Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G VR Lens

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As you can see, the vignetting is clearly gone by f/8.0. The same thing happens when shooting at the longest focal length of 300mm. Ghosting and Flare

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED VR II Review Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED VR II Review

At both apertures, the Nikon 28-300mm is clearly taking the lead. When it comes to corners, the Nikon 55-300mm performs a little better at 70mm than the 28-300mm though. Nikon 55-300mm vs Nikon 28-300mm @ 300mm CenterIt's a nice light lens for its range. Build quality is okay (although the metal mount is a nice touch).

Nikon 55-300 DX and 70-300 What is the difference between the Nikon 55-300 DX and 70-300

Auto focus is not the swiftest and is about the same as the 55-200 and perhaps not as fast as the 70-300 so this may not be a good sports lens. The build quality of this optic is typical of Nikon's mid to higher end consumer lenses, with the lens barrel constructed from high quality plastics sporting a textured finish. It is put together to fine tolerances and there are no rattles or wobbles anywhere on the lens and the mount is constructed from metal.Again, the sharpness is pretty good overall, but we are already seeing some loss of sharpness at the largest aperture and f/5.6. Stopping down the lens to f/8.0 and f/11.0 produces the best results. Sharpness Test – Nikon 55-300mm @ 105mm Corner Frame Weighing in at approximately 300 grams, the AF-S DX Nikkor 55-200mm f4.5-5.6G is very lightweight for a 3.6x telezoom lens, and as seen in the photos below, complements a smaller DSLR like the Nikon D3300 well.

Nikon Nikkor AF-S DX 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR review

My next series of tests involved driving to and wandering around a local Spanish mission. These tests, with my D7100, were not comparisons, per se. But I have taken so many earlier shots at the same locations with several lenses that I tend to remember the earlier results. My principal purpose, though, was not comparison but just to see what the lens does with a variety of subjects and its full range of focal lengths, with and without the Kenko 1.4x TC and in or out of crop mode. The quality of bokeh this lens produces is pretty good. It is not as good as what the Nikon 70-300mm VR and other exotic lenses such as the Nikon 85mm f/1.4G can do, but still quite pleasing for a lens like this. Here is a bokeh comparison between the Nikon 55-300 and 28-300: Nikon 55-300mm vs Nikon 28-300mm Bokeh As expected, the extreme corners at the largest apertures do show some softness at 55mm. Stopping down the lens to f/8.0 does improve the situation considerably though. Sharpness Test – Nikon 55-300mm @ 70mm Center Frame In general, I'm completely happy with this lens. It does what it's supposed to do, and does it well. Color rendition and contrast are excellent, and resolution is also very good up to about 200mm and not bad above that. I'm able to hold it steady even at large focal lengths, but frankly the 70-300 is easier there.Macro results are fair for this lens, with a magnfication of 0.28x, and a close-focusing range of 1.4 meters (around 4 and a half feet). How does the Nikon 55-300mm VR compare to the older Nikon 55-200mm VR? Let’s take a look at direct comparisons between the two. Nikon 55-300mm vs Nikon 55-200mm @ 55mm Center Frame I have personally been a huge fan of the 300mm f/4D AF-S lens and have owned it for many years, loving the lens for its superb optical performance, fast autofocus, light weight, and compact size, making it my ultimate travel lens for wildlife photography – a perfect companion for hand-held shooting. Because it was so good with the 1.4x teleconverter, I practically always kept the teleconverter attached to the lens, making it a very nice 420mm f/5.6 combination. When Nikon finally announced the new 300mm f/4E VR lens, I got very excited, because Nikon completely redesigned the lens. In fact, with close to a 50% reduction in weight and a 30% reduction in physical size, we are not dealing with another redesign or update – this is a completely different lens. Disappointingly the Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED VR II doesn't ship with either a dedicated plastic hood or a soft case. Focal Range

Nikon 300mm f/4E PF ED VR Review - Photography Life Nikon 300mm f/4E PF ED VR Review - Photography Life

My 2.0x Kenko TC works on both cameras, but it doesn't autofocus, and holding steady enough to get really sharp images at these very long net focal lengths is difficult. I don't use a tripod, but that might help here. As usual with that particular TC, there is definite image degradation over the sharp 1.4x TC Apochromatic lenses have special lens elements (aspheric, extra-low dispersion etc) to minimize the problem, hence they usually cost more. As the lens is zoomed to 135mm, the resolution drops off a little, but is still very good across the frame from wide open, reaching its peak at f/5.6. At smaller apertures, diffraction appears to take a bite out of the sharpness as the lens is stopped down. Finally at 300mm the sharpness at maximum aperture is certainly acceptable, but stopping down the lens to f/8 improves matters noticeably. Here peak performance is found at f/11 where images show good sharpness across the frame.However, as you can see, the 55-200mm is actually softer at maximum aperture. The sharpness difference is very minimal at f/5.6 and f/8.0 (below): Lab testing revealed negligible chromatic aberration at short and mid-range focal lengths but distinct colour fringing became apparent on the high-contrast test target when the lens was set to 300mm. Similarly, although the MTF curves for 70mm and 135mm both remained above 0.25 cycles-per-pixel from wide-open down to f/16, the curve for 300mm peaked at just 0.2 cycles-per-pixel at f/11. Sample images The hood is a new design and snaps on to the front element (easier to put on for sure because you don't have to line up any notches). It's always loose so it rotates freely (not too easily though). To remove it, you have to depress two tabs and pull it off. I don't get the feeling this is a solid design here and worry that any bang on the hood will break it off. I'm hoping it's sturdier than it feels and I think Nikon got a little cheap here. As you can see, the lens is capable of producing great results when shot at f/8.0. Vibration Reduction – VR II Is there any reason I should prefer the first to the second, which has a greater zoom range and a wider aperture at the 300mm end?