Purchase Nikon's 70-300 mm lens?

DaveyJ

I own them all. Without providing photos, I would say the 70-300 VR F5.6'is better by a lot than the DX AF-P version. But it is quite a bit bigger.

NSXTypeR

CEBlueclouds said:

You don't have to stop down so much always with the 70-300 fx version.....this was shot at f/5.6

I don't know why, but I feel like I don't have any confidence with sharpness at 300mm and wide open. I most likely need an AF adjust, I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

I'm glad you are getting great results with this lens!

DaveyJ said:

I own them all. Without providing photos, I would say the 70-300 VR F5.6'is better by a lot than the DX AF-P version. But it is quite a bit bigger.

That is good to hear, but I didn't really have an option as the D7000 isn't compatible with the newer lenses and VR.

BabaGanoush

@CE Blueclouds: Your two pictures nicely illustrate what I wrote about my own 70-300mm, i.e., it is quite sharp below 200mm, but not so sharp longward of that focal length. When I shoot with the 80-400mm, the details in the bird's plumage stand out so much better.

CEBlueclouds

BabaGanoush said:

@CE Blueclouds: Your two pictures nicely illustrate what I wrote about my own 70-300mm, i.e., it is quite sharp below 200mm, but not so sharp longward of that focal length. When I shoot with the 80-400mm, the details in the bird's plumage stand out so much better.

Yes I do agree that above 200mm, it is not as sharp as say the nikon 200-500 mm f/5.6 but could be acceptable considering the weight and cost trade off

heartyfisher

I wonder if the new sigma 100-400 would be a nice alternative to a 70-300 if you are mainly interested in the long end...

DaveyJ

The one I hear the most positive reviews, experiences on is the Tamron G2 150-600. At the long end. Nikon 200-500 at the short end.

DaveyJ

Heartyfisher....are you asking about the new NOT available yet 2.5 pound Sigma 100-400? B&H expects it to be a big seller, no price yet??? It is on their website?

heartyfisher

Yup.. I may be a bit over excited.... jumping the gun there abit :-)

DaveyJ

Healthy Fisher : Yep, I guess that is what Nikon Rumors is all about! No price, no availability date, etc., I believe it HAS to be less than the Nikon80-400! Why? That lens is way to high price wise for what it is. A refurbished 80-400 New Nikkor for $1,800 plus? Not for me! Sigma has been very good for me, my 10-20 Sigma DX is the real deal. Much of this problem is FX sensor requirements for say a DX camera, like our preferred D500 or D7200. The Sigma 100-400 will be 2.5 pounds on a variable aperatures and be FX and DX compatible. That makes it bigger, heavier, and more pricey than I need or want. When it comes to big camera investments, it is RED cameras and lens, video 5K. Anything else is going to have to be $1,400 or less or we do not buy it!

NSXTypeR

Of course there are rumors of a 70-300 AF-P FX lens about 6 months after I get the 70-300 FX.

Haha, you can't keep up with it all.

heartyfisher

looking forward to it .... The 70-300 is an excellent range .. Maybe I wont be getting the 100-400 sigma after all ........ still it does look like a nice complement to my setup... dunno.. hmm.. 70-300 + TC14 ? maybe ? was carrying around my 70-200 F4 + TC17 the other day .... { works so well with that (awesomely superb) D500 }
It was nice, but it was a bit long (120) at the short end ... was good that I could take off the TC17 when it got darker ...

PB_PM

TC won't mount on a 70-300, the rear element is right at the back, unless you zoom beyond 100mm or so. Even then you'd need to hack off the tab on the TC mount, since the TCs have a tab to prevent them from being used on unsupported equipment.

heartyfisher

Yeah the current 70-300 is not tc compatible.. but maybe the new one .. :-) I can hope ...

Still one of the reasons I got the Kenko 1.4 TC is that it is compatible with lots of lenses that the nikon TCs are not compatible with... :-) so it may work ...

NSXTypeR

With the far end at F/5.6, I'm not sure if a TC is a great idea.

heartyfisher

our newest Nikon cameras can af till f8...maybe even f11... IQ suffers though.. so...i am hoping the new 70-300 are SHARP!

NSXTypeR

Still working on technique with the 70-300.



Helicopters are hard to shoot.

