AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED Vibration Reduction Zoom Lens with Auto Focus for Nikon DSLR Cameras

I was on the fence about buying this lens or saving up a little more for the 70-300 Nikon lens for my D5100. I decided to go with this one as it was about $125 cheaper at the time (comparing refurbished models of both), and read that the main difference between the two was the faster AF mechanism in the 70-300, the fx compatibility, and the Manual/Auto switch of the 70-300 which allows manual focus without having to switch the autofocus off. The image quality of both seemed to be relatively equal according to many reviews, so I took the plunge. I was mostly concerned about the focus speed, but it was much better than I anticipated. The only time the focus took a long time was if it tried to focus in the 'wrong' direction and then had to move all the way back the other direction. This often happened in low light or if the lens was zoomed in all the way while trying to focus. This is easily fixable if you zoom out first, focus quickly, and then zoom in and focus again. Other than that, I didn't notice much difference in focusing speed than the 18-55 kit lens. I'm sure the 70-300 is faster, but for my needs this was acceptable. Don't expect fast AF-C focusing on fast moving subjects, though. The VR on this lens is fantastic. I'm glad I didn't go for one of the cheaper Tamron or Sigma zoom lenses that did not have any kind of vibration reduction. I never noticed how it worked with the kit lens, but when you are zoomed in at 300, it is clearly evident. If you are fully zoomed in without VR, you can try to keep the camera steady as possible, but it will still be shaky. With VR kicked in, pushing the shutter button halfway will magically steady your image in the viewfinder. It's similar to those FPS games that let you hold your breath when looking through a sniper rifle. I don't know how it works, but it's amazing, and lets you take sharp handheld shots zoomed all the way in. This lens is mainly for outdoor shooting with lots of light. Low light is difficult, but nothing a flash can't solve. However, using a flash will limit your max shutter speed to 1/200's of a second, and if you are zoomed all the way in handheld it is best to try to keep a shutter speed of 1/400 or faster. As a result, you'll have to be extra steady when using the flash if you are zoomed all the way in. All in all, I'm extremely satisfied with this lens. Pictures are extremely sharp at all zoom levels, Bokeh is great, and it's very easy to isolate your subject from the background. If faster AF is important to you and you don't mind the extra cost, go for the 70-300. If you are on a budget and want a good quality zoom lens, this is the perfect option.

This lens is awesome! I want to preface with saying I am a beginner so I do not know much about photography. But I do have eyes so I know the crispness is very good, especially for the price! I’ve had this Nikon D60 camera (it was a gift) since 2019, but never used it much. I got into birding this past year and really wanted to get better photos of the birds. Before, I was just taking photos with my iPhone through my binoculars. But I wanted something better. I love that the range is large and that it goes up all the way to 300 mm. Great for a novice/hobbyist such as myself. I feel like I am taking professional-looking photos despite not being very skilled. I added unedited photos to give an idea of what you might get out of this lens!

I required a lens like this due to the 18-55mm (which came with my Nikon D3100) not being powerful enough for bringing distant objects in close for detail. I also contemplated the 55-200mm lens for less money, but figured that it wouldn't have the overall magnification I really wanted. I have to say, the 55-300mm is like a godsend. A small howitzer of a telephoto lens that fits the bill for an entry level one, and definitely helps to take some very nice, close-in shots. What I feared somewhat is how well this lens would autofocus. I heard of some users complaining that this one doesn't at all. In my experience so far, it autofocuses, though not super quickly. It may take just enough time that you could miss a shot of a frightened bird, though I'm thinking it isn't going to be much of a problem, as there are so many photographic opportunities out there. The weight and size of this lens is less than I expected. However, it is beefy, though certainly manageable. I had no problems lugging this little beast around for my initial tests. When it is fully extended for zoom and focus, the length might prove a little cumbersome if you are taking pictures in a cramped space. Manual focusing this lens is smooth enough. It may feel a little rough when new, though I am sure constant use will smooth it out for more precision. If you have a lot of trouble with determining the focus quality, get a routine vision check. Lastly, I received my lens clean and with no defects. I trust Nikon's quality and the distributor took care to package the lens with protection well in mind. This unit is cleaner than a barracks with disciplined soldiers. If you want this lens, give it a shot. From what I have seen for it, there are plenty of satisfied customers. Me included. I tried to think of something really bad and star rating negating to say about this lens, but I am at a loss for that. A total loss I could care less about. Happy shooting!

