AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4D IF-ED
This lightweight, compact, fast-focusing telephoto lens for sports, wildlife and action photography is perfect for carrying around during a full day of shooting.
$1,494.95*SRPSRP (Suggested Retail Price) listed only as a suggestion. Actual prices are set by dealers and are subject to change at any time.
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- CL-M2 case
- Front cover
- Rear lens cap
*Supplied accessories may differ depending on country or area.
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AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4D IF-ED
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Gives up nothing to the 2.8 300 outdoors
This lens has been my warhorse for hundreds of soccer matches and other sports events. Obviously, the 300 2.8 is the standard for professional sports work, but for those of us who can't pass along the expense to an employer, this gives up nothing to the 2.8 for daytime sports and at less than 1/3 the cost. Naturally, for indoor and nighttime events, the extra stop of the 2.8 may be critical, but for soccer, softball and anything else in natural light one never misses the extra stop. The sharpness of this lens is phenomenal and the focus speed is equally outstanding. I do not see any real world (up to 11 x 14) difference in tack-sharp resolution compared to the pro 2.8.
April 14, 2011
Great lens, sharp results
I got this for outdoor sports, racing and general recreation. An added plus is the close-focus mode. Not light, not cheap, probably not cutting edge technology, but I get great results.
April 14, 2011
A superb lens
I just purchased this lens a few weeks ago and have nothing but high praise for Nikon one. I have read many complaints of the collar and have to say not so with mine. It is rock solid all the way around. Used with the TC-20E iii it takes phenomenal pictures!! I would highly recommend this lens!! I don't miss the VR as the tripod/window mount certainly makes up for it with the wildlife photography.
March 12, 2011
Terrific!
I bought this lens for two reasons. Birds and macro.
I'm a big fan of Nikon's macro lenses and use three (60G, 105 and 200) frequently but sometimes want more working distance and more foreshortening. Coupled with TCs this lens is a great addition to a macro shooters arsenal.
I don't want the size of Nikon's larger super telephotos and this lens works perfectly for me. I use tripods and monopods (replaced collar with Kirk's), so lack of VR isn't an issue. I also don't need a faster lens since I usually stop down for depth of field anyway.
The IQ is wonderful, it focuses quickly at 300mm and adequately at 420mm (with TC 1.4), the ergonomics are excellent for a large lens and it's built for long term use (which is good since I plan on keeping it as long as I shoot).
If I shot sports, I might opt for the much larger and much more expensive 300/2.8. But I don't.
December 3, 2010
Stunningly sharp, contrasty, and colorful
I was surprised at the resolution of this lens. THIS is the reason you buy Nikkor lenses and not an off brand. Could use a little faster focusing, but it is a great birding and sports lens. It is a total joy to use, and extremely rugged and well built.
November 10, 2010
Excellent optics!
Excellent optics. Very sharp on DX. I have not tried on FX, so I cannot comment on that.
Tripod collar should definitely have been better.
The AF-S motor is very fast and works very well with the 51pt AF system of the D300.
I never missed VR in this lens but it would be nice to have. Just abt the right weight for hand-held shooting.
300/F4 has very short minimal focusing distance, which makes it extremely suited for flowers and butterflies/dragonflies.
Good weather sealing on the body. I live in a very damp place and have never had a problem with fungus or moisture in the past 3 years.
September 23, 2010
Excellent Lens
I recently purchased the 300mm F4 Nikkor lens and used at an airshow. My prime lens of choice for airshows was the 80-400mm VR NIkkor but I wanted to go back to a fixed length lens to try another approach. I was not disappointed. This is a great lens. The weight is almost identical to the 80-400. The images even without VR are second to none. I have been using Nikkor lens for 44 years and this is one of the best I have ever used.
Even with the 1.4 teleconverter, the images are striking.
August 10, 2010
Cut yourself sharp!
