Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G AF-S IF-ED VR Review Round-Up

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If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below. Get information and user reviews for this lens at Amazon: Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

Photo Zone

The Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR may not be the Ãœber-lens everybody was hoping for (nor was that realistic) but it is still a very good lens. At 70mm the results are nothing short of stellar and still easily on a very good level at 200mm. At 300mm there ´s a performance penalty specifically at the image borders @ f/5.6. Stopping down to f/8 helps to overcome most of the problems but unfortunately there ´s also a quite pronounced but still correctable degree of yellow/blue (lateral) CA. Distortions and vignetting are basically non-issues throughout the range. The build quality is pretty decent and about in line this Nikon’s recent medium grade zoom lenses. The AF is quite fast and almost silent and unlike most lenses in this league the front-element does not rotate during focusing nor zooming. The pricing of the lens may be relatively steep in absolute terms but price/performance-wise it remains a harmonious package. … READ FULL REVIEW

Other Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G AF-S IF-ED VR Reviews

Camera Labs

The Nikkor 70-300mm VR is a great up-market telephoto zoom for Nikon owners. It may cost almost twice the price of the DX 55-200mm VR, but is superior in every respect to this budget lens. The optical and build quality are better, the range longer, the AF slightly quicker and the VR a little more effective. … Ultimately Nikon DSLR owners are spoilt when it comes to telephoto zooms. They have two quality options to choose from without breaking the bank: the budget but surprisingly respectable DX 55-200mm VR, and the up-market 70-300mm VR which delivers improvements in all respects at an affordable price. If your budget’s tight, the DX 55-200mm VR remains a superb choice, but if you can afford to spend the extra and don’t mind the additional size and weight, the 70-300mm VR won’t disappoint. … READ FULL REVIEW

SLR Gear

This lens really surprised us. At a street price of ~$500 for a 70-300mm with VR built in, we figured Nikon would have had to cut corners someplace to hit the price point. Other than the slight softness and rather high CA from 200-300mm though, the performance of the 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom Nikkor (yeesh, that’s a mouthful) was really excellent. And build quality, AF speed and accuracy and overall handling were excellent as well. Oh – I almost forgot a minor bonus for owners of Nikon’s excellent 18-70mm kit zoom: This 70-300mm takes the same 67mm filter size as the 18-70mm, so you can use all the same front-element attachments on it. (Polarizers, ND filters, etc.) All in all, this is a really great tele zoom. “¦ READ FULL REVIEW

Pop Photo

Very impressive optical performance for a moderately priced VR lens. Particularly effective VR at 300mm (450mm equivalent on Nikon DSLRs) would make this a fine lens for nature and sports shooting. “¦ READ FULL REVIEW

Ken Rockwell

It performs better than any of the previous 70-300mm lenses. It’s great if you want a 70-300mm lens, however time marches on and I consider 70-300mm lenses obsolete in the wake of the 18-200mm VR. If you want to spend this much on a tele-only lens, I’d step up a little more and get the fully professional 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-D instead. If cost is no object and you want VR, get the 70-200mm VR or Nikon 200-400mm VR. “¦ READ FULL REVIEW

Thom Hogan

67mm filters, those of us who had 62mm sets now have to move on. The zoom ring action isn’t the silky smooth one everyone wants. Not a 300mm. Yes, it’s usable at 300mm, but this is where this lens’ performance is at its weakest in almost every respect. Slower than the 70-200mm. The difference between f/2.8 and f/5.6 at 200mm on a fast moving object in low light is noticeable by anyone. 70-200mm excellence. In this range there’s almost nothing to fault the lens on optically, especially on an APS DSLR. VR and AF-S. That’s what we missed in the original lens, and that’s what Nikon has given us in the replacement. Fits anywhere. It’ll fit nose down in even shallow bags, making it a “carry anywhere” telephoto zoom. “¦ READ FULL REVIEW

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