Just bought a Nikon 300m IFED and TC-200 - what have I done?

[Austerby]

For years now I've been mostly photographing with rangefinders and 15mm to 135mm lenses.

For some reason, the urge took me one day recently whilst I was idly scanning Ffordes lists and I spotted a manual focus 300mm f4.5 IFED for a very reasonable sum and decided to throw in the teleconverter to give me a veritable telescope of a lens!

I'll use them on my F and FE - but I've never been one for super-long lenses in the past: what have I done?

Whats your experience of theses lenses? I'm not planning on going on safari or photographing birds in the garden so what can I use them for best?

 

[Phil_F_NM]

That 300mm IFED can be a tack driver. Mine is. I got it for a steal because the rear element was dirty so I simply cleaned it.
I shot high school football and volleyball with that lens last fall and it was fantastic on my D3 (with Canon EC-B focusing screen.) On an F or FE the lens should be great. It focuses very fast and mine is fantastic across the frame from f/5.6 to f/11.
I've thought about getting a 2x teleconverter but I've never had the need for such a long optic. It is a great option for a quick and dirty but slow 600mm lens instead of buying the 600mm you may never use.
Enjoy it!

Phil Forrest

 

[rumbliegeos]

If not used to using a long lens you will find that it will require a refined tripod technique, especially with the equivalent of a 600mm lens.

 

[Noserider]

The TC-301 is the dedicated longer lens doubler, the 200/201 is for shorter lengths. You can find the 301 for really cheap since they are not used that much anymore IMO. Your 300 is a fine lens, quite sharp and light. I would also recommend the TC-14b to make it a reasonable 420mm f 6.3 and the loss of teleconverter quality is minimal.

 

[Timmyjoe]

I've had a 300mm ED-IF f4.5 AIS lens for sale for a while now, completely rebuilt by Nikon Authorized Service.

My copy makes tack sharp images on film even wide open at f4.5. As Phil states, you need to stop it down to 5.6 when used with digital.

For fun I put mine on an FT1 and mate it to my Nikon 1 V2, giving me a 810mm lens. Used it to take this picture of the moon a couple weeks ago.

Best,
-Tim

 

[Robert Lai]

A 300mm lens requires good support

A 300mm lens requires good support

I found out when I bought a 300mm lens that I needed a much better tripod and head. There was visible vibration and drift with my old cheap aluminum tripod. I see a carbon fiber legset and expensive ballhead in your future. I bought Gitzo and a Markins head. Comparisons between the new tripod and the old one showed a definite increase in sharpness with the more rigid tripod.