55-300 vr nikkor - amazing

Just got this new cheap tele zoom, I am amazed by this lens. on D7100 AF is very fast, and as I just sent back 50-500 bigma - this little gem is way shrper at 300mm f5.6 than bigma was.

it took +3 AF adjustment to be spot on at every length from 55mm to 300mm and honestly it simply works. VR works and contrast is OK. look at this target - it is across my basement, with flash from 17ft or so, target was printed on standard a4 paper so you look at the full frame image.

I tried to upload it as it was, not sure if web site will keep original or not.

So for a $300 crappy zoom I think this lens way outperforms any expectations I had as I remember what old Canon 100-300 IS was, what old non-VR 70-300 nikkor was, this new technology somehow produces usable output and I do appreciate it for sure.

Hmm... while I am sure the 55-300 is a nice lens for the price, if your Bigma was similar at 300mm f/5.6 then I think you had a dud. My 150-500 is much sharper...

Anyway, glad you like this lens. I'm sure your back will thank you for not picking the one weighing 10x as much! ;-)

Cheers

The Big One said:

The Big One wrote:

Hmm... while I am sure the 55-300 is a nice lens for the price, if your Bigma was similar at 300mm f/5.6 then I think you had a dud. My 150-500 is much sharper...

Anyway, glad you like this lens. I'm sure your back will thank you for not picking the one weighing 10x as much! ;-)

Click to expand...

it is possible, as you never know what you receive from Amazon. bigma definitely did not have proper contrast as I tried it on same distance against same target.



Here is an another sample - shot across the road, focus at infinity. So far I got to say for a 300mm under $600 zoom lens it delivers ok.

relative sharpness on those cameras is a b$tch - you never know if it is really a lens or just camera cannot make it focus properly. By no means I say this consumer grade glass is in same category with $1.5k Sigma, all I say - I am very pleasantly surprised that it is indeed a usable product, I did not expect it to be so.

But, you see, in this case curiosity paid off, I will definitely use it now for city trips and travel, it is just 1.3lb, very compact when extended to 300mm and it even works acceptably well, which is pretty surprising.

Paul Atkin said:

Paul Atkin wrote:



Just got this new cheap tele zoom, I am amazed by this lens. on D7100 AF is very fast, and as at 300mm f5.6 this little gem is way sharper than the bigma was.

it took +3 AF adjustment to be spot on at every length from 55mm to 300mm and honestly it simply works. VR works and contrast is OK. look at this target - it is across my basement, with flash from 17ft or so, target was printed on standard a4 paper so you look at the full frame image.

I tried to upload it as it was, not sure if web site will keep original or not.

So for a $300 crappy zoom I think this lens way outperforms any expectations I had as I remember what old Canon 100-300 IS was, what old non-VR 70-300 nikkor was, this new technology somehow produces usable output and I do appreciate it for sure.

Click to expand...

Hi!

I was in Tanzania last year with my "newbie" photographer brother, who had just bought a D5100 and a 55-300VR.

I had my "top end" camera gear, including a D4 and 500VR. So, we were driving (i.e. moving) when our guide spotted a juvenile snake eagle in a tree. Before I could swing my heavier gear into place my brother grabbed this shot:



Nikon D5100 ,AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR
1/1600s f/6.3 at 195.0mm iso400

Crop:



Not bad. And a lot better than the shot I didn't get!

The 55-300, on the D5100's crop sensor, even in the hands of a very inexperienced photographer did pretty on the trip!



Nikon D5100 ,AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR
1/320s f/5.6 at 300.0mm iso400

And my brother had a lot esier time carrying his gear than did I !



Nikon D5100 ,AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR
1/250s f/8.0 at 98.0mm iso100

But there were also some times where it was worth it to me to have all the technological help I could get!:



Nikon D4 ,Nikon AF-S 500mm f/4 ED VR
1/125s f/4.0 at 500.0mm iso1600

At $396, for DX shooters, the 55-300VR seems like a pretty good value to me compared to the $1659 Sigma 50-500.

RB

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RBFresno said:

RBFresno wrote:

RBFresno said:

Nikon D5100 ,AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR
1/250s f/8.0 at 98.0mm iso100

Click to expand...

But there were also some times where it was worth it to me to have all the technological help I could get!:

Nikon D4 ,Nikon AF-S 500mm f/4 ED VR
1/125s f/4.0 at 500.0mm iso1600

At $396, for DX shooters, the 55-300VR seems like a pretty good value to me compared to the $1659 Sigma 50-500.

Click to expand...

awesome shot, I only rented once a comparable glass, $9k for a lens is a very serious investment ad hauling it around is no joke. plus thieves, airports, well, it is a hassle.

yet, it definitely pays off when you see such results.

it is also amazing to see you shooting this monster handheld, it takes serous muscle.

ps. btw - it goes now for $379, free shipping. good deal for what it is.