Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G VR Lens

A few months ago I decided I was going to try digital photography. Many years ago I had a 35mm SLR camera, but ended up not using it very much because it was so expensive to get the photographs developed. The beauty of a DSLR camera is that you can take as many photographs as you want and it doesn’t cost you any money. I asked a very good friend of mine, who is also a very good photographer, which camera to go for and he suggested the Nikon D3400. I bought the camera and it came with an 18 to 55mm VR lens.I live in the countryside in a house with a very large garden. We get a lot of wildlife in the garden and I immediately began taking photographs with my new camera. It wasn’t long before I realised that the lens fitted to my camera could not get close enough to take a decent of photograph of the majority of subjects I was wanting to capture. So I decided that I would purchase a telephoto lens. This would be the very first accessory that I bought for the camera. I made the decision to go for a Nikon lens instead of a cheaper version and I decided to opt for a 300mm focal length. I had two choices, the 55 - 300mm or the 70 - 300mm and because my first lens was 18 - 55mm, I decided to go for the first one. This meant that my lenses covered 18 to 300mm with no gap.The lens arrived from the States a few days after I bought it and inside the box as well as the lens I found, a lens cap, a bayonet end cap, a lens hood, small protective bag and a set of instructions.The lens had VR, vibration reduction; this is a mechanical feature that reduces the vibration experienced when taking photos whilst holding the camera in low light conditions or with slow shutter speeds. The VR on this lens is 2nd generation even though this is not mentioned anywhere and it works very well. See the video. As well as a switch to turn VR on or off, the lens has a selector switch for auto or manual focus.Fitting the lens to the camera is a doddle and within minutes I was taking photos of deer and squirrels away in the distance. This lens really does open up a whole new world of photo opportunities. See the video for a real demonstration of the telephoto lens in use at several focal lengths. It is possible to take good close up images, not quite macro, but still close up.One thing I found out after a few weeks is that the camera will take much better pictures if the lens cap is fitted as it reduces glare and flaring giving a much better result, less washed out with richer colours.I had issues with the focus, it was a bit hit and miss and about 50% of the pictures I took were not in focus. This was because I was using the camera in full auto with area focus selected. I had to place the camera in position A, manual with aperture priority, and swap the auto focus over to single point auto focus. Then I was able to select the centre point on the camera using the curser on the camera menu and things got considerably better. I am now finding the focusing much easier. Manual focus is a little tricky as a very small movement will take the image through focussed and out the other side so care is needed to focus. It does get better after time as you become more used to it. Also it is very easy to knock the image out of focus in auto focus mode as there is a small amount of movement on the focussing wheel and you can turn it slightly if you are not careful where you place your fingers pushing it out of focus. This is not a big issue as my hands tended to be away from the focussing ring in normaI use.I have hardly used the 18 – 55mm lens since I got this one. I am very pleased with it and so glad that I decided to go for Nikon. It is by no means perfect, but I have taken some cracking (in my opinion) photos with it and having the extra reach is a real joy. I think it was the right choice as my first accessory and would recommend it if you too are struggling to get the photos you want because the subject is too far away. I think it is good value and it is a very welcome addition to my set up.

