Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras | 
 enlarge | Brand: Nikon
Category: Photography
List Price: $669.00
Buy New: $467.26
You Save: $201.74 (30%)
New (17) Used (4) Refurbished (1) from $399.95
Rating:  105 reviews
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Fragile: No
Batteries Included: No
Optical Zoom: 4.3
Maximum Focal Length: 300
Minimum Focal Length: 70
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 3.1 x 3.1
MPN: 2161
Model: 2161
UPC: 018208021611
EAN: 0182080216110
ASIN: B000HJPK2C
Release Date: October 25, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Features:
| | 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens with f/4.5-5.6 maximum aperture for Nikon digital SLR cameras | | | Vibration Reduction (VRII) minimizes effects of camera shake to produce sharper images | | | 2 Extra-Low Dispersion (ED) glass elements delivers super contrast and resolution performance | | | Internal Focus (IF) system provides fast and quiet autofocusing; 4.9-feet close focus range | | | Measures 3.1 inches in diameter and 5.6 inches long; weighs 26.3 ounces; 5-year warranty |
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Product Description
The AF-S VR 70-300 f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED is a high-performance super telephoto zoom lens that has been designed to meet the demands of both digital and 35mm format SLR users. It offers a 4.3x zoom with a range of 70-300mm (105-450mm on a DX Nikon D-SLR) and features ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass elements that ensure superior optical performance. This lens incorporates Nikon's second-generation vibration reduction system (VR II) that allows flexible hand-held shooting by stabilizing the image to the equivalent extent of using a shutter speed that is four stops faster when compared with a conventional lens (as determined by Nikon performance test). The SWM (Silent Wave Motor) and IF (Internal Focusing) ensure fast and quiet focusing action, and the nine-blade rounded diaphragm makes out-of-focus elements blend smoothly to produce natural-looking, harmonious backgrounds.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 100 more reviews...
 Lens Rocks! Discard the poor reviews due to shipping etc. December 22, 2006
Tom Cat (Atlanta, GA)
77 out of 80 found this review helpful
I am very impressed with this lens. It is wonderfully sharp. The auto focus can hunt slightly in dimmer conditions but you would probably expect this with a 4.5 lense. Don't let this stop you at all. I would by it all over again for sure. By the way, I bought mine from ritz camera (.com) on Sunday and delivered on Thurs. (I paid $504 due to the $25 off for using paypal plus free shipping and no tax). Many photos are better than my 18-200mm VR lens. I'm so glad I bought this as the extra reach is going to help me out on the softball field where my 200mm was just short. One other thing I noticed was it is slightly noisier than my 18-200mm VR (but not terribly much more). It is enough to notice, but no show stopper. Your going to love the photos you get from this. I'm thrilled to have it and now be in the 300mm range. What a keeper. I plan to keep both my 18-200 and my 70-300. Mine comes with a 5 year warranty directly from Nikon.
Destined for greatness January 23, 2007
Frank H (NC)
31 out of 31 found this review helpful
I needed more reach than I have with my 18-200 VR, and was
not able to obtain the 80-400VR, so I got this lens thinking
I could get rid of it if I didn't like it. I am very happy
that I did!
I am extremely impressed with this lens. It appears to me
that the VR is actually better than on my 18-200VR. The lens
has superior balance, size and weight for handheld nature
photography. Lens flare (when I could get it to appear) was
acceptable, the contrast is tremendous, and the bokeh was
quite pleasant. Auto-focus is very accurate and quick. In
addition, the lens was extraordinarily sharp all the way
to 300mm.
Best lens in its category February 11, 2007
Kyle D. Gendron (Burlington, MA United States)
35 out of 36 found this review helpful
I got this lens to replace my older Quantaray 70-300mm. I got tired to losing a lot of images to camera shake at the 300mm end. Plus the lens I had was old (almost 10 years) and optically it wasn't that great.
The Nikkor 70-300mm w/VRII is perfect for me. I love the way the VR works. I've been able to get useable images taken at the 300mm end with a 1/6th shutter. Very impressive. No more camera shake issues at the long end. I'm also very impressed with how sharp it is (it is sharper than my 18-70mm) and also the focus is fast and quiet. It is on the big side, but not to much larger than any other 70-300mm lens. I'm very happy with the performance of this lens. I find the addition of the VR to be very much worth it.
