Review by Klaus Schroiff, published June 2006

Lens kindly provided for testing purposes by Ulrich Grothaus!

Introduction

Released back in the early '90s it is obviously a full format lens. In the tested APS-C scope (Nikon D200) the field-of-view is equivalent to classic 270mm. When thinking of 300mm f/2.8 lenses on film SLRs the size an weight advantage is immediately obvious so tele photographers can be happy about the APS-C cropping factor.

The build quality of the lens is exceptionally high. The outer barrel is made of metal with a crinkle finish typical for professional grade Nikkors. The rubberized focus ring operates very smooth and slightly damped. The lens features a build-in telescope hood. Personally I prefer this kind of hood simply because it's so much more convenient compared to twist-lock or even screw-in type hoods. On the downside some may argue that such hoods aren't overly deep thus less efficient but frankly I think it's certainly good enough.

The AF 180mm f/2.8 is a true IF (internal focusing) design so its length remains constant regardless of the focus setting and the front element does not rotate. Using a polarizer is therefore no problem. The lens has no internal AF motor and relies on a slotted drive screw operated by the camera. As a result the AF generates a moderate degree of noise. However, the AF speed is very fast - also an advantage of the internal focusing mechanism.