Nikon lenses have been popular for various reasons. For instance, they are great at capturing details, but also come in affordable variant when needed. While Nikon is still behind Canon to some extend, it does not change the fact that their lenses continue to be important even today. It appears that one such lens, which is liked by many, has been discontinued. Have a look.
According to Asobinet, the Nikon 300mm f4E PF ED VR has been discontinued by the company. The lens has some limited stock in Japan, such as MAP Camera. However, in the United States, it is labeled out of stock on the company’s official website.
This is not the first time that Nikon has quietly discontinued lenses. If you look at their Japanese website, you have a dedicated section just for gear that is no longer in production. One can also see this as a sign that Nikon and Canon are now focusing on mirrorless alone, which means DSLRs are considered a thing of the past.
The Nikon 300m f4 was a good lens, which was introduced in 2015 for F mount users. It was made with 16 elements in 10 groups, had 9 aperture blades, and weighed just 755g. What made it special was the use of a special fresnel design, which helped to keep the size and weight low. However, it was also the reason why we felt the lens was not built just sturdy enough. Perhaps, the fact that it was early use of technology that meant they were far from any perfection.
But design aside, the lens was phenomenal when it came to autofocus. It was fast, accurate, and it was an ideal option for many sports photographers. As we said in our review:
If you’re a photographer looking to shoot sports with this lens, then you’ll have very little in the way of problems.
The image quality was incredible. It offered sharpness, great bokeh, and had a good control over color fringing. The color rendition was well was worth your time. But another challenge was the price tag, which $2000 at that time. May not seem huge by today’s standards but it was a bit much for an f4 alternative.
Either way, F-mount lenses are going away, and the only way to get them is through eBay or retail stores that sell second-hand lenses. If you are a DSLR user, you will get plenty of options around. You don’t have to worry much. In fact, this is the right time for many young photographers to invest in a good DSRL, as it is one of the cost effective solutions.