Nikon 28-300 FX Lens

Roy1961

Senior Member
Contributor
i am looking at this to buy, i thought i would ask for good and bad points on it. 28-300 f3.5-5.6g ed vr af-s

my reasons for wanting this are, it would be 450 on my D7000 and when i do go FX i will have a 300mm lens for it.

any thoughts????
 
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BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Bought it before going to Yosemite a couple years back. The plan was to have it on my D7000 and the 18-105mm on my D90. I switched 1/2 day in as the reach is great, but the 28 just wasn't wide enough for what I wanted on a DX camera, and Yosemite is all about vistas.

Decent IQ, and no real complaints other than you have to lock the lens when you're carrying it around as it will creep to full zoom otherwize. Having better glass now I could poke at it, but it would be quibbling. I sold it to finance the D600, which was a bit of a mistake because it's really a great piece of FX, walk around, vacation glass. I could have taken the D600 and just that lens to FL this past week and not quibbled a bit (with the exception of 1 sunrise shot).

It works just fine on a DX camera, but you need something wider for walkaround and even most landscapes. I regret selling mine, but only for convenience sake. If you're looking for one lens to cover all that ground realize that it's not going to be as sharp as others, and the f/5.6 at full extension can cause focus hunting on some cameras as it gets dark.

In a sentence - great FX vacation lens, and "good enough" for most other uses.
 

Roy1961

Senior Member
Contributor
Thanks Jake, at the moment my needs are the 450 end rather than the 28. I had seen the lock button about the creep and read about the weight. My other option was the sigma 150-500 but seeing as nikon are trying to fade 3rd party lenses I didn't want to chance this when I do get a fx camera.

Thanks for the inputs guys
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
The "300mm" is fairly well documented as "closer to 280mm", so keep that in mind, and it's also where it tends to be the most "soft".

With the Sigma 150-500mm in my possession I can state unequivocally that it works just as it's supposed to with my D600 & D800. In other words, if you're looking for something on the long end, I wouldn't look to the 28-300mm as there are probably much better lenses for reach. I also wouldn't lose sleep over the whole 3rd party thing, particularly with lenses and bodies that have been out for a while. If you're wondering about the next generation of Nikon bodies, realize that there is a great chance that Sigma and others will adjust, so just if you avoid the bleeding edge of a new product you can see how things shake out. I believe Sigma has anticipated such shenanigans and has introduced their USB dock to allow people to upgrade firmware without having to send the lens in. On lenses like the 150-500mm, if it becomes a problem with my next body, I expect that I will be able to schedule service once the firmware update occurs. Given that you have a 55-300mm currently I would recommend sticking with what you have and moving bigger when you're confident with the decision.
 

aroy

Senior Member
If you need a long lense, then get the 300mm F4. What you get is
. Sharp 300mm on FX and 450mm of DX, wide open.
. One stop less than the zoom.
. The price differential is 900 vs 1500, but street price is much less.
. With TC 1.4 you will have 420mm on FX and 600mm+ on DX, with hardly any loss in quality. The zoom is soft at 300, so forget a TC with it.

In my opinion, the long end of zooms are always softer, so if you need the reach, spend some more and get a prime. As most of the primes are faster than the zooms at longer end, you gain in low light performance.
 

Pretzel

Senior Member
Just a question to add to the "pot"... other than the 28-70 extra range bit, knowing that the 28-300mm is a bit soft at the end, but looking for something FX with a bit more quality than the 55-300, why not the more cost effective 70-300? A lot of my bird silhouettes and wildlife close-ups are crops from the max reach of that lens, and it creates some pretty sharp images. Only mentioning it since you said you're only interested in the 300mm end. Great IQ with a little focus hunting at the long end as things get darker (beam style flashlight helps with that), great VR for handheld shots, quick focus on action in bright settings, and NOT soooo beastly heavy. That and the nifty fifty are the usual lenses on my camera these days, with the 18-55 kit lens on for when I want to get a little closer focus.

True reach, I'd agree (and wish I could buy) on the Sigma 150-500. Or, since we're talking reach, folks thoughts on the Tamron 150-600mm?
 

Roy1961

Senior Member
Contributor
i thought picking a lens would be easy:D, glad i asked the question now, back to looking and more reading.

Thanks Guys
 
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