20 Best Travel Lens For Nikon (2023 Updated)

Intro: I got this lens summer of 2020, but didn’t start using it until late 2020. I have been using this lens with the Nikon D7100 (DX Size sensor) which means this lens is actually a 300-750mm f/5. 6.

Design: Coming in at a whopping 5lbs this lens is heavy, but it feels light in the hand and it is well balanced even at 500. The zoom ring does require a lot of movement to get form 200 to 500. The Focus ring is smooth and easy to move.

If you want to use a filter for this lens you will need to get a 95mm filter which can cost up to $500. This lens comes with a lens hood that twists on the the front of the lens and can be flipped around reversed to save space, however this hood can fall off if you bump it.

The tripod color is comfortable to hold and is super sturdy, it has a small indent when it is vertical and horizontal which can be useful, the one downside to this foot is the way it comes off. It is too easy to slide off if the color is unlocked.

Usability: This lens will work with any F-Mount cameras and the FTZ (1 & 2) adapter, as well as the older film cameras with the F-Mount. All of the switches are easy to use even with gloves on. The lens has a minimum focus distance of 7.

22′ (2. 2m) which allows you to get macro photos VR: This lens has a really great VR system, I am able to handhold this lens even at 500mm and still get sharp shots even at 1/200th I will mostly use the sport mode for wildlife and action shots and I’ll use the normal mode for stay shot where the camera isn’t moving.

Features/Specs: Focal length: 200-500mm (300-750mm in DX mode) Maximum Aperture: f/5. 6 Minimum Aperture: f/32 Lens Format coverage: Full-Frame Dimensions ( x L): 4. 25 x 10. 53 / 108 x 267. 5 mm Length at Maximum Extension: 13.

5 / 343 mm Weight: 5. 07 lb / 2. 3 kg Conclusion: This is an Amazing lens for all types of photography, but it excels in sport and wildlife photography. I would recommend this lens for anyone who wants to get in to supper-telephoto photography but not breaking the bank.

I will keep it simple. This is the best sub $1500 wildlife lens you can buy for your nikon dslr, or even z mirrorless. Pros: – IQ is SHARP! It really produces some brilliantly sharp images. – VR is very good, I successfully keep grabbing panning shots of birds upto 1/600 of a sec for my shutter speed, I find many keepers.

1/800 upwards it just gets better. Don’t listen to anyone who says otherwise, it’s ABSOLUTE USER ERROR! – The build quality is good, the focus ring is smooth. Buttons for manual/AF, VR is always a plus.

– At this price point you would be hard pressed to find a better wildlife semipro lens! – for 5. 6 it produces beautiful bokeh, especially when close to your subject and at 500mm, the compression is just buttery smooth! Cons- – heavy, get ready for a workout, if you’re planning to handhold, and in my opinion this causes most problems for people missing focus.

Get yourself a tripod, a gimbal head tripod and you will unlock its real potential! – there is no weather sealing, if you want weather sealing you need to go for the 500 PF, coz that and weight is the only main areas where the PF 5.

6 has a leg up. That being said I have used mine in the rain, not torrential downpour but in light rain and no issues. just don’t keep changing focal length otherwise you will be pushing water into the lens barrel.

Save yourself the headache get a good lens rain cover and you will be fine! (FTZii is weather sealed FYI) – the filter thread size, is a pain, 95mm is huge, and cumbersome to even store and carry in a bag, or a lens filter pouch.

But you Get yourself a good ND and guess what it takes some very good video. Biggest point for anyone considering this with a Z system. I use this only with my z6ii and let me tell you it’s performed beyond my expectations with the ftzii.

The Z system just takes this to a whole new height, coz yes the f5. 6 is tad high, but with the lowlight capability of the z6ii I can push upto 12800 iso in some cases and get some great shots. I cannot stress how much better this is then the 150-600 sigma or tamron, those lenses are never going to outperform a native lens, even on a Z system.

Also for the third party lens you need to buy a separate tap in console to update the lens, extra purchase. WATCH B&H for price drops, I picked up this baby at $1000 when it was on sale! And it was practically a steal!! The only way I would replace this when the 200-600 Z lens releases, because that with a 1.

4TC would be my next upgrade. Unless that lens is also not weather sealed, in which case I would opt for the 500 PF. And it would be only for this reason, the weather sealing. For me its constant rain as I live in Brazil, for now while a rain cover does do well its just cumbersome for zooming in and out with the rain cover on.

It can scare off birds at times, especially owls and hummingbirds.

I was quite impressed when this lens arrived about a month ago. First, the lens came in it’s ‘original’ packaging. The lens was secured enough in the packaging. The lens was shipped overseas, and made it to me in less than a weeks time, after ordering.

