v short summary: " The Nikkor 120-300 f2.8E is EXCELLENT when shot with the TC-14EIII at 420mm: While I anticipated good optical performance of the Nikkor 120-300mm f2.8E/TC-14EIII combination, I did not expect it to be THIS good! At 420mm it outpaced both the Nikkor 300mm f2.8G VRII plus TC-14EIII (a combination many owners of the 300mm f2.8G swear by) and the Nikkor 180-400mm f4E with its built-in TC engaged. And, at 400mm it tied Nikkor 180-400mm f4E (shot without its TC engaged) in optical performance...which is really quite remarkable."
p.9 #2 · AF-S NIKKOR 120-300mm f/2.8E FL ED SR VR is coming
Here the 120-300 is several thousand euros more expensive than lowest price for the 180-400. Also the 180-400 goes to 560mm with one built-in 1.4X whereas with the 120-300 you would need to use a 2X, which I doubt would produce as good results. I have no interest in the 120-300 (because the pricing is simply outrageous) but am considering the 180-400 at its current local price, and also the 300/2.8 since it's about half the price of the 120-300. What I would really like to see is FL 200/2 and FL 300/2.8.
p.9 #3 · AF-S NIKKOR 120-300mm f/2.8E FL ED SR VR is coming
It will be interesting to see the 560/600mm shootout. Hopefully he does compare the 180-400/1.4 at 560 and the 300/2.8 with 2xTC. I'm sure he will.
Brad never ended up adding results from the 180-400 with internal and external 1.4TCs. Those results to me would be an important deciding factor between a 120-300 vs 180-400. If the 180-400 didn't perform well at 784mm then the 120-300 makes a lot of sense if 600mm is enough (and good). But Nikon's 2xTC has never impressed me much except on the 300PF (which is an odd thing in itself). Although it seems to be a bit better when on a Z series so I think a lot comes down to poor AF/AFMA on the DSLRs with the 2xTC more than just optics. I have both the Mark II and Mark III 2.0TCs.
p.9 #4 · AF-S NIKKOR 120-300mm f/2.8E FL ED SR VR is coming
Most agree TC2 II is not worth the money. However with the current vIII performs fairly well when matched with the correct prime ie 300 f2.8G and 400 f2.8E. This is also subject to careful AFFT if shooting with a DSLR.
It will indeed be interesting to see his results. From reading his Intro, it sounds like Brad Hill has tested both of the new telephoto exotic zooms with TC2 III.
p.9 #5 · AF-S NIKKOR 120-300mm f/2.8E FL ED SR VR is coming
Brad Hill has just added his tests using TC2E III on the 120-300 f2.8E SR. As expected, the image sharpness is penalized but mainly at closer distances. However, it is most impressive for a zoom+teleconverter to read: "In my experience the prime super-telephoto that pairs up best with the TC-20EIII is the Nikkor 400mm f2.8 (both G and E versions). I believe the Nikkor 120-300mm f2.8E pairs up just as well with the TC-20EIII - which is nothing short of amazing."