Let me start by saying that the delivery was fast, so kudos to that.Now to the Lens, I wanted something light for my travels instead of taking my work camera Nikon D700 which is a pain to carry around the neck all day with all the other lenses I have when you want to relax, for travels instead I have a Nikon D90 with 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G and now this 55-300mm (it's very light) which is more than enough. After recieving this lens, I did some tests and got to say this big plasticky piece of glass is not to be underestimated and is a terrific performer.Despite it's build quality, it provides pretty good images at mostly all apertures and focal lengths.wide open in the center it is sharp, contrasty and soft in the corners with some vignetting and a slight loss of contrast; After f/11 it starts to get a bit soft in the center with some slight decay in contrast and in the corners vignetting is more controlled, it's a slightly softer and the loss of contrast is more noticeable. The sharpest aperture of this lens is f/8.In terms of focal lenghts this lens is a star performer from 55-200mm with almost no chromatic aberration, very sharp and good image quality overall (contrasty images), after 200mm to 300mm image quality decays a bit in terms of sharpness and contrast but it's still good and usable, chromatic aberration is slightly more noticeable at 300mm, viewing the image at 100%.Also tested the responsiveness of this lens and I'm impressed, Autofocus it's pretty fast in good light conditions and some dim light circumstances, although it has tendency to hunt for the subject when there is little light, when it finds it, snaps right into focus. Went on a casual Sunday to a football game to try further it's responsiveness in action photography and I'm amazed with the results, in good light conditions it snaps the subjects right into focus with AF-C (Continous Focusing) mode it almost no chance of hunting for the subject.Only things that makes me sad about this lens is two things:- VR Mode, I feel the absence of Normal Mode and Active Mode, it only has the switch to turn it off and on, the VR system itself is good though.- No manual focus override system (M/A - M Switch) only M - A (Manual - Automatic) Switch.Overall it comes down to this:Pros:- Sharp images from f/4.5|5.6 to f/11, being f/8 it's peak.- Crispy Images from 55-200mm with pretty good and usable images at 300mm.- Overall good optic quality for the price.- Almost no presence of Chromactic aberration from focal lenght 55-200mm.- Low chromatic aberration at 300mm that doesn't become intrusive in the image quality, only noticeable if you go pixel peeping.- VR Mode is functional and good despite not having the Normal/Active function.- Light which makes it good for travels.- Zoom/Focus ring feel sturdy despite being plastic.- Autofocus is excellent and responsive in good light conditions, it snaps right into focus on your subject.Cons:- Build quality, despite the metal mount which is ok, the plastic body may not please those who shoot under harsh conditions and look for something affordable, but then again something had to be sacrificed to be light.- Clunky Manual/Auto Focus Switch, it is annoying especially for those who have the Manual/AF switch in the camera like me, Manual Focus Override (M/A - M Switch) would be a better addition.- Lens Hood is so badly constructed with a thin layer of plastic that it feels it's going to get torn apart at any moment if something comes at it, it's still useful though.- Autofocus has tendency to go hunting for the subject in dim light conditions, it can become an annoyance for some, specially if they shoot action photography, but what to expect from a f/4.5-5.6 lens, it's still usable but don't expect it to snap right into focus in dim lights.Despite the not so good things about this lens it's still a good purchase for those who are looking for an excellent lens in terms of Price/Quality, you will not be disappointed as this lens, sure is a star performer.Sure, the Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR may offer a slight more image quality, Manual Focus Override, VR Mode with Normal/Active and slightly better AF than this lens, but unless you're planning of moving for Full-Frame later and can't afford the best performer Telezooms right away, there is no a reason for buying the more expensive 70-300mm, if you can't deal with the Cons you can spend the extra money, but if you're willing to live with the cons like I am, it's still a perfect choice for a Telephoto Lens and you won't regret it!

Now this lens has come down a bit in price, it almost an essential purchase for anyone with a Nikon D3200 Digital SLR Camera or similar.Being a genuine Nikon lens with autofocus and VR to deal with shake; you can be sure you are getting all the features that your Nikon DSLR can provide with something like this. In use it feels a bit heavier and thicker than the Nikon 55-200MM F/4-5.6 AF-S VR DX Black Lens which I have used before. But it's not too heavy and the extra zoom capacity makes it very useful for things like nature photography, where you can't get that close to the subject.This comes with comprehensive instructions, a useful hood and soft pouch for carrying - best used in a camera bag. Having tried this out, the results have been very pleasing and if there are faults, then as others have said here - most people won't notice them and this is about as good as it gets for the hobby photographer on a budget. I have added a few shots taken of fast-moving windsurfers at a fair distance away and the shots have been very clear.The lens is easy to fit and you can get shooting straight away with no problems - making any package built around a Nikon DSLR very versatile. Highly recommended.

I bought this to use with my Nikon D3200 in addition to the standard lens. I am a complete DSLR novice and spent some time before finally choosing this lens over the 200mm version. This is a well made lens, solidly built and quite heavy, but the rubberised finish means it is easily gripped and is comfortable to use. I like the fact it has the built in motor for autofocus and image stabilisation which is essential when using without a tripod.It is not a particularly fast lens, however it copes very well in low light conditions, and I took it to a concert at the NEC and was very pleased with the results I got by using an ISO of 800, f/4.5 and letting the camera select the shutter speed. I turned off the autofocus and focussed manually using live view on the camera. Not an easy feat I hasten to add, particularly when holding the camera above my head! Colours were vivid and skin tones rendered nice and natural, especially as the light was ever changing. I also took some video and these turned out particularly well, especially considering the manual focussing and zooming.So far I am really happy with the results, but I am aware I need to shot in lots of different situations to really test it out. As a complete amateur I cannot comment on the more technical aspects, but I reckon this lens is a good choice if you cannot afford to spend a lot on a faster lens, and you should get good results.