I bought this lens ‘used’ from Adorama, and was skeptical about, A: buying used, and B: anytime a company uses a grading system for their used merchandise, how accurate will it be?? In my case, the merchandise’ condition EXCEEDED what had been listed for a grade for my lens – greatly satisfied!! I have read a lot of reviews about this lens and many comments are out there regarding it’s size.

This lens is not quite the behemoth that people make it out to be, in MY opinion!! It looks good attached to my D750 and seems to help me look like I may even know what I am doing when I am out shooting.

I carried this setup around with me for 4 days in Barcelona, on a Black Rapid Sport Strap and had no issues with weight. Like any other equipment, there will always be adjustments with regards to handling it.

These adjustments will train the ‘muscle memory’ and like anything else, done with enough repetition, will become second nature. While bulbous at the end, this lens is comfortably slim, the closer it gets to the camera body, and ergonomically felt fine.

I do not shoot under vast amounts of pressure, so I cannot comment on weather or not any of the adjustment rings get bumped, accidentally, when using this lens. I tend to think that the more this lens is used, the more ‘muscle memory’ would prevent that from happening anyways! The lens cap will more than likely loosen up with time.

Until then, I will be sure to make a conscious effort, and build the habit, of ensuring that it does not fall off, or get lost, thereby exposing my glass when I least expect it, even if it means ‘cradling’ my camera by the lens cap – small price to pay for piece of mind.

That is just me though, and I think alot of the issues some other reviewers have talked about, could be solved with just a little bit of conscious effort. Someone may have even come up with some other means of retaining the lens cap other than it’s original means.

Just had this lens out for its first photo safari and I can’t express how incredibly satisfied I am with it. It performed better than I could have expected. Images are crisp side-to-side, top-to-bottom, at all focal lengths.

Auto focus was fast and precise. My real test was on night sky photos. The light gathering capabilities were superb, and the lens provided absolutely pin sharp stars. I also saw zero coma at the edges, something I had struggled with on other lenses.

I primarily use a tripod for landscapes and especially for night sky shots, but there are times I just want to quickly pull out the camera and capture an image. This is a very hefty lens, so in hand-held shooting it was a challenge at first, but I quickly got use to it.

I am more than happy with this lens and would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to shoot landscapes and night skies.

I am a Nikon enthusiast. I have been using Nikon cameras and lenses for over 30 years. I have been using D80 for many years. I was waiting for Nikon to come out with flip screen on the 7 series for a long time.

I decided to buy the camera for this feature plus 4K video and Wifi. Sad to say that I am less than impressed with this camera. In a nutshell, I could have spent my money better on a different product/camera.

It takes great stills but when it comes to take videos, the auto focus us slow to respond versus still photography, it’s cumbersome to change AF settings and Wifi is basically useless unless you use Snapbridge app.

You have to juggle with multiple dials to change AF settings in video mode. Even then, AF is slow to respond in close shots. It works fine for long shots though. You cannot connect D7500 directly to your computer/laptop using Wifi.

You need to first connect using Snapbridge. This makes Wifi function basically useless. There are some good features om this camera but they are useless foe me, therefore, I wouldn’t evaluate them.

I’m a photojournalist and wanted a compact, light, do-it-all lens to twist onto the front of my D3300 and carry with me when I’m riding my motorcycle. The 18-140 is much smaller and lighter than my 18-200 and I honestly don’t miss that extra 60mm on the long end.

It’s sharp even wide open and the VR feature works well. Since the D3300 has great high-ISO performance I can get by with the lens’ available apertures. I’ve only had it a month but I’ve already published several dozen images made with the 18-140.

Downsides: It’s a bit slower with autofocus than my pro glass and it’s definitely not something you want to bang around, especially when the barrel is extended. Also if you need extremely high resolution, say for a wedding, opt for the f2.

8 Nikkors instead. The body-lens combination with an SB400 flash fits in a small bag I carry when motorcycling. The outfit can handle just about anything I will encounter during motorcycle weather, which is to say no precipitation, decent light and anything that isn’t too far away.

I couldn’t be happier with my purchase.

I have used this lens for about 3 months and I find it to be versatile, sharp and easily managed. It always seems to be in my bag. The AF is quiet and fast. Frankly, the resolution is better than I expected from a zoom.

I put it on my D850 and have only taken it off once. For some reason, this lens and camera are a great match. I rarely use my tripod for wildlife with this lens. The VR is excellent. The weight and size are modest, so the lens is great for travel.

The lens is sharp from 80 to 400mm. I am writing now because i just received yet another wow comment from a pro to a posted image. Additionally, I bought the Kirk collar and recommend it if it is within your budget.

It is simply an addition that enhances your experience beyond the cost of it.

I rented this lens to photograph the Reno Air Races. I use a Nikon D3300, and the images came out perfectly at pretty much any focal length I used, and the lens had zero problems with burst shooting at fast shutter speeds and in variable lighting to track airplanes that were moving at 500mph.

