC inherently makes it more challenging both for the autofocus system, keeping focus point on the target, and hand holding. I doubt that the latest version of the TC would alleviate that (I have not had the chance to try one). What can help if not already doing so is to always have a tripod collar mounted when handholding. I find that  I both get a better grip (and less prone to accidentally moving the focus ring), and the little added weight near the rear/middle of the lens helps with stability.

#1


420mm, 1/1000 sec f/8, VR on, likely in sports mode


#2


420mm, 1/100 sec f/6.3, VR on, likely in normal mode
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Frank Fremerey

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Re: NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED (The Best Hiking Telephoto Lens ever)
« Reply #99 on: April 28, 2018, 14:11:06 »
For Spain with lots of light I now bring the 17e2 and the 14e3 teleconverters to test with the 300PF. I am eager to scan the botanical garden and other gardens for tropical birds
You are out there. You and your camera. You can shoot or not shoot as you please. Discover the world, Your world. Show it to us. Or we might never see it.

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Dalek

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Re: NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED (The Best Hiking Telephoto Lens ever)
« Reply #100 on: May 11, 2018, 16:50:15 »
Great shots. I do not see that many birds in ten hikes. You are really lucky to have such a great hiking area.

Jacques Pochoy

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Re: NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED (The Best Hiking Telephoto Lens ever)
« Reply #101 on: May 11, 2018, 18:09:08 »
That squirrel is just perfect... :-)
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Øivind Tøien

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Re: NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED (The Best Hiking Telephoto Lens ever)
« Reply #102 on: May 12, 2018, 06:58:44 »
That squirrel is just perfect... :-)

Thanks Jacques, I thought that squirrel was perfect too  :) , it was my favorite squirrel that coexisted very peacefully with me. Sadly it became the victim late last year when someone in my neighborhood went on to hunt down several rouge individuals of the species that got into our roofs and made a mess. He did not know that this one was my favorite that did no harm (the rouge ones were in two different territories on each side of this one). Another one has moved in to its vacant territory now, but it has not been showing itself enough that I have had time to create a relationship to it.
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Jacques Pochoy

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Re: NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED (The Best Hiking Telephoto Lens ever)
« Reply #103 on: May 12, 2018, 11:30:27 »
Sad story ! But great picture none the less... :) Time to train the newcomer as the Fox with the Little Prince (Saint Exupery) ? :o
“A photograph is a moral decision taken in one eighth of a second. ” ― Salman Rushdie, The Ground Beneath Her Feet.

Øivind Tøien

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Re: NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED (The Best Hiking Telephoto Lens ever)
« Reply #104 on: May 12, 2018, 11:45:18 »
Sad story ! But great picture none the less... :) Time to train the newcomer as the Fox with the Little Prince (Saint Exupery) ? :o

I had to google that, but quite fitting, as the squirrel would sit eating on the top of my outhouse in plain view just line of sight above my computer screen. And I believe she could view into my cabin to me working at my computer.  :D

The newcomer has not discovered that possibility yet.
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