Author Topic: Finding A 300mm f/4.5 AI ED (non-IF)  (Read 2056 times)

thirtyfivemill

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Finding A 300mm f/4.5 AI ED (non-IF)
« on: May 30, 2021, 18:40:19 »
I'm searching high and low for a non-IF 300mm f/4.5 AI ED and not having much luck. Anyone know where I might find one, please? Any help would be most appreciated!

Birna Rørslett

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Re: Finding A 300mm f/4.5 AI ED (non-IF)
« Reply #1 on: May 30, 2021, 20:34:03 »
You are talking about a lens of total production run < 2000 units. Not something you can count on getting easily, I'm afraid. Be vigilant as a candidate item tends to appear out of the blue, then quickly to disappear. I probably used 2-3 years before I got hold of a decent sample myself.

Sometimes it'll take longer, though. I probably spent 10 years searching for the 200-400 f/4 Zoom-Nikkor ED (non-IF), then one day KEH had one for a very low price, almost unused as well. The 200-400/4 ED is < 500 units so even more scarce than the 300/4.5 ED.

The 800/8 Nikkor ED, total run < 100 units, was another serendiptious acquisition. A person asked on Photo.net where he could find  "the remainder of the lens" as he had got the lens head at a clearance sale and didn't know it needed a focusing adapter. I answered his post telling what to look for, and knowing even the focusing adapters for the early Nikko lens heads were scarce, commented that in case he couldn't find a suitable focusing adapter I would gladly take the lens head. He very directly declined the "offer" in his answer on the web site.. Three months later I got a phone from him asking what I would be willing to pay for the lens head. I negotiated a very favourable price. No problem for me as I had just laid my hands on 400 & 600mm lens heads with focusing adapters on both, plus had a spare :)

The 800/8 ED by the way is insanely sharp. A pity not more of these optics were made. It was not a telephoto design thus the overall package lens head + hood + focusing adapter is around 1m in length.

thirtyfivemill

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Re: Finding A 300mm f/4.5 AI ED (non-IF)
« Reply #2 on: May 30, 2021, 21:37:50 »
Thanks Birna! Yes, I was aware it was a small production run. I'll be patient-ish..  ;D

Akira

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Re: Finding A 300mm f/4.5 AI ED (non-IF)
« Reply #3 on: May 30, 2021, 23:01:11 »
Even in Tokyo, I have seen only a handful of samples in the second-hand market in a couple of decades.  I can only wish you a good luck!
"The eye is blind if the mind is absent." - Confucius

"Limitation is inspiration." - Akira

Øivind Tøien

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Re: Finding A 300mm f/4.5 AI ED (non-IF)
« Reply #4 on: May 30, 2021, 23:22:03 »
I noticed one announced on the Cloudy Nights Astrophotography forum last fall. I considered purchasing it just to compare to my 300mm f/4 PF, but the asking price was at the upper end of what is usually charged for this lens in spite of a minor flaw, and it was gone before I got to think (I really did not need it) or were able to tip others of it. So yes, one need to be ready to act fast, but with caution of course.

The sample images I retrieved indicated to me that it shows less wide flare than the 300PF on the brightest stars, but medium bright stars are more pin-point with the 300PF. Exposure, light pollution and sensor resolution was not similar though, so there is some uncertainty to it. It is the same tendency I see when comparing the 300PF with my AF 300mm f/4 for star images, except that the AF 300mm f/4 has much more longitudinal CA/purple fringing than the 300mm f/4.5 AI ED (non-IF). The 300PF is virtually free of longitudinal color fringing.
Øivind Tøien

Roland Vink

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Re: Finding A 300mm f/4.5 AI ED (non-IF)
« Reply #5 on: May 30, 2021, 23:31:34 »
I bought one once, for a good price too. Tracking showed that it got to New Zealand, two unsuccessful delivery attempts, and then never heard of again. I don't understand why it was not delivered unless the address was torn off the package or completely mis-spelled. It was an ebay purchase so they should have had the correct address and I had dozens of other items sent to the address with no problems.

I wouldn't be surprised if the modern AF-S and PF 300/4 lenses are as good or better than the old 300/4.5 ED.

Birna Rørslett

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Re: Finding A 300mm f/4.5 AI ED (non-IF)
« Reply #6 on: May 30, 2021, 23:38:47 »
Roland hits the nail on the head. The 300PF is for many situations a better lens than the 300/4.5ED (non-IF). However, it lacks the build workmanship and subtle rendition of the old design.

