Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New media
New media comments
New profile posts
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Members
Current visitors
New profile posts
Search profile posts
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Forums
Lenses
General Lenses
Performance of the 28-300 VR
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="BackdoorArts" data-source="post: 93248" data-attributes="member: 9240"><p>I have one that I purchased for a trip to Yosemite for much the same reason - does the job of a bunch of lenses. I am very happy with it. Not thrilled, but very happy. I'm using a D7000, so the cropped DX sensor needs to be factored into my review. Is it soft? Yes, perhaps a bit less crisp than some of my other lenses, including the 18-105 kit lens, which I found myself using more than the 28-300 for the park's grand vistas (should have invested in an ultrawide as well). The lens creep can be very annoying as you carry it around. It's much worse than on other zooms I have, so I quickly got in the habit of locking it while walking. The VR works well, and I find myself using it a lot for concerts when I can only have a single camera & lens. I've been able to shoot handheld at full extension at 1/60 if I remember not to track the music in my head to avoid bouncing. </p><p></p><p>I bought it early in my journey into the DSLR world. If I had it to do over again I probably would have skipped this one and bought a pair of lenses to cover the same sweep. I did a metadata search on my Lightroom library and if I exclude concert shots it's the least used lens I have. I use my Sigma 150-500mm more as a wildlife lens, when I know I'll be requiring the long end of the zoom, and either the 18-105mm or 24-70mm I now have when I am going to be on the shorter end. I'll probably keep it around for concert use alone - until I find something else.</p><p></p><p>Here's a link to a site that I love to go to when people talk about lens performance. This guy has done a lot of work to show actual performance test results of a lot of popular lenses with the ability to do side by side comparisons by simply moving your cursor over the test image. What I like to do is pit a lens against itself so I can see how it changes at the same focal length but at different apertures. If it comes across correctly it should show the lens you're interested in a side-by-side. <a href="http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=734&Camera=614&Sample=0&FLI=0&API=3&LensComp=734&CameraComp=614&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0" target="_blank">Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED AF-S VR Nikkor Lens Image Quality</a> </p><p></p><p>I've also linked a couple photos taken with it. Both have been processed with Lightroom and one or two of the Nik tools, but you should hopefully be able to get a feel for what it can do in two very different situations. The concert shot was at ISO 3200 so there's been some noise reduction and is with the lens wide open. The falls are at max DOF and taken on my 5th day with the lens, so I was still getting used to it. I rarely go to f22 any more with it as it will soften at extremes. </p><p></p><p>My recommendation to anyone interested would be to borrow/rent one of these first and see for yourself. And if you can't, try and track one down used so you can at least turn it around without too much heartache if it doesn't work out. Not a "Wow!!" lens, but not one I'd kick to the curb.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="BackdoorArts, post: 93248, member: 9240"] I have one that I purchased for a trip to Yosemite for much the same reason - does the job of a bunch of lenses. I am very happy with it. Not thrilled, but very happy. I'm using a D7000, so the cropped DX sensor needs to be factored into my review. Is it soft? Yes, perhaps a bit less crisp than some of my other lenses, including the 18-105 kit lens, which I found myself using more than the 28-300 for the park's grand vistas (should have invested in an ultrawide as well). The lens creep can be very annoying as you carry it around. It's much worse than on other zooms I have, so I quickly got in the habit of locking it while walking. The VR works well, and I find myself using it a lot for concerts when I can only have a single camera & lens. I've been able to shoot handheld at full extension at 1/60 if I remember not to track the music in my head to avoid bouncing. I bought it early in my journey into the DSLR world. If I had it to do over again I probably would have skipped this one and bought a pair of lenses to cover the same sweep. I did a metadata search on my Lightroom library and if I exclude concert shots it's the least used lens I have. I use my Sigma 150-500mm more as a wildlife lens, when I know I'll be requiring the long end of the zoom, and either the 18-105mm or 24-70mm I now have when I am going to be on the shorter end. I'll probably keep it around for concert use alone - until I find something else. Here's a link to a site that I love to go to when people talk about lens performance. This guy has done a lot of work to show actual performance test results of a lot of popular lenses with the ability to do side by side comparisons by simply moving your cursor over the test image. What I like to do is pit a lens against itself so I can see how it changes at the same focal length but at different apertures. If it comes across correctly it should show the lens you're interested in a side-by-side. [URL="http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=734&Camera=614&Sample=0&FLI=0&API=3&LensComp=734&CameraComp=614&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0"]Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED AF-S VR Nikkor Lens Image Quality[/URL] I've also linked a couple photos taken with it. Both have been processed with Lightroom and one or two of the Nik tools, but you should hopefully be able to get a feel for what it can do in two very different situations. The concert shot was at ISO 3200 so there's been some noise reduction and is with the lens wide open. The falls are at max DOF and taken on my 5th day with the lens, so I was still getting used to it. I rarely go to f22 any more with it as it will soften at extremes. My recommendation to anyone interested would be to borrow/rent one of these first and see for yourself. And if you can't, try and track one down used so you can at least turn it around without too much heartache if it doesn't work out. Not a "Wow!!" lens, but not one I'd kick to the curb. [/QUOTE]
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Lenses
General Lenses
Performance of the 28-300 VR
Top
