opticoholic
Well-known member
It's only a rumor from the same site that told us a D9300 was in the works, but the language seems rather certain that "Nikon will soon introduce" an update to the 300mm f/4 with VR. So what the heck, I'll start a new thread and maybe it will last a while.
The new lens will have some BIG SHOES TO FILL. For ~$1369 US, the current old 300 f/4 is about as sharp a lens as you can buy for the money, nearly as sharp as the 300mm f/2.8 which currently goes for ~$5719 US. With the TC-14E II teleconverter, the old 300 f/4 has been Nikon's most popular affordable lightweight birding lens for a long time. Using a monopod I don't feel a lot of need for VR with this set-up, and aside from VR, it's hard for me to imagine the new version of the lens having more than a very slight increase in image quality. Very few details in the rumor, but it's not hard to predict the improvements: It will have a new optical design with nanocoating and flourine coating... The VR will certainly be useful sometimes. It should autofocus a little faster. It will almost surely be a little lighter and easier to handle than the current lens which weighs 3.2 lbs, and I expect it will also work with the latest TC-14E III teleconverter, which would be good. Build quality is a question mark. I hope it has better dust sealing on the back end, and I hope they don't use too much plastic. The rumor that it will lack an included tripod collar is a cheap move by Nikon if true, but it wouldn't bother me that much because I usually buy a Kirk lens collar anyway with an arca-swiss style foot. I'd guess the new lens will cost well over $2K, still way more affordable than a 300 f/2.8. Anyway, after 15 years the new lens should be a significant improvement, and I hope it is, but it's a tall order and my confidence in Nikon is shaky these days... So I will not be in any hurry to upgrade but I'll be interested to hear real reports from others when it finally is announced and becomes available.
Dave
The new lens will have some BIG SHOES TO FILL. For ~$1369 US, the current old 300 f/4 is about as sharp a lens as you can buy for the money, nearly as sharp as the 300mm f/2.8 which currently goes for ~$5719 US. With the TC-14E II teleconverter, the old 300 f/4 has been Nikon's most popular affordable lightweight birding lens for a long time. Using a monopod I don't feel a lot of need for VR with this set-up, and aside from VR, it's hard for me to imagine the new version of the lens having more than a very slight increase in image quality. Very few details in the rumor, but it's not hard to predict the improvements: It will have a new optical design with nanocoating and flourine coating... The VR will certainly be useful sometimes. It should autofocus a little faster. It will almost surely be a little lighter and easier to handle than the current lens which weighs 3.2 lbs, and I expect it will also work with the latest TC-14E III teleconverter, which would be good. Build quality is a question mark. I hope it has better dust sealing on the back end, and I hope they don't use too much plastic. The rumor that it will lack an included tripod collar is a cheap move by Nikon if true, but it wouldn't bother me that much because I usually buy a Kirk lens collar anyway with an arca-swiss style foot. I'd guess the new lens will cost well over $2K, still way more affordable than a 300 f/2.8. Anyway, after 15 years the new lens should be a significant improvement, and I hope it is, but it's a tall order and my confidence in Nikon is shaky these days... So I will not be in any hurry to upgrade but I'll be interested to hear real reports from others when it finally is announced and becomes available.
Dave
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