Home  Donate  New  Search  Gallery  Reviews  How-To  Books  Links  Workshops  About  Contact

Nikon 300mm f/4.5 ED IF
AI-S NIKKOR
(1978-1999)
© 2015 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.

Intro   Specifications   Performance   Recommendations   More

Please help KenRockwell..com

Nikon 300mm f/4.5 ED-IF

Nikon 300mm f/4.5 ED-IF AI-s. (FX, DX and 35mm coverage, metal 72mm filter thread, 35 oz ./990g, 8'/2.5m close focus, about $450 used). enlarge. I got mine at this link directly to them at eBay (see How to Win at eBay).

This all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Buy only from the approved sources I use myself for the best prices, service, return policies and selection. Thanks for your support! Ken.

 

Nikon 300mm f/4.5 ED-IF

Nikon 300mm f/4.5 ED-IF AI-s. enlarge.

 

January 2015   Nikon Reviews   Nikon Lenses    All Reviews

Nikon 300mm f/4 Lenses Compared

Why Fixed Lenses Take Better Pictures

 

Introduction         top

Intro   Specs   Performance   Compared   Usage   Recommendations   More

Adorama pays top dollar for your used gear.

B&H Photo - Video - Pro Audio
I use these stores. I can't vouch for ads below.

This was the smallest fixed-focal length 300mm lens ever made by Nikon until the 300/4 PF VR of 2015. This ED IF lens is very handy, sharp and well made. This is the best manual-focus 300mm ever made, short of the f/2.8 versions.

ED means it has Nikon's magic glass for excellent sharpness. IF means internal focus, meaning it focuses instantly with just the flick of a finger. Nothing moves externally.

It has some funny light falloff characteristics, even stopped down, of which you should be aware if you often shoot subjects with flat, evenly lit backgrounds. This is probably a minor point, but could drive some people crazy.

It works great on the Nikon D3, with great sharpness even wide open at f/4.5 without any corner lateral color fringing. You have to be very precise with the D3's manual focus indicators to get the sharpness of which this combination is capable.

 

Specifications         top

Intro   Specs   Performance   Compared   Usage   Recommendations   More

 

Optics

7 seven elements in 6 groups.

1 ED element.

Internal focus.

 

Diaphragm

9 straight blades.

Sometimes the blades in different samples get a little out of round, leading to uneven star patterns from very bright points of light.

 

Filters

Metal 72mm filter thread.

 

Hood

Built-in telescoping lens hood.

 

Tripod Collar

It has a removable tripod collar.

 

Size

3.1" (80mm) around by 7.9" (200mm) long.

 

Weight

It weighs 35 oz (990g).

 

Price, USA

January 2015: about $450 used if you know How to Win at eBay.

2007: about $300-$400 used.

It sold for $900 at NYC discount in 1994. This was always a very expensive lens..

 

Performance         top

Intro   Specs   Performance   Compared   Usage   Recommendations   More

It has such a tiny level of distortion that I really can't even see it, far superior to a zoom. Use -0.1 with DX cameras and -1.0 with FX and film cameras, at infinity, in Photoshop CS2's lens distortion correction filter.

It has no ghosts, so point it right into the sun and blast away.

Even with the ED glass it still has some magenta/green lateral secondary chromatic aberration.

Here's the break down by aperture:

f/4.5: very sharp all over. Illumination is peak at a point in center, rolls off away from it. This looks a little weird.
f/5.6: real sharp. Even illumination in central 10mm, falls off away from it. This also looks weird because of the sudden change from evenly lit disk to falloff region
f/8: sharp. Even illumination in central 35mm, falls off away from it. This again can look odd because of the obvious regions of even illumination or falloff. This is significant if you have large, evenly lit regions as your subject or background

When used with the TC-200 it's just as sharp as the 300mm f/4 ED-IF AF is with the TC.

Used with the TC-200 it is not quite as sharp as the 600mm f/5.6 ED-IF AI-s, which is to be expected. It is however, at a fraction of the price, pretty darn good considering what you're up against.

If you want to see the results of this lens shown off in print, read John Shaw's "The Nature Photographer's Complete Guide to Professional Field Techniques," Amphoto 1984. He shows how to use this lens for great macro and other work.

Oddly, I've had two of these lenses and never been that overjoyed with the results. They are competent, but not spectacular, and oddly, not that much better than the other older models optically. It's the fast, close focussing and small size that makes this lens a winner.

 

Compared         top

Intro   Specs   Performance   Compared   Usage   Recommendations   More

See Nikon 300mm f/4 Lenses Compared.

 

Usage         top

Intro   Specs   Performance   Compared   Usage   Recommendations   More

The collar comes off if you loosen the knob.

With DSLRs, be sure to set NON-CPU LENS DATA in the SETUP menu to 300mm and f/4.5 for full matrix metering, A-mode auto exposure and full EXIF data recording.

 

Recommendations         top

Intro   Specs   Performance   Compared   Usage   Recommendations   More

Hand held on my FA I get sharp images 30% of the time at 1/30, and sharp all the time at 1/60, 1/125 and higher. Don't expect this same result with a high-vibration camera like the F100.

Ignoring the f/2.8 versions, this is Nikon's best manual focus 300mm ever. It's very compact, gives great results quite easily, and is now cheap second hand. Just make sure you get the tripod collar with it; they are removable some idiots have lost them and try to sell the lens without it.

The diaphragm has no glass behind it, so make sure that the blades are clean as seen from the back of the lens. If you buy one of these from a photojournalist watch out; they could be very dirty from the lens being hauled around with no caps. Unlike the front of the lens that can be cleaned, these blades don't get cleaned and can have twenty years of crud caked to them.

 

Help me help you         top

I support my growing family through this website, as crazy as it might seem.

The biggest help is when you use any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. It costs you nothing, and is this site's, and thus my family's, biggest source of support. These places have the best prices and service, which is why I've used them since before this website existed. I recommend them all personally.

If you find this page as helpful as a book you might have had to buy or a workshop you may have had to take, feel free to help me continue helping everyone.

If you've gotten your gear through one of my links or helped otherwise, you're family. It's great people like you who allow me to keep adding to this site full-time. Thanks!

If you haven't helped yet, please do, and consider helping me with a gift of $5.00.

As this page is copyrighted and formally registered, it is unlawful to make copies, especially in the form of printouts for personal use. If you wish to make a printout for personal use, you are granted one-time permission only if you PayPal me $5.00 per printout or part thereof. Thank you!

 

Thanks for reading!

 

 

Mr. & Mrs. Ken Rockwell, Ryan and Katie.

 

Home  Donate  New  Search  Gallery  Reviews  How-To  Books  Links  Workshops  About  Contact

 

 

 

2007