The downsides to the lens are that it’s a bit awkward and heavy for hand holding (especially when tracking something moving quickly), and the barrel is wide enough that quickly changing the zoom setting while shooting can be awkward for someone with smaller hands, but both of those issues got better as I got more comfortable using the lens.

This was my first time renting a lens, and the entire process was simple and incredibly straightforward from start to end, so I’ll definitely use Lensrentals again.

I brought the 80-400mm lens on vacation to Costa Rica. I’m so glad I did!! I was able to capture incredibly sharp photos of birds, frogs, insects, snakes, flowers and more. Including stunning photos of hummingbirds in flight! I can’t recommend this lens enough.

It can be a tad slow focusing but it is lighter than the really expensive zoom lenses. I’m a professional wedding photographer but I have a passion for nature photography.

I really enjoyed using this lens. It is compact and has great build quality for this type of lens. It provided the versatility needed for shooting an event. While I wouldn’t consider it top-quality, it performed great in terms of flexibility and speed.

I really liked that even at wide angle, there was some background bokeh when shooting at open apertures. The auto-focus is super quiet and fast – so fast I kept checking to make sure it was working. I had it on VR (not the “Active VR” option) and shooting in low light at exposures down to 1/20th the shots looked sharp – again not product photography sharp, but perfect for event coverage.

There are plenty of opinions out there on these types of lenses. Lovers and haters. The Pros say get a fixed prime lens. Or get the 400-600 lens that costs $6,000. And their reasons are pretty sound.

But for those whose budget isn’t quite that big or don’t require that level of equipment, the Nikon 18-200 is a decent lens. I was able to get decent quality pictures throughout it’s entire range. No, it’s not perfect, but it was good enough for the work I required it to do.

You can still produce very good work with this lens. And for the price, this lens is actually quite good.

This is the VR II which is an upgrade. I previously had the VR I model which was giving me problems after many years, as this is an upgrade that would be a little more money than having the previous lens fixed.

This is a great all round lens for when travelling light. Not the same quality of other lenses (70-200) but when out hiking the mountains or the Grand Canyon this is a go to lens ( or the 18-300 for a little more money) you would buy this lens either for the weight advantage or the price range.

Nikons 50mm 1. 8 lens is a must have lens as part of your kit. The G lenes are relatively inexpensive but more expensive than the better 1. 8d lens. The older version had no barrel distortion that this and its more expensive sidekick the 1.

4G has. All are great lenses though. The draw back with the older 50mm 1. 8d was that there was no built in AF motor within the lens, so you were reliant on the AF motor with in camera body, not all bodies had the built in AF motor, so the older 1.

8d lens was a manual only lens when fitted to those. The G lenses are more bulky due to the inbuilt AF motors, so they take up more room in your pocket than the older lens. Plus, this lens has weather sealing at the mount end of the lens that the older one didn’t.

Not really an issue if you’re respectful to your kit. Frankly the optics are sharp, the fast aperture is great in low light. I have the 50mm 1. 4 G too, but it’s hardly used. If you are only going to use this lens only once in a while, I’d buy a really good 1.

8d lens up second hand for around a hundred quid, but make sure your camera body has a built in AF motor before you do, unless you don’t mind manually focusing it. It’s a piece of cake to do. Most videos on line will tell you the G lenses are quicker at focusing than the older D lenses.

That rubbish. They are the same speed. Plus, the only reason the G lenses appear quieter is that the AF motors are in the lens not the camera body. So, in affect the AF motors are further away from your face and ears and not attached within the camera body itself.

Nikon would have you believe that the G lenses are a revelation but, they just want you to buy newer lenses that are arguable not as good as the ones they replace. The bottom line is this. Why pay £450.

00 for a G 50mm 1. 4 or a hundred quid less for the G 50mm 1. 8, when you can pick the D variants of these leases up in top nick for around £150. 00 for the 1. 4d or between £60 to £100. 00 for 50mm 1.

8d. They are smaller often look a little flimsy, but they are far from that, plus they go into your pocket so much easier than the G lenses that are bulkier. To be honest I use the D variants 8 out of 10 of the time, I’m only using the G’s on a camera body with no built in AF motor.

There is less post production needed with the older lens as you can get the images banging in camera. As a semi pro, I often use the older lenses, as they are often optically better than the newer kit.

There’s lots of fussy fluff on the modern lenses, and as a result the optic ability are often compromised. All the lenses mentioned in this review are great buys and I’m sure you’ll buy the one best suited to your specific requirements, but don’t discount looking at a good quality second-hand variant of this G lens, you might just bag a bargain and save a few quid and time sat in post-production.