Got the lens from Amazon, and was a bit surprised how much bigger it was compared to the 55-200mm. The newer lens is about 3.5" diameter, and 6" in length, zoom retracted. The box itself was 9.5 x 4.5 x 5", or about the size of the 18-200mm VR's carton. That said, the 55-300mm has a nice, solid feel to it. Not plasticky at all. It feels 'right' in the hand, and weighs 'just right'(about 1 lb) so that it balances well with a small DX body, like the D40/D60/D3000. The switches click nicely and the zoom is nice and tight - initially sticky at the 300mm end, but got better with use and some elbow grease. The auto focus speed is about the same as the 55-200mm, and tends to hunt in low contrast and low light situations, but no biggie. I just switch to 'M' and look at the camera's green dot focus indicator. The extra 100mm comes in handy for those Graduation Ceremony snaps coming from the bleachers kind of situation. On a DX camera, 300mm translates to a whopping 450mm in FX terms, so that's pretty much out-there. The big plus, is that you can zoom back to a normal 55mm without needing to change lenses. Cool if you want to swing back and shoot the crowd reaction or something a little over arms length (it won't focus any closer than an arms-length, though). So in the graduation scenario, you can zoom down to 55mm, and hand the camera over to a hapless bystander to take your mug with the graduate. Is it sharp? I don't have test targets or scientific proof, but it's certainly sharper than my older AF-D consumer zooms from 15 years ago (24-50mm AF-D)using the eyeball method. It's not as tack sharp as an 80-200mm/70-200mm f/2.8 - but it's nowhere near the weight & price of these two either. If you're miffed about the f/5.6 widest opening, consider using it with the newer DX cameras (especially the upcoming D7000) where you can crank up the ISO to ridiculous, and still keep the noise at bay. Or a really strong Speedlight. Overall, a pretty good package for a reasonable price. If you're clear on what you want to do with it and know it's limitations - it won't disappoint.

I was not convinced that 300mm would make a difference, but when Nikon put the $150 rebate and Amazon offered free one-day shipping for a $250 delivered price, I couldn't resist. Yesterday I ordered, today I used it and the very first pic out of the box is posted on the image set above-- a back yard bird feeder with a cardinal and she's coming in hot, full flaps and legs extended for the touch-and-go landing. The shooting distance is about 30ft. I had the D90 on Auto, VR, handheld, and the meter chose 1/640s & f6/3 at 300mm, at ISO-2500 on a grey day. The shallow depth of field is noticeable in that the feeder is sharp but the fence is soft, 2 feet behind. The lens handles well, and the VR is a big difference maker. You can see it operate -- press the shutter halfway and the perceptible hand shaking and heart beat movement is gone. The feeder is rock steady and the cardinal's high-speed movement is also in reasonable sharpness, adding energy to the image. My every day lens is the 18-200mm, and that will not change, as it is great to have a wide-to-zoom option with 10x latitude for field assignments with rapidly evolving situations. And the lens has very nice quality results. But this lens will help for set field work and for pulling wildlife in close. I really underestimated the difference 300mm makes vs 200mm but obviously on DX it is considerable (450mm vs 300mm at 35mm film conversion). The 50% greater reach, with helpful VR and maintaining the f5.6 shows well when you transfer the image to the screen. Image sharpness is fine. The lens mounted on camera feels solid, and works well given that it is all automated and expected to be used that way. Love the VR. I did not find the "slow AF" to be significant, as borne out by the very first image! Keep in mind small details that are not huge issues overall: - The owners manual indicates that "Manual focus can be used regardless of the focus mode selected with the camera". However, the focus ring clearly feels stiffly locked out when you choose "A", not a smoothly integrated operation. Switch to M and the focus ring turns without any friction. - the near-silent AF motor will still likely be picked up in movie mode for those who use AF when filming (I can't on my D90). - There are no Aperture marks, depth of field indicators and of course no manual aperture ring override. - 58mm filters needed At $250 through the end of the year, you can't go wrong. Thank you Nikon and Amazon. Great deal.

