Nikon 70-300mm VR users??

[Bradders09]

Hi all,

Just a quick one to ask if there is anyone who has good experience with a 70-300mm VR lens. In particular I'm looking to find out what F number provides the sharpest shots etc.

Ive heard that F8 / F10 is best, would any experts on here agree? Also, as you go out to 300mm the image does degrade, so is there an optimum range for the lens for the sharpest shots?

Any hints and tips would be much appreciated. Oh and I'm using it on a D90.

Thanks very much

Brad

 

[Dave Pickett]

mainly use it wide open, but it appears damn sharp to me , better than the 18 - 105 kit lens (not that theres much wrong with that either.) Think good technique is more important than the lens........

 

[redhed17]

This site does quite extensive reviews on lenses, and the sharpest aperture seems to change slightly with the focal length used.

 

[justinitus]

Mine's sharp wide open but I can see a tiny bit of improvement stopping down to F8. At 300mm a wee bit of softness creeps in but back off to 280mm and it's gone. An excellent lens for general purpose use, exceeded my expectation quite a bit!

 

[Nod]

With any lens, I try to keep it stopped down a couple of stops from its widest (unless I want/need it wide open for speed/shallow DoF), so with the 70-300, that's around f/8 or so.

While I'm sure that the IQ probably does drop off slightly at 300mm, it's not enough of a drop to worry about, even printing up to A3.

 

[Manxmaid]

^^ My experience is exactly the same as Nod's. It's a cracking lens, especially at the price.

 

[lawrenceots]

I'm very happy with the lens, not had chance to try it at smaller apertures properly yet.

 

[whitevanman]

Very happy with mine. Used it for wildlife, airshows and candids

 

[JDholic]

I'm extremely happy with mine, punches well above it's weight in my opinion.

I have no reservations shooting mine wide open, but it is sharper at f/8-f/10

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