The new 300mm F4 PF

<p>Just saw a glowing report on this new 300/4 PF lens from ephotozine. Does that mean that the "decentering" experienced in this lens has been corrected ? Anyone has a new copy of this lens or more info on this ? Thanx.</p>

<p>Les</p>

 

<p>Alignment errors tend to be lens sample specific. I have only read one report of such instance for the 300 PF.</p>

Ilkka, well, you have heard of one more than I have.

<p>Here is that one report:</p>

<p>http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2015/02/the-nikon-300mm-f4e-pf-ed-vr-test-or-why-i-dont-test-just-one-copy</p>

<p>and its follow-up:</p>

<p>http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2015/02/addendum-to-the-nikon-300-f4e-pf-ed-vr-test</p>

<p>Dan, how is the VR of the 300mm PF working for you? Does it operate correctly while AF-ON is being used to focus with the Df?</p>

<p>We have had a few previous threads on this topic:</p>

<ul>

<li><a href="/nikon-camera-forum/00d69h">300/4.0E-PF-VR Came In Today </a><a href="/photodb/user?user_id=189330">Dan Brown</a> started that thread when his lens arrived.</li>

<li><a href="/nikon-camera-forum/00d8Ax">another Q about new 300mm f/4E PF ED VR</a></li>

</ul>

<p>As far as I know, the only person who has mentioned one sample maybe a bit decentered is Roger Cicala of Lens Rental. I don't know Cicala at all and have never rented from his company, but he is in the unique position to have access to many samples of each lens and camera due to his rental business. However, it is also in his interest to generate attention and therefore business to his company. He was the first one who brought up the D600 oil/dust issue and that was the very first time I heard of Lens Rental.</p>

<p>Personally, I don't care much about VR performance of long teles since I tend to switch it off to make AF a bit faster. However, IMO the bigger concern now is the VR issue around 1/100 sec, as Camera Labs has found that problem on two test samples: <a href="http://cameralabs.com/reviews/Nikon_Nikkor_AF-S_300mm_f4E_PF_ED_VR/verdict.shtml" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://cameralabs.com/reviews/Nikon_Nikkor_AF-S_300mm_f4E_PF_ED_VR/verdict.shtml</a><br>

Dan Brown's lens is back to Nikon for warranty repair on that same VR issue.</p>

<p>This lens is hard to find, anyway. Some feel that Nikon maybe double checking the VR issue before shipping it in large quantities. Some feel that the port worker strike on the U.S. west coast earlier maybe delaying shipment. Regardless, I think it is wise to wait a bit when supply improves and more people have positive experience with this lens. Base on various reports, it seems to be yet another excellent lens from Nikon (as long as the VR issue is corrected).</p>

<p>Thanks, Ilkka...I was hoping this was corrected.</p>

<p>Les</p>

The problem is that the vr isn't effective at 1/100 sec handheld at 300mm? That seems like a lot to ask even for $2k. I would buy this lens.

<p>Not that I need it very often, but VR is great on some of the recent Nikon telephoto lenses. For example, I can hand hold the 70-200mm/f4 AF-S VR or the 80-400mm AF-S VR on their respective long end and get mostly good results at as slow as 1/20 sec. I wouldn't necessarily say it is tack sharp, but most images at such slow shutter speeds are very useable with the main limitation from subject movement. And if I switch off VR and capture the same image, the different is night and day.</p>

<p>Therefore, I would have high expectations on the VR capability on the 300mm/f4 PF. At 1/100 sec, it should be able to easily eliminate vibrations from the camera and lens. Subject motion is a separate issue, though.</p>

<p>I had the opportunity to test a friend's 300/4 PF today. Previously, I had doubts about the out of focus rendering and slightly "hazy" apperance of images after viewing some images online but in those shots that I did myself today, the bokeh was excellent, and the detail was also sharply rendered with nice rendering of colour and contrast. Autofocus is fast, very accurate, and true to the "silent" name.</p>