Unfortunately, if you are looking for a technical review, then this review is not for you. There are many other reviews that will give you that, but this won’t be one. Though I’ve been shooting for years, I’ve only been shooting with a 50mm for the last 5 or so years now.

It has been a game-changer in capturing portraits as well as just a great alternative as an everyday lens to capture just about anything. It’s also smaller and easier to travel with if you are looking for a more compact lens.

I bought it as a replacement for a 50mm lens that was stolen. So, I simply just replaced what I had initially. I haven’t met a 50mm lens that didn’t do exactly what I purchased it to do. So, I truly have no complaints about this purchase.

Great bang for your buck.

Yes this is a kit type lens. Nikon doesn’t ,make bad lenses, some just less expensive than others. This a “f:4” lens, that means it needs some light to work right. And being a “55-200”, it’s similar to a 35mm 90-300.

So, understand that this is not the lens for dimly lit indoor shots. This is a great single lens option to be outside in the daylight. That low 55 will give you a picture that looks the same as what you saw- the 200 part is almost a 4x magnification.

You usually won’t need or want to carry a bag of extra lenses, just this one. The “VR” means Vibration Reduction”; it gets rid of some of the shakes and blurs. I bought this for a kid whose camera came with the 18-55 VR.

It was a very economical addition to what he had, fills in the upper range blank, and it is his “outside” lens. He’s very happy with it. I bought this used from an eBay seller. It came in surprisingly beautiful shape.

YMMV, of course, but this looked and felt barely used at all. I tested it on my d7100, and it was flawless. I may get me one. Yea you could spend another $1000 and get something that does something else, but IMNSHO this lens will do most people right, as long as you’re outside in daylight.

Quick to focus, quick to zoom, and it’s a “real” Nikon lens, so it works right on your camera.

As zooms go, this is a great lens. Contrast is as good as almost anything. Sharpness in the center is excellent, almost as good as a fixed lens. On the edges, no. Fixed lenses are far better on the edges as is the case with virtually all zooms.

I keep an old 300mm (450mm on DX cameras) F4 Takumar for serious telephoto work. Almost as sharp at F4 as it is at F11, almost. If it was APO I’d be in Nirvana. But that forgoes auto. everything, 100% manual.

Which I love as I hate automatic control of anything creative so zooms should IMO rarely (action, casual work etc) be used. Then again, neither should MP3 or MQA or any audio compression. but it is and ubiquitously so.

As with audio, photography has a high end and zooms should not be included in there. I think, if given an opportunity to be exposed to fixed lenses, not unlike hearing great analog LPs or just uncompressed audio files like W64 and DSD, zooms would be related to the amateur market even more than they are or should be.

And zooms exploit human nature such that we are getting worse at composition because of their convenience. Like horrible sounding audio because it fits on our phones. Is my age showing?.

I bought this light after reading alot of reviews on how well it preformed for the price. I have not been disappointed. This is a very sharp lens for the money. It focuses very fast, it does not however, have a focus ring.

For some that may be a deal breaker but i don’t find it to be a big deal. The few draw backs to this lens is, it does not focus up close. At 55mm the focus distance is around 3 feet. The aperture is tied in tho the focal range.

Meaning that zooming in and out will have an effect on the minimum aperture number you will be able to get. This is common in cheaper lenses but for most hobbyist and amateurs you probably won’t find this to be to much of a problem.

I would have to say that if you were just getting into portrait photography this would be a good little lens to have on hand. It gives you all the major portrait lengths, 85,105,120, and 135. Add a 50mm prime with at least an f2 min aperture and you have a great starting point.

Nikon has developed a new generation of lenses using what seem to be state-of-the-art plastics to hold their state-of-the-art glass. Old timers like me worry about (and penalize star ratings for) their not having steel bayonet mounts on the lenses, but as we do not bounce our lenses around like basketballs anyway, perhaps Nikon is right and we are wrong.

IF IN FACT YOU HAVE A USE FOR a relatively long-focus zoom lens, this is a great bargain, very compact in storage, light in weight, and sharp as a tack even at 200mm. I more often need the range of my 18-105mm zoom, but for more elusive subject matter–birds and small wild animals, for example–this 55-200mm is much to be preferred.

That the filter diameter is the old Nikon standard 52mm may be seen as some advantage, as most of us by now have a closet full of them left over from our Nikon SLR days–and of course 52mm filters are still less expensive.

The combination of VR and light weight make successful hand-held photographs a reality even at 200mm. All the electronics needed to handle this lens are already built into your camera, so you may be confident of your results.

My first Nikon 50mm 1. 4 lens was purchased in 1964. That MF lens was great and I still use it. I own several 50mm 1. 4 lens purchased over time and what makes this special is that I can get almost instant focus shots that are razor sharp! The pros: 1) Focus is internal so focus doesn’t alter polarizing settings 2) I can grab the lens to change the focus easily if I want to.

