Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED IF AF-S VR Zoom Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

The Nikon 4.3x, 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor lens is ideal for telephoto shooting opportunities. It incorporates many of Nikon's most advanced lens design attributes such as Extra Low Dispersion (ED) glass, Silent Wave Motor technology (SWM) and Enhanced Vibration Reduction (VR II), in a design engineered for use with both Nikon DX format digital and 35mm film SLR cameras. With a high-powered 70-300mm focal length range, the lens is ideal for sports, action, wildlife, travel and portrait photography, among other telephoto applications. When used on a Nikon DX format digital SLR, this lens approximates the picture angle performance of a 105-450mm lens on a 35mm SLR camera.

Technical Details :
* 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens with f/4.5-5.6 maximum aperture for Nikon digital SLR cameras.
* Vibration Reduction (VRII) minimizes effects of camera shake to produce sharper images.
* 2 Extra-Low Dispersion (ED) glass elements delivers super contrast and resolution performance.
* Internal Focus (IF) system provides fast and quiet autofocusing; 4.9-feet close focus range.
* Measures 3.1 inches in diameter and 5.6 inches long; weighs 26.3 ounces; 5-year warranty.



Beyond the lens' incredible optical versatility is the benefit of Enhanced VR II Vibration Reduction--an innovation that makes it possible to take substantially sharper handheld pictures at slower shutter speeds than would otherwise be possible. This provides the distinct advantage of being able to shoot more effectively in a much broader variety of challenging conditions. With the new Nikon VR II advantage, users can take pictures at shutter speeds as many as 4 stops slower than they ordinarily could shoot without the image degrading blur associated with camera shake at slow shutter speeds.
To further ensure outstanding optical performance, the 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor features two Extra-Low Dispersion (ED) glass elements and three complex aspherical lens elements that provide for higher resolution, high-contrast images while minimizing chromatic aberration, astigmatism and other forms of distortion. The lens also features Nikon's compact Silent Wave Motor technology (SWM), which combines fast and precise autofocusing with super-quiet operation, as well as Internal Focusing (IF) construction that allows the lens to focus without changing its external size, improving balance and handling characteristics.


382 of 396 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Very Nice Lens But it Has its Quirks, February 23, 2007
By Jeffrey Bower (Williamsport, Pennsylvania United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
After exhaustive research on many lens, I finally decided to plunk down the $500+ (at the time this was written) to purchase this lens. It may not be the best on the market but it compliments my Nikon 18-70mm DX lens nicely. I was looking towards Nikon's 18-200mm DX lens, however; the price pushed me to choose this one (as it was nearly half the price and my two lens can nearly cover all the range of the one 18-200mm).

QUALITY/WEIGHT:

build quality is cheap yet sturdy... the plastic is a little chinky but cuts down on the weight. My Nikon D200 has no problem handling the lens weight, however; I have heard (unconfirmed) reports that this lens is a little heavy for the lighter cameras (D80, D70, D40, ETC). The Ring Connector is metal and has a rubber gasket on the outside so as to provide minor protection (for the lens mount) from the elements.

You also have to keep this in mind, when discussing weight, quality & price; the bulk of the price of this lens is going into the glass elements (all 17 elements of them). It gets expensive when you place that many high-quality optics into a tube. I'm really not that surprised a the price, although $400 price-range would probably be more suitable for this lens

FOCUSING/LENS ATTRIBUTES:

Focusing can be quite fast... at times. You'll find, at the Max 300mm focal range, that the lens has a pretty hard time auto-focusing in on a subject. At times it would focus pretty quick, at the 300mm range, while at others it cannot focus at all. You can get around this quirk by bringing the subject into near focus (manually) then letting the auto-focus take over; it works every time. I find this focus problem disappointing especially given the price of this lens.

The quality of the Bokeh (Out of focus areas of the photograph) is very nice and pleasing. The images are sharp, vignetting (dark areas in the corner of your photos) is hard to find and lens flare rarely a problem.

VIBRATION STABILIZATION:

All I can say is that it works... it can come in handy. It's not going to stop the image guaranteed for you; it's only meant to slow down the rate at which the camera moves (vibration from holding). You can notice the difference; with it off you'll see that the image (at say 300mm) really bouncing around; then you flick on VR. It takes a sec or two but then the image smooths out, it still wobbles around, but much more slowly.

With VR enabled, you can usually go 2-3 (sometimes 4) stops down, then what you'd normally be able to do when hand holding.

THE "SHOCK" TEST:

I haven't "shock tested" my lens yet (IE dropped it) but I have heard (again unconfirmed reports here) that it holds up pretty well to a drop... although I would never recommend testing that out.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

The 70-300mm range should be noted: Although the lens states that it is a 70-300mm zoom, this lens was intended for a 35mm camera or full-frame CCD/CMOS sensor Digital Camera. All (or at least the majority) of Nikon's DSLR (D200, D80, ETC) are NOT Full-Frame sensors. They are approximately 1.5x factor of a full-frame sensor (due to the smaller sensor size).

What does this all mean?

Well it's simple, since this is a 35mm lens and not a DX lens (ie built to account for the 1.5x factor in most nikon digitals) you have to apply the 1.5x conversion. This means that the Nikon 70-300mm on a Nikon DSLR will give an apparent zoom equivalent to a 105-450mm lens. I actually do not mind this apparent zoom and this should also cut down on vignetting; as what the lens projects onto the sensor is larger then the area of the sensor itself. In short: parts of the image spills over the sensor, since this lens was meant to project onto a full-frame sensor/35mm film.

Pros:
- Pleasing Bokeh.
- Fast Auto-Focus(when working properly).
- Vignetting is minimal.
- Image Stabilization(VR).
- Flare is minimal.
- 1.5x factor (105-450mm) makes for nice zoom.
- Colors are very good.

CONS:
- Plastic Casing.
- Near Inability to Auto-Focus at 300mm range.
- 1.5x factor (105-450mm) might make it more zoom then you need.
- Lens could be faster (F/4 would have been nice).