Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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57 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not bad, September 7, 2005
I used this lens for about a year with both film and digital. In general, it's a decent lens for the price. Even though it's ED (extralow dispersion), I do get purple fringing on high-contrast subjects at long (telephoto) zoom. Since I do wild bird photography, this would show up as purplish bird beaks and twigs against a bright sky. Annoying. On the other hand, it has produced some excellent portraits and even wildlife photos where contrast wasn't excessive.
Doing a side-by-side test w/ the help of a camera store and a D70, I compared this lens to both 80-400/5.6 VR (nikon) and Tamron 200-500/6.3. All three were "good", but the Nikon VR was sharpest (Tamron roughly similar to ED), and also lost the least contrast (Tamron somewhere in the middle, ED worst), and the ED and Tamron lenses both appeared to kill color very slightly (not a big deal). Only the ED showed purple fringe w/ high contrast.
But although the 70-300 ED wasn't stellar in these tests, I still prefer it for backpacking due to the low weight and size (and robustness), and I rely on the 80-400 VR for serious wildlife photography where I can tolerate the weight/size in exchange for image stabilization and sharp optics.
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83 of 91 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent next purchase for the D70 owner, December 31, 2004
One thing about the otherwise excellent stock lens that comes with the D70 package is that the telephoto is not really very telephoto. At 70 mm you are just about at life size so you don't get much pull for distance, and if you're taking people pictures, you want something that will enhance faces more, and give you more flexibility when shooting things farther away. This is your lens. The picture quality is excellent and it picks up where the stock lens leaves off, so in combination with the two lenses, you're going from an 18mm to 300mm. Picture quality is excellent, what you'd expect in a Nikon lens in this price range. Cons: it's a large heavier lens, not even including the lens hood, and at f/4-5.6, you really need a good quantity of light for it. But if you're looking for a lens that will give you the magnification you find missing in the stock lens, then this is it. The price is very good for the quality you're getting.
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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very nice zoom lens, not for low light or dark indoor though, October 10, 2006
First, I'm giving this 70-300mm lens a 5 stars rating partly because the price is quite attractive especially the used ones (the G version of the lens is even more cheaper and picture quality isn't too much different with this ED glass version in my opinion).
If your primary objective is to take pictures in low light situation such as wedding and concert, then get the 80-200mm f/2.8 or the 70-200mm VR f/2.8 instead.
Get this lens (or it's cheaper brother the 70-300mm G) by any means unless you already have those alternative and more expensive zoom lenses that I mentioned above.
Pros:
1. Inexpensive (with the VR version is released, many will sell this one)
2. You can get up close and personal (300mm which is equivalent to 450mm if you attach it to a DSLR)
3. Very sharp and fast in bright light situation (outdoor etc), though it gets a bit softer as you get closer to the 300mm
4. Very light
5. Bokeh is suprisingly good
6. Great for portrait
7. ED glass for better contrast and picture quality
8. Metal mount
Cons:
1. Though more solid build than the 70-300mm G version, the external part of this lens is still made from plastic. (but I don't think you should care on this)
2. Very bad on low light situation especially if the object is moving/sports photography, but still works fine for long exposure with tripod like photographing fireworks or night light building/city/car lights.
3. Focus seems to be slower on low light situation (focus hunting a bit more)
Bottom line: this lens loves a lot of light.
If you give this lens a lot of light, it will take good care of you.
Last but not least, after you get this lens, go and buy the nikon 50mm f/1.8 AF-D prime lens for $100 or less (equivalent of 75mm if used with DSLR which is very good for portrait and semi-zoom). This is a very fast lens and works extremly well in low light situation even without using flash. This lens will complement your 70-300mm ED lens very very well.
Also check out the 70-300mm G (half the price of ED) and the 70-300mm VR (released Oct 2006). VR feature works really well on static object. If the obect is moving then you will be better off with fast lens like the 50mm f/1.8 AF-D, 80-200mm f/2.8 AF or the 70-200mm VR f/2.8 AF-S
Happy photographing!
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