<p>However it is so lightweight that I managed to get some really blurred shots at 1/200s and 1/160s even with VR on. I am not sure if it is due to a design or a possible manufacturing problem in the VR system or simply a consequence of the light weight of the lens, as it doesn't have the inertia of the heavier lenses to support steady hand holding. However, at fast shutter speeds that I would typically use a 300mm lens to photograph people with, I got excellent results (using the D810). If one were to just investigate the 100% zoomed in view I might conclude there is something different about the way it renders detail and the way the detail transitions into out of focus areas. However, print quality from images with the 300/4 PF is truly excellent. I think it is always best to try out a lens in some real world applications, and finish the image for the typical final application size rather than peek at the pixels only, to see what a lens can really do. I think Nikon did a great job with the design of this lens. Truly thinking out of the box.</p>

I must drink too much coffee! I can't imagine hand holding at 1/100 or slower at 200 or 300mm. Here's to vr. I look forward to owning this lens in a couple years.

<p>Currently, I think the main "issue" with this lens is availability. I see a lot of people are on the waiting list somewhere but very few have actually received one. On this forum, only Roberta Davidson and Dan Brown have acknowledged receiving theirs; maybe there are others who haven't posted about it.</p>

<p>I would not use a 300mm/f4 lens at 1/100 sec often. That shutter speed is too slow to stop action with so much magnification. But there are indeed a few reports of VR problems around that shutter speed, including Dan's.</p>

<p>I just took delivery of this lens and sadly had to return it during my dealers 1 week "no questions asked" full refund policy.<br /> Pros: sharp, compact, lightweight, excellent VR from 1/20-1/100 sec.<br /> <br /> Cons: fair to poor VR 1/125-1/250 sec., visible degredation due to image vibration reducing fine detail by about 30-40%.<br>

All tests were done handheld on my D750 with no deliberate shake on my part and I waited to make sure the VR "settled" in the finder. AF fine tuning was performed prior to any testing. The VR offers diminishing returns as the shutter speed approaches 1/FL, thus pretty much worthless at medium speeds from 1/125-1/250. It's not a big deal except that's a useful shutter range where you'd really expect no VR issue. My 70-200/4 VR Nikkor exhibited no issues in this area providing tack sharp images down to 1/20 sec and minimal to no blur from vibration at higher speeds through 1/FL. I don't know if the image shake is due to reduced VR at the speeds in question or if actually induced by an overactive VR mechanism. I can post sample images later if interested as I have no access to them from this computer.</p>

<p>Alan, did you get a chance to try that lens @ 1/125 sec with VR off. It is an interesting thought that VR maybe causing the vibration.</p>

<p>It would really be disappointing if Nikon is still shipping lenses with this known issue. In any case, it is a good call to return it until the dust settles.</p>

<p>At 1/100, VR did improve sharpnesss somewhat compared to turned off but it wasn't entirely free of image degrading vibration. Thus, to get tack sharp imaging, a tripod would be required at 1/100. If I shot at a higher speed like 1/400 or slower speed of 1/60 the vibration would cease to be a factor with use of VR. I'm thinking that the VR is overcompensting a little causing unintended image "jiggle" at the speeds in question.</p>

<p>Nikon is now offering a firmware fix for the 300/4 PF VR issue, at least regarding the D8x0 cameras. The lens needs to be turned into service to install the new firmware. No information regarding whether the new firmware will fix the issue for other cameras though. The new firmware is already installed if the serial number is 205101 or higher.</p>

<p>See these threads on the VR fix:</p>

<ul>

<li><a href="/nikon-camera-forum/00dBRT">Miss The 300 PF</a></li>

<li><a href="/nikon-camera-forum/00dEvH">Nikon 300mm/f4 PF AF-S VR Lens Firmware Upgrade to Fix VR Issue</a></li>

</ul>