Delivery was exceptionally fast - ordered on a Wednesday evening, it arrived on Saturday morning. The lens came in its official box, worldwide warranty included. A great touch is the bag included for carrying/protecting the lens - especially helpful if you have multiple lenses and need to keep changing.As for the lens itself, it's exactly what I was looking for. I'm very new to DSLR photography, so I'm still trying to familiarise myself with all of the jargon and technical specifications, so it was a laborious decision to decide which lens to choose! I have a Nikon D3200, which came with the 18-55mm kit lens; this has its place, but I needed something with a bit more range.The best way to summarise this lens to any other beginner photographers out there who are interested in this lens is with two points:1. I wanted to have a lens with adequate zoom capabilities, in particular for nature and architecture close-ups, without breaking the bank. This lens has it. No, you can't get spectacular photographs at 500 feet away, but it has been producing some fantastic images at up to 50 feet easily. It's capable of more, but naturally some of the clarity is lost. To put it into perspective, I was able to take a photo of some deer that were easily half a mile away - with the image magnified you can make out each individual deer absolutely clearly, although the image itself at that range isn't sharp, it illustrates the range of the lens.2. I wanted a lens that would still produce sharp images, even at max focal length. This lens has it as far as I'm concerned. With auto-focus and the built in vibration reduction, I had virtually no visible camera shake in any of my images, most of which I've taken at the full 300mm. Again, the distance of the subject plays a large part in this, but with a tripod I suspect it would be able to hold its own entirely.The only downside is I have had to change lenses in the field frequently for any portrait or macro shots. But that's a problem that's only avoidable with a far more expensive lens with a greater range of focal lengths!If you're a Nikon camera owner, particularly a newcomer to DSLR, looking for a lens with decent zoom capability without compromising image quality, then this is a sound choice - especially at the price. I'm exceptionally pleased with it and recommend it highly.

Like a few other reviewers I have the 18-55mm kit lens but find its zoom capabilities rather limited. I also have the Nikkor 50mm and while it is a top class lens for portraiture it again (not surprisingly) has no zoom capabilities.So I was a little bit handicapped when it came to sports or wildlife photography. This lens plugs the gap very nicely.So like me you are probably an amateur photographer with delusions of grandeur and have been trying to work out how much more zoom do you get for your money and compared to the 18-55mm kit lens. Well you can directly compare it to a bridge/super zoom compact camera with 18x zoom. Although the quality of the image far out classes that sector.In real life terms this means you can zoom in on a rugby scrum if you're on the touch line. You can easily get that bird at the end of your garden in full frame and you can take pictures of your child at the nativity play from the back of the hall**That's after you've asked permission from the headmaster, been CRB checked, had a DNA sample taken, probed, interviewed, micro chipped and then sought written permission from 300 other parents to be allowed to take photos of your son dressed as a donkey!Like all Nikkor lenses the VR switch works well and you are going to need it if you're taking photos hand held. The lens weighs quite a bit more than the 18-55mm kit lens but not so much that it will weigh your camera bag down. Being made of plastic certainly helps to keep the weight problem under check. Yes it's mostly plastic but its of a good quality and will take the odd knock and bump well.Quality of the image/ picture quality is excellent. If you want geeky in-depth reviews about it there are lots of nerdy charts and graphs on drop off, Dof etc on line. Lets just put it in amateur terms......its good! It takes nice photos with little to no distortion. A couple of reviews state that it is poor in bad light. I haven't found this to be true. If your camera is set to the right light conditions it copes as well in poor light as any of the others I have.Don't forget to order a UV filter cover for it. Better to scratch a cheap UV filter than this expensive lens!

Ordered this at a great price well below others on Amazon and so was expecting the price to reflect the condition. But received the lens and genuinely thought i had received a brand new one. Excellent quality, no dust under the glass, no cosmetic marks or damage and came with cleaning pack, cap and lens pouch. Tested yesterday and everything seems to work as it should. Very happy customer, thank you.

An excellent starter telephoto lens. This lens gives the field of view of an ~83 to 450mm that would be used on a FX DSLR or an older 35mm SLR.From 55-200mm this lens produces very sharp results when wide open, and even better when stopped down to F8, past this the photos become soft the smaller the aperture, although this is down to physics and can be seen with any lens on a DX camera.At 300mm wide open the images tend to be soft, at this end of the focal range stepping down is essential if you intend to crop the results, I personally find F8 to be the best, although in some cases stepping down even further (although never higher than F11) can produce sharper images.This lens comes equipped with Vibration Reduction, or VR. This feature allows you to use slower shutter speeds than normal in exchange for draining your battery a little quicker when focusing or capturing the photo. At the longest focal length this can be an almost essential feature here on a cloudy day where pushing your ISO up any higher will result in grainy images. Nikon claims that it can give upto 4 stops, meaning at 300mm you can go down to 1/30 and still produce sharp results, although it is not guaranteed so shoot in bursts and more often than not you'll get a clean shot. The VR is also useful when using fast shutter speeds as with lenses this long and this light it can be difficult to keep it steady enough and you end up with a shaky view finder and less than optimal shots. The VR in this lens, with some good technique, can keep your center focus point locked onto a starling from over 20 meters away!This lens suffers from moderate pincushion distortion after around 100mm, although this is easily corrected by the camera or in post if shooting RAW. I personally have never considered the distortion to be detract from my photos, at any focal length.One important aspect of any lens is the bokeh, the quality of the out of focus areas. This bokeh this lens produces is very pleasing and easy to produce at longer focal lengths (an aspect of all telephotos), although bokeh quality is entirely subjective.

