AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4D IF-ED

INTRO

For the amateur photographer on a budget, the choices for an affordable telephoto from Nikon are very little. I have written about the AFS 70-300mm VR zoom, but its a bit too slow for some of the more demanding kids sports and weekend wildlife adventures, then there is the AF 80-400mm VR, but its also slow and a bit too expensive. Some people opt for the AFS 70-200mm VR coupled to a tele-converter, but its still an expensive option. Its also a shame that Nikon didn't introduce an AF version of their very popular Ais 400mm f/5.6 ED back in the late eighties when the change to autofocus was happening. Thankfully though, we got the 300mm f/4.

 The original AF 300mm f/4 with 82mm front element and built in filter holder!

My very first telephoto lens was the original AF 300mm f/4 which had a production run of nearly 13 years (1987-2000). The AFS 300mm f/4D replaced it in early 2000 and is now itself over 11 years old. So it's pretty certain that we'll be seeing a replacement for the now "old" AFS version sometime soon. But until then, if you are looking for a cheap telephoto with pro performance, this is the lens for you. 

This case is not that bad, you can actually use it in the field.

Choices

The AFS 300mm f/4D is a good compromise between size and speed. It's not as flimsy or slow as your typical telephoto zoom nor is it as expensive or large like its bigger f/2.8 brother. Currently it sells new for 1100€ and for the price, apart from the front and rear caps and the built in hood, Nikon also gives you a nice modern case with belt and sholder strap. As already mentioned this is the only affordable long telephoto currently available from Nikon. The only other affordable yet serious alternative for sports and wildlife photographers is the much slower and more expensive AF 80-400mm VR. Now to some folks, 1100€ may sound like a lot of money, but when you consider that a 300mm f/2.8, which is only one stop of light faster costs around 4500€, then the AFS 300mm f/4 is really at a sweat price point. Of course you will have to factor in the cost of the "must-have" TC-14E II teleconverter which currently goes for 400€. Here's a list of the currently available options from Nikon with prices as of 01/2011:

• AF-S 200-400mm f/4 VR II IF ED   .........................................  6142€
• AF-S 300mm f/2.8G ED VR II   ...............................................  5199€
• AF-S 300mm f/2.8G VR  .........................................................  4250€
• AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II  ...............................................   1999€
• AF 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6VR ED  ..............................................   1552€
• AF-S 300mm f/4D   ..................................................................  1132€
• AF-S 70-300mmf/4.5-5.6VR  ...................................................   482€
• TC 20E III  ................................................................................   529€ 
• TC 14E II   .................................................................................  399€
• TC 17E II   .................................................................................  399€
• TC 20E II  .................................................................................   399€

So at around 1500€ its a toss up between the 300mm and the 80-400mm zoom. Which to buy? I dont know, this is a choice you have to make! Do you need the zoom range of the 80-400 more than the crisp details of the 300 @ 300mm wide open? Do you need the VR of the zoom more than what you can get with the speed of the f/4 aperture? Of course one question that gets asked a lot, which is sharper wide open at 400mm? Thats easy to answer, the 80-400mm VR is sharper than the 300mm with converter, on screen - if viewing prints, i doubt you would see much difference. Choices, choices, choices!

At some stage, I had both, sold the zoom and kept the 300mm for its AF speed. But mind you, I already had a manual focus 500mm f/4P lens, so the decision was easier for me to make.

Description

The two lenses are very alike with the same groups of glass, the same ED elements, the same overall size and weight (excluding the front element) and a similar built-in telescoping hood, which by the way, has proven to be very convenient yet frustrating at the same time. Both have a rotating tripod collar but the one on the AFS version, which is also removable, has been heavily criticized for its inability to keep the lens stable enough at slow shutter speeds. So overall, they are very alike but at the same time very different, since the 13 year gap is very evident.

Back when the lens was first announced in 2000, there were some concerns as to what impact would the smaller front element (77mm versus 82mm) and the "wobbly" tripod collar have on performance. The first one was quickly forgotten when results from the lens proved that vignetting was at normal and acceptable levels but the second concern had a lot of people talking about a bad design decision from Nikon, with Bjorn Rosslett taking center stage with his very critical article on the subject. Personally I believe the issue was slightly blown out of proportion. Sure, there was a possibility for blurred images at certain shutter speeds, but nothing proper technique (resting your hand on the top of the lens or pressing your face against the back of the body) or a cork or empty film canister couldn't fix. But if you are the type of person who shoots a lot of tripod mounted slow exposures in the danger zone  (1/30sec-1/2 sec) then you may want to invest in a Kirk or Really Right Stuff replacement tripod mount.