I own several pro lenses and this one is among the sharpest even at f/4 and almost no loss of PQ with TC 1.4 . The lens collar could be improved on but it is adequate. Very well built,one of my favorites.
August 7, 2010
Perfect lens for football games
I use this lens primarily for football games. It works perfect with the 2X multiplier at f8. Many of my shots were so good that most of my friends plan to add this lens to their collections as well. I use a mono pod for stability to equal the results of my other VR Lenses. The 600mm lens is more than my budget allows for. DOF is excellent to outstanding. Color quality is the absolute best! The only draw back would be the cost for filters for those who use them. I only use three filters ND 3, UV and Polarizer on rare occasions that require them, like boat racing and hang gliders. I have used this lens for bird watching and African safaris as well. Focus is fast on my F5 and D200, the cool part is on manual focus there no battery drain.
August 1, 2010
Wonderful Bargain!
This is a very flexible lens for all kinds of uses. It is extremely sharp and contrasty, lightweight and compact. I frequently use this lens for macro work with an extension tube to make use of the nice bokeh and shallow depth of field.
July 30, 2010
Great lens for wild life or sports!
This is a great lens, powerful but not as big and pricy as the f2.8. Now with the digital cameras, you can just bump up the ISO to make up for the one stop difference!
A friend of mine has borrowed this lens to photograph the space shuttle take off and got some great images!!
It's a great lens for portraits as well!
July 30, 2010
My favorite lens
Primary use for this lens was capturing birds in flight, but I soon discovered that it also does an excellent job as a macro lens. It's fast focus and tack sharp results are just what I needed for my style of photography.
I can shoot a bird flying by and then capture an insect a few seconds later. It allows me to shoot from a distance that does not spook my macro subjects.
This lens is easy to carry for hours at a time on my D300, which is important, since I never use a tripod. All around, this is my favorite lens and it remains on my camera 95% of the time.
For the price, it is amazing that I can have such a fantastic lens that will do so many things, so well. Thank you Nikon!
July 30, 2010
stunning crystal clear images from 300mmf4
Outstanding, 'pin sharp' images from edge to edge, extremely high precision lens optics and lens construction. The 300mmf4 IF-ED produce results that are simply amazing, together with the 9 blade shutter to give outstanding Bokeh - this is a lens that I would highly recommend for sport, commercial, fashion and wildlife photography. (Cameras used Nikon D3's)
July 20, 2010
Ótima teleobjetiva!
Excelente objetiva para fotos de aves na natureza, tanto em super closes quanto em distâncias maiores, com ISO baixo ou alto. Rendimento de cores, resolução, brilho, contraste e rapidez no auto foco são incrivelmente fantásticos! É ótima também para fotos de pequenos animais (como insetos), pois o foco mínimo proporciona grande relação de reprodução. Combinada com o TC 14E II não perde as suas principais qualidades, ampliando ainda mais as possibilidades de uso.
June 20, 2012
Great Lens, So-So Collar...
Well, I've been meaning tobuy a"pro" lens for a while, and finally pulled the trigger on the Nikkor 300mm f/4 lens.
Now, this is not to say I haven't been getting tremendous results from my Dx lenses (not to mention my older,smaller primes); I've been selling images world-wide for years using them...BUT, I wanted one of those "fast", high-magnification primes anyway...and this one is frighteningly good...sharp, faster than my Dx's, good colors,contrast, and that bokeh...wowser...
Now, I didn't even give the stock lens collar a chance; I just ordered the aftermarket one that everybody recommends right along with the lens.
