Spending money on a big-ticket item like this should bring out the best of everything and it did. I tried to use as many combinations as I could relative to changing f/stops, shutter speeds, and checking for lens abnormalities or aberrations, and when I got home, I was not disappointed. With a heavy lens like this, I wanted to put it through its paces by just relying upon Vibration Reduction during my time outdoors. Carrying it around can be tiring, but holding it by the tripod collar provided some relief.
The only negative feature is that this lens is heavy as mentioned above. The New York Central diesel is from a Lionel production run some 70 years ago. Here is a great example of not only the vibration reduction feature but also the sharpness and impressive bokeh of the lens. Everything from the switches on the left flank of the lens to the other markings are clear and well defined. The zoom ring operates within a quarter of a turn and is effortless from 120-300mm. Nikon uses a magnesium alloy to help curb weight. The construction of the lens is first class perfect in every way. A focus range limiter enables you to tailor the distance the lens will travel-from two or six feet to infinity for a shorter throw from one end to the other depending on your subject. Vibration Reduction (VR) is part of just about every Nikkor lens, and Nikon claims four stops of compensation against camera shake with the new 120-300mm zoom.
Being a “G” type lens, aperture settings are controlled with the camera. To maintain exposure consistency from frame-to-frame, the Nikkor AF-S 120-300mm f/2.8E features an electromagnetic diaphragm.
There’s also a Short-wavelength Refractive (SR) glass element to reduce spherochromatism and Nikon’s Nano, Arneo and Super Integrated anti-reflection coatings-all of which further contribute to minimizing chromatic aberrations. The sophisticated optical formula has one Extra-low Dispersion element (ED) for reducing chromatic aberrations, two fluorite elements (FL) for shaper results, and a fluorite-coated front element to resist fingerprints, dirt and common everyday smudges. It features internal focusing (IF) so it doesn’t get longer as you zoom. First, the Nikkor AF-S 120-300mm f/2.8E is loaded with extras. With those few quibbles out of the way, let’s take a look at what’s great about this lens and it’s effectiveness in the field. With a long end of “only” 300mm I can see the application of this lens for occasional portraits, with a greater emphasis on sports and commercial use where the activity is short ranged-inside a gym, track and field events, or where the object is large in mass like the work I do on American railroads. It’s a bit short for shooting wildlife in my opinion, after years of shooting everything from birds to elephants with a 500mm or 600mm lens.įor a size comparison, from left to right, is my 300mm f/2.8, the 200-500mm f/5.6, and the subject of this report, the Nikkor 120-300mm f/2.8 lens.© Stan Trizoniec
And the lens is really heavy, weighing in at nearly eight pounds in part do to bomb-proof construction with 25 elements in 19 groups. First, the hefty price tag of $9500 is a bit steep for most of us. We didn’t have to wait long, because hiding in the wings was the fast and powerful Nikkor AF-S 120-300mm f/2.8E FL ED SR VR.īefore pinning medals on this new lens, there are a few things to consider. After shooting with Nikon’s extraordinary AF-S Nikkor 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4 FL ED VR lens last year I wondered what their next telephoto zoom lens would be.
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