Stunning lens on my D700, Saturday, 04 October 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I bought this lens about 2 years ago and have been using it on my D200. It's sharp. It's light. It's a lens that, if I drop it, I'll live. But the comments that it is rather slow in dim light are fair, and I've been saving for the 70-200 2.8 zoom. Rather than replace the lens, though, I fell in love with the D700. That CAMERA is so fast and so good at high ISO's -- crystal clear at 1600 -- it's like the lens just got 4 stops faster! Suddenly, the 5.6 f/stop (at the long end) is the equivalent of 2.8. At the short end, the 4.0 becomes a mythical 1.0! It's AMAZING. I just upgraded all my lenses similarly. On the D700, this is a fabulous lens. It's fast glass! It's sharp. It's light. True, it still does not focus as snappy quick as an AFS lens, but then, it's many hundreds of dollars cheaper! And it's not a VR, but I'm shooting 4 stops faster as it is! (VR lets you use slower shutter speeds, but doesn't hold your subject still; higher ISO's give you the faster shutter speed.) It really is an amazing bargain lens. If you're on a lower model Nikon camera, you won't be using it inside. If you can spring for the D700 or D3, it's hard to argue that the money would have been better spent on the wonderful 2.8 series of lenses.
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Nikon 70-300 Lens, Monday, 29 September 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
This is a light weight lens that is easy to use and gives great results. I also have a Nikor 70-300 D that is supposed to be far superior to the G lens (and costs a lot more) but I tested this one against the D and found the difference to be so slight that only the "most high pros" would care. Considering the weight difference, I know I will use this one most of the time and probably sell my D lens. I was able to take hand held (no tripod) shots at 300mm with only a brace and got perfect results.
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Great Lens, Friday, 29 August 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
3.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
3.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
3.0
This product was in perfect shape. The only reason I didn't give it a 5 was because the only way I can use it on my Nikkon D40 is on manual. It's my fault really. It is a great lens for manual use.
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Awesome Lens and Awesome Service., Tuesday, 19 August 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I have ordered the Nikon 70-300MM AF Nikkor SLR Camera Lens from "Gigabargain." I have emailed him asking if I could get my order before Sunday. * Ordered on the 16th, Saturday. * He/She replied with no problem. I received it (Lens) about 2 Hours ago. * Wed. 20th *. Yay. :]
This lens is GREAT. Not heavy. It's a tad slow when it tries to Auto Focus, but that doesn't matter to me because I use manual focus anyways.
Great price for this too.
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best bang for the buck, Monday, 18 August 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.0
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
3.0
Value for Money
4.0
Would love to have purchased a similar lens for 5x the price of this lens but not right now. For the price this is hard to beat. I wanted a "long" lens to take bird pictures and the occasional distant animal/sunset/silhouette shot that I happen onto now and then. If you use a tripod (or a beanbag over a car window)and keep the settings on f8 or even better at f11, the pictures are remarkably sharp. The auto focus seems to hunt a Bit but is better than I expected considering the bargain basement cost for the lens. An interesting note is that it appears the lens is often sold used for at or above the cost of a new lens.
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Good lens for the money, Saturday, 12 July 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
3.8
Sharpness
3.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
4.0
Got this lens for pics I plan on taking of my kids and vacation. PLEASE BE AWARE that you need a AF-S for Automatic Focus on a Nikon D40. This lens does focus well,just not what I expected.
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Muy bueno!, Sunday, 06 April 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.3
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
4.0
Les recomiendo absolutamente este producto. A pesar de no ser autofoco, vale la pena ya que su precio es la mitad y enfocar es realmente fácil, requiere un poco de práctica y listo. El despacho funcionó muy bien y el servicio exlcente.
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Nikon lens review, Monday, 14 January 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
Product was what it said it was and was delivered very fast and at a very good price.
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Worth every penny , Saturday, 12 January 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.3
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
4.0
I bought this lens to try on my New Nikon D200, even though it is not a fast lens for indoor photography. I solved the problems by using my SB 800 flash with diffuser and bounce to ceiling, far close up shot of people up to 20-30 ft away is tack sharp with barely no shadows. Outside is a different story it is very sharp between 100 to 400 ISO and quick to focus, the motor sound don't bother me. I shot a lot of macro and potrait with this lens. I will continue to use this until I can save for Nikon 70-200 F/2.8 VR ($1,800 plus tax plus add $450.00 for 2x converter. Taken to this lens pinted to 8 X 10 is excellent. By taking landscapes shot tripod mount and use a cord trigger will result in very sharp picture that can be enlarge poster size 20 X 30 inches. I printed some shot on my canon printer ($500.00) 13 X 19 inches the quality is Gallery quality. To make it short, I recommend this lens. you have to realized bokeh or blurring the background is how you select the lens opening (Apertures or F stop). Burst shot is not a problem on my D200 with this lens.For the price what are you waiting for? As long as you know its limitation. I luv the very light weight. I have tried the 70-200 F/2.8 VR mounted on my Nikon D200 with Battery Grip in our local camera shop, I don't know if you can bear the weight to walk around with it.
