Confused between 70-300s!

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agbenny

Senior Member
Friends,

I am a newbie to DSLR, and exploring the whole new world with my Nikon 5100. Its pure fun!

I am now looking for a new 70-300 zoom lens, keeping in mind a low budget and do not need a hi profile lens, at least for now. I just tried some wild-life pics, with the kit lens and it just didn;t pick-up as you know its range limitation.

I am now searching for few lenses and end up with:

Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR (Well with in my budget)


Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR and (I need to stretch, but should I?)

Tamron SP AF70-300mm Di VC USD (Low priced, But do not want to compromise quality with a cheaper one)

What would you recommend for a beginner who doesn't want to spend and going to use it for learning?

I look forward to your feedback before I invest.

Thanks
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
The 55-300 would be the cheapest on that list in most locations. All 3 of them are good lenses. I hear the tamron is good as long as you get the vc version.
 
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Geoffc

Senior Member
You couldn't go wrong with the Nikon 70-300 VR. It excels in all but low light and the others will be the same in that respect. I'm not knocking the others but my wife has this and it's brilliant for the price point.
 
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stmv

Senior Member
all three are fine, I would recommend you looking at the form factor, and size. The 55-300 is sized for the DX sensor, and is very compact but still takes sharp photos. For my DX camera, I choose to bring that (due to weight/convenience and still quality of pictures).

But in the end, you are mostly choosing range, and speed of the lens (these are all fairly slow lens (not 2.8 zoom) but with speed comes price and weight.
 
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WhiteLight

Senior Member
70-300 VR all the way.. it is a very beautiful lens
the tamron comes a close second, but still second it would be..
55-300 as stmv pointed out is for a DX cam only.. so you may want to think of the future too
 
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fotojack

Senior Member
The 55-300 VR would be the lens you'd want for budget and learning. It has the quality of build and focus you're looking for. Can't go wrong with this lens.
 
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stmv

Senior Member
also, if and when you choose to upgrade, Nikkor lens hold their value super well, so,, if you buy a FX camera, then you can just ebay the DX lens, or you may end up keeping the 5100 as a backup.
 
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agbenny

Senior Member
Thanks friends. For now, I've decided to stick with 55-300 VR due to poor budget. Thanks for helping me, especially fotojack.
 
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silvercreek

Senior Member
I'm buying a Nikon AF-S VR Nikkor 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED Lens this weekend. I think I'll like it better than my 55-200mm.
 
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Dave_W

The Dude
silvercreek said:
I'm buy a Nikon AF-S VR Nikkor 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED Lens this weekend. I hope I like it.
Click to expand...

Is this a new VRII version or the older VR version? The reason I ask is that if the VRII is within your budget it's well worth paying a little more for. The VRII is a dramatic improvement over the VRI
 
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silvercreek

Senior Member
Mojo Dave said:
Is this a new VRII version or the older VR version? The reason I ask is that if the VRII is within your budget it's well worth paying a little more for. The VRII is a dramatic improvement over the VRI
Click to expand...

It just the VR model. It will be ok for me being a rookie and all. :)
 
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pkdslr

New member
I'm not trying hijack here but have read great things about the 50mm-200mm. Like I said, I've only read and need to test but the 50-200 is supposed o be awesome and much more affordable than the 70-300. The theory is, if you're not close enough to shoot at 200 then you're just not close enough.

Once I do test these I'll report back. Maybe some other users can chime in.
 
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silvercreek

Senior Member
I got my Nikon AF-S VR Nikkor 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED Lens today. This thing is heavier than I thought it would be. Now I don't have room in my camera bag for it.
 
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Crispy

Senior Member
silvercreek said:
I got my Nikon AF-S VR Nikkor 70-300mm f4.5-5.6G IF-ED Lens today. This thing is heavier than I thought it would be. Now I don't have room in my camera bag for it.
Click to expand...

I want to hear results! I'm sitting here with the kit lens and 35mm prime (loving it) and now starting to look at that +55 range with a serious yearning. :D
 
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silvercreek

Senior Member
prasanth said:
I've a confusion in between Nikon 55-300 and 70-300, which one is more suitable for Nikon D5100?
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It's difficult to answer that for others. Mainly because of the range of lens availability and how you use them. For example, I bought a55-200mm lens and after using it a couple of times I wished I had gotten the 70-300mm that I now have. It would not be prudent for me to buy a 55-300mm lens since I already have a lens that covers the 55-200mm range. Now if I didn't already have the 22-200mm and know what I know now, I would have bought the 70-300mm.

To answer your question directly. The only difference between a 55-300mm and a 70-300mm is the 15mm on the low end which isn't very much in my opinion.
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
If you ever decide to go Fx, you'll be glad you bought the 70-300VR. You'll be surpised how fast this can go from a casual hobby to an obsession :)
 
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prasanth

New member
cnyram said:
If you ever decide to go Fx, you'll be glad you bought the 70-300VR. You'll be surpised how fast this can go from a casual hobby to an obsession :)
Click to expand...

Hi,
I've already a 18-55 kit lense with my D5100 camera, Now I'm looking for one telephoto lens. My options are 55-300 and 70-300
 
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