Was there a better world out there, a world free of bullshit and insanity?



Maybe.



But what world have you seen that you liked better is my question to you.



And once you get to the bottom of the answer, you’ll find a new kind of freedom. Heck, you might even feel like quitting your job and buying a plane ticket to some exotics places, with only your backpack. You might wonder which lens to bring.

The Nikon 300mm f/2.8 would be on the top of my list.



Okay, let’s face it: It’s awkward sometimes to shoot on full-frame with a 300mm f/2.8, as you need to be very far to get your subject. But if I had to travel the world and only take three lenses with my D800E, it would be the 20mm f/1.4 Sigma Art, the 50mm f/1.8 AF-S G and the 300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR. That’s it. Could easily replace the 20mm f/1.4 Sigma by a 20mm f/1.8 AF-S Nikon: cheaper, lighter, and way more reliable (my 20mm f/1.4 is falling apart after only 2 years :( ).

The 300mm f/2.8 VR is a helluva lens. Combined with a TC 2.0 II converter, you get the equivalent of a 600mm f/5.6 AF-S VR with very limited loss of sharpness. If you’re a mad man like me, you throw that on a APS-C body and you get a nice 900mm f/5.6 reach. Then because you’re even madder, you get something like a D7500 or D500 with the 1.3x crop shooting format on top of their crop sensor. That brings you to 1170mm at 12 megapixel.



If that’s not enough for you – it wasn’t for me – there’s the 600mm f/4 VRII that will do. I’ll review it soon.

The 300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR is the sharpest lens you’ll ever get to use, among the 200mm f/2 AF-S VR and the 400mm f/2.8 VR. Yes, sharper than the 600mm f/4 VRII. Almost as sharp as a Zeiss Otus lens.



The 300mm f/2.8 makes you go shoot things. It looks cool, with its carbon fiber lens hood. It is everything that you’d ever need and then some.



Most of the shots below were shot using the D300 (reviewed here) and the D800E (and here’s my long term review).