Nikon New AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4E PF ED VR

bald_eagle

@funtagraph said:

When sending your AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4 E PF ED VR lens to a Nikon authorized service center, the user must pay the cost of shipping to the service center, and Nikon will pay for return shipping.

Firmware for lenses with a serial number of 205101 or later has already been updated.

I sent the lens in together with the likewise "faulty" D750 - and for that body I had a paid shipping document. For the lens, there's none.

There's no mention of the user having to pay any shipping costs in the service announcement oin the Nikon UK site:
https://nikoneurope-en.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/64211

Maybe it was because they hadn't made the service announcement when you sent yours in that you had to pay the shipping for it, but now that they've made the announcement, mayber you should try asking them to refund it.
I wonder why they haven't already updated its firmware and shipped it back, though, since the firmware is now available. Hope you get it sorted and back soon.

Cheers,
Baldy

funtagraph

It's great so many of you got prepaid shipment documents, but in no announcements I've seen so far, Nikon explicitly tells they are taking care of the shipment, too. To me it looks like "maybe some owners are impatient enough so we (Nikon) can save one way of shipping costs. If the others send in the request, it's still time enough to send those documents".

A cool way would have been to check the online registered items and if a customer registered that lens together with a D8xx body, address him/her actively and attach a PDF with the shipment papers. They know the serial numbers.

But it's just Nikon. In Switzerland, they even don't update the service status on their "support"-site. I mean, this failure can ruin pictures, why not handling in pro-actively? Nikon could even use it to show not-yet-Nikon owners "we make mistakes from time to time, but we're acting in your interest and handle these well"

phk84

I did't even have to ask for free shipping. I just sent an e-mail to the supportcenter, telling them that i had one of the affected lenses, and asking how to proceed. I got an answer back within a few hours, where they offered me free shipping, and intructions how to proceed.

Dominique_R

Nikon France also offers prepaid shipping for sending the lens back in, and so did my French Nikon dealer. AS a matter of course, I should say. It's a defect, it's been acknowledged, it's under warranty, of course the unfortunate early adopters should not have anything to pay to have the privilege of being deprived of their new lens for a couple weeks...!

funtagraph

Look, I'll try again @phk84 : The free shipment or a hint of "free of costs" could have been in the original announcement on DPReview which came from Nikon, I suspect. It's good they deal it that way. I haven't paid for shipment and I said that three times before that the lens went together with a D750 for which I already had a free shipment voucher.

Photobug

I got my prepaid shipping documents yesterday.

That is the way it is suppose to be handled. Thanks.
@funtagraph - Thanks for the copy and paste that supports your statement. Good thing the lens went with the D750 so no cost to you. It's not right and I don't agree with Nikon's statement. When I sent in my D750 it cost me nothing, they paid UPS fees both ways. My point, they should do the same on this lens. How is that different? It's NOT.

squoop

There's an interesting article on dpr about other lenses also having this issue..
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/5885395870/nikon-announces-new-firmware-for-300mm-f4-vr-to-fix-blur-at-certain-shutter-speeds

heartyfisher

I have noticed a similar issue with my 70-200 f4 .. on my D610. Its random(and annoying), but "Quiet" mode seems to fix it. I noticed it most when shooting pointed down. But I have not tested it at all cos I dont notice it till I get back and look at it on the PC. (hence the annoyance ! )

funtagraph

News from Nikon Switzerland: They got the firmware last week, but are still waiting for an "adjustment-tool" which they should get by tomorrow. So maybe next week? Of course, I ranted a bit. About betaversion lenses, final adjustments to be made at the service-spots instead in the factories, 6 weeks of waiting for a pricey lens and obviously failing test-procedures.

They offered me three sensor cleanings for free. Better than nothing? Don't know, I do it myself.

Dominique_R

Personally, I'm going to Sardinia next week so I will not be sending it in until the week after, and the guy at Nikon France told me it was just as well... I didn't want to ask painful questions, but it was obvious he expected to have to "update" quite a few lenses over the first few days after the official announcement.

squoop

This lens is now available at nikonusa.com. Online retailers still showing on backorder, but pre-orders should be fulfilled very soon.

Photobug

I was in Gene's Camera store in South Bend, IN today and they have sold two of these lens and have two preorders pending and expect another lens in May to sell in the store. They expect to have inventory by the end of May. This is a good sign from a small dealer.

mikealruskov

This lens is now available at nikonusa.com. Online retailers still showing on backorder, but pre-orders should be fulfilled very soon. - See more at: http://forum.nikonrumors.com/discussion/3778/nikon-new-af-s-nikkor-300mm-f4e-pf-ed-vr/p10#sthash.NoV4c1EE.dpuf

-squoop

Just got off the phone ordering this lens with Nikon and they expect 3-5 day shipping, awesome! I'm hoping I don't end up with a copy that shows VR issues.

funtagraph

Last Saturday I surprisingly got the lens back. I could not check in detail. In the first batch and compared to the rental lens @300 and 70-200 + TC17 I found

double contours in D810 pictures are gone in each VR setting
with VR the pictures are slightly better than without - I don't see the same massive effect like I saw with 70-200/4 or I just became more critical :?
none of the VR is as good as without from a decent tripod - that was with D750 slightly different before the "surgery".

