Versatile lens

[Speedqueen]

Hi There, I have a Nikon DSLR5600 I current have the original lens and a 55-200 and I find I am constantly changing the lenses over, as I take photos of landscapes and scenery plus I love wildlife and often need to get a picture of something far away, sometimes if only to identify a bird species not necessarily for a wonderful picture. I have been looking at the 18-300mm, has anyone used this and I would love to hear what you think about this, I'm thinking one lens on holidays, no switching all the time.

 

[Woodyg3]

I had an 18-300 many years ago, and it was not a very sharp lens. It was certainly very convenient, though. Lenses with a wide range like this tend to some with that trade-off.

 

[nikonbill]

Welcome to the forum!

I have an 18/300 I use regularly, as Woody indicates there are trade offs to the wide range. For holiday shooting and general shooting I love mine, for the very reason you desire (no field switches).

Also of note I do think there are good copies and not so good copies. This I track though verious users. Editing software can help with some of the "handicaps" (noting plenty of free stuff on the software area). I have always thought the one I bought is a very good copy.

One great thing in your favor is pricing is reasonable on "F" Mount stuff due to the Z lens taking over.

You are doing the correct thing in thinking through first, best of luck in your decision.

 

[hark]

I've been using my Nikon 24-120mm f/4 lens on my D500. I've been enjoying it a lot but have separate lenses for distance. As was mentioned, it's a tradeoff getting an all-in-one lens – those tend to not be as sharp.

 

[Speedqueen]

Welcome to the forum!

I have an 18/300 I use regularly, as Woody indicates there are trade offs to the wide range. For holiday shooting and general shooting I love mine, for the very reason you desire (no field switches).

Also of note I do think there are good copies and not so good copies. This I track though verious users. Editing software can help with some of the "handicaps" (noting plenty of free stuff on the software area). I have always thought the one I bought is a very good copy.

One great thing in your favor is pricing is reasonable on "F" Mount stuff due to the Z lens taking over.

You are doing the correct thing in thinking through first, best of luck in your decision.

Thank you, do you get the sharpness that you need or is there a compromise?

 

[Speedqueen]

Thank you, do you get the sharpness that you need or is there a compromise?

I've been using my Nikon 24-120mm f/4 lens on my D500. I've been enjoying it a lot but have separate lenses for distance. As was mentioned, it's a tradeoff getting an all-in-one lens – those tend to not be as sharp.

Yes thank you for that, I’m interested in the sharpness and how do you go with enlarging or printing?

 

[hark]

Yes thank you for that, I’m interested in the sharpness and how do you go with enlarging or printing?

I use Topaz Denoise which also has sharpening capabilities in it. Photoshop allows upscaling – I just don't overdo it.

 

[nikonbill]

Thank you, do you get the sharpness that you need or is there a compromise?

So sorry for the late reply, I find the sharpness acceptable to me. Of course this is subjective. I use Affinity photo and sometimes Topaz AI. Both allow for sharpening. I can get pretty good results also with NX View (Nikon's free software).

There is no doubt faster less extreme focal range will do "better" in consistent sharpness. I think you should look for examples so you can see if it might suit you.

If you have a exif viewer installed you can see the camera and lens in use. I use my 18/300 for a lot of forum shots.

Again sorry for not looking in earlier

 

[nikonbill]

@Speedqueen - on the subject of printing/enlarging

As long as you do not heavely crop I can't imagine you having any issues printing or having a large print made. Even large posters are done at 300DPI

I have a question I thought of for you, do you save your photos you shoot as .jpg or RAW - no problem either way but may influence recommendations

 

[nikonbill]

Here are two photos, the first is fully proccessed and from yesterday

The flower with the bee is pretty much right from the camera, no added sharpening @ 300mm (the bee was the focus point)

 

[nikonbill]

Keep in mind forum post are very small files, good for looking on PC/phone but bad to print (this is intentional)