Nikkor 55-300 vs 70-300

Hi everyone

First of all, I've been away for a while and feel a bit bad about it. I have had the most incredible amount of help and support from you all over the last year and it's the second time life has thrown some curve balls and seen me 'vanish' for a few months. But I am back

As the title says, and I know this is probably one of those commonly asked Which Lens questions, I am trying to make an informed choice here. I actually have the 55 - 300 mm lens and having done some homework on the 70 - 300 VR I have pretty much decided to replace the current one with the bigger guy. However I always like to bounce my decisions off of others so I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. I have a D7000 so it will be used on a DX body. What are the most noticeable differences between these two lenses? I have noticed that the 55-300 has a maximum aperture of 3.5 whereas the VR version of the 70-300 is 4.5 wide open. Are there any serious drawbacks to this? Did anyone notice a difference in image quality at all, either way?

I know that the 70-300 is heavier and the weight is not an issue to me. Any thoughts and opinions would be appreciated.

Meanwhile I am going to get that external hard drive and pay penance for my absence by posting some photos

Re: Nikkor 55-300 vs 7--300

Welcome back. I have the 70-300, and Love it. It's a great all around lens when you only have 1 to carry around.

Re: Nikkor 55-300 vs 7--300

The 70-300mm gets much better rates than does the 55-300mm. I have the 70-300mm and think has the best price to quality ratio of all Nikon lenses. It really is that good.

http://photographylife.com/reviews/nikon-70-300mm-vr

[URL]http://photographylife.com/reviews/nikon-55-300mm-vr[/URL]

Re: Nikkor 55-300 vs 7--300

Thanks for the replies. I had pretty much drawn the same conclusion but always like to get some personal points of view from those who own anything I am looking at getting

Jut bought myself an UPstrap and absolutely love it. I think I will appreciate the shoulder rather than neck strap for my heavier lenses, this one included

Re: Nikkor 55-300 vs 7--300

Well thanks to all for reaffirming my decision - the lens is now ordered!
I wish there was an instant way to order online and have gear arrive in an hour. The waiting is always sheer agony I just want to get out and play with it now!!

Re: Nikkor 55-300 vs 7--300

welcome back Lee and enjoy your new lens

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Welcome back, I am looking forward to viewing your penance photos

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Lee, Please let me know how the lens arrives as packaged. I would love to hear some feedback about the quality of the lens in reference to the current batches. I recently purchased this lens. I went through a big ordeal with it. I went through 6 models of this exact lens at two best buys. They where all full of dust both on the inside of the lens and outside. I know zoom lenses eventually get dust inside with wear and tear but to have it come like from a new product was appalling to me (especially with some with way to much than normal). I have about 10 days to return the lens. If I see that your product arrived without such issues, I might have to order from whomever you ordered it from. I do hope that you dont experience such an issue as mine. I will say though that this lens surpassed my expectations. That is why I tried my hardest to get one in great condition. Good luck, keep me posted.

Re: Nikkor 55-300 vs 7--300

Hi Claudia,
Funny thing, before posting my question on here I went through the forums to see what other discussions were on here about the lens and did see that you had issues with dust when looking for yours. I tend to order most of my gear online and will let you know. It have had it express shipped so it should be here pretty quickly.

Re: Nikkor 55-300 vs 7--300

Hi Claudia
I didn't mean it to take so long for me to get back here with a review. The lens arrived and I am very pleased with it. Thanks to your heads up I probably scrutinized it a lot more carefully than I would have had you not posted about your issues.

I decided to keep mine. The outside of the lens was immaculately clean and dust free. I actually purchased and ex display model from a store and expected the outside to be a little 'dirtier' than usual but they were obviously truthful when they said that it had been in a glass cabinet and only taken out for short periods. I presume they cleaned it very well after all my messages too lol

There appear to be two tiny dust specs in the lens elements. I am still not sure if it is my eyes playing tricks in the light (you can only seem to see them in natural daylight, not in artificial light). I have taken photos of a white wall, a white soft box, plain colored screens and cannot detect any sign of the specs on the images so I have decided to keep it.

What did you end up deciding with yours? Were they willing to have it cleaned for you, and is it even possible to have dust cleared from the elements?

