Nikon Nikkor 70-300mm F4.0-5.6 D-AF ED Lens

Product Rating
4.15 of 5
89 reviews

Price Range
$320 - $670

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Product Description

Summary

This lens is mostly an outdoor puppy! I have had success at all focal lengths especially in bright sun using the lenshood. Works well with f8, f11. Needs a very high speed film for indoor use or if you do not use a tripod outdoors. Closeup work can get tricky when image keeps moving. Auto focus works best when lens is aimed at clear image instead of image through trees, branches. Any movement triggers the lens to refocus so try lens in manual mode. ISO 800 film has given me best results so far even with somewhat grainy color 8x10's which I don't mind.

Strength

Very reasonable price. Sturdy build, easily stored lenshood which hides the lens extension in long zoom, renders sharp images in bright sun, lightweight, easy to store in camera bag. Will perform well when used without a tripod with very high speed films. If you use ISO 400, hand held, use fastest shutter speed you can or expect some image blur especially at 200/300mm. Circular polar filter works well though without the lenshood. You can purchase a Nikon CP lens hood to meet this challenge.

Weakness

Needs a zoom lock badly! The rubber band on zoom ring looks tacky! Also needs a tripod mount in my opinion. Static cling means you should keep a squeeze blower handy to clear particles as you shoot.

Summary

This is a very good 70 to 135 mm Zoom. But who needs that? At 200 mm the lens is bad and at 300mm it is very bad. The optical problems at the long end are low contrast, low sharpness and distortion. All tests were made on a tripod against prime lenses and the old MF 4.0/ 80-200mm Nikkor.

Strength

Nikon D measuring system, mechanics and autofocus.

Weakness

Optical quality above 135 mm

Summary

W/ 57 reviews you get the idea of what this lens is. I photographed an out door concert and the photos came out a little soft. Me or the lens? IDUNO. Most of my shots in general came out sharp for 4x6 prints. I did a test w/ this lens compared to the 80-400VR. I used slide film and took the same shots under same conditions using a tripod. I shot at 135mm & 300mm. I was not able to see if there was a difference in sharpness but a guy at the camera store said the VR lens was a little sharper. The VR was NOT on during the test. BUT w/ the naked eye we both saw a fairly bad case of barrel distortion. I am suprised only one other person noticed it & reported. Any one else notice this?

Strength

For beginners this lens its OK and will do fine.

Weakness

plastic, hood hard to get on & off and too big for lens (it needs to be a straight sided not cone shaped), soft at times, BARREL DISTORTION.

Summary

I decided to revise my evaluation of this lens because I believe I was too hard on it the first time considering its’ cost. I used this lens last year with my N80 to shoot photos to accompany news articles I write for a national magazine. This is a decent lens given the price, and so far have published images up to 5 x 8 (this is mostly due to space constraints in the section of the publication my news pieces appear). I’ve made nice 8 x 10 prints for people from this lens. Typically I used Fuji Provia 100F professional slide film when I need to faithfully record skin tones close up and Kodak 100VS when I want saturated colors on boat photos. This keeps the shutter speeds in a decent range for “freezing” action when shooting in bright sunlight. Velvia is too slow with this lens unless it’s on a tripod (many pros rate Velvia at ISO 40 and not 50 to further boost color saturation). AF speed is slow in "single" servo mode, so it is essential when shooting action to use “continuous” servo so the front elements doesn’t have to turn much when you’re ready to depress the shutter. Note price was after rebate.

Strength

Excellent color and contrast when lens hood is used (It comes with one, and I keep mine on practically all the time, especially during the middle of the day when most events I cover are held). Basic mechanical design much less expensive to repair than lenses with built-in motors (e.g., Nikon AF-S, Canon USM).

Weakness

Slow (4.0 at 70mm, 4.8 at 200mm and 5.6 at 300mm). Slow to autofocus (AF). Notable image distortion past 200 mm that becomes horrid by 300mm (it will make thin faced subjects look like they have round pumpkin heads). I don’t think this is all perspective or “stacking” distortion either but inherent in the lens. Images are noticeably soft at 300mm wide open so I try to never go much past 200mm.

Summary

This lens is a gem! I made some serious money and great pictures with it and I'm standing above the crowd who usually limit themselves to 200mm or have some nasty heavy-duty gear. This Nikkor is like a Leica. Almost no one trust in those lens when they see it attached on my camera - they think it's yet-another slow and cheap plastic lens made for -the- amateurs. But they change their mind in the moment when they see my shoots taken with this lens and see the things I pictured that they weren't able to do because of their bulky gear. I worked with a fantastic 80-200 2.8 Nikkor and yes, the final photo-quality is expected to be better, but boy those lens are -heavy- for fast action or occasions when your subject has irregular movements. Not to mention +100mm bonus range and of course - the price! Some people complained that this lens are slow, but with this price and compactness you can't have everything! I never had to go over ISO 800 to get sharp and good photographs even in the winter days in the city. When there is enough sunlight (spring/summer) I always go with ISO 100, as usual and never needed a tripod so far, for a regular work. As with any telephoto lens, you have to practice a lot in order to obtain maximum. I have to say that 90% of time I'm using it on FM3a - a fully manual camera. The photo-quality is really exceptional considering the price and compactness of this lens. Photos are very sharp with fantastic resolution/contrast from 70-200. On 300mm the resolution goes down a bit, but sharpness remains almost the same. Normally, the quality is better when stopped a little bit - I usually work with f4/5.6/8 and the things I just said are done with this in mind! I did some aquarium fish shots on 175mm/ f11-16 and the result was just perfect.

Strength

Great sharp pictures thanks to ED, compactness, price(!), can go with this lens anywhere - they are that small, built-quality, 62mm diameter, hood.

Weakness

Slow on 300mm (5.6), the barrel rotates when focusing - pay more attention when using a polarizer. IF could do the wonders here.