This lens also seems to allow me to shoot with higher ISOs without too much image quality degradation; 400 and 640 produce exceptionally sharp, noise-free images, even on a heavily-overcast October day. Now, at ISO 800 and up, the colors are a little off at f/4 (wide open), but just one click to f/4.5 seems to clear most of that up, and by the time f/5 rolls around, all is well again. I'll attach a couple of images I just made...extremely heavy overcast, f/400 and 640 range ISOs
October 3, 2011
Great lens for landscape and close up work
Very sharp at all distances, from F4 on, up to F22. Works very well on D3x level sensors. I use it to shoot landscapes from half a mile as well as small wildflowers. Has a very good close focusing distance for the later purposes. Color rendition and contrast seem excellent as well. Focuses very quickly on a D3 level body. Great bokeh. My only gripe is that it doesn't have VR. Nikon, just put VR on this lens and don't change anything else, and you'll have a superstar.
June 23, 2011
Lovely Piece of Glass
I own a D700, a 14--24mm lens, a 24-70mm lens and a 80-200mm lens. I have been eyeballing this lens for quite a while. I wanted more than a 200mm reach with pro quality glass which can get quite expensive with a Nikon FX sensor.
I read all the 300mm f4 reviews on the web and I was quite impressed with the lens ratings and I was more impressed with this lens' performance with a TC-14II teleconverter which would take me out to 420mm. I was especially impressed with the conclusion from Photozone (reviews that I think are very thorough and balanced) that began "The Nikkor AF-S 300mm f/4D IF-ED is one of the few near-flawless lenses tested so far."
First the cons that seem to be common negatives throughout all the reviews. The auto focus speed isn't terribly slow but it isn't terribly fast either. Lack of vibration reduction on a 3 pound lens is something I miss. The tripod mounting foot is usable and not as bad as some reviews would lead you to believe but Kirk makes a better one that I bought (probably more of a psychological need than a practical one).
Now for the pros; image quality, image quality, image quality. This is a sharp, sharp lens. Distortion and aberrations are very well controlled and it is everything that I would expect from pro glass and from a Nikkor in particular.
Convention tells you that with a TC-14II teleconverter there has to be some degradation of image quality but I can't find it. This was a common claim in all the reviews that I read and it is a very accurate claim. I did have my doubts to put it mildly but I was pleasantly surprised; actually pretty amazed.
I rated the lens a 4. Faster auto focus and vibration reduction would make it a 5. However, I do rate the image quality a solid 5 and I rate the overall dollar value of the lens a solid 10 considering the price of it's f2.8 big brother.
I am very happy with this lens. I did buy the TC-14II teleconverter. I now have a 300mm and 420mm reach.
Interestingly enough, one very nebulous upside to this lens, something that is difficult to describe, is it's feel. It's a solid, massive hunk of precision. Anyone who owns a Nikkor 80-200mm lens (another older design but outstanding lens and great value) will understand what I mean. It's a joy to use.
May 12, 2011
Outstanding lens but needs VR
I shot primarily in the digital arena with some film. I purchased this lens to supplement my other telephoto (zoom) lenses. The lens is fast at F4. Image sharpness is excellent. This is a moderately heavy lens. The majority of my work is aerial photography and air shows. The images are extremely sharp. It is manageable even for a six or seven hour assignment. It is sharper and faster at 300mm than my 80-400mm, F4.5-5.6. The only drawback is not having VR capability on this lens. This feature is available on the Nikon 300mm, F2.8 lens . This feature needs to be made available on the Nikon 300mm, F4.
April 24, 2011
Great Product
I am new to the world of photography and starting out with the Nikon D3000 and this lens is a perfect combination. There isn't much one can't do with this lens, but just need to make sure you have plenty of room to shoot with when using it.
April 17, 2011
very good macro qualities
I had no idea this lens could take the quality macro shots it does from 6' away, with a 1.4 TC attached. I too found the tripod collar insufficient, so I replaced it. I always use a tripod or monopod with this lens attached to my D300. Very, very pleased with the macro results.
September 22, 2010
Amazing optics, but no VR and terrible lens collar
I have used this lens for almost 2 years for non-professional bird and animal photography and it's simply amazing for the price. It's sharp and contrasty, light compared to other long zooms. Results in good light are on par with much more expensive lenses.
