I'll pass it on to B&H that you have a commission coming, looking for mine this next week. My wife, kids and grand kids have a little different take on it. I chalked it up to my Birthday gift early, anniversary gift, and that Will told me it would improve my lifestyle, thereby helping them, somehow.
In case the comiision does not arrive I'll throw an "ATTA BOY" your way and buy a brew should I get out your way.
Gerard
thanks, Gerard It WILL make your arms bigger...don't forget about THAT
Craig Yannuzzi wrote:
Good stuff Will! Let me know when you'll be selling it
Thanks much, Craig. You're confusing me with Mike....I'm plannin' on shootin' with it thru at least Feb.
Hrow wrote:
Looks seriously good - both the lens and the shooter. Nice to have a non $5K+ option.
Many thanks, Henry! Serious build and dead quiet AF/OS....couldn't be happier.
Looking at pictures it looks like it does have the new finish (thank God!). I have a Sigma 85 and I much prefer it's finish over the old crispy crinkle black. My experience in the past in general with Sigmas on Canon bodies has been terrible when it comes to AF speed & accuracy but I have been impressed with the AF of the 85 f1.4 on my 800E.
I'm currently rolling with a 300 VR2 & 1.4-1.7-2X III TCs which are all just great but I do miss the zoom of the 200-400 I had before the 300. While I don't see any real weight / size savings benefit with the 120-300, the zoom and associated cost savings are attractive if there are no tradeoffs.
Will, you mentioned the AF performance was right there with the 300 f2.8 VR so I'll take that as a given, how about the OS vs the VR2 on your 70-200?
I'm also curious if anyone can chime in on IQ and general performance with Nikon TCs (do they work?) and the Sigma versions. Saving a couple of grand on this lens to just spend half of it back on Sigma TCs and filters might not be the smartest move. I'm very happy with the IQ of the 300 with all 3 Nikon TCs so I don't want to give up much (if any) to get the zoom range and a little money back in the pocket.
You fail to disappoint with this under rated equipment
good work
I'm shooting PBR bulls (50 bulls - 45 riders) next week at night; sure wish I had that lens. The zoom could work because they keep coming out different pens. My 300 2.8 can't handle it all, I use FF & DX
brunobarolo wrote:
Please do share your experiences with the D300s/D3 bodies!
I'm planning to buy this lens in September/October for my D300s and D700 bodies, so I'm most interested to know, how fast and accurate is AF?
How would you compare image quality and AF to 70-200 and 300mm Nikkor lenses?
In any case, thanks a lot for sharing!
Will do, Bruno...barrels and pole bending tomorrow night. IQ is between 70-200 VRII/TC-14E II and the 300 VR
so far....in my limited shooting with it. Colors look great, AF silent & deadly using the lesser D7K/D2Xs
Really lookin' forward to slappin' it on the D3. I'll shoot....I'll post! Tschüss, Will
rd4tile wrote:
Looking at pictures it looks like it does have the new finish (thank God!). I have a Sigma 85 and I much prefer it's finish over the old crispy crinkle black. My experience in the past in general with Sigmas on Canon bodies has been terrible when it comes to AF speed & accuracy but I have been impressed with the AF of the 85 f1.4 on my 800E.
I'm currently rolling with a 300 VR2 & 1.4-1.7-2X III TCs which are all just great but I do miss the zoom of the 200-400 I had before the 300. While I don't see any real weight / size savings benefit with the 120-300, the zoom and associated cost savings are attractive if there are no tradeoffs.
Will, you mentioned the AF performance was right there with the 300 f2.8 VR so I'll take that as a given, how about the OS vs the VR2 on your 70-200?
I'm also curious if anyone can chime in on IQ and general performance with Nikon TCs (do they work?) and the Sigma versions. Saving a couple of grand on this lens to just spend half of it back on Sigma TCs and filters might not be the smartest move. I'm very happy with the IQ of the 300 with all 3 Nikon TCs so I don't want to give up much (if any) to get the zoom range and a little money back in the pocket.
Looking for any and all comments on the above....Show more →
Put me to work, Rich
Nikon TC's DO NOT WORK. Sigma's own are supposed to be excellent @ 1/2 the price (when used on their lenses)
The new finish is great in hand, they really upped the ante with the build overall (save for the plastic hood)
Knew about it goin' in and had a metal replacement in hand before the lens even arrived. Cir Pol en route as well.
