Nikon 70-300 mm f/4-5.6G Zoom Lens with Auto Focus for Nikon DSLR Cameras

Super happy with my purchase

Quite often people dismiss cheap lenses (under $200). While there are certainly bad lenses in this price range, there are often lenses that are surprisingly good. Many of these are Nikon's cheaper consumer lenses.I bought this lens for use on my Nikon D700 and D40 until I get around to buy a nicer telephoto, which would cost significantly more. I wasn't expecting a whole lot, but I have been pleasantly surprised with the quality of the pictures for the price. The sharpness and colors are significantly better than another Cheap lens at 70-210mm (can't remember the brand, it was an off-brand).There are a few drawbacks to this lens, of course. This lens does auto-focus on cameras with AF and G capability, but must be manually focused on cameras that do not. This includes some other 35mm SLRs as well as Nikon's newer consumer SLRs that don't contain a focusing motor. These cameras would include the D40, D40x, D60, D3000, D3100, and D5000. I own a D40 and can use this lens on it, but have to focus manually. You also can't adjust the aperture on old manual-focus cameras.There is also no image stabilization, therefore to take consistent sharp images in low light you need to use a fast shutter speed, which may not always be easy to do. This isn't the fastest lens either, starting at f/4 at 70mm and f/5.6 at 300mm. Because of both of these omissions this lens works best in good light unless you have a camera that performs well at higher-ISO settings or you have a flash that can compensate.I've also noticed that the autofocus is a bit slow, as well as loud. It's not as bad when the focus adjustments are small however, making it usually fine for tracking moving subjects, it just becomes inconvenient if for example you are tracking a soccer player and at some point accidently focus on the background and have to go back.The final drawback I noticed is there seems to be a little bit of distortion and softness as you reach 300, but it's acceptable considering the price of this lens.Overall this is a great deal. There are some conveniences and frills that are left out, as mentioned above, but considering this is only $130 I feel you can't go wrong. If you don't have a telephoto for your Nikon and considering this because you don't want to spend $500+, buy this. It's worlds better than nothing. Just keep in mind that the autofocus will not work if you have a D40/40x/60/3000/3100/5000.

Weighing in at about 15 oz., this Nikkor AF zoom lens is a lot of bang for the buck. The zoom range is 70-300mm; if you use a Nikon digital SLR like my D70, the effective range is 106-456mm due to the 1.5x crop factor. 300mm or 450mm, this is a very powerful zoom lens for relatively little money.The maximum aperture of the lens is f4 at 70mm and one stop slower at f5.6 at 300mm. These are of course slower than more expensive Nikkor's which can go to f2.8, but for that you'd be shelling out many times more money. For most outdoor daylight photos as well as well-lit portraits, this lens does the job. At f5.6 and 300mm, you'll get a nice shallow depth of field that will give you that "professional" portrait you've been looking for. Just make sure you use a tripod.This Nikkor sports excellent optics (despite not being an ED -- see below), and is a full auto-focus lens when mounted on Nikon SLRs that can do AF on G-type lenses. To switch into manual focus on one of these cameras, be sure to set the focus switch on the camera body to M (manual) first, before engaging the focus ring. Because this is *not* an AF-S (S for silence) lens, it does not have the "ultrasonic" built-in motor and is completely driven by the camera, that's why you want to set the focus mode switch on the camera to M before turning the focus ring.Because this is not an AF-S lens, it's noisy when hunting for focus. Being an economics lens, it focuses pretty fast when there's plenty of light, but in low light situations, it can "hunt" for focus for a long time. In fact, where there's little light, you'll need to half-press the shutter button several times before the lens autofocuses properly; and don't be surprised if you have to switch to manual focus. (Just remember to set the camera's focus mode to M!)Other features missing from this low-priced lens are a macro mode and low-dispersion (called ED by Nikon). Of course, it doesn't have vibration reduction, either.Oh, if you have a digital SLR, you'll get an additional benefit of using a non-DX lens on a d-SLR: because only the central part of the image from the lens actually hits the sensor, you won't have to worry about aberrations that affect the edges, esp. when using low-cost lenses. From corner to corner, side to side, your picture will be sharp.In short, for a little over $100 you are getting a genuine Nikon-designed (but made in China) lens with excellent optics, a long zoom range, fast autofocusing in bright light, and relative light weight but solid construction. On the other hand, the low, low price means you won't get macro, ED, ultrasonic focusing mechanism, or the very best optics that much more expensive Nikkor lenses have.If you have enough money, I recommend getting a high-quality zoom lens that covers the wideangle to telephoto focal lengths. My favorite is the compact and lightweight Tamron 28-300mm Di XR LD lens sold here on Amazon (although you do give up aperture speed).

So you are looking for a good lens? You want something that will take great pictures, but you don't want to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars? Well this is the lens for you! I have used several 70-200, 70-255 and 70-300 mm lenses in stores which considering them and the answer is simple: You can't beat a Nikkor lens.This lens has excellent clarity and optics. I am the director of the Nicholas Copernicus Observatory at the University of Miami and I have extensive expierence in optics. I can tell you, without a doubt, that you wont find a better lens than this for twice the price. I have only bought Nikon cameras and lenses, but I get plenty of chances to use other ones at the observatory as different people bring their equipment to learn how to use it better. No matter how many cameras I use, I still recommend Nikon above all else.I presently use this lens with a Nikon D70s camera.There is a more expensive version available, the Nikon 70-300mm f/4-5.6D AF Nikkor SLR Camera Lens, which has superior optics. I highly recomend that lens if you are a professional who needs perfect clarity on sunny days for nature photography at the 300mm length. If you are an amateur or even a semi-professional, if you use this in lower light, or if you are using the shorter length most of the time, save the $200 price difference and save it toward another lens!

I haven’t used it yet. I took it out of the box and for pre loved, it looks brand new. I can’t wait to use it!