I'm not sure if its the same optically as the later auto focus version, but if so, its a good piece of glass. I owned the AF 300 f/2.8 for Canon, and it was a good, but not exceptional lens. Sharp wide open, and quite attractive bokeh. The only issue was purple fringing, which like many fast older lenses, could be pronounced on high contrast subjects.
Jman13 wrote:
I'm not sure if its the same optically as the later auto focus version, but if so, its a good piece of glass. I owned the AF 300 f/2.8 for Canon, and it was a good, but not exceptional lens. Sharp wide open, and quite attractive bokeh. The only issue was purple fringing, which like many fast older lenses, could be pronounced on high contrast subjects.
Thanks for the information, there is a copy for sale locally but no AF. From what I've read it was only around for one production cycle and apparently quite rare. Rarity alone doesn't make it worth having of course but I am curious. Nice sample shots too!
My copy is very good. It's much sharper than I expected and have no issues shooting it wide open. The AF isn't blazing, but it tracks well (on my D700/D3) and is reliable.
I had one of the older manual focus models that was a greenish-gray in color. I was very well pleased with it. Later I "upgraded" to the Nikon 300 2.8, the first model with AF. At the time I actually did not feel the Nikon was worth the extra money-AF was somewhat in its' infancy and wasn't something I based my buying decisions on. I don't know if I would still feel the same way today with changes to AF ayatems, the increased iso in cameras, etc. However, overall mine was a nice lenses and I always felt it was a great deal.
I really liked this in adaptall mount. Solid build, felt nice, focused nice. Bright focus, nice colours & bokeh, contrast at 2.8 and more than enough detail at 2.8 for me. As mentioned, CA could be a bit of an issue, but rarely stood out for me. Better than the Tokina 300/2.8 I later had in that regard (latest AF version), but then Tokina's are known for being CA-dogs.
I was using mine on my lowly A100 at that point, so focusing was a challenge, but it could be learnt. It would be a breeze to focus on full-frame screens.
I own an AF version of this lens for Minolta/Sony...I have been very pleased with it...the AF is comparable to the older Nikon AF and AF-I lenses...and on my old a900 would focus quite fast and spot on...I did notice some lag in the pro-sumer camera's but not enough to cause issues...
Good Luck...they are great finds at 1/3 the cost...
Ihad the adaptall 11 M/F lens and used it on Canon and Contax film cameras. The lens quality and sharpness i thought were excellant. There appeared to be some differences in lens samples - as i rented one befor i purchased one, and the rental copy seemed a bit sharper.
Harry Palmer
Just picked up a Tamron 300 2.8 LD (IF) manual focus version with a Nikon Adaptall on it but I also bought a Canon adaptall as well so I will be trying it out on both
Very happy about the price :-) and based on the previous owners pics, very excited to give it a try!
