Looking for 'zoom lens' for Nikon D3300

King Mustard

King Mustard

New member
When I bought my Nikon D3300, it came with the Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II lens.

However, I wanted to be able to 'zoom in' further, whilst not losing the ability to take photos at a normal range.

As you can tell by my phrasing, I am very-much a beginner to all of this.

I ended up with a Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR.

This did the job quite well and allowed me to get closer to subjects in the distance, but retained my ability to use it as a 'normal 1x camera' (I apologise for my phrasing!).

If I wanted to be able to zoom in further, can I check if the following would be my options?
If so, would there be any downsides? (for example, when I 'zoomed all the way back out', would the photos still look ok?)

Ideally, I only want one lens for the camera.

I understand there will be compromises but hopefully, they are not too bad for an amateur photographer (generally family parties, family outdoor events etc)
 
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Clovishound

Clovishound

Senior Member
Normally, the price you pay for a longer zoom ratio, the difference between minimum and maximum zoom, is poorer image quality.

My recommendation is to get a 70-300mm zoom lens. The good news for these is that they were the included lens in a lot of kits, and are available quite inexpensively used. There are better quality zooms available in that range, such as the AF-P NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR. It is an excellent telephoto zoom, although being designed for full frame cameras, it is a bit larger and heavier, but it is optically superior, IMO, to the 70-300 DX lens, and more robustly manufactured. It is also more expensive. My daughter has both lenses and I have handled the lenses and seen their results. I can say, that for the money, the 70-300 DX kit lenses are excellent performers, albeit, their construction quality won't stand up to the abuse that a more expensive lens will. On the other hand, they are very small, light and easy to handle.

I would opt for one with VR, which will narrow the field available and up the price. FYI, there are several full frame 70-300 zooms available, but from what I have read, the AF-P NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR is much better optically than the others.

Maybe someone with experience with the 18-300 can chime in with their opinion of the quality.
 
D'Grump

D'Grump

Senior Member
King Mustard said:
When I bought my Nikon D3300, it came with the Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II lens.

However, I wanted to be able to 'zoom in' further, whilst not losing the ability to take photos at a normal range.

As you can tell by my phrasing, I am very-much a beginner to all of this.

I ended up with a Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR.

This did the job quite well and allowed me to get closer to subjects in the distance, but retained my ability to use it as a 'normal 1x camera' (I apologise for my phrasing!).

If I wanted to be able to zoom in further, can I check if the following would be my options?
If so, would there be any downsides? (for example, when I 'zoomed all the way back out', would the photos still look ok?)

Ideally, I only want one lens for the camera.

I understand there will be compromises but hopefully, they are not too bad for an amateur photographer (generally family parties, family outdoor events etc)
Click to expand...
 
D'Grump

D'Grump

Senior Member
If you’re looking for those types of lenses, you’re going to be looking at used/“pre-owned” to find them. I don’t know how much time you’ve spent searching, but a list of used equipment vendors should be a start.
Roberts Camera - usedphotopro.com
MPB.com
KEH.com
B&H photo - bhphotovideo.com
Plus, any local camera store is always a good place to spend some money if they have what you’re looking for.
I would probably avoid Abe’s of Maine according to most of the comments I’ve read.
I’ve bought equipment from KEH, and MPB, and have been very satisfied with the purchases.
whatever you decide, good luck with the purchase, and post some of your work on the site! Good to have you here!!!
Andy
 
BF Hammer

BF Hammer

Senior Member
15 years ago for a D80 and later D7000 I used a Tamron 18-270mm VC PZD. It gave acceptable photos. These "superzoom" type lenses tend to show barrel and pincushion distortions at the extremes of both ends of the zoom range. And it is typical to have a lot of focus-creep. As in the field of view at the longest telephoto end will change a lot as the focus point changes. My Tamron only achieved 270mm at infinity focus, and became more like 230mm at minimum focus.
 
bluzman

bluzman

Senior Member
Clovishound said:
My recommendation is to get a 70-300mm zoom lens. The good news for these is that they were the included lens in a lot of kits, and are available quite inexpensively used. There are better quality zooms available in that range, such as the AF-P NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR. It is an excellent telephoto zoom, although being designed for full frame cameras, it is a bit larger and heavier, but it is optically superior, IMO, to the 70-300 DX lens, and more robustly manufactured. It is also more expensive. My daughter has both lenses and I have handled the lenses and seen their results. I can say, that for the money, the 70-300 DX kit lenses are excellent performers, albeit, their construction quality won't stand up to the abuse that a more expensive lens will. On the other hand, they are very small, light and easy to handle.

I would opt for one with VR, which will narrow the field available and up the price. FYI, there are several full frame 70-300 zooms available, but from what I have read, the AF-P NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR is much better optically than the others.

Maybe someone with experience with the 18-300 can chime in with their opinion of the quality.
Click to expand...
I agree with this. I own two (2) AF-P NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR lenses. One is dedicated for use with my D500. The other is shared with my D5600 and D3400.
 
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