The Nikon 70-300 is a god by with more pros than cans.
The AF-S Nikon 0-300mm VR is packed fullof technology, not at least the VR II syste, offering up to four stops slower shutter speeds. It also offers Silent-Wave-Motor assisted focusing to move the 17 elements quickly and quietly. As for the results, the lens is a cracker with consistent performance throughout the aperture and focal length range. For sports and wildlife fans the 70-300mm VR is essential.
Why should you care what I think?
My relationship with this item: Editor review
Conclusions at a glance
Would you recommend this Item: Undecided Pros: Build, Image quality, Useful range Cons: Clunky zoom ring, Small amount of CA, Slip in Resolution at 300mm
Last updated: Sunday, 23 December 2007
User Lens Reviews
Average user rating from: 192 user(s)
Overall rating (weighted)
4.4
Sharpness
4.4
Build Quality
4.5
AF Speed
4.4
Value for Money
4.5
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Such a great addition to my photo equipment., Tuesday, 31 August 2010
Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I bought this based on the advice of a combat photog friend of mine. He mentioned it was a great lens and it would really help me reach out and grab the stuff I really wanted to (Royals games, Airshows). Combined with my Nikon D40, it has really given me the reach I need without a huge cash outlay. Plus it's not super heavy, although it takes a Bit to get used to.
I've been using this lens for two years and thought I'd add my thoughts. While this is a plastic, consumer-construction Nikkor, the optics are great. It's light, produces great images and is a convenient size to take anywhere - this lens is very compact for a long telephoto. The big, fast pro glass is great if you need f/2.8, but for daylight shooting this lens delivers. The bokeh is surprisingly nice, too. This is one of the best values in Nikon's lens lineup.
I've used it on FX, DX and film and it generates good results in all three formats. The VR feature is perfectly matched to this type of lens, too, and works well. You'll get sharp results at all focal lengths for most reasonable shutter speeds.
The focus speed won't blow you away (it's not slow, but it's not blazing fast either), but I think Nikon got the price / performance balance here right - slightly slower focus and cheaper construction in exchange for good optics, particularly up to 200mm, and a low price.
Great lens for the money, Thursday, 05 August 2010
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
5.0
I really like this lens, aside from the fact that it's got a lot of plastic in it, it's still a very solid lens. My only real complaint is that it's not 400 or 500mm. Sharpness seems good at all focal lengths on my D700. This is really your only decent option for an "affordable" full frame 300mm zoom from Nikon. The VR technology works great too. Here's some shots of a red tailed hawk in flight that I took with this lens on a D700 last year.
Pro quality at an affordable price, Thursday, 29 July 2010
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I will make this short and sweet. This lens is good. One of the best bargains out there. On my D60, it balances sweetly and gives you the feeling of a pro. The rubber barrel of the lens is smooth during focusing and auto focus speed is relatively fast for a f/4.5 lens. The optics is near tack sharp out to 250mm which will cover your zooming range 95% or more of the time. Although not an indoor lens you can get good pics indoor but my companion to this lens is the ultra light weight and cheap 35mm f/1.8 ($199) which covers most of my indoor needs (except sports). With those two lenses you are well covered most of the time. My last purchase hopefully this xmas will be the 105 VR. In any event this lens can be had as low as $390 (fairly used or refurbished - like mine) from eBay (appologies to amazon).
I have had this lens for a couple of months now and it is by far one of my better lenses. I have shot closes up pictures of plants, insects, birds etc... I have it mounted my Nikon D90 and it is just perfect! I very recently bought a sigma 150-500mm telephoto zoom lens, and it should arrive tomorrow. I hope it will be as good as this lens maybe even better. For any average to professional photographer, I highly recommend this lens. The lens will not fit in small camera cases but in medium size cases (what i have) it fits snugly. Like i said, the Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED IF AF-S Zoom Nikkor lens is perfect for photographers average to professional.
Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED IF AF-S VR Zoom, Wednesday, 21 July 2010
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
This lens is amazing for the money. One of the best bang for the buck!!! I did a lot of research before purchasing this lens. I did a lot of searches on lens review websites and was fortunate to test a couple of lenses to narrow my decision down to a couple of options. In the end, I chose this wonderful zoom lens. I takes some great photos when paired up with the Nikon D90 camera body. I am what you would call a pro-sumer photographer, just starting to sell my work. I can't justify stepping up to the $2,500 pro bodies or $4,500 pro lenses. So if you want a excellent quality lens that can take some amazing quality photos at a reasonable price (for the photography world that is), I would recommend this lens to anyone.
Awesome Lens for the price! Get one..., Monday, 19 July 2010
Overall rating (weighted)
4.5
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
5.0
This lens is excellent. I purchased mine here on Amazon to shoot a GrandAm Daytona Prototype race where I was granted media access to all sections of the track and pits. WOW. This lens is FAST focusing and SHARP. The only drawback is that I was not used to the length and I kept smacking the lens hood into the Armco barrier. I shoot with both a D700, and a D300. Since the D300 has the 1.5x crop factor, making this lens a 105-450mm I used it, handheld to shoot 5,011 images in three days. I also used the D700 with a 28-200 mostly on the wide end for pit action such as tire changes, etc. All I can say I can't be happier with my purchase!
Buy and use this lens, you will not be sorry. I am very happy with autofocus speed and sharpness on my D90 and D50. My only gripe (personal to me because of a physical handicap) is the weight. It's a tad heavy for me, but I grin and bear it. The struggle is worth the results.
I bought this lens for use with my Nikon D200. The lens focuses very quickly and the image results are amazing. I was thinking of getting the 18-200mm, but I have an 18-70mm so I went with this lens. I have been a Nikon user for over 25 years and this lens reminds me exactly why I have so much faith in Nikon. It is fast, sharp, and produces great images. You can see some of those images on my website at [...].
CONS: For the price the the image quality is second to none. The biggest con is that I didn't buy this lens sooner. I would like to see this lens in an F/2.8 but then it would be out of most peoples price range.
OVERALL: Extremely satisfied and very glad I bought this lens. I am sure you will be, too.
I took the lens with me to Gettysburg, Lancaster and Williamsburg. I got some wonderful pictures. The autofocus work perfectly even at the highest setting 300mm. Also the VR is a must. When holding the camera and lens I was not as steady as I would have liked so with the VR the lens took care of that. I also took pictures from a moving train. They also came out good. I would recommend this lens.
I've had my new Nikon 70-300 lens for a couple weeks. I enjoy photographing people's faces at reunions and family gatherings and this lens takes fantastically clear, beautiful pictures. I'm using it with a Nikon D-700. I couldn't be happier with the results.
Great telephoto for the price. Works fine on a small format sensor. The VR works great - I use it without tripod and the pictures do not come out blurry. Obviously somewhat heavy, but that is to be expected for a telephoto of this range.
I use this lens with Nikon D5000. It compliments Nikon 18-200 VRII lens. I had initially bought 500mm lens but that turned out to be too heavy for me. So, I went with this 300mm. It's fantastic for wild life photography and is a good option if you want to get a taste of telephoto photography. It works brilliantly well with Nikon D5000. I'll post some photos soon. I think other reviewers have listed its pros and cons. What I found really good is that it does NOT have a creep problem. It takes a little more effort to zoom in/zoom out and that prevents lens creeping. As an aside, I bought it from amazon with a 67mm UV Filter, but the filter quality is rather cheap. But the service was great!
