It has a huge zoom range, light weight and low price
I know that the lens will focus down to 5-6 feet which is very good.

There is very little distortion at 70mm and therefore you can shoot here if you need to keep straight lines right.

It has high level of distortion at 135mm and above and more distortion at 200 and 300mm.

I've tried this lens many times and in deferent shooting circumstances where I have found it convenient in term of it's huge zoom range, light weight and low price.
Having said that, I didn't like it because the lens has distortions at the long end and the focus errors and it lakes the right sharpness

I started my hobby with a Nikon D80 and then moved to the fantastic Nikon D7oo with the intention to use only Nikon Lenses since the entire point of buying a Nikon camera is to use Nikon lenses.

I think that Nikon company went wrong by producing this lens in such shape and quality of built as “may be” they have tried to compete on the low end against companies who do this as their primary business.

Similar Products Used:

70-210mm f/4-506 D AF

SHARP...

WEAK ON CONTRAST..macro is ok..not real macro.

I got my Nikon 70-300mm copy it came with a tripod collar, my model is not the same as shown here in this review, mine is longer may be older model, but anyway, this Nikon 70-300mm is a very sharp lens, i mounted it on my Nikon D50, it produces very sharp images, but i must say the colors and contrast is on the weak side..you should use it on a heavy and sturdy tripod..This is not IF internal focus, therefore the front of the lens will spins, its kinda noisy on AF, but very solid build.
Im happy with my copy...A keeper.

Customer Service

none so far

Similar Products Used:

Quantaray 70-300mm w/macro

Should not strip out after 3 or 4 years like Sigma, Quantaray, etc. Slightly better optics and only a bit more pricey than the disposables.

On the S2 Pro at 200mm (1.5x or 300mm) it actually holds its own against the 300mm 2.8 ED IF on a N90s (using Superia ISO 400-800 shooting stage venues) and Coolscan IV. Downsizing the 16MP scanned file to 6MP is needed to do the rough comparison (admittedly problematic).

The D100 is pretty soft to begin with and 6MP is not all that demanding so this lens is probably the best match for the price. Great setup for previewing Medium and Large format shots (not to mention an excellent Zone System spot meter).

In addition to the Nikon Small Sensor using the lenses' sweet spot do not underestimate filter capabilites with more than double the normal vignetting limit.

A step down in quality from the older AF model and newer faster VRs. Hunting at the long end may burn up DSLR motors faster. Its no AF-S either. Quality can (and will) vary from lens to lens in a consumer model.

At the long end f5.6 is the absolute limit for slow glass while remaining useable. Use of a Monopod or Tripod is required at the long end. Mirror lockup, Cable, Air release and Manual Focus also needed.

Unless you use E6 and C41 Film as gold standards the G version may be better. Not quite as useful as the 28-200mm version (but then you do not get to swap lens as much an get dirt all over your sensor either).

This lens would not be my first choice on the newer 12MP DSLRs.

Results dependant on what type of camera is used. In experienced hands a Small Nikon like DSLR 6MP sensor should do good or great. On Full Frame Film its no longer in the sweet spot.

Similar Products Used:

Tamron, Sigma, Quantaray, Kenko, Wollensak, Schnieder, Ziess, Seiko

Sharp, acurate colour renditions

build not fabulous, but not the worse either

A really good purchase for me. so very sharp, (ED element present in construction) accurate colour rendition, as sharp as other F2.8 nikon mid range zooms costing double.

+ Light Weight + Good value + Good build quality + Zoomrange

- Slow and Noisy AF - Lenshood isn't effective

I've done quite some research before buying this prosumer lens. I've considered also the older 75-300. But I choose for light weight and price. I think its good value for money. Of course I would like better results but at this price you shouldn't complain. The noisy and slow af does bother me sometimes.

ED glass

Not great resolution anything past 200MM.

The reviewer below me does have a point. If the lens won't be used past 150MM, the smarter buy would be the 75-150MM F3.5 Series E lens. That lens is a beauty with resolution that is truly great. I do have the 70-300MM F4-5.6 ED and I would rate it a so-so lens. Nothing spectacular. Too bad ED glass couldn't have been out in to the 75-150MM lens...

Customer Service

None needed....YET!

Similar Products Used:

Dozens of Nikkor lenses.

Compact and light Sharp at all apertures up to around 150mm. Sharp at all focal lengths if stopped down sufficently. Good contrast for a lens of this type.

Soft wide open above 180mm, particularly at 300mm. Limited use in low light. Lens barrel rotates when focussing. Slow autofocus.

Having read all 85 reviews of this lens posted here I have to conclude that Nikon quality control isn't all that it should be or photographers have widely differing standards. How else do you explain the one and five star reviews. I do think that some of the reviewers are expecting too much. A compact zoom lens of this range and price is necessarily a compromise regardless of whether it is computer designed or has ED glass. If you understand the limitations of this lens and work within them then it is perfectly capable of excellent results in my experience. I reckon that around 90% of my 35mm photography is done with 35mm and 85mm prime lenses. However on occasion I need something a bit longer, in the 100 - 200mm range. That's why I bought one of these about 4 years ago. I rarely use it above 200mm and I avoid using at full aperture above 150mm. In lower light I put it on a tripod. As a result I've nearly always had sharp, contrasty results. I've had good results at 300mm when stopped down to f11 and produced very sharp close-ups with it mounted on a PN11 ext.tube and set between 135mm and 180mm. I tend to focus manually as the autofocus is ponderous.If you can work within these parameters then it's perfectly acceptable. I think the old cliche 'Horses for Courses' applies here. If you shoot wildlife and sports in the 200 - 300mm range at wide aperatures; If you are a portrait specialist who needs short telephoto focal lengths with shallow depth of field; If you like low-light candids; if accurate filter alignment is important or you need fast autofocus, then don't buy this lens. If you want a compact general purpose medium telephoto zoom and can accept certain limitations then I would recommend it.

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 35mmf2 & 85mmf1.8 AFD lenses Pentax M series lenses - 28,35,50,100mac,135 & 200

light,cheap and comparatively good image quality.

beyond 200,the too soft. AF is slow

a good lens for beginner.and do not use the lens above 200mm. so cheap and light,that you can not belive such lens can provide good image.but it can really satisfy the request of beginner and who like travelling.

Similar Products Used:

sigma 105/2.8 macro

Manual focus extremely smooth, it's far better than other consumer Nikkor AF lenses. It's a pleasure to use in MF mode. Easy for handheld. 450mm f5.6 on a digital body!!! Light! And short, at 70mm. Great for hiking through the mountains.

Not IF. Front element rotates during focus. Perhaps a bit soft at the 300mm end. Focus ring should be a bit wider, although it's quite wider than in other cosumer Nikon lenses.

Great lens on a 1.5x digital body (D100 mine). I used it mainly for travel/hiking but it's so nice to use that I've found myself with this glass mounted on the D100 half of the time.

light, compact

small aperture, bad performance

this is one of the worst perform Nikkor lens with ED mark I've used! especially during 200-300mm end. the sharpness and contrast just too bad when open up to f5.6. the reason to buy this lens is it's 300mm, however, it really hard to accept it's performance when using 300mm thus it lost my original objective. I didn't use it now and get back to my Nikkor AF80-200 f2.8D again.

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor AF80-200 f2.8 Nikkor AF180 f2.8 Nikkor AFS300 f4