IQ and AF much better than my 200-400 (2 copies) and a stop faster/pound lighter and I love that the zoom rotation
is "backwards" as it's easy for me to change using my modded BushHawk. OS rocks, handheld some in the dark
last night of my wife on her laptop (imagine the visual) at 1/60th. Quiet and not as jittery as Nikons VR...the Mrs.
on the other hand yelling "delete, DELETE!!" I'll be posting more samples in the next few days....
You fail to disappoint with this under rated equipment
good work
I'm shooting PBR bulls (50 bulls - 45 riders) next week at night; sure wish I had that lens. The zoom could work because they keep coming out different pens. My 300 2.8 can't handle it all, I use FF & DX
Rags
Thank you kindly, Rags...I'm jealous!! This would be ideal for our RoughStock. I'm either at 135mm or 230mm>
with the occasional 300 if goin' for headshot expressions (man or beast) Have fun, buddy!
Nikon TC's DO NOT WORK. Sigma's own are supposed to be excellent @ 1/2 the price (when used on their lenses)
The new finish is great in hand, they really upped the ante with the build overall (save for the plastic hood)
Knew about it goin' in and had a metal replacement in hand before the lens even arrived. Cir Pol en route as well.
IQ and AF much better than my 200-400 (2 copies) and a stop faster/pound lighter and I love that the zoom rotation
is "backwards" as it's easy for me to change using my modded BushHawk. OS rocks, handheld some in the dark
last night of my wife on her laptop (imagine the visual) at 1/60th. Quiet and not as jittery as Nikons VR...the Mrs.
on the other hand yelling "delete, DELETE!!" I'll be posting more samples in the next few days.......Show more →
I have the new 105OS and 150OS, The build quality of both IMO exceeds the OEM equivalents. They are both ultra sharp edge to edge with lightning focus. The 120-300 perks my interest. The new finish oozes quality.
Congrats for the pictures and the new toy. I got myself one a few weeks ago, together with a D800. This is an excellent lens. I have a few problems with the AF, but I didn't update the firmware of the D800 yet. No issue in AF Single mode, but the Full AUTO mode sometimes hangs. I hope it is firmware related. If I have time, I'll highjack the thread and post a few pics
Congrats for the pictures and the new toy. I got myself one a few weeks ago, together with a D800. This is an excellent lens. I have a few problems with the AF, but I didn't update the firmware of the D800 yet. No issue in AF Single mode, but the Full AUTO mode sometimes hangs. I hope it is firmware related. If I have time, I'll highjack the thread and post a few pics
Guy
Howdy, Guy...thanks and please do! AF great on the D7K/D2Xs and will be using the D3/D300s
tomorrow eve and plan on an update thread. Gotta do something constructive for the big 30K
Congrats for the pictures and the new toy. I got myself one a few weeks ago, together with a D800. This is an excellent lens. I have a few problems with the AF, but I didn't update the firmware of the D800 yet. No issue in AF Single mode, but the Full AUTO mode sometimes hangs. I hope it is firmware related. If I have time, I'll highjack the thread and post a few pics
Guy
Be sure that you post your findings about the firmware fix, I am in the same situation, D800 and a need for a 300 2.8. I'd love to see more pix, Will's shots are always boringly good .Thanks....
trenchmonkey wrote:
..the Mrs. on the other hand yelling "delete, DELETE!!"
Mine does that too whenever I take a picture of her. Must be a woman thing!
Excellent shots as ever, Will. I've been quite intrigued by the new Siggy - now it's officialy 'monkey endorsed, just have to find a way of getting my hands on one....
Wonder how many dinners I'll have to cook, baths I'll have to run, and back massages I'll have to give before Mrs. F gives her endorsement......
Like some others I use 2 lenses in this range, Nikon 70-200VRI and Nikon 300mm f/4. Both are very sharp and I also use Nikon's 1.4 & 1.7TC's on them. Both lenses work great with the 1.4 but AF is somewhat slower with the 1.7. It would be nice to carry just one lens and the Sigma 120-300mm might be the answer if the AF and sharpness were close to what I can get now. Might have to ponder this move as I guess I will need to bulk up some.
Great pics and thanks for the report! I have been using an older non-DG version with my D7000 and 1.4X for soccer and have been thinking about looking into the OS version. The AF on mine seems slow, but I think a lot of that might just be my inexperience.
there IS a "Moby Mode", Joe 
Little Japanese characters under the barrel...roughly translated mean
It WILL make your arms bigger...don't forget about THAT 
