300 mm F4 af s question

I been try to buy a used nikon 300 mm f4 af s lens. I keep running into lens that have the same problem - the af motor is making a squeeling sound.

Normally when i see this i think the afs motor is about to go bad.

But for some reason it almost looks like it is standard without impending trouble for this lens

Any experience or history i should consider

I've been using a used version for over three years and it's as quiet now, as it was when I bought it. I use it a lot for nature and long distance landscapes with no problems at all. It's solidly built, and I actually sold off my old 300 f/4 AF ED IF to fund it.

I only have experience with one sample of that lens, the one I bought way back in 2001 or so when Nikon first introduced it. Mine doesn't make any squealing sound, although I have a few AF-S lenses from that same era that do, e.g. my 17-35mm/f2.8 AF-S and 28-70mm/f2.8 AF-S. The sound is annoying, but all of those lenses are still working fine.

I'm with Shun on this - my 300 AF-S has never squeaked, but two other AF-S lenses have (a 16-85 mm, 10 years old now, and an18-135, 11 years old), but neither have malfunctioned in any way. I bought my 300 AF-S from KEH because I liked the idea of buying a used lens with a warranty (6 months). Perhaps that warranty could be a deciding factor for you, too.

Mine is quiet, if that adds a sample point.

Yes, this seems to be a somewhat common problem with that lens and others. Mine does it, especially if I haven't used it for quite some time. After using it for awhile, the noise will diminish, or go away entirely. If it sits for a few months it will come back.

 

The good news, for me at least, is that I've had this lens for many years and it still works fine.

this seems to be a somewhat common problem with that lens

 

Do you have any data to that claim? I've read complaints on the 17-35 and 28-70, in neither case enough to say it's a structural and common issue, and I've never read it for the 300 f/4.

Mine, as the others, is silent and works as it should.

I have read about it regarding the AF-S 300 F4 here before in a couple of threads, which is not enough to conclude it is a common problem.

 

I have also noted that the AF-S 17-35 and AFS 28-70 seem to figure relatively more often in these discussions, however they are also more common lenses to begin with.

Mine is silent.

 

I did have an 80-200 2.8 AFS that squeaked for the first couple of runs to infinity and back, so that's what I did at the beginning of a session. Silent after that. Lasted years like that and then I sold it.

 

I guess maybe it's a fault of lenses from a similar era in AFS motor design?

The 300/4 AFS I had squeaked then the AF died. So I would say that there is some risk of AF motor failure associated with a used 300/4 AFS, but no idea what the "percentage" would be.

A squealing AF-S motor can be the symptom that a motor is failing, although as I said, my 17-35 and 28-70 both have squealing AF-S motors for like a decade. I no longer use those lenses very often, but they are still working.

 

If you are buying a used AF-S lens, I would avoid a 300mm/f4 AF-S with a squealing AF motor, or you need to talk the seller into a reasonable discount so that the two of you are somehow sharing the cost of a potential motor replacement in the near future. However, I don't see any evidence that a majority of 300mm/f4 AF-S lenses have this issue, though. My 300mm/f4 AF-S is just about as old as it can possibly be since I bought it shortly after Nikon first introduced it.

 

Such motor replacement will probably cost around US$400 or so, assuming parts are available. Since the 300mm/f4 PF AF-S VR was only introduced in 2015, I would imagine that parts for the earlier version will continue to be available for at least several more years.

M 300mm f/4 AF-S squeaked softly when I bought it used and continued to squeak during years of use until I sold it. Never had any other problem with it. The sound became an additional indication that I had mounted the right lens on my camera.

I've decided to go with the nikon 300 f4 ed if instead of the 300 f4 af s lens. From what I read the optical quality of the 2 lens is very close to each other. The build quality of the older all metal lens makes it a rugged war machine that will last forever. Not to also mention that there is no silent wave motor to queel or go bad. All of my bodies support the screw drive AF. Yes it a little slower focusing, but for what I intend to use it for that's fine. Bessides I'm saving almost 200 on the used purchase price going with the AF ED IF one.

Prior to the 300mm/f4 AF-S, I had the 300mm/f4 AF that uses screwdriver AF, since 1990, but I upgraded as soon as the AF-S was available. AF is faster but the 300mm actually also has rather slow AF for an AF-S lens. The main advantage is that you can add a TC-14 E to make it a 420mm/f5.6. The old non-AF-S used 82mm filters that is less convenient, vs 77mm.

 

Another concern is that future Nikon mirrorless bodies will unlikely have any AF motor built in. All screwdriver AF lenses will probably become manual focus in the longer run.

Do you have any data to that claim? I've read complaints on the 17-35 and 28-70, in neither case enough to say it's a structural and common issue, and I've never read it for the 300 f/4.

Mine, as the others, is silent and works as it should.

The data I have is just my personal experience, and that of friends. Of 5 300mm lenses among us (AF-S), three have a slight squeak, including mine, but only after not being used for some time. All three are still working well, but will squeak if we let them sit too long.

I guess I am not lucky. As I mentioned above, my 300/4 AFS died after developing a squeak. The lens was in great physical shape, I used it to shoot soccer for a couple of years but not much else. I have also had to replace the motor in my 28-70/2.8 (Maybe the blame for that could have been a D3 body I was evaluating that was from the coast and looked like it had been in salt water), and I think the previous owner replaced the AF motor in my 17-35/2.8 (have the receipt somewhere, but not totally sure about that lens)

I bought mine new in 2001 and it has squeaked (or whined) ever since 2004. It only does it the first couple of times that it searches for focus so I've always assumed that it is a corrosion issue.