(The previous design 50mm f 1. 4 AF-D required you to switch the ring to manual focus) 3) It has great bokeh is very good (as it is on previous 1. 4 lenses) 4) Fast, accurate AF-S autofocus is giving me a lot more keeper shots that are sharp.

5) Great keep-on-camera lens for walking around. 6) Well thought out placement of controls make the lens feel like I have used it for years. The cons: 1) G lenses can not be used on older Nikons 2) Who thought up the weird 58mm filter size? Should have been 52 or 62 like all Nikons 3) Made in China and not Japan 4) Preferred when things were all metal including filter ring and lens hood instead of plastic In summary, I pity the fool who parted with this great lens! His loss is my gain! (Side note: I have never sold any Nikon product I purchased, EVER!.

Checking photo gallery websites sites, you can still find this lens being used on high end current Nikon cameras, as well as the historical ones. From DSLRs (like D700) thru mirro-less bodies like Z6, Z7 – the output looks great across the spectrum.

If you’re on the fence about this one, just buy it. It’s quite nice and holding its own against the third party manufacturers. I really appreciate the prompt service from BH Photo!.

Great lens if you understand the compromises you have to deal with considering both its fairly low price and its 28-300 focal range. In order to create a lens like this and keep its price under $1,000 you are not going to get it in a flat f2.

8 or anything like that. If that kind of beast was available you would expect to spend thousands more. So yes at 300mm and being f5. 6 it will have a harder time in darker scenarios. But understanding that you can more than make up for it by planning out your shots a little bit.

Also, typically you would have a say 24-70mm and then a second lens doing the 70-200mm or 300mm range. This allows them to adjust the optics to get less pincushion or other types of lens distortion. By putting the wider 28mm all the way to the 300mm zoom on this bad boy, you have to deal with various types of lens distortion throughout the range.

Now, the majority of this can be compensated in Lightroom or other such programs after the fact, but it will be a factor in your photos. So understanding that, and working with it will also have to be a part of your program with this lens.

Basically it is not a Professional grade lens due to those aspects, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take professional photos with it! But it is primarily designed for the hobbyist or traveler that doesn’t want to take 5 different lenses with them on their trip.

It is fantastic for someone who is trying to learn composition and take their photography to the next level. It basically removes “am I using the right lens?” from the equation because you can get almost anything you want with this lens and just focus on the shot itself.

And that is where I intend to use it. Now. the seller of the lens I bought, however. If the price is too good to be true, stay away. Authorized dealers seem to only be able to sell Nikon Warrantied lenses at $3 less than Nikon themselves does.

If you find it for less, unless Nikon is offering a discount, it’s probably gray market (i. e. no US 5 year warranty).

You can’t beat the convenience of this lens. It goes from 28mm all the way to 300mm and is respectably sharp at f/8 at the long end and f/5. 6 at shorter focal lengths. It’s not as sharp as my pro glass, and the contrast isn’t quite as good, but it’s a miracle that it is as good as it is given that super zooms are always optical compromises.

VR is good enough that I can get sharp photos most of the time at 1/30 of a second, and maybe 50% of the time at 1/15-1/20. My copy had a slight front focus that needed +1 AF Fine tune to correct. I will say that if you are a hard core pixel peeper who uses professional glass, you might not be happy with this lens.

But if you aren’t the kind of person who looks at their photos under a magnifying glass, you will love the versatility and convenience it brings. I have included a handful of pictures I snapped with it tonight.

All handheld, the VR is pretty good and when combined with the high ISO capabilities of modern cameras lets you shoot in fairly low light levels, as long as your subject is still.

I really like this lens. In most cases it is very sharp and any delay in focusing quickly is relative. In my case, manually focusing is often ncessary. I can see some photographers wanting a faster lens and my take on that is this: if I was shooting a specific kind of image and subject that demanded quick auto focus, I would recognize the need for such and rent or purchase a fast prime of the focal length required.

I like this lens mostly because it is as good as it is with the wide range of focal length and very compact. The weight doesn’t bother me because Im not a sissy photographer that whines about how heavy his tools are.

I use a tripod most of the time and often at night, so the weight of the lens isn’t an issue for me. The vibration reduction helps tremendously when shooting handheld, especially with the lens boomed out at 300mm.

I would recommend it to anyone that wants to minimize the amount of lenses they carry with them and is looking for this focal range. There are better set ups that can be achieved with better lens combos of course, but for the weight and the money I’m happy with this lens.

I bought this lens after extensive research into wide angle zooms for my D800, and in spite of it being built largely from plastic I have been nothing short of amazed at the results it has produced. I am a self confessed pixel peeper so I know when a lens is sharp and this one is razor sharp across 90% of the frame.

