Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G AF-S VR - any good? (1 Viewer)

[ikw101]

I'm looking for a lightweight zoom lens for a Nikon D50 preferably with some sort of image stabilisation. Obviously it also needs to be reasonably sharp and fast enough to pick up birds in flight. The above lens appears to be the obvious choice however I'm aware there's other lens manufacturers out there.

Has anyone got any experience of the Nikon 70-300mm VR?

If anybody knows of other options eg. third party lens manufacturer who do a fast 300mm prime lens for less than £330 I could easily ditch the vr/image stabilsation idea.

Suggestions welcome.

Many thanks

Ian

 

[Duke Leto]

Ian you could search online found a reasonable link at
http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/70-300-vr.htm
Regards

Steve

 

[OhioMoose]

I'm looking for a lightweight zoom lens for a Nikon D50 preferably with some sort of image stabilisation. Obviously it also needs to be reasonably sharp and fast enough to pick up birds in flight. The above lens appears to be the obvious choice however I'm aware there's other lens manufacturers out there.

Has anyone got any experience of the Nikon 70-300mm VR?

Many thanks

Ian

Ian:

I've been using the Nikkor 70-300 VR since November, and it seldom comes off of my D80. Image Quality is very good, and it's lightweight enough to carry around all day. The VR works great!

If I had the deeper pockets I would go for a 500mm/F4 or some other longer prime, but even with it's limitations this is a great lens for the money! Limitations are the obvious (aperture and being only 300mm), and it won't take the TC1.4 or TC1.7 extenders.

You can see a lot of comments and sample photos on the Digital Photo Review "Nikon Lens Talk" board, at http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1030

 

[ikw101]

Steve and Moose thanks for the replies. Totally agree about the 500/4 - just need my numbers to come up on the lottery!

 

[DonFrambach]

I'm clearly not on the level of Ken Rockwell but I can say from personal experience that the Nikon 70-300 VR is a great lens. For me, it is best for shooting kid soccer and field hockey games. I've used it for birding and I think it is not quite long enough. After a few outings, I purchased a used 500mm f/4 manual focus lens.

Don

 

[mybirds]

Hi Ian I use the 70-300 VR and I find it a great lens. Excellent sharpness and it is fast- not as fast as some, but very good in most circumstances. Also with an extension tube, I use the Kenko Pro ones which have all the necessary contacts to maintain AF etc. it becomes a great micro lens for insects and plants. I would agree however that for birding it's not quite long enough - a 500/f4 would be great - if you can afford it.

" I photograph what I like - If someone else likes it - that's a bonus"
Andy M.

 

[ikw101]

Don/Andy

I think for now it'll be the 70-300mm VR mainly because its light enough to carry around and quick enough to get decent flight shots. For static use eg. bird hides etc. I'll try adding the Kenko Pro 1.4X. unless of course I come across an old Nikon manual focus 500/4.

Many thanks for your replies