Product description

Nikon Af 70-300/4.0-5.6 G Black

Price: £75.21
Average customer rating: 4.0

Binding : Electronics
EAN : 0018208019281
Label : Nikon
Manufacturer : Nikon
Publisher : Nikon
Release date : 2003-08-01
Title : Nikon Af 70-300/4.0-5.6 G Black
Number of items : 1
Studio : Nikon
Brand : Nikon
Model : 1928
MPN : 1928
Package quantity : 1

Editorial reviews

Product Description
The AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-300 mm f/4-5.6G is a portable telephoto zoom lens featuring Nikon quality optics high-performance Nikon Super Integrated Coating and a rounded diaphragm opening which makes out-of-focus elements appear more natural.This lens is the first in a new line of G-type Nikkor lenses which are designed with no aperture rings. With the G-type Nikkor lens the aperture should be selected on the camera body for aperture-priority auto and manual exposure mode. The lens is fully compatible with the F5 F100 F80 F65 F60 F50 F-401-series PRONEA 600i PRONEA S and D1 cameras.The AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-300 mm f/4-5.6G lens represents a new level of operational ease for Nikon users - -even first-time SLR users.

Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-09-30 rating:

Nice Lens
This lens is really nice, lightweight compared to the £300 one.

However, just beware that there is no Auto focus with the Nikon D40.

Every other version works, just not the D40.

review by: Christopher Bell date: 2008-07-02 rating:

Cheap construction, but amazing value for money
First the bad points: the construction of this lens is lightweight plastic, it feels cheap, it drops down to f5 or below fairly rapidly as you zoom in, and being a Nikon "G" series lens it has no aperture ring so you can't use it on a trusty old manual camera. But for £75 what do you expect?

Then the good. Other reviewers say that it is not sharp, or is "soft", but looking at the shots I have just taken on my 10 MegaPixel D200, at between 70mm and 200mm focal lengths, blown up to 100% magnification on the screen I have absolutely no complaints, as it is pin sharp to my eyes; and the images are good and contrasty too.

On a moderately bright over-cast day I set the camera to ISO 200 and let it worry about exposure, which resulted in shutter speeds between 1/150th and 1/320th and apertures from about f6 to f9 as the clouds came and went. Hand-held results were very slightly blurred at the longer focal length/slower speed end of the range, but otherwise the fact that its maximum aperture is f4-5.6 proved not to be a problem at all.

Other reviewers have criticised its auto-focus speed. Yes, if it is currently set at 5 feet and you point it at something 300 feet away then it takes a little while to get there; but if it is more or less at the right distance already it snaps into focus faster than I can blink. Also, unlike some AF lenses, the focus ring turns through quite a large arc so focusing it manually is easy.

It starts to get a bit tricky to use hand-held in the 200mm to 300m range, partly because the zoom barrel extends such a long way and partly because it is so light-weight; but that is not a criticism of the lens, rather a fact of life - if you want to use a long lens you need to use a tripod, or to shell out 5x as much money for a Vibration Reduction (VR) version.

Remember though that VR doesn't freeze your subject motion, only your camera-shake; if I were going to spend that much I'd save up a little longer and buy a non-VR f2.8 70-200m zoom instead.

Last saturday I was standing next to someone who had a monster Nikkor 70-400mm f4.5-5.6 VR zoom on his camera, about £900 pounds worth, and he was lamenting that he struggled with its intended use for wildlife photography because it didn't give him a fast enough shutter speed. I looked down at my little plastic toy which cost 1/12th as much, yet gives nearly the same focal length and aperture range ... and, I confess, felt rather smug.

In summary: not the best money can buy, but surely far and away the best value for money in its focal length range.

review by: date: 2008-02-26 rating:

OK, but disappointingly incompatible with my D40x DSLR
Not a bad lens, but it's not very compatible with my D40x, autofocus doesn't work. Manual works fine. You need a solid tripod to get clear shots, most of my first hand-held shots were blurry.
I only wish I could afford the VR lens! But you get what you pay for, and as an amateur this will become frustrating not being able to autofocus and snap off loads of shots!

review by: date: 2007-07-24 rating:

value for money!
For the money this lens is superb. I use it for photographing motorcycle racing. It has performed very well in MF. AF is too slow, but i never use that anyway. Happy days, very pleased!

review by: date: 2007-04-11 rating:

Not for the Professional or Dedicated Wildlife Photographer
This lens is the subject of many reviews that castigate its build quality and performance. It is certainly cheaply made and slow. But it is tough enough to survive as a lightweight zoom that takes excellent pictures provided that you recognise its limitations. The dedicated twitcher will not buy this lens, but will probably try to discourage the rest of us who would otherwise get great pleasure from casual photography and don't want to be burdened with heavy gear and high prices. If you can afford the 18-200 VR the convenience is irrefutable. Otherwise - as a budget addition to a standard zoom - this lens is both practical and surprisingly good.

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