Nikon AF 70-300/4 – So far, so good

A high quality zoom lens, which works with all nikon f-mount cameras (digital or film slrs), both dx and full-frame. This is definitely the zoom lens to get if you already have an 18-135 kit lens, especially as the filter size is the same 67mm and the extra 165mm makes all the difference if you like shooting from a distance and cannot get any nearer (e. From one side of a lake to the middle). Yes, the lens is heavy, but it has a metal mount. It also has a lovely smooth zoom and a manual autofocus automatic override that does not require a switch. Worked flawlessly 1st time with my d80. In conjunction with a 35mm prime, i’ve found that i’m no longer needing my kit lens.

This lens, equipped with the the vibration reduction system, is great for outdoor photography. The alternative, better no doubt, would be the same reference but with a range of 18-300, which would cover everything from landscape to bird in the sky but at twice the price. Contrary to my previous camera, i can make camera-shake free photographs at maximum range, deer half a mile off come over clear. Birds in flight can be got too but i think i have to study the autofocus settings a bit more in depth to get the best combination, the system itself seems to be fast enough to co cope with birds winging past. Camera (nikon d7000) has a lot of possibilities, it will take time to go through them all.

I was exceedingly lucky to pick up one of these lenses for an incredibly cheap price from a re-seller specialising in liquidated stock. But would have willingly paid the full price. This is an immense lens, my pictures are so sharp thanks to the incredible nikon vr image stabilisation system. If you are looking at the 55-300, this is a far superior product and well worth the extra pennies. The only downside is that it is rather heavy, but it is a price worth paying.

Heavy but image quality is good.

First the bad points: the construction of this lens is lightweight plastic, it feels cheap, it drops down to f5 or below fairly rapidly as you zoom in, and being a nikon ‘g’ series lens it has no aperture ring so you can’t use it on a trusty old manual camera. But for £75 what do you expect?then the good. Other reviewers say that it is not sharp, or is ‘soft’, but looking at the shots i have just taken on my 10 megapixel d200, at between 70mm and 200mm focal lengths, blown up to 100% magnification on the screen i have absolutely no complaints, as it is pin sharp to my eyes; and the images are good and contrasty too. On a moderately bright over-cast day i set the camera to iso 200 and let it worry about exposure, which resulted in shutter speeds between 1/150th and 1/320th and apertures from about f6 to f9 as the clouds came and went. Hand-held results were very slightly blurred at the longer focal length/slower speed end of the range, but otherwise the fact that its maximum aperture is f4-5. 6 proved not to be a problem at all. Other reviewers have criticised its auto-focus speed. Yes, if it is currently set at 5 feet and you point it at something 300 feet away then it takes a little while to get there; but if it is more or less at the right distance already it snaps into focus faster than i can blink. Also, unlike some af lenses, the focus ring turns through quite a large arc so focusing it manually is easy. It starts to get a bit tricky to use hand-held in the 200mm to 300m range, partly because the zoom barrel extends such a long way and partly because it is so light-weight; but that is not a criticism of the lens, rather a fact of life – if you want to use a long lens you need to use a tripod, or to shell out 5x as much money for a vibration reduction (vr) version.

I am a retired optical instrument designer, and have been an amateur photographer for more than 50 years. I bought this lens to complement a nikkor af-s 18-200mm on a d7000 body. A careful test (foliage at 50 yards in bright sunshine, iso 100 to minimize shake, on a heavy tripod) shows this lens to have higher resolving power at all focal lengths between 200mm and 300mm and from f/5. 6 to f/11 than the 18-200mm lens: exactly what i was hoping for on reading the spec. The lens will not win you any substantial prizes in a wildlife/ bird photography competition (probably no telephoto lens costing less than £1,000 will these days) but for most amateur photography, (landscape or portrait) it’s as good as (probably better than) you need. At the price it is all that i’d hoped for.

This is what you pay your money for – excellence and value. ( i have seen it said that ‘ a nikon lens is an investment’ and i can well believe it.The lens has necessary heft but not overwhelming so, the camera is nicely balanced with it. The auto focus is excellent and the vr is unbelievable.

I purchased this lens mainly for the purpose of wild life photography as the range it covers is exactly what i need for this type of work. There is nothing negative that i can say about this lens as it performs superbly well in every respect.

I had one of these lenses over two years ago, but did not get on with it very well so sold it. I was going to the usa and wanted a long lens but did not want to take a 300 mm prime because of the weight, so bought another nikon af-s vr 70-300 f4. I have been very pleasantly supprised by this new lens. To see results check out lawie2012 on flickr especially the bar-d chuckwagon band photos in durango colorado.