Back to the built in telescoping hood, its use is very simple. You pull out the hood and twist clockwise to lock in place. When finished, you simply twist anti-clockwise to loosen the hood and retract to its original position. Overall, I wasn't very fond of the hood since at times it would stick in the extended position, but it was none-the-less, pretty convenient. There are also two switches on the side of the lens: The first is the focusing method switch (M/A-M) that allows the user to switch between Autofocusing with manual override and Manual mode, and the second is the focusing limiter switch (FULL-Infinity/3m) which gives two options, full range and 3m to infinity.

 

With hood extended. Compare with top photo.

Sharpness

The 300mm lens uses two ED (Extra Low Dispersion) glass elements to help in reducing Chromatic aberrations. The AFS 300mm f/4D resolves more detail than its older brother, and this is why it's a better performer when combined with a TC14E. That doesn't mean the old lens was a bad performer, on the contrary, but Nikon still decided to redesign the optical construction since the older lens didn't fair too well with tele-converters. This is why most older reviews had a hard time trying to find any optical performance differences (especially when done on film). The newer design offers more resolving power which means the differences start to show when coupled to a tele-converter or when mounting the lenses on a dense sensor such as the D300.

DX

The 300mm lens on a DX format body has a field of view equivalent to 450mm and coupled to a TC14E converter it goes to 630mm. The AFS 300mm f/4 lens performs great on a D300 and is extremely sharp with manageable vignetting and no distortion, though pink & blue fringing can be a problem at times in harsh conditions and when using a tele-converter. I often shoot at f/4 but best apertures are f/5.6 and f/8.

FX

On the D700 the vignetting and slight barrel distortion are barely visible and in most cases of no concern since they are both easily corrected in post. Shooting wide open on the D700 is a pleasure with great color, contrast and very sharp results. Of course stopping down a stop or two improves sharpness and contrast, but wide open performance is already good enough. When using a tele-converter, I usually close down one stop. Best performing aperture range on the D700 is between f/5.6-f/11, though I will happily shoot wide open all day or go to f/16 when needed.  

AF

Autofocusing on both formats, DX & FX, is a large improvement over its older brother thanks to its IF (Internal focus) design, but still just OK. At least its accurate enough and pretty silent. Of course, there must be enough light and contrast on the subject for accurate focusing. When coupled to a tele-converter, things get a bit slower and not so decisive, but still very acceptable. This is when I use the focus limiter switch to help improve focus acquisition and try to find the highest contrast part on my subject. Overall, focusing is quick and quiet, though there is always room for improvement - hope the new version has faster AF.  

Bokeh

The bokeh performance may not be creamy smooth like that on the Samyang 85, but it still pretty good thanks to the 9 curved aperture blades. Under harsh conditions, eg: very busy backgrounds with spotlights or other highlights, the bokeh becomes more rough, but still manages to stay at a good level.

Color and Flaring

Color reproduction is ok with a neutral to cool rendering and at times affected by slight flaring which in most cases just reduces the contrast and mutes the colors. In most cases, this can be fixed in post. My old 500mm f/4P doesn't like very bright days or subjects and so can result in low contrast images with a haze over the entire frame. This can be also seen, to a lesser degree, on the AFS 300mm as well, so very bright beech or snow scenes wide open should be avoided. In those situations its good practice to closed down a stop or two, to help improve contrast and color rendition.

What the future holds

As already mentioned, the AFS 300mm is up for an update. What most expect to see, is better AF performance, better optical performance wide open, Nano crystal coating for better flare control, VR technology and focus lock buttons. My guess would be for a 2012 summer release.

Last words

Today, the AFS 300mm is a very respectable telephoto, offering sharp and contrasty images, fast AF, good reproduction ratio thanks to its minimum focus distance of only 1.45m, and a solid build, though those buying second hand, must be careful of worn out AFS motors, as there are a lot of reports of squealing and faulty AFS motors in this model as well as the AFS 17-35mm zoom. 

Specifications

• Maximum Aperture ......................................................  f/4
• Minimum Aperture  ...................................................... f/32
• Maximum Angle of View (DX-format)  ....................... 5°20'
• Maximum Angle of View (FX-format)   .......................8°10'
• Maximum Reproduction Ratio  ..................................... 0.27x
• Lens Elements  .............................................................. 10
• Lens Groups  ................................................................. 6
• Diaphragm Blades ......................................................... 9 curved
• ED Glass Elements ........................................................ 2
• Super Integrated Coating  ..............................................Yes
• Internal Focusing ...........................................................Yes
• Minimum Focus Distance      .........................................1.45m
• Filter Size .......................................................................77mm Screw-on
• Dimensions (Approx.) ....................................................90x222.5mm 
• Weight (Approx.) ............................................................1,440g

Pictures taken with the AF-S 300mm f/4D IF-ED

MTF chart as published by Nikon

 How to read the MTF chart