ottimo rapporto qualità/prezzo (qui su amazon... nei negozi a 400 euro è un pò caruccia...)ovviamente è valida solo per il formato dx.. non è particolarmente luminosa (da non usare di notte) ma fa il suo sporco lavoro e con la luce lo fa anche bene... stabilizzatore molto buono (ho fatto foto sportive in uno stadio di calcio e, limitando un pò le vibrazioni della mano, ho fatto foto molto ferme anche con tempi non eccezionalmente corti a 300mm... se vi trema la mano però il vr non può più di tanto...)è un'ottica pesantuccia e ingombrante, non è da portare in giro per fare le foto della domenica o di un viaggetto spensieratofastidioso è che quando lo spegnete rimane la lente del focus un pò aperta (per chiuderla dovete mettere in manuale e richiuderla... ad oggi non credo ci siano altre soluzioni)... capita praticamente sempreper queste piccole scomodità, oltre al 35mm 1.8 che ho già, penso che le affiancherò il tamron 18-200 per fare le foto "spensierate" di situazioni normali, utilizzando questo 55-300 per le foto più ragionate (e nelle quali mi porterei appresso tutta l'attrezzatura, treppiedi compreso)

Das Objektiv wird bei mir an einer Nikon D3100 eingesetzt. Nach schneller Lieferung bisher über 1000 Bilder mit SEHR gutem Ergebnis gemacht. Bei wenig Licht in Innenräumen am Tag reagiert der AF abhängig von der Entfernung etwas langsamer, aber damit hatte ich bei den Lichtwerten des Objektivs gerechnet und daher will ich es auch nicht negativ bewerten - hier setzte ich mein Nikon 18-105 VR ein, da es mehr Lichtstärke hat. Der Hauptgrund für den Kauf war für mich die Zoom-Möglichkeiten, da ich mit meinem 18-105 doch sehr oft an die Grenze gekommen bin. Hauptsächlich wird die Kamera bei mir für Pferdesportaufnahmen auf Turnieren (Hobbyknipser) verwendet und hier bin ich von dem Nikon 55-300 absolut begeistert. Bei normalem Tageslicht sind die Aufnahmen absolut scharf, der AF reagiert superschnell und die Fotos bei Bewegungen wirken fast eingefroren mit einem unglaublichen Bokeh. Jetzt ist ein Pferd natürlich kein F1-Renner was die Geschwindigkeit betrifft - hier hab ich jetzt zu anderen Objektiven keine Vergleichsmöglichkeit, brauch ich aber auch nicht. Durch den großen Zoombereich sind hier auch gestochen scharfe Bilder auf weite Entfernung auch nur vom Gesicht des Reiters in Bewegung mit einem schönen Bokeh-Hintergrund möglich - das hat mich und alle die die Bilder gesehen haben begeistert - damit hatte ich aufgrund einiger negativer Bewertungen zu Sportaufnahmen - speziell bezogen auf den AF - nicht gerechnet. Die Entscheidung für das Nikon 55-300 und gegen das Tamron 70-300 (welches ich vorher getestet hatte) waren einmal die Größe / Gewicht, der etwas "nervöse" AF des Tamron (Pumpt gefühlt viel mehr vor dem scharfstellen) und die Anfangsbrennweite von 70. Der Unterschied gerade in der Anfangsbrennweite von 70 zu 55 ist in der Praxis sehr deutlich spürbar - das sind doch ein paar Meter, die ich weiter zurückgehen muss. Daher finde ich die Ergänzung zu meinem 18-105 optimal bzw. kann es sehr oft als "immerdrauf" ohne wechseln müssen verwenden. Auch scheint der VRII beim 55-300 im Vergleich zum VRI beim 18-105 einiges besser zu arbeiten - es ist freihand problemlos möglich scharfe Bilder auch bei vollem Zomm ohne Verwackler zu schießen. Auch bei Serienbildern zieht der AF super mit, bisher noch keine unscharfen Bilder. Wie sich das Objektiv bei anderen Kameras verhält, kann ich nicht beurteilen - in Verbindung mit der D3100 funktioniert es super. Scheinbar gibt es aber mehrere Versionen des Objektivs - bei mir dreht sich die Frontlinse NICHT mit - der Tubus fährt beim Zoomen ohne drehen heraus. Von meiner Seite kann ich nur sagen: Ganz klare Kaufempfehlung - zu einem super Preis (bei mir neu knapp 230,--)

