D300 and OLD 80-400 Lens

[Allan Teo]

The D300 AF system is indeed very very good.
It never fails to lose focus in difficult situations!

I decided to take out my OLD 80-400 Screw drive AF lens.
If you read the internet you will find that with the OLD
cameras , you need to have F11 for the sharpest result.

With the D300, you only need to push to F8 or F9 for
very good results.

At the BP today I went to the covered tent which make photography
much easier. The Camera was set to Auto-ISO up to ISO 1600
and Exposure is Manual, 1/1000, F8 (hornbills fly slowly!)

The Hornbill flew toward me and landed right behind
my head to the handler standing behind me. I set my
Focus to LIMIT so I was unable to capture the full sequence!

AF-C shutter release is set to 'FOCUS'.

A demo pics are unsharpened..

The D300 has VERY GOOD HEAD ON AF. Subjects flying toward
the cameraman never loses focus!











At the Raptor show, the Harris Hawk was at the extreme end of the 80-400
still very good results.

With the D300, All your old lens will shine , as they were designed to.
The 80-400 becomes quite fast compared to the D2xs , on which it tends to hunt a lot.

Allan

[kcuf2]

how is the speed of the focusing using the 80-400 on the D300? meaning if u half press, is it fast to get focus using the non afs 80-400?

[hacknet]

whoa.. great stuff.. any chance we can get a picture of the lens! there doesnt seem much online about the non-vr version!

[mrbinks76]

Originally Posted by hacknet whoa.. great stuff.. any chance we can get a picture of the lens! there doesnt seem much online about the non-vr version!

If I am not wrong, the TS is using the 80-400 VR lens. That one has no AF-S (i.e. AF is screw driven).

[Allan Teo]

Originally Posted by kcuf2 how is the speed of the focusing using the 80-400 on the D300? meaning if u half press, is it fast to get focus using the non afs 80-400?

I am referring to difficult focus situations, fast action..

Using a 80-400 VR lens...

1. The Speed of the SCREW FOCUS is much faster with the D300.

2. The speed is suppose to nearly match AFS with the D3.

3. If you half press the NEW D300 AF will Lock onto the target at the
first pass, from its un-focus setting

4. On a D2Xs, it will have to HUNT somewhat before it gets a lock on

5. The battery handgrip is suppose to increase AF speed,but I have not tried it
on a 80-400

http://www.nikon.com.sg/productitem....=92-014ecae279

Allan

[Reno]

Hi Allen, do you have a chance to compare the lens with D200? if have, what is your findings on it with D300?

[Allan Teo]

Originally Posted by Reno Hi Allen, do you have a chance to compare the lens with D200? if have, what is your findings on it with D300?

Hi
I don't own a D200, however I DO NOT read or hear of
any D200 users raving about the D200 + 80-400 combination.

This thread is about my findings on the D300.. I don't understand
the question.

Allan

[Nik-enduser]

Hi all,

to add to the topic regarding D200 and VR80-400. I am currently using this setup. I am not raving about it. the AF is horribly slow and it hunts (craaaaaaaaawl), so i mainly use it at MF. the lens is sharp and gives punchy results and has a reach of 400mm.

[Reno]

Originally Posted by Allan Teo Hi I don't own a D200, however I DO NOT read or hear of any D200 users raving about the D200 + 80-400 combination. This thread is about my findings on the D300.. I don't understand the question. Allan

I think you must have mistaken my intention. I own both D200 and the 80-400VR and i do not have a D300 to do a comparison with the D200. thats why i ask if you have ever tried using the D200 with this lens before. Personally I find D200+80-400VR is slow for my likings.

Thank you for your friendliness.

[jeff3tan]

Originally Posted by Allan Teo Allan

I second to the focusing of the D300 ..! Its brilliant

But did u realized that the metering of the D300 is a bit erratic ? see your first pic and the 3rd pic, it is spot on but some how the second pic is off. I notice this problem when it is set to 3D matrix metering did you notice this on your shots as well? I've another colleague who also notice this while using 3D matrix metering.

[ExplorerZ]

Originally Posted by jeff3tan I second to the focusing of the D300 ..! Its brilliant But did u realized that the metering of the D300 is a bit erratic ? see your first pic and the 3rd pic, it is spot on but some how the second pic is off. I notice this problem when it is set to 3D matrix metering did you notice this on your shots as well? I've another colleague who also notice this while using 3D matrix metering.

I would rather say it is inconsistant processing... if you compare the 2nd pic with the 1st and 3rd, you should realise that it has a much much higher contrast... the black and blacker and the white are whiter

[RealCaster]

Originally Posted by Reno I think you must have mistaken my intention. I own both D200 and the 80-400VR and i do not have a D300 to do a comparison with the D200. thats why i ask if you have ever tried using the D200 with this lens before. Personally I find D200+80-400VR is slow for my likings. Thank you for your friendliness.

