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Fast 300mm lenses
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 8:47 pm    Post subject: Fast 300mm lenses Reply with quote
Hi guys

I'm looking for a fastish 300mm telephoto for my 5D that has minimal purple fringing. Currently I use a Tamron SP 300/5.6, but that exhibits lots of CA wide open, although is brilliant at f8 (not ideal at that speed).

I have a Rubinar 300/4.5 and Tamron SP 350/5.6 which are superb as mirror lenses, but I want something with nice smooth bokeh as well.

I am considering:

1. Nikon Ai/AiS 300/4.5
2. Olympus Auto-T 300/4.5
3. Canon EF 300/4 L (eeeep, it's AF!)

What are your experiences with these lenses? Does the purple fringing disappear by f5.6 (more useful than f8 )?

Thanks Smile


PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 9:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I did used first 2 , I don't remember for purple* because I didn't care about.

They are more less equal lenses I did like them , they are faster than Tammy what is very important on long lenses. I found from all Nikon with ED tag is best. I sold them all and I kept an old Tair (not snipper version) to my eyes good as than above lenses for lot less money.

http://www.mflenses.com/gallery/v/japenese/nikon_nikkor/nikkor_300mm_f4_5_ED-IF_AIS/

Shoots are wide open or F5.6

http://www.mflenses.com/gallery/v/japenese/nikon_nikkor/nikkor300mm/
http://www.mflenses.com/gallery/v/japenese/Olympus_Om/olympus_om_300mm_f4_5/

http://www.mflenses.com/gallery/v/russian_lens/tair/tair-3_300mm_f4_5/

Some others
http://www.mflenses.com/gallery/v/mfl_club_members/carlsson/teletessar_300/

http://www.mflenses.com/gallery/v/german/zeiss/sonnar/300mm_f4/

http://www.mflenses.com/gallery/v/japenese/takumar/smc_takumar_300mm_f4/


PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 9:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
If you have money for Canon, take a look on Contax 300mm first...


PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 9:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Wow, thanks for all the samples! I completely forgot about the gallery Laughing

I'm not convinced about the Olympus lens TBH, but the Nikon (normal one) looks very good indeed Smile

But...I forgot about the Contax Laughing I thought it wasn't that good, but those samples are dreamy... Twisted Evil


PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 9:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Difficult to beat a 300mm f2.8. In my case I got the Tokina MF version:

Cost my €410 including shipment from the US.

Minimal, if any CA even at wide open aperture. Very sharp from f4. Downside is its weight at approx 2.5 kg.



Samples - click to enlarge!










PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 10:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
To me 300mm f2.8 lenses are unusable, due I have no time and patient to look animals in wild life with tripod I know they are best lenses. It's weight pretty much kill fun.

Take a closer look on SMC-Takumar 300mm f4 it is pretty fast , sharp even at wide open and light weight short one.


PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 10:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Yep, I reckon f2.8 would be too inconvenient I'm afraid. The samples I've seen from the Tak 300mm have not been brilliant to be honest.

I really like the look of the Nikkor ED IF 300/4.5 though... Wink


PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 10:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
ManualFocus-G wrote:
Yep, I reckon f2.8 would be too inconvenient I'm afraid. The samples I've seen from the Tak 300mm have not been brilliant to be honest.

I really like the look of the Nikkor ED IF 300/4.5 though... Wink


Yes, that was my choice too, how about Tair ?

Perhaps Tak 300 just poor samples taken by me, see some others too.


PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 10:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I have an older Tokina AT-X 100-300mm F4.

It has a good combination of performance and size.


PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 10:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Attila wrote:
ManualFocus-G wrote:
Yep, I reckon f2.8 would be too inconvenient I'm afraid. The samples I've seen from the Tak 300mm have not been brilliant to be honest.

I really like the look of the Nikkor ED IF 300/4.5 though... Wink


Yes, that was my choice too, how about Tair ?

Perhaps Tak 300 just poor samples taken by me, see some others too.


Haha, I wasn't referring to your shots Wink Laughing There was a test here a while back and the Takumar was thrashed by the standard Nikon as far as I remember Smile


PostPosted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 11:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Generally this is true for every Nikon Takumar fights Wink I like Nikon lenses pretty much , but hey those Konicas Laughing Laughing Laughing


PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 1:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
If you want to mess with a mount conversion, the Canon FD 300mm f/4 L is a great lens, and not too large. The FD 300mm f/4 (not L) is not worth considering. It has serious purple and green fringing -- or at least the copy I had did.

I second dnas' comment about the Tokina AT-X 100-300 f/4. That's a very nice lens, and not too big. Has a low dispersion element to reduce CA problems.


PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 1:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
ManualFocus-G wrote:
Yep, I reckon f2.8 would be too inconvenient I'm afraid. The samples I've seen from the Tak 300mm have not been brilliant to be honest.

I really like the look of the Nikkor ED IF 300/4.5 though... Wink


If you can find the earlier non-IF lens the Nikkor 300mm f4.5 ED in either the K or AI version,this lens even sharper then the IF version.Bjørn Rørslett and others attest to the sharpness of the non-IF version,though a bit harder to find,they still show up on ebay every so often.

Another not so fast lens....the 400mm f5.6 ED non-IF is extremely sharp wide open,with negligible color fringing on crop sensor Canons.On a FF like the 5D lateral chromatic aberration gives some color fringing,which can be cleaned up in PP or not since it is minimal.

