Nikon 2191 AF-S NIKKOR 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR Lens

I must admit up-front that I am newly digital, so I may have my quirks and strong opinions being a very very late convert from manual SLR film cameras... I guess I always liked the medium and had real trouble letting go. The D800 I own is as good as any of my film kit though, no its better, and that was hard for me to acknowledge at first until I actually held it in my hands and shot with it. This little lens is the perfect partner for my medium format FX digital camera, so if you buy one lens let this one be it... Why? Because it offers unmatched versatility in focal length and portability without compromising as much as you might expect in the results, while saving you loads of money on building a collection of lenses that in my view don't justify the cost vs benefit factor... simply put you broadly covered with this lens, and its stunning quality:- Its surprisingly small and compact, it weighs only about 1kg and is solid and well built... ideal for event photography, or outdoors.- Excellent at low light, it really performs beyond my expectations, although the full frame format does help here.- Sharp throughout, and fast, excellent autofocus- 28-300, that's amazing versatility! Unmatched maybe, when you consider how short and compact a lens it is... This means it is the perfect lens for landscape and wedding photography, and also performs exceptionally at both ends of the range so I can't really fault it!- Some minor criticism I have read were unfounded in my view... Thinking theoretically about low light, speed and bokeh I also went and bought the AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G prime lens believing I wouldn't have this area covered properly... That 50mm prime is also a superb lens, its supposed to be unmatched in low light, however after using both these lenses in anger I am hard pressed for a real reason to switch lenses when shooting to my 50mm lens because the quality and speed of this lens is generally close enough to that one... On that note someone else also mentioned it doesn't achieve the desired bokeh, but I find the results actually very pleasing and comparable to using my 50mm prime when at full aperture in aperture priority mode, and you have the added benefit of a faster autofocus and VR... trust me its pretty good, so unless you the fussy type and nit pick about fractions and theoretical margins, you won't be disappointed.- Everyone has a preferred style of working, one thing I love about a lens like this is having the benefit of being able to adjust my focal length incrementally as I please, its not everyone's deal I know, but my experience with portraits is that especially between adults and children I do sometimes like some variation in focal length to get the most pleasing resultI love this lens, what a bargain in my view!

I have two Nikon D7000 cameras, a Nikon 35mm F1.8 prime, a Nikon 50mm F1.8 prime and also the Nikon 18-200mm VR lens. After careful consideration, reading the reviews and looking at the images taken by others, I decided to buy the Nikon 28-300mm because I hope to upgrade at some point to a full frame camera like the Nikon D4 and this lens can be use on both full frame and DX models. The D7000 is a DX camera so with the crop factor the Nikon 28-300mm becomes efectively a zoom of 42-450mm (with reference to the 35mm film format).I have read some negative reviews regarding this lens with comments like, It's too big and heavy, lens creepage when tilted downwards, lens distortion at both ends of the zoom range and that the focus is soft. Ok let's take a look at these points of criticism:-Yes, if you are only use to the standard kit lens like the 18-55mm, then this lens will seem big and heavy to you, but remember this is a super zoom lens and it has a lot of glass in it to do what it does and although it is has a weight to it, I found it not to be so heavy as to be uncomfortable to use and on the D7000 I find the balance to be good overall. Another point to consider that you don't have to carry a load of other lenses with you to cover the range of zoom that this lens covers, so as a walk about lens this lens is great.What about lens creep? I have never experienced it myself on either the 28-300mm, or the 18-200mm, in any case Nikon now includes a zoom lock on the lens, so there should not be a problem when the lens pointing downwards in one's camera bag.What about lens distortion? If you have a Nikon D7000, there is an option in the camera's menu settings, switch the `Auto Distortion Control' to `ON' and the distortion is virtually eliminated. If your camera does not have this option you will see some barrel distortion and maximum zoom and pincushion distortion at the wide-angle setting, depending on the subject you are photographing. If it is objectionable one can always correct it in your photo editing software. Remember no zoom is perfect, top professional lenses are better and have less distortion, but they cost a whole lot more and their zoom range is far more limited.What about lens sharpness? The colour rendition and contrast of the 28-300mm (and 18-200mm) I find to be as good as my prime lenses, the prime lenses are a little sharper when stopped down, but the difference isn't that great in reality and if the image is found to be a little soft one can easily correct this with your photo editing software. People may comment that their prime lens is a lot sharper, but then their prime lens cannot zoom from 28-300mm can it now? A top professional lens will perform better if you can afford it, but their zoom range is a lot more limited and you will need two or more lenses to cover the zoom range that this lens covers. Overall, I find the lens sharpness to be good throughout the zoom range, both on the 28-300mm and the 18-200mm and when you consider the range of this zoom, I think Nikon have done a really good job and that why I give five stars in this review.One really big advantage with this super zoom is that one can go from wide to full zoom instantly and so never miss a shot. Another advantage is that you don't have to carry a bag full of lenses with you and because one is not changing lenses all the time, there is less risk of dust getting into your camera to contaminate you camera's sensor.What about Bokeh, those nice blurred backgrounds? Bokeh is limited due to the relatively small maximum aperture of this lens, if Bokeh is of critical importance, one could purchase a prime lens with a maximum aperture of F1.8 or better, or a zoom with a maximum aperture of F2.8, however such zooms tend to be very expensive.Which zoom should I get for my DX camera, the 28-300mm, or the 18-200mm? If one is not planning to go to the full frame format, I would recommend the Nikon 18-200mm, if you do decide to go for the Nikon 28-300mm for use on a DX camera, one will also need a wide angle lens in addition to the 28-300mm. If you already own a the standard kit lens such as the Nikon 18-55mm, this will help cover the wide angle side of things. If one is going to upgrade to the full frame format, then I would recommend the 28-300mm.Whatever lens you go for, make sure that you put a good quality lens protector such as the Hoya Pro 1 Digital MC Protector. This is a low profile, multi-coated filter which will protect your expensive glass. I have come across people who have used a cheap filter, which is not even multi-coated and they wonder why they get poor results.Is the Nikon 28-300mm (and the Nikon 18-200mm) worth the money? Every penny in my view, especially if you can acquire it at a good price.

I use this lens as a hobbyist but also for my business to take product shots. I am very happy with the image quality but more than anything I love the versatility and not having to change lenses often. Obviously it doesn't let as much light in as primes so you do need to watch your shutter speeds, it's easy to get camera shake at longer focal lengths. VR does help with that but you'll find it eats the battery life quite quickly. In the studio it is fantastic for product shots where I can zoom in and out in Liveview to frame the subject perfectly. For my purposes the sharpness is sufficient and I am hard pushed to tell the difference between shots taken with this versus a prime but then I'm not obsessive about image quality.Overall I highly recommend this lens. The only downside is the weight, when I switch back to say a 35mm prime my D750 suddenly feels as light as a feather!