Lack of VR makes this lens less useful in lower light. Putting this lens on a tripod doesn't help either because of a terrible lens collar design.
None the less, the optics performance far outweighs the cons.
September 15, 2010
Excellent but...
As some of the others, my comments are positive, but having VR would make a huge difference to me. I use a monopod and do mostly birds. Sometimes I wait a long time focused on a bird waiting for the right shot and VR would definitely help stabilize. I use a D300 as a DSLR.
I have a 70-300mm VR, so I know how good it can be.
August 18, 2010
Quality lens at a great price
The Nikon 300mm f4 AF-S is my longest high-quality telephoto to date and I'm enjoying it very much so far. It's extremely sharp, focuses quickly (in adequate light), works well using a 1.4x Nikon teleconverter, and is lightweight. As well, I enjoy macro and close up work, so the close focusing capability of this lens is a huge plus. Downsides that everyone talks about are valid - including flimsy tripod collar, flimsy lens hood, and no VR, but these can be overlooked or overcome with workarounds and good technique. Bottom line is that this is a great lens - now I wish Nikon would come out with an intermediate 400mm to match that amateurs like me can afford!
July 31, 2010
My favorite lens
Small enough to pack easily, not too heavy to lug around, close focus, extremely sharp, and works great with a TC-14e. This is the lens that was my standard wildlife lens for a long time and that I still go back to regularly for that and a variety of other subjects. For those starting out in wildlife photography, this is a great first long lens and a versatile tool that will stay with you for a long time. I'd give it five stars if not for the weak, though easily replace-able, tripod collar.
July 30, 2010
Good but needs an update soon
The images produced by this lens are extremely sharp. Even with a 1.7x TC you can get very nice results.
The lens has a few flaws, though. There is no rear lens, so dust and debris can fall straight to the aperture blades and inside the lens.
Another flaw is that this is a D-series lens (AF is slow compared to 70-300 VR, which is a pity)
And the trird flaw is the lack of VR
June 14, 2012
Needs VR
This lens needs VR. Hard to hold steady in low light especially on a DX body. I sold mine and bought the 300 2.8 VR.
August 1, 2010
Good but ...
Excellent optics but the lense has become dated. Need a modern VR version exploiting modern optical advances.
July 30, 2010
Unreliable AF
Great lens when it's working. Used it for bird photos coupled with a 1.4TC with great results - very sharp. However the autofocus has given me problems and have not been resolved with two trips to the Nikon Service Center - incredibly dissapointing. Not sure if I have a lemon here but it's very clear that the Service Center has a QA problem. Friend has the same lens that he has used way more with no problems.
February 19, 2012
6 Questions | 6 Answers
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Will this work with a D5000 and if so will it autofocus?
5 months, 2 weeks ago
by
Dizzy
Greece
Location :
Greece
Favorite Subject: Nature
Nikon Family: 0-1 years
Role: Serious passion, hobbyist
1 answer
Answers
Answer:
Yes and yes.
can it autofocus with the d3100?
does it have limitations on it?
does it have limitations on it?
5 months ago
by
arvi124
Age: Under 18
Favorite Subject: Nature
Nikon Family: 2-5 years
Role: Occasional user, memory keeper
1 answer
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Answer:
Yes you can.3 months, 4 weeks ago
by
Anonymous
1 answer
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Answer:
yesHas staff answer
AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4D IF-ED
1 answer
I have a TOKINA doubler for NA/AI lenses. Will it work for this lense?
2 months, 4 weeks ago
by
Anonymous
Age: Over 65
Favorite Subject: Landscape
Nikon Family: 21+ years
Role: Serious passion, hobbyist
1 answer
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Answer:
You will need to get in contact with the manufacture of the third party equipment for compatibility information with our products.5 days ago
by
Anonymous
1 answer
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Answer:
yes4 days ago
by
Anonymous
1 answer
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Answer:
Its fixed hence why its a 300mm.1 of 1
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