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It's cheap at least, Wednesday, 26 December 2007
Overall rating (weighted)
3.3
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
3.0
Value for Money
2.0
Pros: Cheap cheap cheap Lightweight Smooth in manual focus
Cons: SLOW Autofocus (body driven, rather than internal) High f/stops Non-ED glass Very soft...sharpness and contrast leave alot to be desired. The 18-70 kit lens from my D70S is sharper and has higher contrast (thanks to the ED glass)
Overall, you get what you pay for. If you're looking for a lens for wildlife photography where you need to get the shot the first time and have it be nice and sharp in all conditions, look elsewhere. For posed portraits under good/controlled lighting, this will be a low-cost alternative to a nicer lens.
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Nikon 70-300mm f4-5.6 AF ED, Thursday, 20 December 2007
Overall rating (weighted)
1.0
Sharpness
1.0
Build Quality
1.0
AF Speed
1.0
Value for Money
1.0
Editor review will be updated shortly
Why should you care what I think?
My relationship with this item: Editor review
Conclusions at a glance
Would you recommend this Item: Undecided
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You don't NEED an expensive DX or DX VR zoom lens , Thursday, 08 November 2007
Overall rating (weighted)
4.5
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
3.0
Value for Money
5.0
This SLR Zoom lens came with my Nikon D80 package. It's a lens that I actually had and was using on my N65 for years, but I sold that one when I sold my N65. Now that I'm using it again, but on my D80 I'm absolutely amazed by what it allows me to capture. I can shoot sports during the day or at well lit night venue from as far away as 40 yards and get results that are magazine worthy. It freezes action and focuses so fast that it makes shooting sports effortless. It's very light and quiet too. I'm sure the modern DX VR version is better, but it's also 7x the price. Unless you're a pro, just get this lens and call it a day. I guarantee you'll have some great shots of your kid's soccer games to frame and cherish forever.
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Great lens for the price, Friday, 24 August 2007
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
5.0
This lens far exceeded my expectations. I was a bit worried reading some less-than stellar comments online, especially about build quality, but decided to take a chance. I wouldn't call this lens pro-quality by any streach of the imagination but for the casual user or moderate use pro-sumer, I would highly recommend this bargain of a lens. It's ideal to get up and close to the action and fairly light to hold; this make it easier to hold and compose longer without your arms getting tired. I use this lens with a F100 and focus is much faster than expected. It has a tendency to "hunt" more as you zoom in, but not so much when it is zoomed out. It is D compatible to communicate Distance information for matrix metering and flash use, there seems to be some confusion about this online... In short, great lens and a fantastic value. Enjoy.
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Great Value for the Money, Wednesday, 25 July 2007
Overall rating (weighted)
3.8
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
3.0
Value for Money
4.0
I purchased this zoom lens for outdoor daytime sports, and it has done a very good job considering the low price. This is a very light lens, with no VR, so when zoomed in you'll notice quite a bit of Camera shake. This is easily solved by either using a monopod, tripod or some other type of stabization if you want to get sharper pictures.
The lens does indeed get softer in the 200-300mm range, but a little sharpening in PS usually does the trick. Since the maximum aperture is f/4, don't expect your subjects to pop much from the lack of bokeh. Then again, I didn't expect much bokeh in a $140 lens, so this wasn't a surprise to me.
I know this review sounds more like a two star review, but keep in mind that you're getting a 300mm telephoto lens for less than $150. The "pro" lenses in this zoom category cost ten times as much, and that's way too much for amateur photography, IMO. For the price, this is a good value and a great way to get close to the action without emptying your wallet.
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Nikon 70-300 , Tuesday, 03 July 2007
Overall rating (weighted)
4.3
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
4.0
I bought a Nikon D-200 with an 18-70mm kit lens. I wanted to get closer to the action so picked up this lens after some reviews. It's really a great close up lens, but at the full 300mm it is REALLY hard to hold it steady without a tripod. And I have to say, that when I want a close up shot, the 70-300 is on my camera, and when I want to shoot a bird, the wide angle is on the camera. Now I keep thinking that the 18-200 VR lens would have been a pretty good choice afterall.
