AF-S FX NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED Vibration Reduction Zoom Lens with Auto Focus for Nikon DSLR Cameras

This lens is a very nice product indeed. I have it paired with a D7000 and the combo is proving very capable. With the range going from 42mm to 450mm on the DX cams it covers an awesome range. At its widest setting the lens is not all that long and when fully zoomed it does double in length but its smooth throughout and seems very sharp. The 28mm lock on the side has also proven handy when pulling this thing out of the bags as they often grip the sides of the lens and will extend the lens in full on the way out when not used. Just hanging around your neck the lens does not move in the slightest though. The A/M focus setting on the side is great, full auto can be overridden anytime whenever you grab the focus ring. I would have liked to see the focus ring position or width changed a bit but it's very usable as is. On the value side of things this lens will save lots of money with all the lenses people will be able to avoid purchasing altogether. In addition you will not have to worry when you're on the way out the door with what lens to bring because you will always have an excellent choice at the tips of your fingers. If you are a fan of wide shooting like me you might consider adding the something like the Nikon 10-24mm which would round out the wide end of things. Toss in a nice prime 35mm or 50mm from Nikon for some low light shots and your all set with a trio of lenses that will be as much as anyone will need outside of the Pro world. Truth be told I have not taken this lens off since it arrived, I have been thrilled with its quality and range. There is nothing like being able to shoot someone or a couple across the table from me and then point the lens over the railing and grab a great telephoto shot the next second. I used to miss shots fumbling around changing lenses but now I am all set no matter what I point at. So if you're looking for a quality lens that is very well rounded and do not mind a little extra weight (actually its extremely comfortable when compared to my 70-300mm as it is a bigger diameter making it fit my paws better) this is the lens for you. I would not be surprised if this lens hit a limited supply status for a while once the public starts the feeding frenzy! Ohhhh I almost forgot... since this lens works on DX and FX you are adding yet another layer of investment protection if you should ever decide to take the jump up to FX.... What's not to like!

Let me preface this by saying that I did not expect much from this 10x zoom. I ordered it because the 24-120mm was out of stock and this was in stock (for about an hour) and I was truly intrigued by a do it all zoom. Having used the 24-120mm F/4 before I knew that it would be a step down in sharpness with this lens. The results confirm that fact. I was initially disappointed in the quality when I view pictures at 1:1 on a D800. However, if all lens are judged by sharpness alone, we'd all be carrying 10 primes in our backpacks. I thought, perhaps I should order the 24-120mm and 70-300mm which theoretically would give me better quality at both ends. I ordered the 70-300mm VRII lens for comparison because conventional wisdom tells us that a 5x zoom should beat a 10x zoom in quality, right? Wrong! I've read Mansurov's review and expected the 70-300mm to as good or better than the 28-300 but my findings totally contradicted his. Perhaps the D800 has something to do with it? I could not find pictures as soft as the ones in his review. Here's the kicker, the 28-300 is a BETTER lens beyond 200mm than the 70-300mm. The contrast is superior whereas the the 70-300mm has bluish fringe color cast at the long end. At 70mm, the 70-300mm is ever so slightly sharper but again, the contrast is better on the 28-300mm. At 140-160mm, I found that the 28-300mm slightly edges out the 70-300mm, but again, contrast is superior on the 28-300mm. I have to chalk it up to the ED glasses in this lens. The corners are softer than the center. However, if you need corner to corner sharpness, a prime rather than a zoom is the lens you want. With a little sharpening post process and a resize of the image to 12MP or so, the softness is gone. The D800 is a superb camera in more ways than one. This is what it boils down to. At 1:1 pixel peeping on the D800, the difference in quality lens can be seen. Once downsized and post processed, it is truly difficult to judge the differences. For landscapes and 100% wall pictures that demand critical sharpness, you should look elsewhere. However, for me, I'm satisfied with such a versatile lens. I returned the 70-300mm and will keep the 28-300mm as a utility zoom with very decent 200-300mm range. Did I receive a bad copy of the 70-300mm? I don't know and I don't really want to order another one to find out. One thing to keep in mind is that during my test at 10 feet away from the test chart, the 28-300mm pictures are all farther way than the 70-300. Bear that in mind if you're going to use it for a faux Macro lens. There is definitely focus breathing on this lens. My rating is based on the total package not just on the sharpness alone. A 10x zoom that is equal and in some ways, sharper and better than a 5x zoom? That's a definite 5 stars. Update 6/24/12: I'm returning this lens. The distortion, even when fixed in post is still noticeable. Furthermore, I find that I refrain from shooting this wide open as it's unacceptable so it's a zoom lens that has a sweet spot at 5.6-8.

Really good lens. It’s not very sharp past ~200mm but it really has a look and it renders colors and contrast exceptionally well. This is a fantastic travel Lens as it’s not very heavy and not extremely large either. I’d been looking for a NIKOR lens for my mirrorless that can replace this but haven’t found anything with this range that looks as great as this lens’ pictures when edited in post. It really has a je ne sais qois - something intangible that’s really special.

