Physically the lens really is a revelation! When I hold my D7100 up to take a photo with this lens attached it is so small and so light that it seems impossible that I'm holding a 300mm prime lens.
![nikon f90x lenses nikon f90x lenses](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/s~MAAOSwCIFgxM-k/s-l400.jpg)
I used the lens whilst on holiday in Colorado, and below I share my thoughts and some images taken so far: In Bangkok the price was much lower than quoted in either the US or UK (I paid TBH 59,900 and got a Nikon Worldwide warranty) and the lens was readily available from my favoured supplier. These reductions have come along thanks to the use of a Phase Fresnel lens (similar technology to Canon's "diffractive optics") and the use of plastic instead of metal for the body of the lens.Īfter a couple of months of reviews I came to the conclusion that Nikon's offering was the way forward for me (particularly as the results with the 1.7x and 2x teleconverters suggest that image quality can be pretty solid), and so it was that just before taking a family holiday to the US in late June I traded in my old 300mm for the new PF version.
Nikon f90x lenses update#
This meant that Nikon's announcement of the update to my existing lens was very interesting - the "Nikkor 300mm f4E PF ED VR" seemed to have it all - vibration reduction and a new "nano crystal" coating, but more importantly a very significant reduction in size and weight (the weight dropped by almost 50 percent, from 1.44 kg to just 755grams!). The big question for me was whether to dump Nikon and move to Canon with the new 100-400 lens which seemed to have glowing reviews, but would have cost a whole lot of USD/GBP/Thai baht as I would have to get a new body as well as a new lens.įor me size and weight was as much of a consideration as price because I'm very much in the camp of "birder who takes photos" rather than primarily being a "Bird Photographer", and I kept thinking back to my trip to Sumatra a couple of years ago where I was lugging my camera up and down the steep, muddy slopes of Mount Kerichi everyday - if my camera kit had been any bigger and heavier than it was it would have stayed at home! As such I spent much of these last two years in a form of existential crisis: trying to decided whether or not to update my existing lens (a Nikon 300mm f4 bought in 2007), following the reviews and published on-line images and becoming somewhat frustrated buy the long lag times between announcements and appearance in the marketplace of some lenses. I've seen enough of my friends struggling under the weight and ungainly dimensions of the "big whites" to know that I never wanted to own one, but I do want to ensure that I can have the best performing lens that meets my personal needs.
![nikon f90x lenses nikon f90x lenses](https://i.etsystatic.com/19942477/r/il/1d33d5/2990386310/il_1140xN.2990386310_bw2m.jpg)
![nikon f90x lenses nikon f90x lenses](https://live.staticflickr.com/4909/46249860974_398c586c46_b.jpg)
The last two years have seen birders presented with a new generation of "affordable" camera lenses to choose from, with the release of three different 150-600mm zooms from Tamron and Sigma, Canon's updated 100-400mm zoom and Nikon's updates of the 80-400mm and more recently the 300mm f4.