DaveyJ

I have a number of 70-300 4.5-5.6 Nikkor FX shots which says AFWorks at even f14. Close ups like Hummingbirds and Bumblebees on flowers show a lot of detail, and f8 don't show the settings as well, of course probably give up some to diffraction? I usually shoot full to good light photos like that on 800 ISO. I also usually try to not go beyond 250mm. Some shots I lose I think as by definition these are handheld. I also find that fairly close 12 ft. approx. that say 400 mm is not useable just due to sighting the subject to get ready to shot. The none keepers I just deep six, keep the good ones. I have macro lens, I don't have a 200 macro and that is what would be needed there. But the ones I have done on 2.8 macro were no better than the Nikkor 70-300 on 200......not one ounce better! Farther away I would not use f14 under any circumstance

BVS

Here's a couple interesting comparison images I ran across on Amazon - 18-300 6.3 vs. 55-300 vs. new 70-300 AF-P at 300mm:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71YEMh9QzBL.jpg

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/811zGB0anlL.jpg

DaveyJ

All of realtively close well lighted still life scenes. I personally would find very little here to advise me on which to buy. I own two of the three lens.. Neither of them offer a whole lot compared to even other modest Nikon lens. The worst to me is the 18-300 which after using the lens to test, I decided I could not buy it. The better 70-300 is the older Nikkor 70-300 4.5-5.6 FX. The new AF-P 70-300 VR is a stepper motor cheaper to build lens, but it is about the least favorite 70-300. And again it can't work with the D3200 which is my ONLY camera I would like to use it on! The 55-300 is a decent lens, but is not as good as the 70-300s but as it has 55 wider, and it does focus quite close.
Don't know where the high ratings for the new AF-P lens come from. We bought TWO both we still have and rarely use them after a few weeks of frustration trying to make them great lens......and still wonder where we can get a D3300 to use on one. And the D3400 is priced low.....but still it seems
D7200s and these types are the logical bodies.....Nikon is set to introduce a new FX 70-300 AF-P again is a stepper motor lens my guess is manufacturing less expensive?

PB_PM

Stepper motor is designed to be better for video (liveview) auto focus.

BVS

PB_PM said:

Stepper motor is designed to be better for video (liveview) auto focus.

Exactly. The stepper motors in AF-P lenses work much better with contrast detect AF and focus very quickly in both Live View and through the viewfinder on supported bodies.

BVS

DaveyJ said:

All of realtively close well lighted still life scenes. I personally would find very little here to advise me on which to buy.

The pics were simply meant to show sharpness at 300mm, which is the reason many people want these lenses, and is the focal length these lenses are usually the weakest at.

As for which budget (<$1,000) 300mm lens to buy for DX, the choice is fairly simple:

If you have to have an all-in-one...

... get the Nikon 18-300 6.3.

If your camera doesn't support the AF-P lenses...

... and you want the best possible image quality, get the FX 70-300.

... and you value portability over absolute image quality, get the DX 55-300.

If your camera supports the AF-P lenses...

... and you want the best possible image quality, wait till the new FX 70-300 AF-P comes out and get whichever FX 70-300 lens is better.

... and you want the best Live View and/or video capabilities, get either the FX or DX 70-300 AF-P.

... and you value portability over absolute image quality, get the DX 70-300 AF-P.

heartyfisher

@DaveyJ There are 2 18-300's which one did you test? I have been considering the 18-300. F6.3 version... as the reviews of the F5.6 have been lack lustre. While the F6.3 version has had better reviews. Not only that, it is the most used lens paired with the/my d500 .... ! so I am curious why? maybe there is some thing that makes them an optimal pair?

I have had an 18-200 in the past which I was very pleased with. (it died and I gave it to my brother who repaired it and he has been very happy with it too).. Now I use the 18-140 but I find I miss the extra reach that my 18-200 afforded. so the 18-300's have been on my radar including the 16-300 sigma. The only thing is I think I am a bit spoilt by the good IQ from the 18-140 and the awesome 70-200 F4 !! That's why I have been also keeping an eye on the new 70-300s and the new 100-400 sigma.

heartyfisher

BVS said:

Here's a couple interesting comparison images I ran across on Amazon - 18-300 6.3 vs. 55-300 vs. new 70-300 AF-P at 300mm:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71YEMh9QzBL.jpg

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/811zGB0anlL.jpg

Looks like the AFP is pretty solid. Shame that its not fully compatible with the D500... Still may be worth the compromises...

BVS

heartyfisher said:

Looks like the AFP is pretty solid. Shame that its not fully compatible with the D500... Still may be worth the compromises...

The Nikon USA website claims the D500 is fully compatible with it:

The number of cameras compatible with both lenses is limited. Even for compatible cameras, firmware update may be required*. Fully compatible models: D7500, D5600, D5500, D5300*, D3400, D3300*, D500 and later models

Compatible models with limited functions: D5, D810 series, Df, D750, D7200, D7100, D5200, Nikon 1 series with the FT1

Incompatible models: D4 series, D3 series, D2 series, D1 series, D800 series, D700, D610, D600, D300 series, D200, D100, D7000, D5100, D5000, D90, D80, D70 series, D3200, D3100, D3000, D60, D50, D40 series, film cameras