They got the adjustment device on Friday and I got the lens back on Saturday. Were they just training/learning with it?

phk84

I got my lens back from Nikon Service Center today.
I sent it in Monday last week and it arrived in the servicecenter on Tuesday. Turaround time 1 week, no charges.
Well done Nikon!

chito

I can't find it in stock anywhere and I've already sold my old D version.

Photobug

Based upon my discussion and @mikealruskov comments it appears that Nikon is now supplying lens to US dealers.

mikealruskov

It now appears as though the lens is out of stock at Nikon and they said it could remain out of stock for preorders for some time. My order was placed just a day or two before the website showed out of stock and currently shows as "processing", so I called Nikon to make sure my order wasn't canceled or backordered. The representative at Nikon told me my order did go through, so it looks like anyone who was quick enough to grab one from Nikon directly last week should get theirs.

There are still a ton of preorders from dealers that are up in the air that may not be filled for a while until Nikon catches up with their supply. I preordered a copy at my local camera shop, but they still have no idea when they will see more copies. I think I got lucky to scoop one up from Nikon, it must have been a small batch that went out.

Tradewind35

Simon Stafford who probably knows as much about Nikon lenses as anyone is still cautious about recommending this new lens and thinks the problems reported may also apply when the lens is used on a D750 so I am not yet persuaded that all is well despite the supposed firmware fix.

tcole1983

I am glad I still have my 300mm f/4D IF-ED AF-S.

mikealruskov

Just got mine a couple hours ago. I am blown away by the performance of this lens in every category. Using this on a D7000 I have absolutely no VR issues at the reported issue range (60-200/s). It's pretty amazing how well the VR works considering I got tack sharp images of birds feeding at 1/15th of a second. The sharpness and lack of CA is the most impressive part of this lens in my opinion. This is easily the sharpest lens I own, I'll have to do some more tests but I'm shocked at how good this is wide open. My 16mp sensor is not doing this lens justice.

I've only had an hour or so with it, but It's quite a compact lens and balances very well if you're using a battery grip. Also impressive is the weight, this weights 50g less than my 135mm! The front and rear of the lens have o-rings for weather sealing, but I'm still wary about using this in the rain.

AF speed and accuracy are far better than I expected, I would say it's in between the 70-200 f/4 VR and the 70-200 f/2.8 VRII's AF speed and accuracy. Using the focus limiter helps considerably, I would estimate it increases the tracking speed around 20-30%. I have had a few issues with the AF sticking or getting confused when close focusing, then trying to focus to infinity. I'm fairly certain this is an issue with my D7000's AF performance, not the lens. Overall, it's snappy and very usable for sports/wildlife. The electronic aperture has a unique sound too, seems quiet compared to other lenses I've used.

Absolutely killer lens, I'll upload some sample shots soon.

EDIT: Straight from the camera full res sample at f/4, ISO 200: https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8767/17148623218_96f871bb6d_o.jpg

Another at f/4.5: https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7668/17148868250_f7d1569d89_o.jpg

Cellphone camera macro shot of the PF element: https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7702/17148938120_0de96c982a_o.jpg

Quick and dirty VR test:

Photobug

Good news. No GREAT NEWS.
I had a conversation this morning with the regional Nikon Representatives and learned the following. Nikon had planned to use air shipments to supply DSLR's and lens for the last rebate. Unfortunately due to the new flight regulations regarding Lithium batteries, they had to redirect those shipments to the USA via boat which adds a significant amount of transit time to get the product to the coast and then five days to get product to the DCs.

That is why their is a another rebate sale on right now, this product arriving on the west coast is actually the product that was suppose to be in the states in January and February. Also it appears many US Camera dealers went very conservative with their orders resulting in lower production numbers forecast. Nikon Marketing now realizes this impact and is pushing back to USA dealers.

This is the same Nikon Representative that clued me in to the replacement of the 300mm lens, the D7200, and the D5500 before they hit the market as well as the shortage issue on the D750 battery grip and why. So I place confidence in what he tells me.

There was a dock workers strike on the West coast and there are six ships with Nikon products sitting waiting to be unloaded. The dock strike is over and the merchandise is in the process of being unloaded or in the Que and will be in the DC warehouse soon. The backlog of 300mm F4 PF ED VR lens is going to disappear quickly. There are lots of 300mm being made now and in transit. He told me to not wait and place my order now.

This certainly explains the issues of back orders on many items.

Dominique_R

Hi again everyone,

Well, I got my 300/4 back two days ago, having shipped it to Nikon France on May 6...

They sure did take their sweet time.

However, the good news is the firmware update appears to have indeed taken care of the problem with VR at slower speeds.

Let's now go back to business at last —taking pictures, I mean.

Photobug

I ordered my 300mm F4 on June 6/11/15. B&H would not price match Adorama so my order went to Adorama. Clarification, same price but Adorama offers 2% back 45 days after delivery of the lens. Or you can pick the lens plus some free stuff and get 2% back.

The local dealer told me if I put money down for a preorder expect 5 to 6 months before the lens would arrive. That made my decision easy.

mikealruskov

I've been using my 300 PF for over a month now for sports photography and some portraiture. I'm writing/filming a somewhat in-depth review about this lens and was curious if anyone wanted to see any specific tests in the video or have any questions I can answer about the lens.