I had earmarked a 70-200 f/2. 8 on my d800, but since telephoto is not what i do most, the cost and weigh of the f/2. You know, there’s nothing heavier in your kit bag than things you don’t use much. So i decided to try this one, and if i didn’t like it i’d sell it on ebay and it would have cost me little. Ok, when pixel-peeping at 1:1 images on the screen i’ll admit it’s not as sharp as the 24-70, but that’s equal to looking at a 4×6 foot enlargement from a foot away. For realistic use, this lens delivers more than adequate sharpness in a manageable package. I’m glad i chose to give it a try, and although technically it may only deserve 4 stars, i give it 5 when factoring in its size and price.

Fantastic lens for the ‘prosumer’ market. Having traded up from a basic nikkor kit lens you can instantly see the difference in the results. If your budget doesn’t stretch the the four figure professional f2. 8 zooms, this is the telephoto lens for you. The lens offers a very nice bokeh and 2 levels of vibration control which work very well. Focus is very quick and razor sharp. Note on todo todo – very good supplier, kit delivered was full uk spec as promised and not a grey import as might be guessed from the low price.

My first zoom lens and i’m really happy with it. I’m not an expert photographer but i think the results i’ve got are thanks to the quality of the lens.

This is a solidly built lens that handles well on my d300s and autofocuses swiftly and accurately. As a club photographer i find the image quality is everything i need. Dedicated natural history photographers would probably prefer a prime lens,but this one’s great for the price. Here are the specifications for the Nikon AF 70-300/4:

• Make sure this fits
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• Compact and lightweight 4.3x zoom lens
• Perfect for candids, portraits, travel and sports photography
• Nikon optics provide great picture quality
• 4.9 (1.5m) minimum focusing distance allows you to achieve stunning close-ups at all focal lengths
• Not compatible with D40/D40x/D60/D5000

This fx lens is very good value, providing an effective 450mm focal length on a dx (aps-c) camera body, i use this lens on d40 and d3200 bodies. Despite the seller suggesting this lens is not compatible with the d40 (and not listed but for the same reason the d3x00 series and d5100), the only incompatibility is the lack of the autofocus drive in these bodies, which is resolved by manual focusing. Both bodies have a focus indicator in the viewfinder which illuminates on achieving focus and both will meter as normal. Provided the subject is static or slow moving and in bright light, manual focus really isn’t a problem, although camera shake may well be, ramp up the iso to keep the shutter speed up if necessary. As light reduces, a tripod becomes essential to retain sharp images. Provided you aren’t shooting fast moving targets or sports activities, this lens is just fine. Otherwise, if you really need autofocus on the more recent entry level models, you will have to buy an af-s version of this lens with an inbuilt focus motor at over three times the price. When i am able to upgrade to a d7000 or to a full frame body, autofocus will become available as these have a focus motor in the body.

Love it since the first minute.

It took this on holiday to italy and switzerland recently, and it was worth its considerable weight. It works best outdoors at medium distances, capturing details of crowds, events and buildings, but also it is pretty good at portraits – it has to be far enough away from the subject, which tends to make sitters less self-conscious, i think. My best outdoor results, using a nikon d3200 body, are with a hoya pro1 digital circular polarising filter and for indoor portraits, a tiffen pro-mist. The red jaguar: focal length 240 mm, f9 at 200s, hand held, on a moving ferry boatthe crowd shot: focal length155 mm, f4.

Spent quite a while considering the 70-300 options, came to the conclusion that even if the nikon did not meet my expectations, i would be able to sell it on. Its good upto 200, passable at 250, but falls off quickly beyond that. Needs good light like all slow zooms. Being so used to my nikon 24-70 2. 8, i’ve been spoilt by its versatility and quality. Might sound that i am not being fair to nikon’s 70-300. But its just about right for its price. May 18th, 2011, i have really got to appreciate this lens now. Far better than i first thought. Glad i bought it when i did.

Good lens but it is so heavy that i rarely take it out.

In my opinion this is semi-pro level of photography. The pictures of my nikon af-s 70-300 vr are sharp, sharp, sharp. I use d7000 with it and i am very satisfied. Even on 300 settings it is sharp. The built quality is decent.

Reviews from purchasers :

• A Superb Lens !!

• You get what you pay for.

