I have one of the first Nikon 300mm f2.8 AF-S models. Purchased it when it came out in Japan in 1997. I was never happy with the performance of the Nikon TC20E . I do have a TC14E and TC17E as well. As I also have a Nikon 500mm f4 AF-I, and the TC14E and TC17E was enough to use with both lenses. My TC20E makes a great paperweight . Regards Peter Nikon 300mm f4 PF VR vs. 300mm f2.8. May 15, 2018. Hello! Im considering the Nikon 300mm f4 PF VR and was wondering how you would compare it to the legendary 300mm f2.8. I understand the 1 stop of light you are giving up, but was also wondering about IQ, color, contrast etc. If you are looking for a lens that will tolerate all the TC's, give the absolute fastest AF and the best IQ then the 2.8 is the. choice. But if you want a great performer at 300 and a good performer at 420 with the TC-14 then don't discount the f/4. The shot below is with the 300 f/4 @ f/6.3. This f4 is also incredibly small at only 147mm in length. That brings it in just shy of 75mm, or 3″, in reduced height to that of it’s predecessor. In fact, the new 300 f4 PF is actually shorter with it’s lens hood attached than the former version without it’s lens hood on. It really cannot be understated just how compact this new lens is. has a silent focus motor built into the lens. Sony FE 70-200mm F4 G OSS. Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD. Lenses with built-in focus motor focus faster and more quietly than lenses without a focus motor which rely on the camera's body focus motor. minimum focus distance. 4) Useful for dog and cat and even human portrait photography outdoors. 5) In summary, the 400/2.8 can easily be turned into a 560/4 which is a wash for a bare 600/4 lens, but with much better MFD. The 400/2.8 is a very flexible and useful lens. The 600/4 is less flexible and less useful. Why is Nikon AF-S Nikkor 300mm F/2.8G ED VR II better than Nikon AF-S Nikkor 300mm F4E PF ED VR? 30% wider aperture at minimum focal length? f/2.8 vs f/4.0 Nikon's exotic telephoto with stunning optical performance. This is an in-depth review of the Nikon 300mm f/2.8G ED VR II lens that was released in December of 2009, along with the TC-20E III teleconverter. When it comes to telephoto lenses, the Nikon 300mm f/2.8 line of lenses has always been a metric of sharpness, contrast and acuity. Edgar - I've been playing around with the 2.8 a little and I own the 4.0. In my opinion, the 2.8 focuses much faster and produces better bokeh (blurred background). The 2.8 also does better with TCs for AF. If you are shooting static subjects, the 300 4.0 is a great lens. It produces very nice, sharp images. This Nikon 300mm f/4 AF-S is for the photographer who shoots on a tripod. It's the perfect 300mm lens for the sorts of people who love to shoot raw and demand the absolute highest technical image quality. It certainly will be sharper than a 70-200mm VR II and TC-14E. Personally I prefer to travel light, and shoot the 28-300mm VR instead. 44SNBA7.