Nikon 70-300mm VR - A test (at last)

[PaulBoy]

I've had this lens (courtesy of Kerso :D) a few weeks but yesterday was the first outing when Mr Blue Sky finally put in an appearance ...
Tried some hand-held shots on this large pond which is off the Basingstoke Canal - The grebe was about 25' away - pp I have used USM in Capture NX
Thought I'd show the shot as taken & a cropped version - Be interested to see what you think? My only complaint about the lens is the zoom ring is not too smooth but otherwise impressed so far ... Paul ;)

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/145/370072215_4e05b1e469.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/162/369115713_f5f5c4c386.jpg

[hypnotic]

Would that be Mytchett lake?

[Jozza]

Does the VR make a big difference?

Totally off the subject - I know Mytchett lake!!!

:D

[Venomator]

Crops nicely ... :thumbs: ... even with the fence in shot ... :D






:p

[PaulBoy]

Would that be Mytchett lake?

Yip - Lots of grebe swans mallard & a new influx of tufted ducks there at the mo - the latter are very shy & I'd need a 600mm to get any shots


Does the VR make a big difference?

Totally off the subject - I know Mytchett lake!!!
Early days on the VR but it does imho - this is my third 70-300mm & I couldn't get many sharp pics at 300mm with the others when hand-held
Another person who knows Mytchett - hurrah :thumbs:


Crops nicely ... ... even with the fence in shot ...
Nice of you to mention that Ven :p - the blighter seemed to know it would mess up my shots!

[TG.]

paul, anymore thoughts on this lens yet ? how does it compare to the sigma 70-300mm APO, and does the VR make that much difference ?

[PaulBoy]

paul, anymore thoughts on this lens yet ? how does it compare to the sigma 70-300mm APO, and does the VR make that much difference ?

TT - Hi - I've had one more stint with the 70-300mm VR which I posted about in the Animals & Nature Forum - I tried the lens with my Kenko Pro 1.4TC on board - Once again I was impressed & I am sure I am getting more keepers than with the two non VR 70-300mm zooms I have tried - whether that is because they were budget zooms or that the VR suits my "shakes hands like a snake" stylii I can really say :embarrassed:
Paul ;)

[Wile E. coyote]

Can I ask you how much you paid for the lens paulboy? Sorry if its a bit cheeky, its just im looking at this lens and the cheepest i've seen it is £337 but they have no stock. Thanks in advance.

[PaulBoy]

Can I ask you how much you paid for the lens paulboy? Sorry if its a bit cheeky, its just im looking at this lens and the cheepest i've seen it is £337 but they have no stock. Thanks in advance.

Not cheeky Wile E - I think it was £360 from Ian (Kerso) although he had a couple when no one else did so I didn't mind paying the "normal" price - £337 is cheap :eek: so it depends if you can wait for whoever to get some - Nikon lenses have an annoying habit of demand outstripping supply & you could be in for a wait - you could PM Ian to see what the current situation is?
Paul :thumbs:

[Wile E. coyote]

Not cheeky Wile E - I think it was £360 from Ian (Kerso) although he had a couple when no one else did so I didn't mind paying the "normal" price - £337 is cheap :eek: so it depends if you can wait for whoever to get some - Nikon lenses have an annoying habit of demand outstripping supply & you could be in for a wait - you could PM Ian to see what the current situation is?
Paul :thumbs:
Thanks for that:thumbs: Have been looking at this since xmas, Im looking to replace my sigma 70-300 which can be soft at the long end of the zoom and suffers purple fringing. What do you think of the lens? Will have a look at your pictures in the animals and nature forum.

[PaulBoy]

Not had the Sigma but did have the Nikon G and Tamron ones and as you'd expect from a lens thats twice or three times the price of those the Nikon VR performs much better - pics in the Animals & Nature thread are from my Flickr account HERE (http://www.flickr.com/photos/pfb1313/sets/72157594510670584/) where you can see them a bit bigger - some are a bit noisy at full size as ISO was around 400 & most are crops of shots from 15-30feet away - reviews of the lens have been quite positive (even from Ken Rockwell)
As you are 400 miles away I guess trying mine out wouldn't really be feasible! ... Paul ;)

[Wile E. coyote]

As you are 400 miles away I guess trying mine out wouldn't really be feasible! ... Paul ;)
Yeah might be a little far to travel :D . I think I need to start saving now you've convinced me to get it, at least with it not being in stock gives me a chance to save some money.

[PaulBoy]

For £337 you could order it from Whorehouse Express & get 9 months interest free credit :shrug:
Paul ;)

[TG.]

you could order it from Whorehouse Express

does that include extras :lol:

[PaulBoy]

does that include extras :lol:

Nice one TT :D - You'll get a nice soft bag to go with the lens :embarrased:
Paul