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

I have seen this lens for sometime, and based on the price, I dismissed it. However, after repeatedly seeing good reviews in a certain British Nikon photo magazine, and also after seeing Brian Peterson’s latest edition of his “Creative Photography” book where he uses this lens a lot on a high res D800 series Nikon, I rethought this price equals quality mindset. I bought this lens and went out to explore a focal length range that I almost never use, basically topping out at the 120mm setting on my zoom, or at 105mm on my primes. Wow! This lens is fun. I am now seeing in narrow angles, and extracting tiny elements out of the environment that I would have not have seen or just ignored. I paid 500 dollars for this (toy), and I have been out shooting so much now with a fresh perspective. I used this lens on my full frame camera with good results, but on my DX Nikon D7200, the extra reach is even more fun. The image stabilization makes hand-holding effective in most normal lighting. I set my auto-ISO to kick up the ISO when the shutter speed hits 1/400th, and use the lens wide-open on aperture priority. I get a very high amount of technically good photos with this approach. My photography is better for my having bought this lens.

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Great lens, if you order the correct one. If you have a d3400 or d5600 or anything lower than a d7200 the auto focus wont work. For those you need the AF-S lens, not the AF lens. If you can stand manual focusing, its not much of an issue, but you will not have auto focus if you get the AF lens for the "entry level" cameras.

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Very smooth zoom. Not damaged, but I was a little upset to see that whoever packaged this didnt even bother to put even 1 of those bubble packers in there. It had a good 5-7 inches of travel from side to side in the box they chose. Even one bubble pack would have made a bid difference, but as I said It doesnt seem damaged by appearance. I will update after I actually test it. I mainly wanted the shipper to know so they could crack down on that a little. It bothers me when someone shows no interest in their job or any respect to the person who is ordering things online.

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This is an amazing lens. I like the extra reach that it gives. I would suggest using a tripod and a remote shutter when using this lens as the lens barrel, when extended, tends to throw off the balance of the camera. I tired a few techniques of tucking my arms in tight to my sides or leaning against a tree and got okay pictures, but with the tripod the pictures were great. Do note that I usually shot micro, often in nature without access to a tripod, so although I am used to steadying my shot without the tripod I am not used to the length of the barrel on this lens. The pictures here are taken with this lens on a D3300 (the slight distortion of the pictures are likely due to this entry level camera used to test the lens and not the lens itself). The red-shouldered hawk pictures were taken on a tripod using a remote shutter. The red cardinal picture was taken without a tripod. In all pictures the lens was extend to its max length, 300mm. The one close-up of the red-shouldered hawk is cropped after the pictures was taken. All other pictures were not cropped.

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I am using this lens with a Full Frame Nikon D800. Using mostly primes with very wide apertures, I was hesitant to purchase a zoom lens that didnt open as wide as Id like. However, I needed something that was going to let me be a little more rugged and play as I was going to use this for animal rescue and wildlife photography, occasionally breaking it out for portraits! I am actually REALLY surprised by this lens. I was hesitant to purchase simply because photos in other reviews were less than sharp for my picky nature. In my opinion, to use this lens to its FULL potential you need to understand photography, the triangle of exposure, what you need to do in order to stabilize the lens and how much you can push it in the lighting you are in. All of this comes with practice and play, so dont hesitate to buy this lens if you are not a professional, just understand you might have some learning curves ahead! (Which is great! YAY learning!) For the professionals out there, I do suggest having this in your bag to play around with! I think it produces quality photos, and is not a lens youd be afraid to take on a hike. It is bulky and heavy but that is okay! I wouldnt suggest it for inside photos at all without proper OCF, so I wont be taking this to do church weddings anytime soon. I bought this for outdoor photography and I am really thrilled that I did!

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Love it! Amazing pictures, great quality. Pictures are sharp and beautiful. Used on my D5200. Its a little heavy but if you ask me it adds class to the camera. I am completely satisfied.

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I have a Tamron 300-600mm that I absolutely love but it just isnt practical for some situations. I bought this Nikon lens because it is smaller,lighter, and more portable. The lens is definitely easier to pack and carry around with you but I do find that I miss that extra reach. I mostly photograph birds and 300mm in my hands just isnt enough reach to get the kind of photographs that I really want. The quality of the photos is not amazing but good enough for most uses and I did get a used copy of the lens so this could just be my particular one. All in all for most people I think this is going to be a great lens. If you do lots of wildlife or birds I think you may find that you need more reach.

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Great lens for sports, moon photography, and headshot.

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I recently graduated from a point-and-shoot to a DSLR, and am trying to learn about REAL photography. Im building a basic kit, and I added this one to the 18-55 mm. This is a great lens, for an outstanding price for a beginner. I love the crisp visuals this lens provides. Im still experimenting and learning, but this was a great addition.

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Excellent buy and like the zoom...I only gave it a 4 rating merely because I have a Nikon D3100 and I didnt see the fine print that it would not AF on my unit so it has to be manually focused. I like the convenience of AF but the lens will get used...just not as much as my other lenses.

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