[dave]

The nonAFS 300/4 is well regarded too. Slower AF but better tripod mount.  Probably same or very similar optically.

[Johnny Brown]

True, I went for the AFS as the older ones are like rocking horse shit and therefore not much cheaper, and you lose the close focus.

[dave]

Saw some on mxv few years back at about £250, should have bought one for investment value but realistically would have used it as often as a bag of tungsten tipped screws.

[Control freak]

Other option is a 300mm f/2.8 which is a little smaller and cheaper

That's kinda like saying the Maserati is a little cheaper than the Ferrari... After much research I've decided to go the 300 F4 for all the reasons JB stated. Unless your shooting low light you don't really need the 2.8 and the F4 is pin sharp once you close it down a little. That plus the price (for Canon at least) is only 20% of its big brother seals the deal for me

[everythingConnected]

Yep, think the 300mm f4 is on the cards for me too. Anyone any suggestion for good deals?

[SA Chris]

See if you can get one from Sates or Far East if you or anyone you know is travelling.

[slackline]

But be mindful that the warranty probably won't be valid.

[SA Chris]

Lots have worldwide warranties?

[slackline]

Its the grey market issue I'm thinking of.  I got a lens from Hong Kong and the seven year warranty was provided by the seller through a third-party in the US (thankfully I've not had to rely on it yet, as it sounds like a ball-ache and expensive to send the lens to the US).  I won't be doing this again.

A worldwide warranty would potentially cover you if you buy an item in the country you live in and are then travelling (you can even wait till you get home and sort it out then).  I'm not sure the reverse is true, but am more than happy to be educated.

[Jim]

I bought my D50 in singapore with a worldwide warranty and had the lens repaired in the Uk under it without any problems

[slackline]

 

[dave]

Lots have worldwide warranties?

I'd been told by nikon uk they dont honour warranties on non-EU stock.

[Paul B]

See if you can get one from Sates or Far East if you or anyone you know is travelling.

secondhand?

[everythingConnected]

Can anyone give any ideas as to how much cheaper stuff is in the far east or the sates? ie. Is it worth waiting until you do a trip over there, or just accept that things are a bit more expensive here?

Also how about buying things from over there mail order? Anyone know any good photo websites from over there? Do you get stung for import tax if things then get posted over and how about buying from foreign ebay sites eg. ebay USA???

[Johnny Brown]

It was a few years ago, but I got my 300 f4 from Honkers via ebay, from digitalrev who don't appear to exist any more. The new lens was cheaper than I could get one second hand in the UK. Never had any problems with postage, and they refunded the tax though I got stung on later purchases that didn't.

[Paul B]

digitalrev who don't appear to exist any more

You must have one hell of a filter bubble surrounding you! They have their own site, ebay sales and a darn youtube channel that regularly updates. They have UK warehouses so you don't get charged import duty.

[everythingConnected]

wow, digitalrev does seem cheap, few things on sale at minute that are very good deals.

Are they selling imports via a UK site to cut costs or is it just a discount online warehouse like so many others? And what does Johnny mean when he says he got the tax back?

[Johnny Brown]

If you buy stuff from abroad, one of the main reasons it is cheaper is due to it not being taxed when sold as it would be in the UK (ie VAT - currently 20%). This should be redressed by you being charged import tax by customs when it arrives in the UK. There are ways around this, though illegal, such as marking the box as 'a gift', or stating a lower value on the forms. Or you might get lucky, they might not bother and a parcel just arrives. Digitalrev used to gamble on that by offering to refund any tax you got charged. I daresay customs have got their act together now and everyone gets charged, so no one offers refunds any more.

Are they selling imports via a UK site to cut costs

I think so, yes.

[Control freak]

Other option is a 300mm f/2.8 which is a little smaller and cheaper

That's kinda like saying the Maserati is a little cheaper than the Ferrari... After much research I've decided to go the 300 F4 for all the reasons JB stated. Unless your shooting low light you don't really need the 2.8 and the F4 is pin sharp once you close it down a little. That plus the price (for Canon at least) is only 20% of its big brother seals the deal for me

Change of plan - got one of these bad boys instead (found a good one on ebay)



I'll hopefully get some results to post soon

[Brolly]

Good choice on the 100-400. Great lens which can deliver some great results. Even though it's old the is still works enough for it to be very hand holdable.

So how have you got on with it?

Ol

[Control freak]

Its not bad at all. Definitely hand holdable at 400 tho more often than not its on a monopod. As its mainly used for surf / ocean shots the 5.6 isnt an issue as its generally very bright. I wouldnt use it below 200mm tho as I have a 70-200 2.8 which is infinitely sharper. The bokeh also  isnt quite as pleasing but at $lots less than a faster 400mm lens its great value for money

These were all shot with it





Handheld but sharpened a fair bit in post



Does a great job of compressing the background (about 1km away) but the background quality isnt quite what it could be


F9 at 1/5 of a second. Pretty sure this was hand held so the IS has done well. Again about 1km away