Sharpness is not everything I know, contrast, and especially micro contrast, has its importance for fine detail rendition, particularly in landscapes. This lens simply has oodles of it! The bottom line is, (for purists) that this lens will stretch your sensors capabilities, and in some cases, out perform it, its that good.

The really important point to make though is that in the real world of picture taking this lens has everything going for it. It has a great feel to it, the zoom ring is silky smooth, the autofocus is fast, its lightweight and the build quality is nothing short of excellent.

So finally, if the 18~35mm focal length fits your needs for your full frame camera, then just go ahead and buy this cracking optic, you will not be disappointed – just amazed.

This is a beautiful lens for the money. My copy is a refurbished, but it looks and works like new. The lens is very light weight, a great virtue for lugging it attached to my D600 on long hikes. This also makes operating the lens/camera on a tripod much easier than beefier lenses.

Best feature is the impressive sharpness at all focal lengths. The level of detail in close objects is just astonishing on the D600. Even distant objects show definition I just would not expect to see.

All told, for the money you just cannot go wrong with this sharp, lightweight beauty. It doesn’t carry the Nikon gold ring, like the 16-35, 17-35 or 14-24; but it SHOULD.

Once again, like the 85mm 1. 8G, the 50mm 1. 8G and the 70-200 f4, Nikon has made a moderately price lens that competes with their own more established, expensive lenses. Though it is lighter weight and does not have a fixed aperture, this lens reminds me of one of my old favorites, the Nikon 17-35 f2.

8. Although the build quality is quite good, it does not compare to the bombproof construction of that lens, but then again it is almost 1/3 the price and the Image quality is better. Having owned the 14-24 and the 16-35, and directly tested the 16-35 against this lens, I would say the IQ of this lens falls somewhere between those two and it is only slightly “slower” than the 16-35 at the second half of the focal range.

All factors considered for my style of shooting, I can say that this is my favorite FX wide zoom ever.

I took a chance on this lens, since most of the reviews seem to categorize it as a replacement for the earlier 16-85 f3. 5-5. 6 – with marginal improvements. Many reviews spotlighted it’s shortcomings and the fact that the reviewer was expecting more It also seemed like many of the reviewers were of the opinion that the 16-85mm was the better “value” I was also “concerned” about the fact it is a reconditioned unit – which can be viewed in one of two ways 1.

the unit has been hand inspected and EVERYTHING is in tip-top shape ! 2. or, something is bound to get overlooked ! Well – the answer in my case was- #1 – it is an Excellent Lens! I found that many of the reviews cited sharpness as being only “marginally better” than the earlier 16-85mm.

But right off the bat this lens proved to be significantly sharper when I viewed images from both lenses in my on camera display screen and then confirmed the findings on my computer using View NX. Bokeh is very good and it will work well for portraits i.

e. unless you are REALLY picky. Granted, distortions are a bit more pronounced at the 16mm end of the zoom, than the 16-85mm, which I found were very good. But if you zoom just a tiny amount (i. e. to 18-19mm) barrel distortions start to disappear.

Pincushion distortions at the long end are negligible unless you shoot subjects that have a lot of straight lines in them. But realistically – would anyone consider this lens as a replacement for architectural or portrait lenses? – NO! – so don’t expect it perform to the same levels.

This is an extremely good multipurpose lens that provides very sharp images in lower light levels with surprisingly good Bokeh. It’s MY new “walking around” lens that will go on many more vacations to come And my last concern – Who is Visions? – Most of my purchases are from stalwarts like Henry’s and Vistek Well, I placed the order online, I received email updates on delivery progress, right up to the final “Delivered” email.

I’m very Happy.

Excellent lens. I wanted a lens that would work for most occasions and this lens fits the bill. The actual range is 24 to 120mm on a Nikon DX camera, so that makes for a very handy wide angle to medium range telephoto lens.

So far, I’ve used it for portraits and small group shots, architectural photos and some landscapes. I’m very pleased with the results. Light gathering properties are also very good with a maximum aperture of f2.

8. Build quality is very good, as you’d hope for a ‘gold standard’ Nikon lens. Handling is excellent – you can fine tune focusing manually without flicking a switch. This is the lens I will fit to my camera most often.

First of all, I also own the magnificent AF-S 24-70mm f/2. 8G ED, so thats my comparison reference for the 18-200mm. The 24-70 is truly a beast, weighing in at a full two pounds, so I dont understand why so many people think the 18-200 is heavy when it weighs nearly half as much.

In fact, the 18-200 feels rather light and very well-balanced on my metal-bodied D300s, and is quite compact when locked down at 18mm. As others have pointed out, the 18-200s image quality is a bit soft (particularly when compared to the tack-sharp 24-70), but you really have to be a pixel peeper zooming in to 100-200% to see the softness; under normal viewing conditions (on-screen or printed) the sharpness of the 18-200 is more than adequate.

