Nikon 2216 AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-300 mm f/3.5-6.3G ED VR Lens, Black

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I've now taken hundreds of shots with my Nikon D7100 to compare the A. 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G DX with B. 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G DX and C. 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G FX, chosen best of three in all categories and carefully compared them. Can we expect a lens that has compromised even more on image quality to actually perform not just better, but on an acceptable level? More importantly, lenses like this one cover such a vast range of focal lengths, it’s almost as if the manufacturer is implying the buyer does not actually know what he wants or, crucially, needs. I strongly believe that if you need a single lens that goes from around 28mm to 400mm and over (full-frame equivalent), you are better off with a super-zoom point-and-shoot camera. There’s just no point in owning a big, heavy DSLR with a big, heavy super-zoom lens, both of which cost a lot of money and don’t actually make much sense in terms of image quality. If you own a big, expensive kit, it should perform like a big, expensive kit. Which is to say, brilliantly. For a superzoom lens, the Nikon is impressively sharp at its shortest focal length but sharpness drops off steadily at longer zoom settings, becoming quite mediocre at 300mm. Corner sharpness is also particularly disappointing at longer focal lengths.

These tests show us the limitations of such lenses, and makes us realize why its often preferable to have several lenses instead. Closest focus distance is 48cm, and focusing is performed internally, so the 67mm filter thread does not rotate, which should make this lens ideal for use with graduated filters and polarisers. One of the key advantages of the Nikon 18-300mm lens is supposed to be its 9 blade diaphragm, which should result in better-looking round bokeh. In my experience, the number of blades on the latest Nikon lenses does not really matter, since the aperture blades are rounded. I have done some extensive bokeh tests and comparisons and I really could not see major differences between 9 blade and 7 blade rounded diaphragms. Now if you compare old straight aperture lenses with fewer blades to the new rounded ones, the difference is quite evident. In fact, I prefer rounded 7 blade diaphragm to a straight 9 blade one – try to test an older lens and see for yourself. For a lens covering such a huge zoom range, this lens is relatively compact and lightweight, only weighing 550g. In fact, size-wise, it is no larger or heavier than Nikons' 18-200mm lenses, which makes it a much better candidate as a walkabout than the previous 18-300mm lens. It feels right at home on the Nikon D7100 body used for testing, and will make a good companion for Nikon's smaller, entry level bodies as well. As is the case with Nikon's other consumer-grade lenses, high quality plastics have been used for much of the lens' construction and a rubber gasket surrounds the metal lens mount, to help prevent the ingress of dust and moisture into the camera body.The new Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G is a compact, yet versatile all-in-one lens for ideal for travel.

Levels of chromatic aberrations are an issue for this lens towards the edges of the frame, throughout the zoom range. Fringing is at its most prevalent at 300mm towards the edges of the frame, where it exceeds two pixel widths. This level will be clearly visible along high contrast areas towards the edges of the frame. A NIKKOR lens in which only the internal lens group shifts during focusing. Thus, IF NIKKORS do not change in size during AF operation, allowing for compact, lightweight lenses capable of closer focusing distances. These lenses will be designated with the abbreviation IF on the lens barrel. Superzooms lenses inevitably trade versatility and portability against significant optical compromises compared to shorter-range zooms. So the question we're looking to answer in this review is what the 18-300mm offers to justify its bulk and price premium compared to its two most-obvious competitors - the aforementioned Tamron 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD and the recently announced Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM. Headline features

The Sigma 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM | C makes an ideal travel companion

You’ve probably noticed my skeptical tone by now. I will be straightforward – I do not like this lens nor any other 18-300mm class optic. Why? Because they are too much of a compromise. Here’s what Nasim thought about the f/3.5-5.6 version of this lens in our review:

Here is how the lens compares to the 18-200mm and 28-300mm size-wise (From left to right: Nikon 18-200mm, Nikon 18-300mm, Nikon 28-300mm): Clifton Cameras is a credit broker, not a lender and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN728300). We do not charge you for credit broking services. We will introduce you to Finance available from a number of our partner lenders. E. At 300mm the lens zooms out so far that I'd worry about damaging it with even a slight tap against something out there. Matthew Richards is a photographer and journalist who has spent years using and reviewing all manner of photo gear. He is Digital Camera World's principal lens reviewer – and has tested more primes and zooms than most people have had hot dinners!

Color fringing is most noticeable at the short end of the zoom range, becoming fairly negligible in the mid-sector and rising a little again at the long end. Even so, fringing is fairly minimal for a superzoom lens. The 18-300mm's size is emphasized on the compact D3200 we used for this review, and its weight makes for a relatively unbalanced combination Ghosting and flare are handled quite well, depending on the focal length and where you place the source of light. Here is an extreme example with the sun in the top left frame: NIKON D800E + 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 18mm, ISO 200, 1/500, f/11.0 The good news is that it does not rotate on autofocusing, which makes use of polarizing or ND gradient filters a bit easier.