Technical aspects of the AFS 300mm f/4 E PF lens

[bjornthun]

On my Sony cameras I leave EFCS always on, without any ill efects, which means that my cameras don't induce any vibrations until the exposure ends. I have moved completely to Sony mirrorless. You should however pay attention and maybe switch to an all mechanical shutter with very fast shutter speeds faster than 1/1000 sec.

Rolling shutter is a problem that arises due to a slow readout when both curtains are electronic, i.e. in mirrorless cameras that offer a totally silent shutter, and it must be used with care, only when you need it. Focal plane shutters can actually give a rolling shutter with very fast moving subjects, but it's rare.

The video capabilities developed in the Nikon D750 might be a reason why it doesn't offer EFCS. According to a review on EosHD it uses a full sensor readout which is the downsampled to 1080p, rather than line skipping, so EosHD was very satisfied by its' video quality.

[simsurace]

In the Scotland gathering, we had a couple of 300 PF lenses and many cameras to do a few experiments.

We had three lenses:
Lens A (mine)
Lens B (Chris)
Lens C (Martin)

and 6 cameras:
Camera 1 (my D750)
Camera 2 (Chris’ D810)
Camera 3 (Martin’s D810)
Camera 4 (Günther's D750)
Camera 5 (Thomas’ D800E)
Camera 6 (Andrea’s D750)

Combinations that showed no noticable problems at 1/125s: 3C, 2C, 5C, 3B, 2A
Combinations that showed noticable blur at 1/125s: 5B, 1B, 2B, 4B, 6A, 1A

We only tested 10 11 out of 18 possible combinations due to time constraints. Six combinations showed the problem and five didn't.

The blur caused by VR was immediately obvious to all people that were participating in these tests. It was also obvious what a combo that does not show the problem looks like.
I will forward these results to Nikon and I’m curious what the reaction will be.

[Frank Fremerey]

I has Chris' on my D500 for birding at our early morning / End of Loch but did not test the 1/125, I shot faster times 1/500 and up...

[chambeshi]

In the Scotland gathering, we had a couple of 300 PF lenses and many cameras to do a few experiments.


We only tested 10 out of 18 possible combinations due to time constraints. Six combinations showed the problem and five didn't.

The blur caused by VR was immediately obvious to all people that were participating in these tests. It was also obvious what a combo that does not show the problem looks like.
I will forward these results to Nikon and I’m curious what the reaction will be.

Thank You. Although incomplete, as you say, these data illuminate an irksome problem that's getting more and more online traction.  I will definitely hold back on purchasing this lens until they solve the design/quality control problems. Frustrating as this is ground-breaking telephoto lens, especially in combination of weight, size and optical quality! As the situation stands, the 200-500 is the cheaper and more robust option. Yet I would like to use the 300 f4 PF with TCE II, but at the price the VR MUST work on all current Nikon bodies. This is not an unreasonable demand from committed photographers.

Hello Nikon! Do you read Us!? We have a real problem out here! Will you ignore it or solve it?

[Bjørn Rørslett]

No problems with my 300 PF and Nikon D5300, Df, D800,D3X,  Fuji S5Pro.

How many ofhe 300 PF's in that survey had received the recommended hardware fix?

[chris dees]

My 300PF has the fix.
I know Martin's copy is just a few months old.

[simsurace]

No problems with my 300 PF and Nikon D5300, Df, D800,D3X,  Fuji S5Pro.

How many ofhe 300 PF's in that survey had received the recommended hardware fix?

All of the listed cameras and lenses have the most recent firmwares, as far as I know.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

The mystery thickens ...

Despite doubts to the contrary, Nikon always "listen" to their customers, but the response can be quite indirect and discreet.

I'll have a chat with my Nikon repair techs about this later to see what I can wring out of them on this issue.

[simsurace]

The mystery thickens ...

Despite doubts to the contrary, Nikon always "listen" to their customers, but the response can be quite indirect and discreet.

I'll have a chat with my Nikon repair techs about this later to see what I can wring out of them on this issue.

I'm really hoping that these reports are listened to. They are one of the important ingredients to make very good products even better.
Thank you for talking to your contacts at Nikon! I'm looking forward to the results!

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Users facing issues with VR and the 300 PF should send reports to their regional Nikon headquarters. That is the better procedure and far more conducive to a final solution than posting to internet forums. The latter generates a lot of noise and prevents a real assessment of the incidence rate for the product as a whole.

Understanding Japanese corporate culture helps as well.

[simsurace]

Users facing issues with VR and the 300 PF should send reports to their regional Nikon headquarters. That is the better procedure and far more conducive to a final solution than posting to internet forums. The latter generates a lot of noise and prevents a real assessment of the incidence rate for the product as a whole.

I'm already in contact with Nikon Switzerland Support as mentioned earlier in this thread. So far, the issue has been 'denied', to put it mildly. It would be great if the approach actually worked, but I have yet to see an example of this.

Understanding Japanese corporate culture helps as well.

I'm afraid that this goes beyond my understanding, but I accept that.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

External and internal response might differ - and the main point is continuing to send error reports to the local Nikon headquarters.

My reference to Japanese corporate culture has a bearing as well.

[Andrea B.]

Better that Japanese corporate culture give up its unproductive practices and attempt to understand its customers. It's not my job to understand them. It is their job to understand me and my DSLR & lens needs !!

Unless websites across the world had not posted complaints about the D600 oil splatters and similar issues, the problems would never have been fixed.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

This assertion simply is not correct.

[bjornthun]

Japanese corporate "culture" failed to grasp the smart phone that has now virtually replaced the "compact camera" and become the worlds no. 1 camera device for the common man and woman. That is now a market dominated by American, Korean and Chinese corporate culture, not Japanese.

I wonder where Japanese corporate culture will take the system camera.