Nikon 28-300mm VR a compromise too far?

Pitvar

Pitvar

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On paper the 28-300 VR [now replaced by 18-300 I believe] seemed the ideal solution for the family trip where I also wanted some reach for wildlife shots [without taking my 300mm prime along]. Now I know I can't expect anything like the performance of the primes but this lens seems lacking at most lengths despite some really good sunny weather on holiday in France this year allowing me to use f8 and better. Looking back my old 70-300 looks at least as good?

Has anyone else used one of these/found them to be be lacking - maybe I'm spoilt by the prime and should go back to a more modest [limited] zoom and carry a 300mm f4 for other shots :thinking:
 
The 18-300mmm is a DX lens offering an extended range over the 18-200mm DX lens, the 28-300mm is an FX lens which does work on DX but it's not replaced by the 18-300mm lens.

I use the lens on a D700 and I'm pleased with the results, it's not as good as the 24-70mm/70-200mm but good enough for me particularly as it's made the D700 much more portable so it's one of my most used lenses. It wouldn't be my choice as a telephoto lens nor as a DX superzoom lens though.

John
 
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JohnMcL7 said:
The 18-300mmm is a DX lens offering an extended range over the 18-200mm DX lens, the 28-300mm is an FX lens which does work on DX but it's not replaced by the 18-300mm lens.

I use the lens on a D700 and I'm pleased with the results, it's not as good as the 24-70mm/70-200mm but good enough for me particularly as it's made the D700 much more portable so it's one of my most used lenses. It wouldn't be my choice as a telephoto lens nor as a DX superzoom lens though.

John
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Thanks John, I hadn't looked too closely at the 18-300 so thanks for clarifying that. I use mine with my D90 as a holiday set up so maybe I should try it on my D300s [which I'm much happier using properly!] and see how the 28-300 performs on that. I know my 300mm prime is much better but I think the weight difference is about 4kg. Peter
 
If you are comparing a super zoom to a prime, you WILL be disappointed. Especially at its focal length limit.

However, if you are not pixel peeping, just want to reduce weight and more flexibility, Nikon super zooms are fantastic. I had a 18-200 and loved it, build quality rivals my current L lens.

Just remember to turn on distortion control in Lightroom.
 
28mm is not wide enough on a crop camera. I would look at the Tamron 18-270mm. Its very compact for such a lens and £500 cheaper than the Nikon 18-300mm. As above if you can manage with 200mm length the nikon 18-200mm is the best of the bunch.

The very compact tamron 18-270mm pzd
kit.jpg
 
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Thanks all - food for thought - maybe accept 300mm on a zoom which will do for family outings wont ever be "good enough" and go for 18-200 and then an f4 300mm for when I cant take the f2.8 ... hmm
 
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