Bill De Jager

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Re: Finding A 300mm f/4.5 AI ED (non-IF)
« Reply #7 on: May 31, 2021, 00:31:04 »
I bought one, and in a rare failure KEH delivered the wrong lens (ED-IF) labeled as the right one.  You really have to be careful with trying to get this lens since the ED-IF and non-ED versions are far more common.  I had an eBay search on this lens for a long time, and even with "-ED-IF" the hits were generally for the wrong lens.

John Geerts

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Re: Finding A 300mm f/4.5 AI ED (non-IF)
« Reply #8 on: May 31, 2021, 16:20:08 »
I bought one, and in a rare failure KEH delivered the wrong lens (ED-IF) labeled as the right one.  You really have to be careful with trying to get this lens since the ED-IF and non-ED versions are far more common.  I had an eBay search on this lens for a long time, and even with "-ED-IF" the hits were generally for the wrong lens.
Yes, and the ED looks like the ordinary 300/4.5.

A few years ago I found two within a month, one was an auction on Ebay (wrongly labelled), and the other was sold as a normal 300/4.5 AI on a local marketplace. 

thirtyfivemill

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Re: Finding A 300mm f/4.5 AI ED (non-IF)
« Reply #9 on: June 06, 2021, 21:21:17 »
Thanks folks, your replies are appreciated. Never going to be a quick task but the search will go on. There are a couple of AFS 300/4s with non-working AF available at about the same price as a standard 300/4.5 but if I'm going to use MF I'd much prefer the lens to be MF.

What would be about the right price for the lens I'm after please?

John Geerts

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Re: Finding A 300mm f/4.5 AI ED (non-IF)
« Reply #10 on: June 06, 2021, 21:43:24 »
The market dictates the price. So a right price is hard to tell.

I saw a few auctions where the winning bid was around 800 Euro. And I noticed some 'buy now' prices around (and above) 1000 Euro.  Anything cheaper than this seems the 'right price'  ;)

thirtyfivemill

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Re: Finding A 300mm f/4.5 AI ED (non-IF)
« Reply #11 on: June 06, 2021, 21:45:20 »
The market dictates the price. So a right price is hard to tell.

I saw a few auctions where the winning bid was around 800 Euro. And I noticed some 'buy now' prices around (and above) 1000 Euro.  Anything cheaper than this seems the 'right price'  ;)

Thanks John, that's about what I thought.

John Geerts

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Re: Finding A 300mm f/4.5 AI ED (non-IF)
« Reply #12 on: June 06, 2021, 21:50:52 »
You are welcome.

In the Netherlands the Price for the lens was 3.000 Dutch Guilders.  A little bit lower than 1500 Euro.  Please find here a 1977  review of the lens, when it was introduced.  Unfortunately the article is in Dutch.

Erik Lund

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Re: Finding A 300mm f/4.5 AI ED (non-IF)
« Reply #13 on: June 07, 2021, 08:30:09 »
 Translation into English, please correct if something is misleading or wrong ;)



