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Photography News Issue 26 absolutephoto.com
First tests
Nikon AF-S 300mm f/4E PF EDVR £1639
Specs
Format Full-frame, APS-C Mount Nikon F, accepts Nikon teleconverters Construction
It’s rare now that a new lens comes out without some form of exotic glass inside it, designed to help it do something or other better than previous lenses. The same goes for this Nikon prime telephoto. The exotic glass in question here is Nikon’s Phase Fresnel (PF) element, the first lens from the company to feature it. The PF element is said to help deliver images almost free of chromatic aberration and with exceptional clarity, but it also means that this optic is the lightest full-frame, autofocus 300mm prime available. It weighs in at 755g and measures 147.5mm without the supplied lens hood. For comparison, the Nikon 70‑300mm f/4.5-5.6 weighs 744g and measures 144mm. The PF element has a series of concentric circles engraved on it to enable lens designers to use fewer elements in the 300mm’s construction. Peering through the lens with the help of a bright torch, these rings are not at all visible, but Nikon does mention that ring-shaped flare can occur when the sun is in or just out of frame. Nikon’s Capture NX-D software has a PF Flare Control option to deal with this. I did aim the lens at the sun (using live view) and also took the hood off and let light strike the lens at an oblique angle. I didn’t experience any unusual flare, but there was ghosting and contrast loss, as with any lens. The bare statistics might not mean much, but you only have to pick up the lens to appreciate how small it is, bearing in mind its focal length and constant f/4 aperture. Add the 1.4 teleconverter and you have a remarkably petite 420mm f/5.6. Lenses of this length usually come supplied with a tripod adapter, but there is not one supplied with this lens. The indent around the barrel allows the fitting of the optional Nikon
RT-1 collar; this costs around £125 but there are plenty of cheaper (less than £10) non-Nikon options. I used the lens on a Nikon D800 with the camera mounted to the tripod and experienced no problems with shake. However, if I bought the lens, I’d buy a tripod ring. Optically, this 300mis no let‑down. In fact, it delivers everything Nikon promises and more: very sharp pictures, good VR performance and accurate AF. Sharpness was good at the centre and edges from f/4 onwards, and probably peaked at f/5.6 and f/8. Given that this type of lens is used at the wider apertures, it’s a good thing that it performs well at these settings. If you were to use this lens at the smaller apertures, it might not be ideal, because by f/16 and beyond sharpness had dropped off noticeably. With Nikon’s 1.4x teleconverter, sharpness level remained high, the best results coming two stops down frommaximum. A 4.5EV benefit is claimed for the VR system. Assuming that 1/500sec is a sensible handholding speed, that means shooting at 1/20sec will still give sharp images. On a still autumn day I shot a series of shots up to and including 1/20sec, to test the system. The image does seem to ‘float’ in the viewfinder as shots are framed up and the finger is resting on the shutter button, and my shots as slow as 1/25sec were surprisingly acceptable. In fact, on another windless occasion I did some shots as slow as 1/6sec and got acceptably sharp results. Getting sharp shots at that speed with a handheld 300mm is amazing, although it is not recommended, and I got several failures at that speed too. I reckonmy safe limit with this lens is 1/60sec and that is still impressive with such a long focal length. WC
16 elements in 10 groups Special lens elements 1x ED element, 1x aspherical element, 1x Phase Fresnel element Coatings Fluorine coating on front element, nano coating, super integrated coating (SIC) Filter size 77mm Aperture range f/4-32 Diaphragm Nine blades Internal focus Yes, AF uses Silent Wave Motor Manual focus Yes, A/M, M/AM, M options Minimum focus 1.4m Focus limiter Yes, full, infinity to 3m Maximummagnification 0.24x Distance scale Yes, metres and feet Depth-of-field scale No Image stabiliser VR offering 4.5EV benefit Tripod collar No Lens hood Supplied Weather-sealed No Dimensions (lxd) 147.5x89mm Weight 755g Contact nikon.co.uk
Image This 300mmmakes the most of subjects packed with fine detail, and is even light enough to carry around for landscape shooting.
Full-frame
F/4
How it rates Verdict The older Nikon 300mm f/4 AF-S D IF-ED cost £999, so this PF lens is significantly more at £1639, but the newer lens is worth the money. The weight and size savings are massive plus points, while the bang up-to-date spec means handling in terms of AF and VR is superior, as is optical performance. Sports and action Nikon users who need a portable, top-quality 300mm or can’t afford the f/2.8 version (£3800), this could be your dream lens.
Features PF, SWM, VR, ED, SIC – this lens has all the initials you could ever want
25/25
F/8
Performance Spot-on AF, very sharp images
24/25
Handling Excellent – even without a tripod collar
24/25
Value for money This level of performance at this price is very good
23/25
Images The 300mm performed impressively from open aperture onwards across the whole image frame, and sharpness only declined noticeably from f/16. Our test pictures were shot on a Nikon D800. Raws were processed in Lightroomwith default sharpening.
Overall Without doubt, a very high-quality prime telephoto
96/100
Pros Light, top optical performance Cons Performance at f/16 and smaller
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