I had a PC version of this 400mm with the fluorite element of this lens years ago,but fluoite elements are temperature sensitive....Recently though I picked up a factory AI converted K version,with the more temperature stable ED element, and CPU'd by Roland Elliot.A little about this lens here....http://photo.net/nikon-camera-forum/009lqN

BTW...Bjørn Rørslett gave both these lenses higher marks then the IF versions....http://www.naturfotograf.com/lens_tele.html



Last edited by Boomer Depp on Fri Jul 30, 2010 4:38 am; edited 2 times in total


PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 3:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Boomer, could you elaborate on what a Nikon K mount is? Otherwise known at pre-AI or non-AI?


PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 3:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Non-AI is a condensed or lazy way of grouping and not specifically identifying which non-AI mount lens, the F,C or K versions.

The Nikon F mount in the K version is the the last of the non-AI mounts and the immediate predecessor of the AI mount.

Nikkor manual focus SLR lenses:the F was first followed by the C & K versions in the non-AI mount,followed by the AI mount, then the AI-S mount and finally the AI-P mount lenses.

Last edited by Boomer Depp on Fri Jul 30, 2010 4:48 am; edited 4 times in total


PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 4:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
As far as the nomenclature goes, the F designation applies to the first single-coated Nikkors introduced for the Nikon F between 1959 and 1971. The C designation came about when Nikon began to apply multi-coating to most of their lenses in 1971. the K designation is a cosmetic update, as Nikon switched from the scalloped metal focus rings to the 'new' rubberized focus rings. They look very similar to the AI lenses that followed, but technically are still non-AI.


PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 4:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks for this clarification, Andrew. I've owned K lenses, as it turns out, and just guessed that they were very late non-AI because of their cosmetic resemblance to AI lenses. Although, I recall one specific "K" 55mm f/1.2 I owned that, while it looked like an AI lens with a non-AI aperture ring, there were other, subtle differences that set it apart from its AI counterparts.


PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 7:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Andrew G. wrote:
As far as the nomenclature goes, the F designation applies to the first single-coated Nikkors introduced for the Nikon F between 1959 and 1971. The C designation came about when Nikon began to apply multi-coating to most of their lenses in 1971. the K designation is a cosmetic update, as Nikon switched from the scalloped metal focus rings to the 'new' rubberized focus rings. They look very similar to the AI lenses that followed, but technically are still non-AI.


Technically they are an F mount(and were later referred to as a non-AI or pre-AI)

Last edited by Boomer Depp on Sun Aug 01, 2010 4:40 am; edited 1 time in total


PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 7:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Another vote for the Zeiss Tele-Tessar 4/300 in CY mount. You could always try the Zeiss Sonnar 2.8/180 with a Mutar III x1.4 converter, too.


PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 7:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Also the Olympus Zuiko 300mm f4.5 was brought up originally...I find Zuiko 300/4.5 much better then the preferred last version of the Nikkor 300mm f4.5....The Zuiko 300/4.5 is closer to the Nikkor 300/4.5 ED AI-S non-IF when it comes to sharpness....this is one of my sharpest 300mm lens including modern lenses....the bokeh is quite pleasing,too.


PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 9:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Another one that might be of interest: Sigma 300mm f/4 APO-Tele Macro. 1.2m MFD (1:3) and good CA correction. Difficult to find in Canon EF version with updated chip (aperture only works on old bodies like 10D, D60 or film bodies), but you could use a Nikon version. I have an offer for €250 for one in Nikon mount... thinking about it buying it myself (but I'll likely go for other lenses). Wink


PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 3:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
AhamB wrote:
Another one that might be of interest: Sigma 300mm f/4 APO-Tele Macro. 1.2m MFD (1:3) and good CA correction. Difficult to find in Canon EF version with updated chip (aperture only works on old bodies like 10D, D60 or film bodies), but you could use a Nikon version. I have an offer for €250 for one in Nikon mount... thinking about it buying it myself (but I'll likely go for other lenses). Wink


I was doing some Nikon-mount tele searches on eBay last night, and ran across several of these. For what they are -- a 400mm APO -- the prices seemed fairly reasonable.


PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 3:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
BTW...I've meant to say since seeing you back here,"nice to see you back here Michael"....you were gone for a while...computer go down or just busy building your finely crafted guitars?


PostPosted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 4:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Well, I have to stay busy with the guitars regardless of whether I'm visiting mflenses or whatever.

Unfortunately, I tend to develop tunnel vision when I get involved with a subject, and thus there is a tendency to exclude other things. I have to force myself out of this habit, which is why you see me back here.

Recently, I've been involved in auto repairs and motorcycle restorations, and these have been sucking away much of my free time. Especially the latter. I've just recently finished getting my two BMW bikes back on the road after their sitting for quite a while, and I'm also working on a cafe racer project that is based on a Yamaha XS650. I doubt I'll be finished with it before this winter, though. Too damn hot outside right now, and available funds are lower than I'd like them to be.


PostPosted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 5:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
cooltouch wrote:
I was doing some Nikon-mount tele searches on eBay last night, and ran across several of these. For what they are -- a 400mm APO -- the prices seemed fairly reasonable.


The 400/5.6 APO-Tele Macro is reportedly even better than the 300/4. You probably found the APO non-macro versions; they are cheap but not as good by far as the macro versions. The macro versions fetch much higher prices but they are worth it - much better IQ!

Last edited by AhamB on Sat Jul 31, 2010 5:45 am; edited 1 time in total
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