Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G VR Lens

Product Information

The lens had VR, vibration reduction; this is a mechanical feature that reduces the vibration experienced when taking photos whilst holding the camera in low light conditions or with slow shutter speeds. The VR on this lens is 2nd generation even though this is not mentioned anywhere and it works very well. See the video. As well as a switch to turn VR on or off, the lens has a selector switch for auto or manual focus. This lens is mainly for outdoor shooting with lots of light. Low light is difficult, but nothing a flash can't solve. However, using a flash will limit your max shutter speed to 1/200's of a second, and if you are zoomed all the way in handheld it is best to try to keep a shutter speed of 1/400 or faster. As a result, you'll have to be extra steady when using the flash if you are zoomed all the way in. See Nikon Lens Compatibility for details with your camera. Read down the "AF-S, AF-I,""G" and "VR" columns for this lens. You'll get the least of all the features displayed in all columns, since "G" ( gelding) is a handicap which removes features. Ideal for: Perfect normal and long-telephoto lens for general photography, but only on DX digital cameras.

Since it is a variable aperture lens, the focal length on it changes as you zoom in from f/4.5 to f/5.6 on the long end: The AF-S Nikkor 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6 lens has a very narrow focus ring located in front of the – much wider – zoom ring. There are hard stops at both ends of the range, making it easy to set focus at infinity. Polariser users should take note that the 58mm filter thread rotates on focus. I've already covered most of it: this is a sharp, great performing lens worth far more than its bargain price.

Introduction

Zoom action feels just a little bit plasticy with very little stiction; nothing I'd complain about. which on a DX camera gives angles of view similar to what an 80-450mm lens sees when used on an FX or 35mm camera. Build quality is pretty decent for a consumer zoom. Most of the outer parts are plastic – contributing the light weight of the lens –, but the optical elements are made of high-grade glass. The zoom ring is wide and ridged, and zoom creep is not an issue. On our test sample, the zooming action was very smooth, but I've come across a few copies that had somewhat stiffer zoom rings – this is something to watch out for when shopping for this lens. Both perform very similarly when stopped down to f/8.0. Nikon 55-300mm vs Nikon 55-200mm @ 55mm Corner Frame Autofocus is slow. If you want to shoot action, pay a little more for the larger and more expensive semi-professional FX 70-300mm VR instead.

With the lens set to its maximum aperture, there is a bit of light fall-off in the extreme corners, but it won't really affect your real-world shots.It's better than the smaller and lighter 55-200mm VR, with which this 55-300mm VR has much in common. The 70-300mm VR is a much bigger, better and not that much more expensive FX lens. When it comes to corner performance @ 200mm, the Nikon 55-300mm takes the lead just like in the 105mm corner test.