Since joining the Hog I have made comments, but this is my first topic created. When taking a group photo in which the operator will also appear, using the delay setting and face-priority, what are the Nikon camera settings and what does the operator have to do at the camera before getting into position for the photo shoot. Last Christmas I had no problems, but this year about half my family photos were out of focus. If you have to auto focus before the shoot what good is the face-priority feature? The manual does not go into enough detail on the subject for me!! By the way the Hog has become one of my favorite reads and I have learn a lot from all of the knowledgeable photographers who comment here.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned PhotoScape X Pro for Mac or Windows 10. It edits both Raw and JPEG, and is free for the editing features that I use. For $29 you can get the expanded version which offers more special effects and several other features that I never use anyway. It is very easy to use and serves my purposes for birding.

You might want to take a look at the new Nikon AF-P NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR, if it is compatible with your camera. It's less expensive than the 70-200 but not as fast. It has great IQ at the long end as well as the short end. I like birding as well as landscape, so it is a great walk around lens for me.

I have the Nikkor 300mm f4 PF VR and all three teleconverters. For birding and wildlife I like the lens and the 1.7x TC; it is fast and responsive. I am 83 years old with back problems, and I can carry this combo for several hours without too much trouble. With a Nikon D750 and this lens, using any of the TCs plus a battery grip holder, the weight is hardly more than 4 1/4 lbs. I never use a tripod; all my shots are hand held. The lens is a little pricey but worth it to me.

You might want to look at the new AF-P 70-300 FX lens (Nikon AF-P NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR). It was just released and I used it for a few days. It is becoming my most favorite walk around lens, and it is very sharp at the 300 end. It's worth the $746 price tag for my use, and it measures up to my $2K 300 f/4 prime in focus speed which is fast.

Suntouched, thanks for sharing photos with your new 70-300 mm lens. I especially like the scene with the flock of birds in the horizon.

Yes I have a 1.4x, 1.7x and a 2x teleconverter. I can use them to extend my 300 mm prime lens, and they work beautifully. The weight of my D750 plus the extender is less or slightly more than 4 pounds, making the combination much lighter to carry around for several hours, compared to 6-8 pounds for a 600 mm zoom lens. The primary disadvantage is the loss of maximum aperture of the prime lens which is f4. It makes a difference in the early morning hours when birding, and where I normally need more light.

I ordered and received the new 70-300 mm lens. I immediately took it from the box like a kid at Christmas, installed it on my D750 and went to the back yard without checking out anything. I took a few shots of birds at 300 mm, put them on the computer, and was very disappointed with the image quality. On inspecting the lens I found that the VR had not been turned on. After turning on VR Sports I took a few more shots and was very pleased. I do not have the old 70-300 lens but I do have the Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 300MM f/4E PF ED. I compared photos with the new lens and the Nikon 300 mm prime lens at focal point 300 mm which is where I was primarily interested in while birding. This was a quick comparison of a handheld shot with each lens of the same Dove from about 35 feet. The new and first lens shown was shot at 1/1250 s, f5.6, and 1000 IS0; the prime lens was shot at 1/1250 s, f4, and 400 ISO. Both shots are AS IS. Both lens are very fast AF and about the same noise level. I am a happy camper!

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No; anticipate within 3 weeks.

I was looking at the Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED IF AF-S VR but did not buy it because of the soft image at 300mm according to all the reviews. When the AS-P model was announced this week by Nikon at about $250 more at Nikon I decided to try it. I hate to buy any product when they are first announced, without reviews, but at my age I don't have that much time left to wait on reviews. lol, I've done dumber things! I'm more interested in the birding aspect with the ability to shoot at 70mm when the need arises.

I forgot about the DX one. The announced FX model weighs only 1 1/2 lbs. That's the main reason I pre-ordered it. It is also supposed to be sharper at the 300mm end. I plan to use it as a walking around lens plus birding. Hope I'm not disappointed!

Nikon just announced this week the AF-P NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR. I pre-ordered one. You must be referring to the AF-S model?

I'm a new member of the Ugly Hedgehog community, but I have enjoyed reading replies for some time and have learned a lot in doing so. I'm replying to your problem because my results using teleconverters have been very good. For birding I use a Nikon D750 with a 300mm f/4 prime lens. I get excellent results using 1.4, 1.7 and 2x Teleconverters. The drawbacks are losing 1-stop aperture using 1.4x, 1 1/2-stops using 1.7x and 2-stops with 2x TCs, and more difficulty locking in the auto focus in low light conditions and low contrast subject areas. My shots using the 1.4 seem better than your photo without 1.4x TC. I'm relatively new to cameras and photography but I found early on that it is important to check the autofocus accuracy, and if necessary refine adjust the lens itself and with each Teleconverter.