I have two Nikon D7000 cameras, a Nikon 35mm F1.8 prime, a Nikon 50mm F1.8 prime and also the Nikon 18-200mm VR lens. After careful consideration, reading the reviews and looking at the images taken by others, I decided to buy the Nikon 28-300mm because I hope to upgrade at some point to a full frame camera like the Nikon D4 and this lens can be use on both full frame and DX models. The D7000 is a DX camera so with the crop factor the Nikon 28-300mm becomes efectively a zoom of 42-450mm (with reference to the 35mm film format). I have read some negative reviews regarding this lens with comments like, It's too big and heavy, lens creepage when tilted downwards, lens distortion at both ends of the zoom range and that the focus is soft. Ok let's take a look at these points of criticism:- Yes, if you are only use to the standard kit lens like the 18-55mm, then this lens will seem big and heavy to you, but remember this is a super zoom lens and it has a lot of glass in it to do what it does and although it is has a weight to it, I found it not to be so heavy as to be uncomfortable to use and on the D7000 I find the balance to be good overall. Another point to consider that you don't have to carry a load of other lenses with you to cover the range of zoom that this lens covers, so as a walk about lens this lens is great. What about lens creep? I have never experienced it myself on either the 28-300mm, or the 18-200mm, in any case Nikon now includes a zoom lock on the lens, so there should not be a problem when the lens pointing downwards in one's camera bag. What about lens distortion? If you have a Nikon D7000, there is an option in the camera's menu settings, switch the `Auto Distortion Control' to `ON' and the distortion is virtually eliminated. If your camera does not have this option you will see some barrel distortion and maximum zoom and pincushion distortion at the wide-angle setting, depending on the subject you are photographing. If it is objectionable one can always correct it in your photo editing software. Remember no zoom is perfect, top professional lenses are better and have less distortion, but they cost a whole lot more and their zoom range is far more limited. What about lens sharpness? The colour rendition and contrast of the 28-300mm (and 18-200mm) I find to be as good as my prime lenses, the prime lenses are a little sharper when stopped down, but the difference isn't that great in reality and if the image is found to be a little soft one can easily correct this with your photo editing software. People may comment that their prime lens is a lot sharper, but then their prime lens cannot zoom from 28-300mm can it now? A top professional lens will perform better if you can afford it, but their zoom range is a lot more limited and you will need two or more lenses to cover the zoom range that this lens covers. Overall, I find the lens sharpness to be good throughout the zoom range, both on the 28-300mm and the 18-200mm and when you consider the range of this zoom, I think Nikon have done a really good job and that why I give five stars in this review. One really big advantage with this super zoom is that one can go from wide to full zoom instantly and so never miss a shot. Another advantage is that you don't have to carry a bag full of lenses with you and because one is not changing lenses all the time, there is less risk of dust getting into your camera to contaminate you camera's sensor. What about Bokeh, those nice blurred backgrounds? Bokeh is limited due to the relatively small maximum aperture of this lens, if Bokeh is of critical importance, one could purchase a prime lens with a maximum aperture of F1.8 or better, or a zoom with a maximum aperture of F2.8, however such zooms tend to be very expensive. Which zoom should I get for my DX camera, the 28-300mm, or the 18-200mm? If one is not planning to go to the full frame format, I would recommend the Nikon 18-200mm, if you do decide to go for the Nikon 28-300mm for use on a DX camera, one will also need a wide angle lens in addition to the 28-300mm. If you already own a the standard kit lens such as the Nikon 18-55mm, this will help cover the wide angle side of things. If one is going to upgrade to the full frame format, then I would recommend the 28-300mm. Whatever lens you go for, make sure that you put a good quality lens protector such as the Hoya Pro 1 Digital MC Protector. This is a low profile, multi-coated filter which will protect your expensive glass. I have come across people who have used a cheap filter, which is not even multi-coated and they wonder why they get poor results. Is the Nikon 28-300mm (and the Nikon 18-200mm) worth the money? Every penny in my view, especially if you can acquire it at a good price.

I only recieved this lens last week, and have not had much of a chance to use it. Just messing around at home though it seems to take tac sharp photos. The build quality is what you would expect from Nikon... Tough and always ready for action... Again I would only use this lens with a tripod as the weight of the lens and D780 gets heavy being handheld for any length of time... But seems to be a very good lens and looking forward to getting out to put it through its paces

Es un buen lente, saca imágenes muy nítidas, lógicamente no es un prime, tampoco es tan rápido, pero cumple muy bien. Yo recomiendo que sea utilizado para llevar un solo lente de vacaciones por ejemplo, ya que el rango que maneja es muy amplio. Te ahorrará tiempo. Cumple bastante bien en todo, se siente muy robusto a pesar de que es completamente de plástico. El único detalle es que es algo pesado y después de un rato con el si llega a cansar, pero nada que sea significativo como para no comprarlo. Estoy contento con él lo recomiendo. Llega muy rápido y bien empaquetado.

Un objetivo que permite cubrir viajes o eventos en los que es más importante el momento o contenido que la calidad de la imagen y en donde prima la discrección que supone no tener que cambiar objetivos sobre el peso. En gran angular y focales medias tiene muy buena respuesta sobre todo con f's medios (5.6, 8, 11). Aberraciones cromáticas fácilmente corregibles de forma automática en postproceso. El tele cumple su papel en distancias cortas o medias pero no está pensado obviamente para ejercer de teleobjetivo.

Très bon objectif polyvalent.