Nikon AF Zoom Nikkor 70-300mm f/4-5.6D ED Review

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January 2007

Looking at the price, you would think this is a piece of junk plastic. Testing the lens, it actually proves pretty good.You can obtain quite good results with this lens, at the cost of speed tough.If you are never going to print larger then 15x20cm,and you don't need a constant f/2.8 aperture,this is the lens for you.The build quality on this lens is pretty good, better then most of the cheap zooms out there. The lens is firm when you zoom to 300mm,there is no wobble at all.

Specifications

Positives

• Price. You get allot for your money with this lens.
• Weight. At 515 grams this is a lightweight lens that wont destroy your back on hikes etc.(1 kilo lighter then 80-200 AF-S)
• Size. Fits into any backpack, and leaves you a lot of room.

From the left 70-300 f/4-5.6, 80-200 f/2.8 AF-D, 80-200 f/2.8 AF-S

Drawbacks

• DOF. No depth of field scale
• Soft. This lens is a bit soft wide open(worst is 300mm),if you stop down to f/11 @ 300mm and f5.6 @ 70mm you can get good results
• Rotating front. Makes it harder to use pola filters, and grad filters

Verdict

This lens is definitely worth its money, its 5 times cheaper then the current pro grade equivalent, the 70-200mm f/2.8 AF-S(the 70-200 is way sharper btw). The size and weight of this lens makes it great for backpackers and light travelers. This is a very good entry level lens for starting photographers.

Features
Performance
Build
Value

Alternatives

Nikon AF 80-200mm f/2.8 ED AF-D. Price From: $1,079.95 USD

Nikon AF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S VR. From: $519.95 USD

Nikon AF 70-200mm f/2.8D G-AFS ED-IF VR. From: $1,949.95 USD

Nikon AF 70-200mm f/2.8D G-AFS ED-IF VR II From: $2,319.00 USD

*Prices and rebates are subject to change. Listed price is from August 17, 2008.

Sample Pictures

Images have been imported to photoshop CS3 through Capture NX 2 thus leaving the original image settings as shot, I. E white balance, sharpening, etc .etc. Full resolution sample images are in RGB color mode. Check out my copyright page for information about usage of these images.

70-300 @ 70mm 1/400 sec f/11

Crop @ 100%