Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED Vibration Reduction Zoom Lens with Auto Focus for Nikon DSLR Cameras

This has been a good purchase. I have used this a lot for my nephew and nieces soccer games.I wish the f stop was smaller, but at this price, I knew not to expect too much. I did use this in very low light environment with a spot light, and after tweaking the ISO, I was able to get a few really good shots. I think that is really the only time I use this lens, I am still in love with my 35 mm prime. For the price and the functionality of capturing our kids little league game, I would recommend this lens. Actually, probably would not recommend it for basketball or other indoor sports. Update: It has been more than a year with this lens. I will still give it four stars and I am still happy with my purchase. The update I want to add to my original review has to do with ISO. When the soccer games go into dusk and evening light, despite the soccer fields having bright lights, the camera and lens bump the ISO setting past the 2,000 mark. I try my best to keep my ISO at 100, so anything over 1,250 I start bugging. This lens has done a pleasantly good job at capturing kids high school level soccer and volleyball. And when the photos are seen on digital devices the high ISO is not really noticeable. I think I see it more, because I am looking at those numbers and just fixate on them. I understand that is a hang-up of mine, but wanted to share in hopes this review-update will help.

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This is an excellent zoom lens for the budget DX cameras. The lens is adequate in focusing speed (not slow, but not blazing, it hunts a bit). The Lens of course as a bit of trouble on lowlight but in decent light, the lens is very good. Another small weakness for this lens is that it does not focus close to the target (minimum of 3 meters or so ). Pair this lens with your 18-55 kit and you will have almost the entire range covered. To resume: THE GOOD: Decent focusing speed. Good image quality. Price The Bad: Limited Focus range to 3 or more meters (not a Macro lens) Has a lot of Focus breath (focus too close and you lose around 40% of the zoom range)

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I purchased this lens for my wife as a Christmas present on Nov.16,2012 and after she opened it I decided to register the lens for the extended 4 yr. warranty which was included. I am dismayed and shocked that the paper work explicitly states several times that the warranty is invalid if the product is not registered within 10 days of purchase. This seems like some sort of scam that Nikon is using to weasel out of honoring the offered warranty. It remains to be seen if Nikon will stand behind this offer or not but I am very unhappy that the registration period is so short. So be warned, if the extended warranty is important to you, make sure you register as soon as you receive the lens. UPDATE--to Nikons credit, I received a prompt reply to my email questioning whether they would honor the extended warranty--message follows-- "Thank you for contacting Nikon. I do apologize for any inconvenience. Our Nikkor lenses comes with an additional 4 year warranty. In order to receive the additional 4 year warranty, you must register the lens as well as maintain the proof of purchase if any issues occur with the lens. Since it was a gift, if any issues occur and you need to send your camera to our service center, we recommend you state that in a brief description." no mention of the 10 day requirement here so why put it in the official paperwork? I guess we will see in a few years. Later update---ended up returning this lens anyway--my wife was not happy with its performance and I was not happy with Nikons wishy washy reply to my complaint.

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I happen to get this lens for x-mas deal, which is hundred buck less than regular price. Other zoom lens I have is 18-105mm, though there is overlap, I happen to get this primarily for sport shots. Pros: long zoom and good colors Works best/sharp from f8 to f11 Can be used as walk around lens for day time/good lighting conditions good value for price. smooth backgrounds Cons: bit slow focus compared other nikon zooms, can be compensated with high iso or good lighting conditions. You need to stay few feets from subject to get the lens work. May not be good idea for indoor shots. This is great zoom lens for the price, if you need bit faster focus go for 70-300 VR version. Other than that, its great lens, if you already have 18-55, add this lens to complete your zoom. Update 24th Sep 15: I have been using this on Nikon 610 full frame camera for my kids sport photography. Thought it is bit challenging. It does give good photos. Lack of enough speed really show up with teenage kid games. Unless we keep the shutter around 700, it hard to get better picture. But it does impact the image at high zoom, since minimum focal length goes up. If you have elementary school age kids this is good enough for lens for their sports and portraits. Teenagers move faster than them, you need to look for constant focal lens.

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My sincere apologies to Nikon for my previous negative review. After researching the problem further, I determined that the cpl that I keep on the lens (and all my lenses) was the culprit.............Ive never had a lens filter cause this problem before. So after purchasing the "used, in excellent condition" lens, I immediately blamed the lens and myself for not spending more and buying a new one. The cpl was an Amazon Basics which has an excellent track record from many, many users like me. Amazon has refunded my purchase of the cpl in full even though the return date has expired. How is that for customer service??? The lens is after all a very exceptable zoom lens for the money.................Ill keep it and use it a lot, mostly for distance wildlife and people shots. The VR and AF are very good......................I cannot focus it any better using the Manual setting.

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