In the August 1976 issue, the editors of Foto published the Canon Fluorite 5.6/300 mm included in a comparative test, with the newest addition to the canon FL 2.8/300mm SSC Fluorite lens.
The general conclusion was that these lenses work very brilliantly and provide perfect color reproduction.
This high quality score originates from the use of 6 Calcium-Fluoride lens elements, usually in combination with elements made of special glasses.
Also Nikon. who already had the necessary experience in the development and manufacture of the 5.6/400 mm PC Fluorite multi-coated lenses, has not been indifferent and recently launched the new range of lenses.
These are the 4.5/300 and 5.6/400 with automatic aperture and light meter coupling, also the SuperTele S 600, 800 and 1200 mm and two more long zoom lenses. ED· lenses are immediately recognizable by the gold band behind the extendable barrel hood. De Nlkon impomrur, Inca B.V. in Haarlem, provides documentation from aver the ED series. explaining the advantages they enjoy over normal lenses. The new ED glass type. developed by Nikon, i.e. has properties to compare
resemble those of Calcium-Fluoride.
This results in a high degree of perfection in terms of sharpness and contrast. With an effective reduction of 90% of the secondary spectrum, this also gives an optimal correction of the chromatic aberration. ?  is made of a special
"integration coating and the lens does not need compensation for infrared photography.
Although EO glass is very hard, still recommend (as with any expensive lens) Use UV filter to protect.
The tele-ratio ratio of these Nikon lenses is very different from that of the Canon lenses. which (except for the Fl 2.8/300 mm because of its free-standing element construction) could be special V'an building length. Compared to the normal Nikkor 300mm, the ED is 3mm longer. The build length and diameter are 200mm x 78.5
mm. As with the Super Tere S, the distance setting of these ED lenses also extends through the infinity point. because at high temperatures the ED lenses and the long tube can differ slightly. Therefore, one must always adjust with infinite precision. Almost simultaneously with the ED series, a modified version of the already existing telephoto and super-tele lenses was also released. that change
consisted of minor improvements and a more professional appearance. Like the ED series nt.t, they are available in a completely black version with beautiful, finely ribbed adjustment mounts.
The 300mm Nikkor was rated "excellent" in the test by Fré Withoff last in Focus in June '76, as well as the 300mm ED a rotating tripod bracket with click for horizontal and vertical shooting. This is a much appreciated improvement over the older Nikkor H with fixed tripod mounts, which was cumbersome to swap. Nevertheless, I qualified the shots made with my 800 mm Nikon lens as even better in sharpness and contrast than those with my old 300 mm. My appreciation for this 800 mm objective has therefore increased as I photograph with it. However, all this entails that you become more and more critical of your attitude and that is why you. be that I switched to the 300mm ED lens. My expectations were high. In order to record my experiences I took 101 test shots on Kodachrome 25, according to my humble opinion with Kodachrome 64 the best films for telework, among other things. In combination with the 2.8/135, 4.5/300mm ED, 8/800mm Nikkor lenses and my Photomic F2 camera I wanted to see if there were any differences in the shots under the same conditions to discover what was sharp and contrast. On a sunny day with some clouds and a weak north wind. the atmosphere was free of water vapor and air vibrations, I went out with my son to get the desired test shot. people to make. All the necessary attributes were stored in the trunk of the car and we soon arrived at the striking firetower "De Ven" located between my hometown Andijk and Enkhuizen.
Because of the color shade that is integrated in this lens. I found it very suitable as a target. Position was taken at a distance of 180 meters and the pictures were taken from the heavy tripod of 7.5 kilos. The starting aperture was f/11. and with all lenses, the shutter speed turned out to be 1/125s via the light metering, To complete the entire behavior pattern of the 300 mm ED
To get my hands on this lens, I used this lens to shoot from full aperture to f/22. As far as the results are concerned, I am not disappointed, on the contrary I have become very satisfied about the displayed qualities of this ED· lens. Good sharpness and contrast are already achieved at full aperture. Optimal is between f/8 and f/16. where the center and corner sharpness c are almost equal to each other.
The distance adjustable at the art (4 meters > 1reed1 is slightly less than that, but this was known to me from the Nikkor-H specimens and I don't take it too seriously. With regard to my 135mm lens, there is a small gain in sharpness and less degree of contrast improvement in favor of the ED lens has been shown to be demonstrable.
The 800 mm comes closest in terms of optical power, and shows practically the same beautiful properties. I've had no trouble with the Nikkor ED lens, either at close range or at infinity.
with the focus. With the exquisite finish. operation taken into account, it is a lens to work with quickly and accurately. The price of f 3000  will be an insurmountable objection for many. the more so that earth
"ordinary" Nikkor 300 mm of more than f 1200, also such good ones
gives results. However, if you are looking for the cream of the crop, you will skip it. He will then buy something special for his money.
A stock for the 300 mm
Because the 300mm lens is easy to operate, the majority of photographers work with their free hand.
There are also even those who achieve this with a 400 mm lens
There is a fast movie in the c.amera9es1opt and don't want to bother
take for the same amount of quality in the photographic work.
But whichever way you look at it. This method of photographing always comes at the expense of sharpness and contrast!
Like me, they will have experienced that carrying a tripod on a long trip is a very difficult affair.
In addition, setting up a tripod during bird recordings causes metallic noises and flashing effects which induce startling reactions in the animals. The result is "goodbye bird" and the photographer can pack up again.
There is an alternative!
Shoulder tripods have been commercially available for years. and also in Focus are self-build flasks published for the convenience of the teleworker.
I can therefore recommend all my dear colleagues to seriously consider building or purchasing a stock. The attached photos show my self-built flask.
These are adapted to my own requirements and fits comfortably in the hand. The great advantage of the unit obtained ? and compactness through which shooting. One ?  hobby becomes a pleasure.
The best results are achieved with so-called ?
Seek support on some object e.g. a tree branch. If this is not possible, it is recommended to achieve a good fixation in a squatting position, as shown in the accompanying photo. When using the photo gun, I usually shoot on Kodachrome 64 to be able to use a higher shutter speed to work. The results are very good.
Erik Lund

John Geerts

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Re: Finding A 300mm f/4.5 AI ED (non-IF)
« Reply #14 on: June 07, 2021, 09:44:59 »
Looks pretty good.  Thanks for the translation, Erik ;)

Some small corrections

'A stock for the 300 mm'  is better translated into a 'A butt for the 300 mm'

'There is a fast movie in the c.amera9es1opt and don't want to bother'  'One will insert a fast film in the camera and don't bother'