Considering that the 18-200 costs one-third of a 24-70, I would say that its sharpness is better than could be reasonably expected from a budget lens with an 11:1 zoom ratio and a whopping 16 elements in 12 groups.

But the real clincher is that the 18-200 typically spends more time on my D300s than the 24-70 does. Thats mainly because the 24-70 travels along with a small backpack containing two or three additional lenses and an SB-700 flash.

More often than not, the D300s leaves home with only the 18-200 in front and a tiny (and sadly discontinued) SB-400 bounce flash on top, With this combination, Im ready for practically ANYTHING, outdoors or indoors with consistently excellent results but the most extreme and unusual conditions.

This is where the value of this versatile lens lies; you can reliably depend on consistent high-quality results in nearly any situation without lugging a lot of gear around. This lens has also made my life much easier during outings with friends and family Im sure youve noticed that they will grudgingly accept brief pauses for you to compose and capture an interesting shot, but have little patience when you stop and rummage around in your backpack for a few minutes to put the right gear together for the same shot.

Finally, Ive owned the 18-200mm for five years now (ever since the VR II version came out), so Im writing based on longtime experience. This lens was a terrific investment, as was the 24-70.

As with all Nikon products when you purchase a Nikon product you are getting amazing quality and this lens is no exception. This is a fairly standard lens that you will find in models like the D60 and a few others and is great for people who are beginning to understand the use of DSLR camera systems.

When I created my own photography business I use this lens to create stunning photos without any problem. It attaches to the body of the Nikon easily and is not too heavy. It has a decent range which includes a relatively low f-stop function so that you can obtain that nice blurry backgrounds that many photographers aspire to utilize when they set off to have a photoshoot.

It is a durable lens made of good quality materials. The only reason to upgrade from this lens in my opinion is if you are looking for your photos to turn out in a different way, like for instance if you want to get photos of birds really far away then you would be better suited to use a telephoto lens that is much larger but if you are dealing with photographing images of families or children for instance this is a great lens.

Teaching my grandson how to shoot. I have a D7000 spare body and assortment of lenses. He is 9 years old. Took him to the zoo and gave him the D7000 with a 50mm to start (forgiving lens, good depth of field, light weight, perfect field of view).

He took some great shots but was coveting my 24-120mm all day. This is a good starter lens that takes great photos and will auto focus on the D7000. Test shots look great. can’t wait to take him out on another outing and let him shoot with it.

This is a full frame lens so can be used on FX or film cameras as well as crop sensor (DX) cam eras. Constriction is plastic (except for the drive) including the F-mount flange. This means it is not likely to fair well on a drop.

It is, however, very light weight and images do seem to be sharp even when zoomed to 300 mm. If you use it on a Nikon DX camera the camera will crop the image to appear like that of a longer focal length by a factor of 1.

5. While optically it is still a 70-300 mm lens the images will appear like a 105-450 mm on a DX camera. It is not exceptionally fast so figure on daylight use. No focus motor is built into the lens so your camera must have the internal focus motor (not available on many smaller body Nikon DX cameras).

This lens was often included as the second lens in many older Nikon camera kits.

This is a nice piece of kit for the money. I am using it on a Nikon D5200. This lens is long when fully extended, but fortunately light. So it’s not a problem to handle. It is not an autofocus lens and it can be tricky to focus it precisely on really distant objects such as ships in the distance.

Final adjustments on focusing (after setting the general telescopic level with the barrel, which is easy) are accomplished by a ring near the outer lens. This takes a bit of getting used to and, particularly when fully extended, really challenges your eyesight to tell whether a distant object is really in sharp focus or out slightly.

Generally, you don’t know until you download the images to your computer and see them on a bigger screen. So you need to take extra shots at slightly different settings, which in these days of digital cameras is no the issue it once was.

It is all much easier when you are dealing with images that are closer, by the way. And it probably is something that practice with the lens will improve. Certainly good value and takes excellent pics.

Investing in lenses of this type, you expect the lens to be first class. Indeed, it is, optically and in its build quality. I prefer this lens to the 600mm f4, which is another top class lens. I hand hold this lens and get tack sharp images as well as sometimes using a mono pod, those saying you cannot hand hold this lens are wrong, it’s all in the technique.

I use this lens on a D5 and D500. Well mainly the D500 as you get increased reach with the DX body over FX. Rent one of these lenses before considering investing your money, it’s the best way to checking this lens is right for you.

Wex do a fantastic rental service. There is a marked step up in optics with the fix primes over the lesser lenses, you’re paying for the quality of the glass and speed of operation. I’ve never had to send the lens back for repair, or broken anything.

I’ve had the lens years. Yes, you can field review the lens and read all the tech, but to get the feel and to see if this lens is right for your needs you have to get one out and use it. So I am not going to go into all the bits and bats about the lens.