Love this lens. I got a 55-200 for christmas from my hubby. It came from best buy and was great until I was surfing around amazon and saw this lens 55-300 for an astounding price. I started looking at it and realized that it was indeed the same f/4.5-5.6 ED VR AF-S DX, just with the extra 100mm. Best part of the lens is that is has metal hardware instead of the plasitc that was on the 55-200 I orig had. The lens is a little "sticky" when you go to roll it out but that doesn't bother me one bit. I would rather it be a little sticky than when I leave my camera around my neck for the lens to slide "sloppily" (is that a word) out. Anyone starting out this is a great lens. It can do a lot and you won't regret purchasing it. It is one of the most reasonable lens available and it's a nikkor and not some off-brand lens maker that produces lens for multiple camera companies. My pictures have been turning out wonderful and I am loving the extra 100mm I get. If you are considering the 55-200 I would really reccommend paying the extra $100 to bump up to this one, you really will thank me. Shipping was a little slow I have to admit. I used free super saver shipping so it said 8-10 days (which is ususally an underpromise and then amazon over delivers and gets it to you in 6-7 days) This however came in 11 days UPS. Not horrible but the first time that amazon has been late on their promise time. And I would rather have it in 11 days and have a unbroken unscathed lens through UPS than something they threw in USPS and got to me trashed in 5 days.

I shoot a lot of motorsports, and the added length can get you close enough to smell overheated brakes. Seriously, image quality seems as good or better than the 55-200 with added flexibility and superior build quality,. Even after some digging, I'm still not sure if it's VR or VRII, but it works and should be considered essential at extreme zooms. It's fast enough with the higher ISOs (up to 6400 before pushing) of a D5200. Yes the 55-200 is lighter and more compact, but the camera and lens together still weigh under 2.5 pounds, so it's not a beast and remains well balanced. The manual focus is inelegant but still useful for some landscape and astrophotography applications. Autofocus is nearly always spot on, especially if you understand what your viewfinder is showing you about the points it's looking at. I use all the Program, Shutter/Aperture priority and Manual modes as I usually like to set my own preferences based on the shot. One nifty feature I wasn't expecting: When in P mode, you can set the body to "read" the current focal length and it automatically adjusts the shutter speed (and consequently aperture) to minimize camera shake. Great if you're in a rapidly changing situation. With this and the sweet little 18-55 VRII, I'm done. My bag is full, and I am happy. Update 08/09: I've added a sample from perhaps 200 feet. Edited in ViewNX2 and compressed for upload.

Received the lens in great shape, and it works perfectly. Could not be happier with my purchase!

ottimo rapporto qualità/prezzo (qui su amazon... nei negozi a 400 euro è un pò caruccia...) ovviamente è valida solo per il formato dx.. non è particolarmente luminosa (da non usare di notte) ma fa il suo sporco lavoro e con la luce lo fa anche bene... stabilizzatore molto buono (ho fatto foto sportive in uno stadio di calcio e, limitando un pò le vibrazioni della mano, ho fatto foto molto ferme anche con tempi non eccezionalmente corti a 300mm... se vi trema la mano però il vr non può più di tanto...) è un'ottica pesantuccia e ingombrante, non è da portare in giro per fare le foto della domenica o di un viaggetto spensierato fastidioso è che quando lo spegnete rimane la lente del focus un pò aperta (per chiuderla dovete mettere in manuale e richiuderla... ad oggi non credo ci siano altre soluzioni)... capita praticamente sempre per queste piccole scomodità, oltre al 35mm 1.8 che ho già, penso che le affiancherò il tamron 18-200 per fare le foto "spensierate" di situazioni normali, utilizzando questo 55-300 per le foto più ragionate (e nelle quali mi porterei appresso tutta l'attrezzatura, treppiedi compreso)

Great lens exactly as described!

