-solid construction
-much lighter on shoulder and wallet then 300 f2.8
-quiet sharp
-solid triopod mount

-much pincushion distortion
-expensive

Probably I got a lemon or, at least, i was not lucky. It has a visible pincushion distortion.
However sharpness is not bad. Time passes, there are other interesting "IS/VR" option out there...

Customer Service

never called

Similar Products Used:

Canon 100-400

Extremely sharp optics, solid constuction.

A bit on the heavy side. No AF or Matrix metering when used with Nikon Teleconverter.

This is one incredibly sharp lens, even used with a TC-14b for 420mm @ 5.6 (Noticeably sharper than the Tokina 400 f5.6). My only complaint is that Nikon (for what ever reason) doesn't make a 1.4x extender that is compatible with either AF or Matrix metering functions.

Customer Service

None needed

Similar Products Used:

Tokina 400 f5.6
Nikkor 400 f3.5
Nikkor AF 300 f2.8
Nikkor 80-200 f2.8
Nikkor 75-300 f4.5-5.6

Amazingly good optics
Relatively light and compact
Excellent tripod collar
Beautifully constructed

Close focus at 9' is a little inconvenient

This is a phenomenally good lens. Up there with the 180/2.8 ED for sharpness, contrast and colour fidelity. In a direct comparison to the Tokina 300/4 AT-X it is so much better that it almost defies belief. Sharpness and colour rendition are nowhere near on the Tokina lens. This excellent Nikkor is also visibly superior to the Tokina AT-X 400/5.6 when used with a 1.4X converter. It is a great lens, pure and simple. AF is quick enough for my purposes. The new AF-S model has the advantage of a shorter minimum focus difference, but optically, there is no other advantage. It is hard to imagine how a 300/4 could be better than this package - I'd give it 10 stars on both counts if I could!

Customer Service

Never needed!

Similar Products Used:

Tokina AT-X 300/4

Very good price for a high quality long lens. It's also light for it's focal length. Very (VERY) sturdy, and sharp. The swivel tripod mount is great for quich switches from horizontal to vertical.

The AF is painfully slow and tends to track a bit.

For the money good luck getting any better for your Nikon. The AF is slow and sometimes you'll be wishing it could focus closer than 8 feet, but this lens has not disappointed. In terms of sharpness, my biggst problem has been with haze from distant subjects. I've noticed it does not reproduce colour quality quite as good as some of Nikon's other high grade lenses, but still does quite wel enough a job to warrant being carried around. An excellent lens.

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 80-200/2.8 AFS/EDIF

the light and compact telephoto lens with reasonable price. most importantly, it's very sharp.

slow AF

I can't say much about this lens because my type of photography is not sport or bird or whatever tele mostly do. but i really love the sharpness and design of this lens. it's not expensive for a "sometimes" using like me.

Customer Service

excellent

Similar Products Used:

None

Much cheaper and lighter than the 300/2.8. Good optics. Manual focusing ring is quite good. Retractable metal hood.

Slow AF.
AF gears became squeaky after I put it away for a few months. Sounded like the gears needed lubrication badly. I sold it off after that and am waiting for an improved version with the 'D' designation.
The hood is very handy, but l thought it was a bit short for a 300mm lens.

Attractive price, mostly worth it. Some improvements needed.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

AF 300/2.8
Canon EF 300/4
EF 300/2.8

SHARP

SLOW AF

MUST HAVE

Similar Products Used:

None

lighter, less expensive than 2.8. works well with Nikon 1.4 convertor.

none

if you don't need a 300 2.8, or don't need the autofocus for sports or other quick focusing situations, this one will probably work quite well for you. the tc14 with this lens is sharp. it is exceptionally well built.

Customer Service

None, using it about 2 times a week for seven years

Similar Products Used:

300 2.8 EOS; auto focus much faster due to internal motor