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Archive 2015 · Wow, tried the 300 f4 VR. Sample shots

  
 
ariel777
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p.6 #1 · p.6 #1 · Wow, tried the 300 f4 VR. Sample shots


"Looks very promising, even if it's exactly the same in all areas as the outgoing model, the size/weight reduction + VR is mostly what people are after anyway."

Absolutely correct...the IQ etc of the current version is excellent...I have placed my pre-order assuming the new version will be its equal, at least, but certainly much easier and facile to carry about, and use HH.



Jan 23, 2015 at 03:59 PM
ThomasCantwell
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p.6 #2 · p.6 #2 · Wow, tried the 300 f4 VR. Sample shots


This should work with kenko extension tubes, right?


Jan 23, 2015 at 09:03 PM
m.sommers00
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p.6 #3 · p.6 #3 · Wow, tried the 300 f4 VR. Sample shots


Still cautiously optimistic about the PF element. Only time will tell


Jan 24, 2015 at 01:06 AM
gobba
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p.6 #4 · p.6 #4 · Wow, tried the 300 f4 VR. Sample shots


Hi Lance!

New Nikon 300mm f4 VR looks very great lens! Fine pictures!

What you think about the bokeh quality of this lens? If you compare for example older 300mm f4 version or 300mm f2.8 VR II lenses?



Jan 30, 2015 at 04:21 AM
Lance B
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p.6 #5 · p.6 #5 · Wow, tried the 300 f4 VR. Sample shots


ThomasCantwell wrote:
This should work with kenko extension tubes, right?


Don't know, sorry.



Jan 31, 2015 at 09:47 PM
Lance B
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p.6 #6 · p.6 #6 · Wow, tried the 300 f4 VR. Sample shots


gobba wrote:
Hi Lance!

New Nikon 300mm f4 VR looks very great lens! Fine pictures!

What you think about the bokeh quality of this lens? If you compare for example older 300mm f4 version or 300mm f2.8 VR II lenses?


Thank you very much for your lovely comments, gobba!

It's hard to tell definitively about the bokeh as I haven't tried the 300 f4 VR in enough varied conditions to make a complete judgement, especially with highlights in the background, but so far, I think the 300 f2.8 VRII is still one of Nikon's best in this regard. This is not to say the 300 f4 VR seems bad so far, it actually looks quite good considering.



Jan 31, 2015 at 09:50 PM
robbertvw
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p.6 #7 · p.6 #7 · Wow, tried the 300 f4 VR. Sample shots


I bought this lens last Saturday and up to this point I'm happy with it. I've owned but sold the older 300mm F4/D AFS and also the newest 300mm F2.8 and 80-400 AFS.
The weight and size of the new lens is really great and the main reasons why I bought it. In March I'll be going on a trip to Cuba and I wanted a small telelens for some landscape and nature/wildlife work besides all the other stuff I'll be taking with me.

One thing I noticed though while testing the lens for around 2 hours in a local zoo is that I cannot seem to get pixel sharp results when using shutter speeds below around 1/300. So if I want pixel sharp results I cannot really rely on the VR. I will post some example images when I get home tonight.

Greets,
Robbert



Feb 09, 2015 at 05:01 AM
scst48
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p.6 #8 · p.6 #8 · Wow, tried the 300 f4 VR. Sample shots


robbertvw wrote:
I bought this lens last Saturday and up to this point I'm happy with it. I've owned but sold the older 300mm F4/D AFS and also the newest 300mm F2.8 and 80-400 AFS.
The weight and size of the new lens is really great and the main reasons why I bought it. In March I'll be going on a trip to Cuba and I wanted a small telelens for some landscape and nature/wildlife work besides all the other stuff I'll be taking with me.

One thing I noticed though while testing the lens for around 2 hours in a local zoo is
...Show more

Some people having the lens report that the VR is not consistent. It doesnt work well at 1/160 shutter speed at all but it works very well at 1/20 shutter speed. At 1/160 pictures are very unsharp for unknown reasons. This has been tested with the D810 and the D4. But even with the D810 which has less mirror slap it were very noticeable. Could this be confirmed?



Feb 09, 2015 at 05:12 AM
VinnieJ
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p.6 #9 · p.6 #9 · Wow, tried the 300 f4 VR. Sample shots


robbertvw wrote:
I bought this lens last Saturday and up to this point I'm happy with it. I've owned but sold the older 300mm F4/D AFS and also the newest 300mm F2.8 and 80-400 AFS.
The weight and size of the new lens is really great and the main reasons why I bought it. In March I'll be going on a trip to Cuba and I wanted a small telelens for some landscape and nature/wildlife work besides all the other stuff I'll be taking with me.

One thing I noticed though while testing the lens for around 2 hours in a local zoo is
...Show more

If you can link the sample somewhere where we can see full resolution, that would help as well.



Feb 09, 2015 at 09:09 AM
robbertvw
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p.6 #10 · p.6 #10 · Wow, tried the 300 f4 VR. Sample shots


This is gonna be a rather big post (on the image side) so bear with me.

First of all here are some shots I made at the zoo to show off what the lens can do:

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 4


And now for the full-res test images they can be found here:

Book 01
Book 02
Flower 01
Flower 02
Fruit 01
Fruit 02
Kaai 01
Kaai 02
Leafs 01
Leafs 02
Purple 01
Purple 02
Test 01
Test 02
Test 03
Test 04
Test 05
Test 06
Test 07
Test 08



Feb 09, 2015 at 01:04 PM
CanadaMark
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p.6 #11 · p.6 #11 · Wow, tried the 300 f4 VR. Sample shots


^^ Looking pretty good but several of those photos unfortunately have some obvious motion blur from hand shake or something else.


