Nikon 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!

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 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!

The first lens i purchased only but lasted me one week. one day when i was taking photos indoors, the lens made a crackling noise then a slight squeal and AF instantly stopped working! i called Amazon, they instantly sent out a replacement lens next day air at no cost and provided a return shipping label. This is the main reason why i have chose 4 stars instead of 3 considering the excellent customer support. I have owned the replacement lens for about 2 months now. I have done a lot of portraits, wild life and family shots with this lens coupled to my Nikon D3100 with no issues. The shots have been great, received a lot of compliments when taking photos with this lens. the downfall i see with this lens is its weight. If you have the extra cash, i suggest the 70-300mm model if weight is of a concern. it almost makes me want to use my tripod all the time, as it is really hard to hold a steady hand without any support. I have however taken some excellent shots without any support with the help of VR being enabled. Also auto focus seems to take longer than what i would like, however, with its range, it's not a surprise and does what it was intended to do. Again, if you want a faster AF lens, spend the extra cash for the 70-300mm model lens. Now that i own this lens, i have yet to find the need to purchase the 70-300mm lens, so it's not a huge deficit, but some small concerns. I bought this lens on sale for 249 dollars. considering the quality and durability, i think it's a good price considering. It is also nice to know you have a 4 year extended warranty with Nikkor lenses. Overall i would suggest to buy this lens through Amazon, you won't be disappointed and the quality of pictures i have been taking with this lens has been a great experience so far. If money is not an option, go for glory and spend 600 dollars on the 70-300mm lens. If not, this is an excellent lens for anybody on a budget that wants a nice range with good quality.

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.

My lens has a vignette around it. The first time I used it I had the guard on and thought the corner shadows where because of that but it was not. Now I have a lens I cants use at all and can’t return.

First of all I'll say that I ordered my lens as soon as Amazon had them available. I upgraded to next day shipping and got it 18 hours later - quick service. Thanks Amazon! But now on to the real review... This lens is fantastic - especially for $399. My first concern was whether it not it had a plastic or metal mount since some DX lenses in this price range have plastic. I even contacted Nikon and they couldn't (or wouldn't) tell me. Well, I was really pleased to see that it does have a metal mount. It has a nice solid feel to it. The zoom movement is smooth and I haven't had any problem with lens creep when I'm aiming it downward. Even when I point the camera downward and shake it, it won't creep. I'm just beginning to get into testing it but my preliminary pictures are coming out nice - really nice. The sharpness is amazing and the lens produces a very nice bokeh. I posted the image of the dragonfly with the chicken wire background (see the customer uploads) Check out the detail in the wings. That shot says it all. It was HAND HELD and cranked all the way out to 300mm. The original image is great but a lot of the detail was lost with the upload to Amazon. But - none the less - it's still pretty sharp. The auto focus on this lens is fast, smooth, quiet and very accurate. It locked right in on the subject. It was set on aperture priority at f/8 1/500sec for the shot that I posted here (shot with a D-90). The VR on this lens is great. The detail I get with hand-helds just amazes me. It has Nikon's VRII image stabilization and it even has a tripod detection mode that reduces any vibration from shutter release when it's on a tripod. Colors are rendered accurately and the contrast is pretty sharp even at the max aperture. The lens is compact for a 300mm and it's lighter than my AF-S DX 18-200mm which I use as my regular walk-around. I'm sure the new 55-300 will be used as my walk around pretty frequently also. All in all for an APS-C lens, Nikon did a great job with this one - especially for the price. It's a welcome addition to the DX line and I'm really glad I have one in my gear bag.