The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Nikon 300mm f4E PF VR and the Nikon 80-400mm f4.5-5.6G ED VR for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
The size of a lens is a crucial factor to consider when comparing two lenses. Nikon 80-400mm f4.5-5.6G ED VR is the longer of the two lenses at 203mm. The Nikon 300mm f4E PF VR with a length of 148mm, is 55mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Nikon 80-400mm f4.5-5.6G ED VR also has a larger diameter of 96mm compared to the Nikon 300mm f4E PF VR's 89mm diameter.
The weight of a lens is equally significant as its external dimensions, particularly if you intend to handhold your camera and lens combination for extended periods. Nikon 300mm f4E PF VR weighs 750g, which means it is 820g (52%) lighter than the Nikon 80-400mm f4.5-5.6G ED VR which has a weight of 1570g.
Filter Threads
Both the Nikon 300mm f4E PF VR and the Nikon 80-400mm f4.5-5.6G ED VR have the same Filter thread size of 77mm.
Below are links to the 77mm filters that we recommend you to consider for these lenses:
Lens Mounts
Both the Nikon 300mm f4E PF VR and the Nikon 80-400mm f4.5-5.6G ED VR has the same Nikon F (FX) lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with the Nikon F (FX) lenses are Nikon D6, Nikon D780 and Nikon D3500.
Focal Range
Nikon 300mm f4E PF VR is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 300mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides a 35mm (FF) equivalent of
450mm.
On the other hand, the Nikon 80-400mm f4.5-5.6G ED VR has a focal range of 80-400mm and 5.0X zoom ratio . When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides a 35mm (FF) equivalent of 120 - 600mm.