cheap,light,great color balance like my other Nikkors, compact,hood included+caps,tight build

?lubrication,somewhat high friction movement,manual focussing ring has no grip and lacks feel,polycarb mount not that durable

Very inexpensive, superlight, polycarb lensmount, D lens, great Nikon color balance.

For the price, this is a remarkable Nikon lens. THe color balance is the SAME as my other Nikon lenses like the 24mm prime, which is super as I switch lenses often. Sharpness is high from 70-200 and so is contrast. The ability of this lens to work without a tripod is wonderful as it is very light. I am carefull to not have too much weight on the lens because I am worried about the polyc mount- there is some metal peeking out from under the black polyc. Included is a hood which is extremely useful for the 300 shots as flare reduces its contrast. For some reason, the front element has the sides of the glass showing (it is not crappy "green" glass)- I''d guess that this will cause a significant loss of contrast in wide open shots if you don''t use the hood. All movements are stiff- I wonder about the durability of this lens. Manual focussing is challenging- the ring has no "feel" to it to even grip it without looking. The long focus throw does alllow the AF to finely focus the lens, which is critical as you close in on 300mm. The lens is very compact and light- a perfect companion to any wide prime or wide to medium zoom. If not for the low price, I would have not even considered adding this zoom to my arsenal as I tend to favor the wide to mid telephoto. Having this 70-300 G lens has made an incredible discovery for me of capturing subtle detail in subjects from a distance. Image results are clear and crisp at below 200mm. At 300mm, the hood is recommended and there is a loss in contrast and some edge sharpness, but is acceptable. At such a low price, this lens has far exceeded my expectations. The results are consistent with my other Nikon lenses, but the build is definitely lacking (not unreasonable if you are not using this lens full time on staff somewhere). At 300mm, image sections with a sudden high contrast has some chromatic abberation at the edges, but is nowhere as close to the digital camera prints that I see all the time. Did I mention the incredible color similarities to my other Nikon lenses?- Grass is the same green, skyis the same blue and skin is the same skin! Five stars for both

Similar Products Used:

None

Cheap, light weight, zoom range is very usable.

NO aperture ring!(G-version)
All plastic (and mount as well).
Fearly sharp only at f:11.

Tested: on a tripod with cable release.
Film:Fuji Velvia.
Results: Cheap craftsmanship, not sharp, plastic mount won’t last long. Is it really Nikon???
I return it back to store same day.

Customer Service

haven't used yet

Similar Products Used:

large number of other Canon and Nikon lenses

For the price you pay it is excellent. Sharp from f/8 and excellent by f/11-16. Easy to use and cheap. I'm actually talking bout my frineds which I have seen, and observed pictures of.

Don't listen to what the other reviewer said. He obviously thought he was getting a pro lens for that price.

At nearly half the price of the ED version, this lens is a great bargain as a travel lens or a cheap alternative to match many budgets, offering excellent quality for price ratio.

Similar Products Used:

Canon EF 100-300mm f/4.5-5.6.
Nikon AF 70-300mm f3.5-5.6D ED.

Inexpensive, good range, light

Visible linear and barrel distortion

This lens produces quite good pictures considering the price. Color rendition is good. Good for beginning photographers or enthusiasts who wants the range and reasonable quality. At f/11 using a tripod, this lens is capable of taking quite sharp picutures. I recommend this lens to the telephoto enthusiasts. Used properly, it won't frustrate you.

Customer Service

Not needed

Similar Products Used:

Nikkon 70-300mm AFD ED

Lightweight
Inexpensive
Built-in hood
Flare well-controlled for this type of lens
Nikkor 5-yr warranty

Plastic lens mount durability?

Coupled with the 24-105 and the N80, this lens is a good choice for the traveller or backpacker. All three in a small waist pack add up to only 3.5 lbs and cover all the commonly used focal lengths. Autofocusing is a little slower (and noisier) than the 24-105 on my N80, but quite adequate for shooting the kids on in-line skates and scooters. Less-than-full-frame prints at 8x10 shot between f5.6 and f11 are crisp with excellent color saturation, especially in the 100-200 zoom range. Flare seems better controlled on this lens than on my 24-105. At 300mm a tripod is necessary for best results, but the lens balances well when tripod mounted with an N80. This is a fine lens choice for use where size and weight are important factors and AF speed demands are nominal.

Customer Service

Not used

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 24-105

lightweight, not expensive, good range

Haven't found any yet.

This is a great lens (and really cheap). For me as a student I can't afford an expensive lens - such like the Nikon D-ED lenses and its great to have a focal length all the way out to 300 mm. I haven't seen a better deal on a similar lens til today.

Customer Service

Not used.

Similar Products Used:

Soligor 19-35
Nikkor 35-70

Very cheap, reasonably sharp with regular-size colour prints. Fairly compact for such a wide range zoom.

Doesn't feel like a Nikon lens. Feels rather light and distinctly like a Tamron... funny that!

I was recently advised that this is actually a Tamron 70-300 with the LD element replaced with a regular one and the aperture adjuster removed (both to cut cost)... which probably explains how they can sell it so cheap! So much for "Nikon optics". There's nothing wrong with Tamron lenses, it just seems a bit rich to pass it off as a Nikon?

Customer Service

N/A

Similar Products Used:

Tamron 70-300
Sigma 70-300

Light
Cheap
Quite sharp
Well damped zoom ring

Plastic mount
AF sometimes hunts

I bought it with my N80 and it feels well balanced. Of course this's not a pro lens and the plastic mount maybe requires somme additional care but it's a very light lens and this is a great advantage when You travel with a photo bag.
Some rolls made with Fujicrome Sensia II 100 shown a great colour rendition (I've tried it during the last lunar total ecplipse) with sharpness on over the slide.
A bit of distorsion is present using it wide open but You'll never note it even You're shooting architecture.
Looking at Quality/Price ratio this lens is a giant and If You're not a strongly tele photographer it'll give You all what You need for.

Customer Service

Not required.

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 70/300 Apo

very light. unlike the old type of lens, like nikon 70-210mm. that is much heavier.
picture quality is ok for a cheap Nikon lens. i cannot affort any ED lens as they are too expensive and BIG.

focus a bit slow when use with a N80.

It is a good lens for people who want to start up using a tele zoom and want to take outdoor sports.
but cannot use with old type of nikon as it does not have a aperture ring on the lens. It is very light but it has a small aperture. It can only be use when there is enough light to push up the speed so the picture will not be blur due to hand shake.

Similar Products Used:

minolta 70-210 F4.5-5.6
Nikon AF 70-210 F4-5.6 D

Light (plastic mount)
Cheap (plastic mount)
Sharp
Convenient to use

Non

Great lens with outstanding performance for great price. The lens takes brilliant crisp-sharp pictures. Nikon put awesome glas in cheap body. Fantastic bargain. Thanks Nikon for plastic mount on your lenses (smart customers can save hundreds of dollors on that). Good choice for everybody. Buy it, use it ... and save your money for next generation of lenses from Nikon.

Customer Service

Never used

Similar Products Used:

Nikon's 70-210/4-5,6 AFD; 70-210/4; 75-240/4.5-5.6 AFD; Tokina 80-200/3.5-4.5; Kiron 80-200/4.5; Sigma 70-300/4-5.6 APO Macro; Sigma 70-210 UC-II