Granted its not a fast lens and I never intended it to take the place of or performe like an f/2.8 lens. Its not fair to compare it to any f/2.8 lens. Comparing to the previous 2 Nikkor 70-300mm models or any of the 3rd party 70-300mm's, this newest Nikkor addition is the best. For the average amerture hobbiest this is a great lens to compliment any of the kit lenses.
Pro Lens at a Consumer Price? May 26, 2007
David Woeltjen (Northern Wisconsin, USA)
20 out of 20 found this review helpful
This a great fun lens to use. VR works terrific, now the tripod stays in the trunk most of the time. I've taken many shots over the years with some of Nikkor's sharpest single focal length, manual focus lenses fixed to a tripod and this one comes very close to the sharpest. In real life photography, photos from this lens can be enlarged to 36" poster size and only an experienced professional could tell the difference between this lens and a pro quality single focal length lens. Even then they'd need a magnifying glass to discern much of a difference.
Compared to the 18-200mm VR the 70-20mm VR is much sharper and more contrasty at the 200mm end. The 18-200mm VR is a fun lens and great for traveling light, but it does not compare in sharpness to the 70-300mm VR. Once people begin to see this for themselves I believe this lens will reach icon stature. At $600 this is a truly remarkable lens that will bring many terrific wildlife shots to the net within the years to come.
One thing to be aware of (that has been mentioned before) this lens does have some difficulties finding focus in dim indoor light. The easy fix is to get the focus close manually then depress the shutter button half way down to get an autofocus fix. Most gyms are bright enough that capturing your son or daughter's lay up in mid action with autofocus will be no problem at all.
Build quality is better than I expected at this price point. Even though this is a plastic lens it is built very well with none of sloppy play that you see in Nikon's lower end plastic lenses. It seems to have a nice smooth, linear feel throughout the zoom range. Unlike the 18-70mm ED wich seems to bunch up at the long end. The build quality of this lens seems to be a step or two up from the 18-200mm VR.
One week before purchasing this lens I bought the 70-300mm ED non VR version. I returned it within two days, after mounting it to a tripod and comparing it to some older single focal length lenses I was dissapointed that the image quality was not even in the same ballbark as my sons mid 80's Hoya 200mm f/3.5! Forntunately the 70-300mm Ed and the 70-300mm VR are completely different lens formulas.
Conclusion: This lens is capable of producing real world professional quality images when combined with good technique and discipline. I hope to see many fine examples on the net in the near future!!
Amazing Lens May 13, 2007
Pileated (CT, USA)
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
Up front I have to admit that I'm comparing this lens to 20 and 30 year old Nikkors of the pre-autofocus era, and the main lens it replaces is a Nikkor Reflex 500mm. So it isn't saying much that the 70-300mm VR makes my old longest focal length lens seem of another class and era---obviously that's true. Even so, I'm very impressed with the crisp clarity of images from this lens. The ED optics in combination with the image stabilization technology provide amazing sharpness even at hand-held shutter speeds I would never have considered using with my old equipment (at 300mm I can shoot 1/60 sec without losing sharpness, so I've gained at least 2.5 stops over my old set up). At 300mm focal length the autofocus mechanism does get confused sometimes, but I believe it's a function of the demands I'm making on the lens---trying to focus on birds with twigs, leaves, etc. in both the foreground and background. In such conditions it's best to disable autofocus. With the 10 megapixel capability of my D80 added to the features of this lens I'm able to get shots I would never have thought possible before. Others have written that they can see the VR mechanism working in the viewfinder, but I don't; I feel the lens doing something when VR is engaged, but the viewfinder image looks normal to me. Can't explain that. Considering what the lens can do I find it quite light and reasonably sized, but I'm comparing it to the 500mm mirror lens on a F3 motor drive body, so folks may want to judge my comments as highly subjective. As for price, if not for this lens I probably would have waited to buy a 300mm f4 which of course would not have VR, would have been tripod-bound, and would have been more than twice the cost; so, again, for what this lens can do, it's a great buy.
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