Feb 09, 2015 at 01:20 PM
VinnieJ
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p.6 #12 · p.6 #12 · Wow, tried the 300 f4 VR. Sample shots


robbertvw wrote:
This is gonna be a rather big post (on the image side) so bear with me.

First of all here are some shots I made at the zoo to show off what the lens can do:

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 4

And now for the full-res test images they can be found here:

Book 01
Book 02
Flower 01
Flower 02
Fruit 01
Fruit 02
Kaai 01
Kaai 02
Leafs 01
Leafs 02
Purple 01
Purple 02
Test 01
Test 02
Test 03
Test 04
Test 05
Test 06
Test 07
Test 08


That's plenty of examples. I stopped at leafs02. The slower shutter speeds do look like hand shake.

2 questions:
1) What VR mode are you using and did you try both VR modes?
2) Put your ear up to the lens, can you hear VR turning on when focusing?

I don't know your experience level but make sure you are still using proper technique when holding the camera (elbows in, left hand under the lens for support).



Feb 09, 2015 at 01:27 PM
VinnieJ
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p.6 #13 · p.6 #13 · Wow, tried the 300 f4 VR. Sample shots


By the way I posted a 1/160 shot here:
https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1346257/2#12849181

I can try to see how low I can go with the shutter speed later today.



Feb 09, 2015 at 01:30 PM
robbertvw
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p.6 #14 · p.6 #14 · Wow, tried the 300 f4 VR. Sample shots


VinnieJ wrote:
That's plenty of examples. I stopped at leafs02. The slower shutter speeds do look like hand shake.

2 questions:
1) What VR mode are you using and did you try both VR modes?
2) Put your ear up to the lens, can you hear VR turning on when focusing?

I don't know your experience level but make sure you are still using proper technique when holding the camera (elbows in, left hand under the lens for support).


I used the normal VR mode for these shots but also tried the sports mode which made no difference.
I can hear the VR get active very clearly. It's actually a bit louder than my 70-200 f4.

Ofc I'm using proper technique. That's why I was pretty disappointed that at 1/200s I could not get sharp results.



Feb 09, 2015 at 01:59 PM
CanadaMark
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p.6 #15 · p.6 #15 · Wow, tried the 300 f4 VR. Sample shots


Assuming equal technique, everyone's still a little different in how much they move/shake, and VR can only do so much. I know my hands are shakier than average, I have to work harder to get great handhelds with any lens, even with good technique.


Feb 09, 2015 at 02:03 PM
robbertvw
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p.6 #16 · p.6 #16 · Wow, tried the 300 f4 VR. Sample shots


CanadaMark wrote:
Assuming equal technique, everyone's still a little different in how much they move/shake, and VR can only do so much. I know my hands are shakier than average, I have to work harder to get great handhelds with any lens, even with good technique.


Sure. But with my 70-200 f4 @200mm I can get sharp results down to 1/8s. So I'm really questioning if the VR in my new 300mm is not working as it should.



Feb 09, 2015 at 02:11 PM
VinnieJ
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p.6 #17 · p.6 #17 · Wow, tried the 300 f4 VR. Sample shots


robbertvw wrote:
Sure. But with my 70-200 f4 @200mm I can get sharp results down to 1/8s. So I'm really questioning if the VR in my new 300mm is not working as it should.


What about longer than 200? Do you have any other lens you can try besides the new 300?



Feb 09, 2015 at 02:38 PM
robbertvw
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p.6 #18 · p.6 #18 · Wow, tried the 300 f4 VR. Sample shots


VinnieJ wrote:
What about longer than 200? Do you have any other lens you can try besides the new 300?


I don't own anything longer than the 85G anymore so I can't test anything longer than 200mm. But the difference is staggering to me.



Feb 09, 2015 at 02:54 PM
robbertvw
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p.6 #19 · p.6 #19 · Wow, tried the 300 f4 VR. Sample shots


Been testing some more. At 1/160s I'm getting about a 75% sharp hit rate with the VR set to Off. When set to on it goes to maybe around 5%. At 1/20s I'm getting around 50% sharp hit rate with VR On.
I'm really suspecting my lens has a defective VR unit.



Feb 09, 2015 at 04:02 PM
scst48
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p.6 #20 · p.6 #20 · Wow, tried the 300 f4 VR. Sample shots


robbertvw wrote:
Been testing some more. At 1/160s I'm getting about a 75% sharp hit rate with the VR set to Off. When set to on it goes to maybe around 5%. At 1/20s I'm getting around 50% sharp hit rate with VR On.
I'm really suspecting my lens has a defective VR unit.


You are not the only one. Pls have a look at the other thread were I have reported some similar issues which several users of the 300 PF in Germany experienced.

https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1346257/4

Please have a look at the (shutter speed / sharpness% table) provided out of 600 pics taken. There seems to be a reasonable drop in sharpness below 1/160 with AF ON but at lower shutter speeds like 1/20 sharpness increases.
As it actually looks it could not be a user fault. And there is no logical explanation as well.






Feb 10, 2015 at 09:25 AM
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