Do you think I can find a 300/2.8 in this country?

<p>Over on eBay Australia I saw a nice Nikkor 400/2.8 (manual). It went for not much more than AU$2,000 and I thought that was about right for a lens like that. It was well within my lens budget but I didn't go for it. I thought that it would be better to get a 300/2.8 and add a 1.4x TC if I needed one</p>

<p>So I went looking for 300s... Do you think I could find one? Sure, I found a Sigma but that was for another camera. And there are some Sigma 120-300s out there, too, but I don't want those. I even checked KEH to see how the supply was in the USA: there are a few Nikkors but only one 3rd-party unit. I guess that people go for zooms these days, therefore most used equipment will reflect that. It's a shame but it's also reality. Thank goodness I have the luxury of time.</p>

<p>Edit: I even tried some retailers that sell used stuff. No go.</p>

<p>That's rough, are there any oz photo forums that include classifieds by members?</p>

<p>Which country do you consider to be “this country”? You never actually get round to specifying that. So, using extra sensory perception, my guess is that you are in Malta, and for that you’d probably have to go to Valetta to find your camera shops.</p>

<p><em>Which country do you consider to be “this country”?</em></p>

<p>Did you miss the reference to "Australia" and "AU$2000"? (Another ESP myth debunked!)</p>

<p>http://www.ausphotography.net.au/forum/ might be helpful.</p>

<p>Henry Posner<br /><strong>B&H Photo-Video</strong></p>

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<p><em>Which country do you consider to be “this country”?</em><br>

Did you miss the reference to "Australia" and "AU$2000"? (Another ESP myth debunked!)</p>

 

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<p>Doesn't necessarily mean he's in Australia...he could have just been quoting the ebay $AUD price. With an increasingly global economy and the internet, the world has shrunk considerably. I'm in the USA, but I've bought things from the UK (vacuum tubes), Russia (printed t-shirts), Australia (custom electric guitar pickups), photo gear from Hong Kong (new Mamiya 7II and lenses), and even stuff from Canada :) I have a handy-dandy currency converter installed on my Mac's dashboard just for that purpose. A google search can easily land you on ebay in other markets. </p>

<p>Some of Nikon's lenses get in short supply now and then, but that seems to be more often lately. Another lens that's hard to get at the moment is the 135mm f/2D DC. I gladly bought an import model at B&H last fall [DB smiles and waves to Henry]. The US model was out of stock everywhere...I'm glad I got it when I did - neither seems to be currently available. I usually shoot it with a D700. With my crop-sensor D200, it behaves like a 200mm (202.5mm actually) <em>f/2.0 AF lens with DC! </em>Talk about a portrait lens...<em><br /></em></p>

<p>Karim, $2k AUD sounds cheap...about $1728 USD or 1366 Euro (today). That's way too low for newer 300mm f/2.8 Nikkor lenses. Was this an older lens? With the lack of availability of new 300/2.8 VR lenses, I'd imagine used ones will be hard to find as well, with prices reflecting the short supply. <a href="http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m570.l1313&_nkw=300mm+nikkor+nikon+f%2F2&_sacat=See-All-Categories">They're all over the US ebay site.</a></p>

 

<p>Thanks for the responses & suggestions. D.B., I actually want a 3rd party 300/2.8 AF - better value IMO. The $2K AUD was for the manual focus 400/2.8. Nikon certainly makes terrific optics - sometimes up to Zeiss or Leica levels. But they can also make duds that make me cringe when I think that people are buying them.</p>