Brad Hill on the new Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 120-300mm f/2.8E FL ED SR VR lens: sharper than the 300mm f/2.8G VRII

4 years ago
Categories: Nikon Lenses
Tags: Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 120-300mm f/2.8E FL ED SR VR

Brad Hill posted his first impressions and some sample images of the new Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 120-300mm f/2.8E FL ED SR VR lens – here is a quick recap:

That the 120-300mm f2.8E is extremely sharp when shooting close subjects (and at all focal lengths). I’ll be able to better quantify HOW sharp before long (relative to other high-end lenses), but I would be extremely surprised if it is not noticeably sharper than Nikkor 300mm f2.8G VRII or the Sigma Sport 120-300mm f2.8 at virtually all focal lengths. This is NOT a criticism of either of those two lenses, but rather a statement of how sharp images shot with the Nikkor 120-300mm f2.8E are looking to me,
That the out-of-focus (OOF) zones of the Nikkor 120-300mm f2.8E are buttery smooth and just beautiful,
That the critical combination of sharpness and smooth OOF zones (which goes a long ways towards defining the signature look of a particular lens) is fantastic. The overall “look” of the images shot with the 120-300mm f2.8E reminds me of those shot with two of my favourite Nikkors – the 200mm f2G VR and the 400mm f2.8E VR – and THAT is one exclusive club,
That, at least with close subjects, the sharpness of the 120-300mm f2.8E plus TC-14EIII combination is amazing (at least in the 200mm to 300mm focal length range). This includes shots captured with the aperture absolutely wide open,
That, at least with close subjects, the OOF zones of the 120-300mm f2.8E plus TC-14EIII combination is virtually as good as when the lens is shot native (i.e., with no teleconverter attached). One of the less commonly known negative attributes of using a teleconverter is that with some lenses they impact negatively on the quality of the OOF zones…often rendering them more “jittery” (for lack of a better term)…a characteristic I often refer to as “nervous bokeh”. To be clear, the 120-300mm f2.8E plus TC-14EIII combination does NOT exhibit nervous bokeh at all!
That despite being early in my testing, and despite the weight and size of the lens, I’m already thinking the 120-300 f2.8E may become one of my favourite and most important lenses in my wildlife photography kit.

Please visit Brad’s website for the full article – he has several blog posts on the new lens.