If you’re seriously looking at spending this sort of money, you’ll have had the sense to hire one out a few times before committing to owning one. I know it’s been one of the very best buys I’ve made, plus earning money from your work is important in recouping some of the financial outlay for this and other top end lenses, unless you have a spare 11k stuffed in the back of your sofa.

The worst telephoto lensI have rented. It had a major focusing issue. I took over 2500 shots of large wildlife animals, which were either still or moving very slow at shutter speeds of 1/1600 or 1/2000 sec and most were not in focus.

In some I noticed that background was in focus but not the subject I was focusing on. I used software Topaz sharpen but that could not sharpen to acceptable level. It didn’t help that I had a major expense participating in this photo tour.

Well, if you are reading my review, you will no doubt have read many more out there by pros who have done numerous field tests and produced all sorts of data from MTF charts to weight comparisons. For me, that was important, the lens was clearly being heralded as a brilliant piece of technology, but it was also up against a very much loved lens of mine, the 300mm f2.

8 VRII. Now that I have both, I have compared them in a number of respects, but to be honest they are both incredible lenses, superbly fit for purpose. My choice (I would keep them both but given my preference to centre my photography around one lens for each genre, for instance a fisheye, a wide and a tele are enough for me for one body, my D850, and I work to get to know them) is the 500mm simply because of its extra reach and tolerance of greater cropping on birds, yachts at sea and so forth.

On the other hand, 10% of the time I used the 300mm for landscapes and sunsets with very little cropping, and if a 300mm is what one wants, then it is an absolutely incredible lens, it will definitely allow a lot of cropping too on a high resolution camera.

So, in short, both stunning lenses. My choice for now for my needs, the 500mm. Bizarelly, it feels slightly lighter on the camera, although is actually a few hundred grams heavier than the 300mm. I had read a comment similar to that but did not really think it could be true, but it is for me! On the other hand, the 500mm does remain a slim but very long lens to carry around and it is definitely not discreet.

It is a specialist lens of superb quality, with a massive price and the results it produces, whilst superb, could probably be approached (but not equalled) by some far more cost effective options. It really comes down to your need, passion and in cases of finance, what compromises you are prepared to make on what.

However, for me, focussing on this lens alone, SUPERB.

Great light weight lens. Optically you expect nothing less from Nikon. I’ve used 4 of these lenses now and all fog in wet conditions, the weather sealing is an issue, so buy an over cover. As others have said there are issues with the foot and fixings like the hood.

If remote shooting with this lens on your camera, fix a tether to your kit. It’s noted from someone else here and they’re spot on. It’s really a hand hold lens only. I get why folk moan about the foot.

The foot is a key component of any lens and to have one that is spot on is a pre requisite on any lens especially one of this price. You should not have pay out to fix some basic design problems. That said mirrorless users will love this lens as will those where weight is problematic.

I see why some would look at other lenses too, it makes good sense when paying this sort of money. You also can afford to be picky too for the same reason. Better to do your research first. I would rent one of these before you buy one, mind I would suggest that with any expensive or pro lens.

Wex have a great rental service. I would recommend this lens it’s more a fair weather lens, so should be fine for the amateurs, hobbyists and occasional shooters. Not quite an all-out pro lens for me, there are too many design issues and the weather sealing has knocked my rating to 3 stars which is fair considering this lenses competition and what else is out there for less money secondhand.

As with the 500mm PF lens this lens needs to be held on ones hands to fully appreciate how light and how well balanced the lens is compared to other super telephoto lenses. The first day I was out photographing small woodpeckers and grosbeaks around my house and moving about and shooting hand held the entire time.

I could have done this with the 500mm PF but the image size is 150% larger with the 800mm lens. I could not have managed this with my 600mm f/4E lens and a TC-14 combo that weighs 2. 5 lbs more. I added a 140mm long plate to get good balance with the lens and Z9 on a gimbal head.

Nikon provides the necessary 1/4 and 3/8 mounting holes for a plate. The CL-L3 lens case is minimal in functionality with barely enough room for the lens with the Z9 mounted and it provides no protection for the camera and risks breaking the lens mount on the camera.

The carry case also has the usual single strap defect of other Nikon lens cases. The case is OK for storing the lens but not something I would use for travel with the lens. The best lens case for this lens is the Long Lens case made by Kinesis which provides better protection for lens and camera and can be had with Y shoulder straps and large external pockets for teleconverters, filters, spare battery, and other items.

I have the LowePro Trekker 600 AW III large lens carry case which is larger than needed but does work far better in every respect than the Nikon lens case. The best value for an upgrade to the Nikon lens case is the Ruggard Alpine 600 that provide greater utility and more protection than the Nikon CL-L3 lens case.