Nikon 180mm 2.8 vs 300mm f4

[dbellilo]

Hiya folks
Do any of you Nikon users have experience with their 180mm 2.8?
I'm looking to buy a prime lens this year, and I fear the 300mm will be a little too heavy for wearing around my neck for 4-5 hrs while walking around? I'm very fond of the 150mm-200mm focal length, so I figure the Nikon 180mm is the way to go? Any comments? I would think the lenses will have very similar (i.e. excellent) image quality, but I wonder if the 300mm will have faster AF, given that it's an AF-S lens?
Any ideas at all will be welcomed heartily by y.t., and I thank you in advance for yr feedback...

All the best
David B.

p.s. When o when will Nikon make a 400mm 5.6??? Why must they fall behind Canon over simple stuff like this?

[lovemypt]

I don't have any experience with Nikon but I bought  chest harness from "cottoncarrier" last year and it works great. I mostly use a Sigma 500mm and with this carrier there is almost no weight on my neck and I go all day with no problems. It may look abit too nerdy but it really works and I don't care what it looks  like as long as the weight is taken off

Great system and made in China but company is out of BC and will UPS harness in 3 days



http://www.cottoncarrier.com/

[Kin Lau]

I don't have any personal experience with the lenses you mentioned, but you might want to consider that my Sigma 70-200/2.8, Canon EF 300/4L IS and Canon EF 400/5.6 all take 77mm filters, and are all basically the same size and weight (give or take a couple of inches).

[ravynne40]

I have a Nikon 70-300mm /4 no VR or OS so I have to be pretty steady with it, I like it for certain things but not all, I use my 500mm Sigma (hand held mostly) for my shots
I want to use my 300 more this summer and see what I can do with it.

[Michael Tam]

The Nikon 180 mm lens is a medium telephoto lens favored by portrait photographers whereas the 300 mm lens is a long telephoto lens more suited to bird and nature photography.  Both lens could accomodate tele-convertor application.

Please read the review by Bjorn Rorslett, the foremost expert on Nikon equipment below:

http://www.naturfotograf.com/lens_surv.html

Please also see the review on these two lens by Photozone below:

http://www.photozone.de/nikon--nikkor-a ... est-report
http://www.photozone.de/nikon--nikkor-a ... est-report

Good birding and photography.

[dbellilo]

thanks folks,
can't thank you enough
Michael your links were incredibly useful
don't know if I can handhold the 300 f4 which makes it a lens I don't want!
Hmm! I know! I'll rent one first! Try before you buy!
Anyhow, thanks a bunch, folks...
best
David B.

[Michael Tam]

Before abandoning the idea of the Nikon 300 f4 AFS, a Kirk Enterprise tripod collar adapter is suppose to remediate the stability issue from the original design, assuming one is photographing on a tripod.  Please see this review below:

http://www.bythom.com/300AFSlens.htm

Furthermore, there is always rumor with the product cycle that a new 300 f4 VR AFS may be on the horizon within this Nikon's "trade secret"  It is always helpful to understand the whole scheme within the Nikon product line below:

http://www.bythom.com/MissingLenses2009.htm
http://www.bythom.com/nikonlens.htm

Good birding and photography.

[dbellilo]

Michael,
Thanks again
I've abandoned the idea of picking up the 180mm because all the reviews pretty much say the same thing:
the lens' optics are magnificent. The autofocus is SLOW.
And yes, you're quite right, I'm sure Nikon will get around to updating the 300mm with VR one of these years!
And maybe maybe maybe they'll even step up to Canon and get a 400mm 5.6 into their lineup?
Although, I'd be quite happy with a 300mm with VR EVEN THOUGH my main man T. Hogan tells me I don't need VR if I'm over 1/500 of a second?!
Hmm...
Anyhow, thanks again for all your help, it's much appreciated...
Best
David B.

[dbellilo]

Hello again to any folks who were following this thread...
I've been trying out the Nikon 180mm and just wanted to offer this review:
The optics are terrific, the image quality being lovely even at 2.8. The difference in sharpness between 2.8 and 4 or 5.6 is minimal, although I can tell you that the lens is at its best when stopped to 4 and beyond. The colors are accurate and look rich and contrasty straight out of the camera. I'm actually shocked by this. Nikon glass, when it's good, is very very very good! Huzzah! Too bad the bastards don't have the lens selection that Canon does! They make me mad and drive me to bad writing with plenty of these: !!!!!!
Moving on: if your birdfriend isn't moving too rapidly, the autofocus performance is actually quite good, even with a D90, but the autofocus falls apart when you're trying to snap fast-moving creatures like...wait for it...birds! I would hazard this guess: the autofocus performance would be quite a bit better with a D300 or D7000, etc etc.
The other big problem is that to switch to MF (which is something I want to do quite often, especially when the AF of this lens goes a-hunting) you must flip the switch on the lens AND on the camera too! A royal pain in the posterior!
That said, the lens is a joy to hold, its construction is top-notch, and it's quite easy for handholding...
Now, don't get me wrong: $1000 is a lot of money, but the optics here are as good (or better) than some Nikon glass that costs twice the money! Or even more than that!
I don't imagine I'll buy this lens but it's very nice to use for a little while...
All the best,
David