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

Product Information

Minimum focus distance/max. magnification: 1.4 m (4.4 ft.) / 1:4.2. I my tests I got down to 1.31 m and 1:3.8 magnification with manual focus. The 300/4.0D reaches 1.45 m / 1:3.7 on paper and 1.39 m / 1:3.4 in my test. That’s a nice magnification that you can reach at a convenient distance, and at the top of the range for 300mm fixed-focals. The lens also offers a limiter switch that reduces the MFD to 3m to speed focusing up a bit. [+]

Another feature that I like about this lens is the retractable built-in hood. While lens flare seem to be well-corrected optically, I did notice a difference having the hood extended while shooting with the sun at a low angle. Retractable hoods are more convenient than the detachable hoods, particularly when deploying or stowing the camera. Also, I have always regarded lens hoods as another measure of physical protection against damage to the front element or filter threads. I insist on using a hood whenever I can.

Z 6 + FTZ + AI Nikko 300mm f/4.5 S at maximum aperture, 1/800 s, ISO 100; processed with Capture NX-D V. 300mm f/4.5 specs

Nikon’s standard 70-200mm zoom has a constant f/2.8 aperture and can be converted with Nikon’s 1.4x teleconverter into a AF-S 100-280/4.0G ED VR. It’s about the same height as a gripped D810. That’s kinda cool, but even more impressively, it stands up INSIDE the lens hood of the 600 f4. Autofocus is powered by a silent wave motor, and autofocus speeds are very fast indeed. Manual adjustments can be applied at any time via the wide rubberised focusing ring, which only takes a light touch to operate, but is smooth and well damped, making applying fine adjustments a pleasure.

Alternatives

In my tests I simply used electronic first curtain to eliminate this source of shake and got results that were only a little behind the 300/4.0E VR in optical performance. The 300/4.0D even has one optical benefit over the new model: it renders strong contra lights better as it does not suffer from Fresnel flare. The ∞ - 3m setting (∞ - 10') prevents the lens from focusing closer than 3m/10.' Use this only if you're having problems with the lens jumping all over the range from very close to very far.