Re: Nikkor 55-300 vs 7--300

I'd go with the 70-300 if possible.
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Re: Nikkor 55-300 vs 7--300

Probably the best lens I've bought thus far, all in all. I'd say that aside from indoor events, probably 40% of my shots thus far were with this guy.

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I have the 55-300mm, it came with my D5100. I think its okay for the price, and does the job, but yes its true it does focus slow.
Eventually I'll upgrade to something like the Tamron 70-200mm/2.8

Re: Nikkor 55-300 vs 7--300

I had convinced myself to keep it. The day after I made my choice, I decided to take it out for a spin. I tried it out at a local park. I shot at small and large apertures and with different lenses that day. When I went home to review the photos, I saw the big dust spot that was on the inside of the front glass on the photos. The spot only appeared on photos I took with the 70-300. It only appeared on photos above f/5.6 It was very obvious it was the dust spot I spoke of. The next day I decided to return it. It was not worth the hassle or issues for a new lens. I love the lens and quality but would rather get a better one down the road. I plan to purchase another one as soon as I find one that I feel is right. Best Buy did offer to exchange it for another but that batched all seemed to have similar issues if not worse. I purchased warranty with it. They offered to send it in. Though they where trying their best to help me out, I still felt that it was not worth it from a new lens. I do miss it though. I only had it for a week and fell in love with it. One day soon, I will have it again. Thank you Lee for your reply. I am glad you had a good turn out.

Re: Nikkor 55-300 vs 7--300

Claudia! said:

I had convinced myself to keep it. The day after I made my choice, I decided to take it out for a spin. I tried it out at a local park. I shot at small and large apertures and with different lenses that day. When I went home to review the photos, I saw the big dust spot that was on the inside of the front glass on the photos. The spot only appeared on photos I took with the 70-300. It only appeared on photos above f/5.6 It was very obvious it was the dust spot I spoke of. The next day I decided to return it. It was not worth the hassle or issues for a new lens. I love the lens and quality but would rather get a better one down the road. I plan to purchase another one as soon as I find one that I feel is right. Best Buy did offer to exchange it for another but that batched all seemed to have similar issues if not worse. I purchased warranty with it. They offered to send it in. Though they where trying their best to help me out, I still felt that it was not worth it from a new lens. I do miss it though. I only had it for a week and fell in love with it. One day soon, I will have it again. Thank you Lee for your reply. I am glad you had a good turn out.

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That really blows! I got mine used from fred-miranda forums and haven't had any problems. The previous owner got it refurb, so it wasn't new piece by any means.

It really does but I can see that it isn't too common as I assumed. Just my luck though! Oh well... but I look forward to the future when I find the right one.

My 55-300mm came bundled with my D5100. NOw I see the advantages of the 70-300mm VR I might also upgrade to the 70mm-300mm VR in the future. The main advantage of course is it will work on FX bodies. The other advantage is it uses 67mm filter size so will work with a lot more Nikon lenses compared to the 58mm filter on the 55-300mm lens therefore easier to build a system around a common filter size.

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I bought a used older style 70-300mm AF and it worked pretty good on my D3100. But when I bought the D90 I put that lens on it right away and it works great so far! I'm loving the AF now thanks to the d90 having a focus motor! Lol

Bill16 said:

. . . . when I bought the D90 I put that lens on it right away and it works great so far! I'm loving the AF now thanks to the d90 having a focus motor! Lol

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One reason I bought the D90 was for the fact it can use any AF Nikon lens. I am looking at some older versions of the 70-300mm myself. Do they perform, as to clarity and sharpness, as well as the newer non-VR models?

Mine is a non vr version, and is seems pretty clear and sharp to me. Not as sharp as a couple of my prime lenses, but I think it does very well for the price I paid! I paid just over a hundred dollars for it if I remember right, and it's worth every penny of that and likely a bit more in my opinion. But I bought mine used and used is a bit of a gamble. Lol
As far as how well my lens would test against a newer version, I couldn't tell you. I just don't have any idea. Sorry.

Mike d90 said:

One reason I bought the D90 was for the fact it can use any AF Nikon lens. I am looking at some older versions of the 70-300mm myself. Do they perform, as to clarity and sharpness, as well as the newer non-VR models?

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