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. The lens was designed to be a significant upgrade to the 55-200mm VR, released in 2007, by adding 100mm of focal length and using VR II (vibration reduction). You may have other reasons you want a long zoom, but I'm not sure that portraits would be a justification for this upgrade. In-depth testing Latest Camera Reviews Beyond the studio tests Feature Articles and Videos see how we see Sample Galleries real world performance Field Test Videos Throwback Thursday Classic Cameras from Days Past What's that Noise?

Anything that isn’t as you would expect, we then make a note of and show this in the condition notes on the page. If you choose to purchase through these links, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. On the other hand if you purchase 55-300 without a VR (assuming as not specified in the question) it will be difficult to get sharp images as you will experience camera shake if you don't have steady hands.

The focus ring is tiny compared to the zoom ring and is located in front of the lens, which is a smart move by Nikon – after-all, this lens is created for automatic focusing and the focus ring does not get nearly as much use as the zoom ring. The Nikon 55-300mm VR DX feels almost as nice as Nikon's serious amateur lenses like the 28-300mm VR and 16-35mm VR. If you want a compact camera that produces great quality photos without the hassle of changing lenses, there are plenty of choices available for every budget. The 300mm focal length on a DX camera gives the same angle of view as a 450mm lens on a 35mm camera, producing a pronounced telephoto effect. Ideal for: Perfect normal and long-telephoto lens for general photography, but only on DX digital cameras.

the HRI element offers effects equivalent to those obtained with several normal glass elements and can compensate for both field curvature and spherical aberrations. Manual focus doesn't work very well on this 55-300mm anyway, so if you want easy access to manual focus (I do), opt for the 70-300mm VR instead. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Unfortunately the lens does not focus internally, extending by a couple of centimetres at close distances.While the Nikon 55-300mm seems to be able to handle ghosting and flare fairly well, I would be careful with putting the Sun into the frame – you might get some nasty ghosting and flare depending on the angle, position, etc.

In the real world, even professional zooms like the 200-400mm f/4 are often sharper or softer on one side or the other. Until the introduction of this lens, Nikon camera users requiring a lens that covers focal lengths up to 300mm to complement their existing kit lens had a compromise on their hands. While autofocus motor speed (a lens characteristic) can affect whether or not moving object tracking is lost, the body's AF tracking is the overwhelming controlling factor. Most of the outer parts are plastic – contributing the light weight of the lens –, but the optical elements are made of high-grade glass.But if you don't want to spend that much, I would consider other options like tamron 70-300 VC or even nikkor 70-300 DX version. This allows users to easily carry the lens with them and enjoy super-telephoto shooting anytime and anywhere. The in-lens AF is super quiet compared with their old lens, and it gives their photography an extra edge. It also has two lens elements made of Nikon's Extra-Low Dispersion Glass (ED) (which denotes the "ED" on the lens body) to remove any chromatic aberrations that occur. pincushion distortion has replaced the barrelling, which may become noticeable when straight lines are paramount.