2 days ago, I went to collect my camera from nikon Service centre, and I have actually spent 1/2hr testing the performance of the D200 verus D300 using the 80~400VR in the nikon shown room on the ground floor. Actually, it was such a coincident when I came across this thread talking about the comparison.

I never thought much about the 80~400VR before, actually I wanted to test the 70~200VR on D300 but too bad the shown room do not have any on display or for testing. so the shownroom person whom is extremely nice pass me the 80~400VR which is the closest to the 70~200Vr for comparison.

Now my verdict ....my humble opnion only, I am still a newbie

D200 + 80~400VR, Slow and noisy (not awfully slow, but slow enough for me not to buy 80~400 with D200)

D300 + 80~400VR, Focusing is very fast, infact initially I thought the lens was a AFS. relatively quieter than D200 and focusing is sharp and right snap on.

I was extremely impress with this lens. and the VR is great. handheld at 400mm can still deliver clear & sharp pics. Infact there are minimum hunting with the D300, I wouldnt said the same for D200. In fact I felt somehow this lens was designed and optimise for D300.

above is my verdict .... apologise for all the layman term :P

anyway, please drop by the nikon showroom during lunch time to try out, hehheheheh... there are still several bazooka in the display cabinate that I would like to lay my hands on when I have time

[RealCaster]

Originally Posted by Reno I think you must have mistaken my intention. I own both D200 and the 80-400VR and i do not have a D300 to do a comparison with the D200. thats why i ask if you have ever tried using the D200 with this lens before. Personally I find D200+80-400VR is slow for my likings. Thank you for your friendliness.

2 days ago, I went to collect my camera from nikon Service centre, and I have actually spent 1/2hr testing the performance of the D200 verus D300 using the 80~400VR in the nikon shown room on the ground floor. Actually, it was such a coincident when I came across this thread talking about the comparison.

I never thought much about the 80~400VR before, actually I wanted to test the 70~200VR on D300 but too bad the shown room do not have any on display or for testing. so the shownroom person whom is extremely nice pass me the 80~400VR which is the closest to the 70~200Vr for comparison.

Now my verdict ....my humble opnion only, I am still a newbie

D200 + 80~400VR, Slow and noisy (not awfully slow, but slow enough for me not to buy 80~400 with D200)

D300 + 80~400VR, Focusing is very fast, infact initially I thought the lens was a AFS. relatively quieter than D200 and focusing is sharp and right snap on.

I was extremely impress with this lens. and the VR is great. handheld at 400mm can still deliver clear & sharp pics. Infact there are minimum hunting with the D300, I wouldnt said the same for D200. In fact I felt somehow this lens was designed and optimise for D300.

above is my verdict .... apologise for all the layman term :P

anyway, please drop by the nikon showroom during lunch time to try out, hehheheheh... there are still several bazooka in the display cabinate that I would like to lay my hands on when I have time

[Reno]

Originally Posted by RealCaster 2 days ago, I went to collect my camera from nikon Service centre, and I have actually spent 1/2hr testing the performance of the D200 verus D300 using the 80~400VR in the nikon shown room on the ground floor. Actually, it was such a coincident when I came across this thread talking about the comparison. I never thought much about the 80~400VR before, actually I wanted to test the 70~200VR on D300 but too bad the shown room do not have any on display or for testing. so the shownroom person whom is extremely nice pass me the 80~400VR which is the closest to the 70~200Vr for comparison. Now my verdict ....my humble opnion only, I am still a newbie D200 + 80~400VR, Slow and noisy (not awfully slow, but slow enough for me not to buy 80~400 with D200) D300 + 80~400VR, Focusing is very fast, infact initially I thought the lens was a AFS. relatively quieter than D200 and focusing is sharp and right snap on. I was extremely impress with this lens. and the VR is great. handheld at 400mm can still deliver clear & sharp pics. Infact there are minimum hunting with the D300, I wouldnt said the same for D200. In fact I felt somehow this lens was designed and optimise for D300. above is my verdict .... apologise for all the layman term :P anyway, please drop by the nikon showroom during lunch time to try out, hehheheheh... there are still several bazooka in the display cabinate that I would like to lay my hands on when I have time

Thank you so much for your comment... I am really appreciate it.

[satan_18349]

Yap...True, Focusing with D200+80-400 is slowwwwwww and hunt alot, worse esp at long tele end.

[Digiman]

I used the 80-400 with D100 a few years back and was really disappointed with its AF performance. If it hunts a lot on D200, you can imagine how bad it was on a D100. Since then, I had written off this lens completely.

After reading this thread, I can't wait to try it out on my D300. This will give the lens a new lease of life.

BTW, as the TS has pointed out, this lens is quite old. Any rumours or news of a replacement anytime soon?