Nikon 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR
- 5.5x Telephoto Zoom lens
- Nikon VR II Image Stabilization; Tripod Detection Mode
- HRI (High Refractive Index) Lens Element
- 2 Extra-low Dispersion (ED) Elements
- Exclusive Nikon Silent Wave Motor (SWM)
KATA Pro-Light LighTri-317PL Torso Pack DSLR Camera 2-3 Lens HDV Camcorder Kit
 | US $175.00 End Date: Wednesday Feb-22-2012 13:11:23 PST Buy It Now for only: US $175.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list |
 | US $15.96 End Date: Wednesday Feb-22-2012 13:11:26 PST Buy It Now for only: US $15.96 Buy it now | Add to watch list |
Great Addition to the DX Line-up,
First of all I’ll say that I ordered my lens as soon as Amazon had them available. I upgraded to next day shipping and got it 18 hours later – quick service. Thanks Amazon!
But now on to the real review…
This lens is fantastic – especially for $399. My first concern was whether it not it had a plastic or metal mount since some DX lenses in this price range have plastic. I even contacted Nikon and they couldn’t (or wouldn’t) tell me. Well, I was really pleased to see that it does have a metal mount. It has a nice solid feel to it. The zoom movement is smooth and I haven’t had any problem with lens creep when I’m aiming it downward. Even when I point the camera downward and shake it, it won’t creep.
I’m just beginning to get into testing it but my preliminary pictures are coming out nice – really nice. The sharpness is amazing and the lens produces a very nice bokeh. I posted the image of the dragonfly with the chicken wire background (see the customer uploads) Check out the detail in the wings. That shot says it all. It was HAND HELD and cranked all the way out to 300mm. The original image is great but a lot of the detail was lost with the upload to Amazon. But – none the less – it’s still pretty sharp. The auto focus on this lens is fast, smooth, quiet and very accurate. It locked right in on the subject. It was set on aperture priority at f/8 1/500sec for the shot that I posted here (shot with a D-90).
The VR on this lens is great. The detail I get with hand-helds just amazes me. It has Nikon’s VRII image stabilization and it even has a tripod detection mode that reduces any vibration from shutter release when it’s on a tripod.
Colors are rendered accurately and the contrast is pretty sharp even at the max aperture. The lens is compact for a 300mm and it’s lighter than my AF-S DX 18-200mm which I use as my regular walk-around. I’m sure the new 55-300 will be used as my walk around pretty frequently also.
All in all for an APS-C lens, Nikon did a great job with this one – especially for the price. It’s a welcome addition to the DX line and I’m really glad I have one in my gear bag.
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|Very good lens for the price,
Pros:
+ Excellent Image Quality
+ Solid build with metal mount
+ Significantly better in all ways than the Nikon 55-200mm VR
Cons:
- Slight long (but that’s expected for a telephoto like this)
I’ve owned (and subsequently got rid of) the Nikon 55-200mm and Sigma 18-250 OS. This lens beats them both significantly. The Sigma 18-250 OS was pretty nice when I needed to take only one lens with me, but that situation is rare.
I hardly shoot telephoto, but when I do, I’m glad I can turn to this new Nikon 55-300mm VRII lens. Low light focus hunts a little bit, but that’s expected – and it’s significantly better than the Sigma at equivalent low light.
This lens is much better than the older Nikon 55-200mm VR often sold as part of the kit. That lens feels like a toy with a plastic mount and cheap plastic feel. This lens has a much better build quality. Consequently, it’s also more expensive.
If you’re debating about the Nikon 55-200mm vs. this lens, I highly recommend you get this lens. I’ve been very happy with it.
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