Buen tele zoom para aficionados con magnifica relación calidad-precio. Opticamente cumple bien dentro de su gama. Precio muy bueno. El estabilizador funciona perfectamente y te permite disparar a pulso con velocidades bajas. No es un objetivo para profesionales pero resulta ideal para aficionados. Opino que es una buena compra por su precio.

Let me start by saying that the delivery was fast, so kudos to that. Now to the Lens, I wanted something light for my travels instead of taking my work camera Nikon D700 which is a pain to carry around the neck all day with all the other lenses I have when you want to relax, for travels instead I have a Nikon D90 with 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G and now this 55-300mm (it's very light) which is more than enough. After recieving this lens, I did some tests and got to say this big plasticky piece of glass is not to be underestimated and is a terrific performer. Despite it's build quality, it provides pretty good images at mostly all apertures and focal lengths. wide open in the center it is sharp, contrasty and soft in the corners with some vignetting and a slight loss of contrast; After f/11 it starts to get a bit soft in the center with some slight decay in contrast and in the corners vignetting is more controlled, it's a slightly softer and the loss of contrast is more noticeable. The sharpest aperture of this lens is f/8. In terms of focal lenghts this lens is a star performer from 55-200mm with almost no chromatic aberration, very sharp and good image quality overall (contrasty images), after 200mm to 300mm image quality decays a bit in terms of sharpness and contrast but it's still good and usable, chromatic aberration is slightly more noticeable at 300mm, viewing the image at 100%. Also tested the responsiveness of this lens and I'm impressed, Autofocus it's pretty fast in good light conditions and some dim light circumstances, although it has tendency to hunt for the subject when there is little light, when it finds it, snaps right into focus. Went on a casual Sunday to a football game to try further it's responsiveness in action photography and I'm amazed with the results, in good light conditions it snaps the subjects right into focus with AF-C (Continous Focusing) mode it almost no chance of hunting for the subject. Only things that makes me sad about this lens is two things: - VR Mode, I feel the absence of Normal Mode and Active Mode, it only has the switch to turn it off and on, the VR system itself is good though. - No manual focus override system (M/A - M Switch) only M - A (Manual - Automatic) Switch. Overall it comes down to this: Pros: - Sharp images from f/4.5|5.6 to f/11, being f/8 it's peak. - Crispy Images from 55-200mm with pretty good and usable images at 300mm. - Overall good optic quality for the price. - Almost no presence of Chromactic aberration from focal lenght 55-200mm. - Low chromatic aberration at 300mm that doesn't become intrusive in the image quality, only noticeable if you go pixel peeping. - VR Mode is functional and good despite not having the Normal/Active function. - Light which makes it good for travels. - Zoom/Focus ring feel sturdy despite being plastic. - Autofocus is excellent and responsive in good light conditions, it snaps right into focus on your subject. Cons: - Build quality, despite the metal mount which is ok, the plastic body may not please those who shoot under harsh conditions and look for something affordable, but then again something had to be sacrificed to be light. - Clunky Manual/Auto Focus Switch, it is annoying especially for those who have the Manual/AF switch in the camera like me, Manual Focus Override (M/A - M Switch) would be a better addition. - Lens Hood is so badly constructed with a thin layer of plastic that it feels it's going to get torn apart at any moment if something comes at it, it's still useful though. - Autofocus has tendency to go hunting for the subject in dim light conditions, it can become an annoyance for some, specially if they shoot action photography, but what to expect from a f/4.5-5.6 lens, it's still usable but don't expect it to snap right into focus in dim lights. Despite the not so good things about this lens it's still a good purchase for those who are looking for an excellent lens in terms of Price/Quality, you will not be disappointed as this lens, sure is a star performer. Sure, the Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR may offer a slight more image quality, Manual Focus Override, VR Mode with Normal/Active and slightly better AF than this lens, but unless you're planning of moving for Full-Frame later and can't afford the best performer Telezooms right away, there is no a reason for buying the more expensive 70-300mm, if you can't deal with the Cons you can spend the extra money, but if you're willing to live with the cons like I am, it's still a perfect choice for a Telephoto Lens and you won't regret it!

素早く配送してくださいました。今回は中古品を購入しました。傷やくもりに関しては説明書きと齟齬がなく、全く問題ありませんでした。