Finally got the Nikon 300 VR PF

It took me awhile to manage it financially, but I finally purchased the new Nikon 300 VR PF lens. For anyone on the fence about this lens, and is used to the older 300 f4 afs, this lens is great. I have only had a few hours shooting with it, but so far I am loving it! It is easily as sharp as my old 300 afs, but so much smaller and way lighter. The VR works really well, and it also works very well with the TC-14E III. With the 1.4x on my D7200, it is an amazingly small and light walk around 630mm. It will be fantastic for close-up subjects like dragonflies, butterflies, flowers, etc. and I even plan to use it a lot for birds; especially from the kayak. I am happy (so far)

I fine tuned the lens 4 times with FoCal, and 3 of the 4 times it came out at zero and the 4th time at -1. So I have it set at zero. With the 1.4x it is set at +3. I may move that to +4 or +5, but will wait and use it for awhile and see how it is performing.

Hope this helps anyone here thinking about this lens.

Cheers

Congrats on the new lens Tim. I should pop by and we can compare it to the Canon 400DO ...

Hey Rory . . . . . . no need to compare. The 400 DO is going to be better, but then it is also significantly more expensive.

Congratulations - you will Love this lens.

Look forward to seeing some pix.

Have fun!!!

Tim,
Look forward to see some of your shots from this lens with D7200.
Thought you have the TC14E II, does it not work well with AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED VR?
Or does it work only with TC14E III only?

KK Hui wrote:Thought you have the TC14E II, does it not work well with AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED VR?
Or does it work only with TC14E III only?

Not sure KK, I haven't had the TC14E II for a couple of years now. I only have the III Version now. The III version will not work with the older 300 f4 afs. I suspect the TC II will work with the new lens, but I just do not know.

The first few images at this link  http://www.zuropak.com/photogallery/new/index.html  are with the new lens and D7200.

Thanks, Tim!
The shots are excellent. Handheld?

Tim Zurowski wrote:Hey Rory . . . . . . no need to compare. The 400 DO is going to be better, but then it is also significantly more expensive.

I don't know - when you factor in weight and price the 300 looks pretty good. ;/)

BTW, love your latest dragonflies with the 300. 

KK Hui wrote:Thanks, Tim!
The shots are excellent. Handheld?

Yes, handheld . . . . . . that is the beauty of this lens. Incredibly easy to handhold!

cool.
the only reason i still dont have this lens is the price.
i am currently buying other acessories.... but has been in my wish list for some time already
nice images.....

Tim, your dragonfly flight shots (DIF?) are great. Very difficult subject to catch mid-flight and the heads are in sharp focus.

Robert wrote:Tim, your dragonfly flight shots (DIF?) are great. Very difficult subject to catch mid-flight and the heads are in sharp focus.

Thanks Robert . . . . . . . and believe me, this lens makes it a lot easier to accomplish

so nice to see you enjoying a new lens Tim. The dragonfly images rock!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience with this lens. I wanted one right away but have been on the fence for a while due to the vr issues some had.

Are you happy with the af acquisition and speed?

Yes, I am very happy with the af acquisition and speed, but then I am not very fussy about that stuff either. It handles everything I need in that respect. The VR issues were only with earlier copies. If you look on the Nikon website they list the serial number where all copies after have the firmware upgrade to resolve that VR issue. I have had no issues in any way at all and after four days with this lens . . . . . I LOVE IT!!!

Not sure if it is doable, but if Nikon would make a 600 f/5.6 with this same technology, I would sell my (large / heavy) 500 VR in a heartbeat.

have the lens it is great

 
Moments ago I finished a shoot of the new species that are showing in my evolving wildflower garden, converted from lawn.   Wish I had this 300 VR PF for this shoot.

For Nikon shooters, this is at least one of the best all around nature lenses.

With its light-weight, compactness, close-focusing and extraordinary sharpness, it can be said that with the adding of the 1.4 TC, this lens might trump the versatility of the new super tele zooms.  And I am now thinking Tim,  that your argument for the D7200 is valid, if not for anything else, than the extra 4 megapixels. 

Of course I want a 400 2.8 FL or 600 f4 FL....BUT I do not want another heavy lens.  And I do not want a zoom that goes out to 600...simply because it is just too heavy for me now. 

Here are a couple of questions for you who have this 300 VR PF Nikkor:  

1.  Can I steady a breeze-blown wildflower with an insect on it, while shooting it one-handed with this 300 VR PF ?
2.  A few have said that it tends to be a little difficult to steady, simply because it is so light; i.e. less mass.  Is there a problem with steadying this lens because it is so lightweight ?  I would not think so, but I do not know.

Another advantage of this lens is that the rig can be one-handed with no stress to the flange.  

Robert King

http://itsaboutnature.net

Blck-shouldered Kite wrote: 
1.  Can I steady a breeze-blown wildflower with an insect on it, while shooting it one-handed with this 300 VR PF ?
2.  A few have said that it tends to be a little difficult to steady, simply because it is so light; i.e. less mass.  Is there a problem with steadying this lens because it is so lightweight ?  I would not think so, but I do not know.

1) No, because the minimum focus distance is greater than the length of your arms. I use a Wimberly plamp for situations like that
2) There is no problem at all with that. I have no idea why some people said that, but it is even easier for me to steady because it is so small and light. This is a total non issue!

To add to my original post, I also ordered the Chinese made collar for this lens for $38 CND including free shipping! The collar looks to be very well made and so far works great, and also includes a swiss arca mount built into the foot (are you listening Nikon!). No idea how well it will last, but for $38 I am more than happy to buy more of them and still save tons over the Kirk collar for $250.

Tim Zurowski wrote:

Blck-shouldered Kite wrote: 
1.  Can I steady a breeze-blown wildflower with an insect on it, while shooting it one-handed with this 300 VR PF ?
2.  A few have said that it tends to be a little difficult to steady, simply because it is so light; i.e. less mass.  Is there a problem with steadying this lens because it is so lightweight ?  I would not think so, but I do not know.

1) No, because the minimum focus distance is greater than the length of your arms. I use a Wimberly plamp for situations like that
2) There is no problem at all with that. I have no idea why some people said that, but it is even easier for me to steady because it is so small and light. This is a total non issue!

To add to my original post, I also ordered the Chinese made collar for this lens for $38 CND including free shipping! The collar looks to be very well made and so far works great, and also includes a swiss arca mount built into the foot (are you listening Nikon!). No idea how well it will last, but for $38 I am more than happy to buy more of them and still save tons over the Kirk collar for $250.

1). Did not think of that.
2). I thought that was a load of baloney. 

Tim, where is the link to this Chinese collar?  

Tim, where is the link to this Chinese collar?  

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Lens-Tripod-Moun ... SwcBhWVnCk