• Very happy with this

This purchase was for my daughter who wanted to up date from a pocket size camera to a dslr to record the progress and changes in our new grand-daughter, i bought her a d3200 , for her birthday, i am a very keen amateur photographer myself and have just upgraded my seven year old d700 to a d810 and already have one of these lenses, my daughter thought she would like one, so i lent her mine to try, after a very short time she said she would like to have one of her own, hence this purchase, as a new one would cost more than the camera, and she was paying this time i suggested a good used one. My one was new when i bought it and still looks like new today after seven or so years of careful use. The only piece of equipment i have purchased used was a nikon sb 900 flash gun, which was all complete in its original box and in like new condition. I suggested we look carefully, and for one complete with all parts both lens caps, lens hood, and pouch type case all in its original box, i feel that someone that has kept the box has more likely treated the lens carefully. The lens arrived and i tried it on my d810 it looked as good as my own one and performed perfectly, my daughter is very happy with this purchase. Now i must review this lens, before i started i decided to look at the existing reviews already written. I found it unbelievable of some reviews, particularly the person who had returned the lens claiming the rear lens cap was stuck, i presume it was fitted with a pattern cap rather than an original nikon one, as my one is marked with an arrow and the word ‘ open ‘ in the clockwise direction, yes it is left hand thread bayonet. There is many more i could comment on but it would make this too long. The 70-300 is a superb lens i have had a lot of use from mine, the quality of prints from it are excellent and i frequently print at a3, i am an aircraft enthusiast and have taken some superb shots at air shows, of spitfires, hurricanes and mustangs, i must admit photographing, ‘the red arrows’ is a little more challenging, but i have worked out a focusing technique which gives me around 90% success. The auto focus locks quickly and quietly but i do not use auto for’ the reds’, i will comment on another review, which annoyed me slightly, this person said that taking pictures of small birds in flight or birds perching a good distance away the lens was useless this is not the fault of the lens, he should have gone for at least a 500mm or got closer.

Nikon seem to have the knack of building over-performing budget lenses sometimes, and this one is a real gem. It’s surprisingly sharp (within reason and sensible aperture bounds). It focussed quietly and surprisingly quickly, and handles nicely. It’s a really good partner with the nikon af-s dx nikkor 16-85mm f/3. 6g ed vr lens, which will give you decent coverage from 16mm up to 300 in just two lenses- without too many quality sacrifices. This is a really solid lens, and amazon’s price just happened to be competitive, so it was a no-brainer. Very happy with it- on an aps-c sensor, that 300mm is somewhere around 400+mm, so it’s actually a good entry level wildlife lens, if you use it with a monopod or similar. No hesitation over the five stars, here.

I bought this lens to fit a nikon d90 camera. It is heavy, especially on the camera, but the inbuilt stabilisation works really well and i have achieved excelent photos with it. I use a monopod when possible to accommodate the weight, but handheld photos work well too. My 67mm polarising filter fits this lens.

Just what i expected and wanted, again as with other nikon products this is great and gives stunning results. For the price this is a nice bit of glass, and with the vr plus active / normal you can shoot hand held at quite low speeds. Am i happy with this, i sure am.

Well, what can i say about this lens other than, for the money, it really is great. There is no vr, but the cheapest i have found this lens with vr was at the time £450. Just keep your finger on that trigger and you’ll get atleast 1 crisp shot. Great product and a cracking purchase.

I bought this lens to ‘complete’ my lens range collection. It is light enough to use as a walk around lens, takes clear shots (on nikon d5300 and d7100), no distortion, chromatic aberration, very quick autofocus, very ‘user friendly’. Thanks nikon and excellent service from the seller and amazon.

Very impressed with this lens purchased 2nd hand from amazon marketplace, using on d750 clear sharp images, great range, fast focus and great image stabilisation paid £249 so for the price its unbeatable.

The description was way off, ‘used but good’ it looks new to me. Came on time and in the original packaging. I have a d3400 and contrary to previous answers the autofocus works perfectly. In fact much quicker than i expected. It’s a g range lens, no aperture ring meaning autofocus works to pick this up for £215 was a steal.

This is a surprisingly good lens not only for the price the optics are good, well on lens i have. I have several lenses some are vintage legacy lenses i. Zeiss, schneider and modern lenses. I have experience with the use of fine optics this lens really cannot compare directly with such but it does hold its own. If you require the need for fast focus and or low light, this lens is not for you. If you take your time with reasonable light a little like the old days of film and a steady hand with the correct techniques you will get a result that is good in some cases very good.

Excellent lens upgraded from a 55-300mm which was a nice lens but slow to focus the 70-300mm is a lot faster and great for flight shots you can get better for more than twice the price of this one.

Note that i am a crass amateur with my d70, but i do appreciate well made equipment. This lens is, quite simply, smooth, swift, quiet. I cannot compare its performance with other makes such as tamron because i never had the option of trying them out from a convenient selection – i would expect to be chased away from any camera shop where i would have requested they lay out their zoom lens stock for me to spend an hour unwrapping and practising.If you’re considering a cheaper make, then take the trouble to gain momentary practise with different makes – perhaps at a camera shop when it’s not busy.