Je n'avais pas de zoom au delà de 105mm et après avoir essayé un Nikon 70-300 d'occasion qui me semblait défectueux (beaucoup de flou à 300mm), je me suis décidé à prendre ce 55-300 beaucoup moins cher.Après 2 jours de tests, j'avoue que je suis très agréablement surpris par le piqué de cet objectif. Toute la plage s'en tire très bien lorsque la lumière est bonne, quand elle diminue, l'image se ramolli surtout dans les 300mm, on peut compenser la perte de vitesse en augmentant les ISO mais il n'y aura pas de miracle. Le VR est là et aide bien quand même.Je pense que c'est un bon zoom complémentaire à mon Nikon 17-55mm f2.8 mais pour des photos d'après midi en plein soleil, c'est là qu'il fait bien son boulot. Après si vous voulez travailler dans les faibles lumières il faut l'oublier et passer sur du 70-200 f2.8 mais le prix c'est x10 chez Nikon.Il est super léger donc pratique, la fabrication est Chinoise dans la même catégorie que le 18-105mm, c'est en plastique et caoutchouc mais ça reste correct. J'ai bien aimé trouver le joint anti-poussière sur la bague de fixation qui évitera des misères au capteur.Quelques points "négatifs" : le pare soleil fait vraiment camelote, la bague de mise au point tourne en avançant ce qui rendra l'utilisation d'un filtre polarisant assez difficile.Je le recommande pour ceux qui voudrais un zoom pour aller au zoo, ou au bord de mer un après midi d'été. Faites vous plaisir pour ce prix.

Buen tele zoom para aficionados con magnifica relación calidad-precio. Opticamente cumple bien dentro de su gama. Precio muy bueno. El estabilizador funciona perfectamente y te permite disparar a pulso con velocidades bajas. No es un objetivo para profesionales pero resulta ideal para aficionados. Opino que es una buena compra por su precio.

I was on the fence about buying this lens or saving up a little more for the 70-300 Nikon lens for my D5100. I decided to go with this one as it was about $125 cheaper at the time (comparing refurbished models of both), and read that the main difference between the two was the faster AF mechanism in the 70-300, the fx compatibility, and the Manual/Auto switch of the 70-300 which allows manual focus without having to switch the autofocus off. The image quality of both seemed to be relatively equal according to many reviews, so I took the plunge.I was mostly concerned about the focus speed, but it was much better than I anticipated. The only time the focus took a long time was if it tried to focus in the 'wrong' direction and then had to move all the way back the other direction. This often happened in low light or if the lens was zoomed in all the way while trying to focus. This is easily fixable if you zoom out first, focus quickly, and then zoom in and focus again. Other than that, I didn't notice much difference in focusing speed than the 18-55 kit lens. I'm sure the 70-300 is faster, but for my needs this was acceptable. Don't expect fast AF-C focusing on fast moving subjects, though.The VR on this lens is fantastic. I'm glad I didn't go for one of the cheaper Tamron or Sigma zoom lenses that did not have any kind of vibration reduction. I never noticed how it worked with the kit lens, but when you are zoomed in at 300, it is clearly evident. If you are fully zoomed in without VR, you can try to keep the camera steady as possible, but it will still be shaky. With VR kicked in, pushing the shutter button halfway will magically steady your image in the viewfinder. It's similar to those FPS games that let you hold your breath when looking through a sniper rifle. I don't know how it works, but it's amazing, and lets you take sharp handheld shots zoomed all the way in.This lens is mainly for outdoor shooting with lots of light. Low light is difficult, but nothing a flash can't solve. However, using a flash will limit your max shutter speed to 1/200's of a second, and if you are zoomed all the way in handheld it is best to try to keep a shutter speed of 1/400 or faster. As a result, you'll have to be extra steady when using the flash if you are zoomed all the way in.All in all, I'm extremely satisfied with this lens. Pictures are extremely sharp at all zoom levels, Bokeh is great, and it's very easy to isolate your subject from the background. If faster AF is important to you and you don't mind the extra cost, go for the 70-300. If you are on a budget and want a good quality zoom lens, this is the perfect option.