Good quality lens with a great zoom, at this price point it’s outstanding. Was used with a intro level dslr, d3100, so i was unable to test the auto focus feature. The manual focus was smooth and i was able to take great quality photos of moving subjects playing sport. I would highly recommend this lens to entry level photographers.

The lens itself is fantastic, arrived on time, good price for such a lens. However, when i received the lens the packaging including the box and inside packaging were a state. Very lucky the lens wasn’t damaged. Would recommend a different mode of delivery.

I haven’t got the experience to rate this lens from a professional photographers eye, but for me, what it does is extremely good and for the money it is an absolute steal. Like all moderately priced big zooms i can confirm what other reviewers have said about the drop off in sharpness at the extreme end, but seriously, what do you expect for a lens aimed at and priced at the keen amateur end of the market?. Because i’m especially keen on wildlife and candid people shots i tend to leave the lens on the camera all the time and switch to my lesser used 18-105mm for everything else. It is extremely heavy and feels very solid. Coupled with the weight of my d7000 i could never forget i’m carrying it. Only once have i missed a shot when the camera would not autofocus on a fairly dull day as a spitfire passed on its way to an air show. The grey body against the grey sky with rubbish light was a little too much for it and i couldn’t fire one shot off. That minor disappointment aside, it is a great piece of glass. 8 hole) will set you back a thousand pounds and more and i really can’t justify that kind of outlay for what i do with a camera.

Having long since ceased to use my old af nikkor 70-300mm 4. 6d ed because of dissatisfaction with picture quality i fairly recently bought the excellent sf-s 18-200mm 3. 6 vr dx lens, from amazon which has become my general workhorse. 3 has been my ‘birdwatching’ tool for some time but with poor results at full stretch. The nikon vr lenses do offer a lot more scope for hand held shots and i first considered the 80-400mm lens but with reports of slow af and a price of £1,100 plus i eventually went for the 70-300mm, much cheaper, lens with the hope that the sacrifice of 100mm could be made up by a bit of digital processing.(when taking wild bird pictures the focal length never seems long enough)at less than £400 at amazon the consistent ‘good’ quality, fast focus and vr convenience this proves to be value for money and one of the better performance/ price medium telephotos on the market. My trial day, with a nikon d300, at an equestrian event was very satisfying. In a large arena the full 300mm range was often necessary and by stopping down a couple of levels the results were crisp and sharp. I have noticed some quality fall off from 200mm upwards. Subjectively, the overall performance is not quite as good as the 18-200mm vr, which will still remain attached to my camera most of the time. However, unless you are prepared to spend several £,000 for the top quality nikon zooms this lens should satisfy most keen amateurs and semi-prosrecommended.

Always been a bit sceptical when buying second hand of off the net. Checked out the reviews of this company and seemed to be quite good, with a lot giving five stars. The item i purchased was a nikon af-s vr 70-300 f/4. Arrived one day earlier then informed of and in good solid packaging. Item was as described with all other items, lens hood etc included. I gave it a 100% close check over and i mean close. Lens body and barrel was as new with no physcical signs of wear or damage. However upon close examination of the front lens element, i did notice a very small scratch close to the edge. I attached the lens to my camera and it functioned perfectly. Took several pictures and then examined these using photoshop 11. Was unable to notice the scratch. Weather was overcast though, so will take some more in brighter weather and again examin them.

Got it a few weeks ago, haven’t really put it through its paces yet. However, first impressions are very good. It gets me much closer to the action when looking to photograph wildlife and that’s the main reason i bought it. It isn’t super sharp towards the longer end of its range, however, i wasn’t shooting in great light, didn’t use a tripod etc. Anyway, i was aware of its limitations before i bought it and the deal i got on amazon was too good to pass up. Looking forward to some nice sunny days when i can take it out and really see what it is capable of.

Although rated 5 star, i had a major problem with the fact that there was no warranty in the box. I always keep all the packaging. Nikon themselves were very unhelpful and blamed it on the seller. My opinion is that it is not the sellers responsibility to open every package to check if a warranty is inside. On top of this nikon insisted on seeing the warranty before allowing their cashback offer. The seller on the other hand has been brilliant and has paid the cashback offer instead. So a brilliant seller, fantastic lens but very poor service from nikon.

Good value for a decent lens. Probably don’t use it as much as i thought but it’s useful to have. Gives me a 450mm lens on my crop sensor. Good value overall for this type of lens.

Bought this on a ‘b friday deal’, as i wanted to expand my limited photo shots (i had only the 18-55 which is supplied with the camera) and boy. As all other reviews stated 4/5 stars, i’ve got to agree , only thing is maybe the 200 lens might be more practical ( for me )as this is a big lens and as yet i am not too interested in wildlife shots , though that said it is the only extra lens i will ever need as i am an amateur , and i mean amateur.

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So far, so good

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