While the new lens offers the longer 300mm focal length, the older 55-200mm is a third-stop faster, and when compared, seems to offer slightly sharper and smoother results than the new lens. Results for CA and distortion are similar; the new lens shows much less corner shading

Nikon 300mm f/4D AF-S Review - Photography Life Nikon 300mm f/4D AF-S Review - Photography Life

The Nikon 55-300mm VR has a very controlled amount of chromatic aberration (CA), due to the excellent ED glass elements used in this lens. I did not notice much CA at the short focal lengths (just a tad in the corners), but did get some at the long end between 200mm and 300mm across the frame. But this slight amount of CA is very easy to fix in Lightroom and Photoshop, so it is not even worth mentioning it- certainly very good for a consumer lens of this class. Stopping down the lens to f/8.0 almost completely eliminates visible aberration. Distortion When it comes to corner performance @ 200mm, the Nikon 55-300mm takes the lead just like in the 105mm corner test. Chromatic aberration is the lens' inability to focus on the sensor or film all colours of visible light at the same point. Severe chromatic aberration gives a noticeable fringing or a halo effect around sharp edges within the picture. It can be cured in software. Lastly, the Nikon 300mm f/4D AF-S does not have a rubber gasket on its mount. This is unfortunate because this means that dust and other debris could end up in your camera and your lens. For this reason, I would recommend keeping a teleconverter mounted on the lens at all times.

Again, I was surprised at how well it does. The images were almost all keepers: good resolution, contrast and color rendition. The only problem, here, is the limited utility at the low end. Since the range begins at 55mm, it's of course impossible to get anything like a wide angle view. So for walkabout, it would be necessary to carry another lens to cover that lower range, which I do anyway. The second switch is for setting either full focus range (FULL) or limit focusing on subjects at 3 meters and further. The third switch is for operating Vibration Reduction on the lens – you can toggle between OFF, NORMAL or SPORT. All three samples that I tested indicated that it was made in China (my Nikkor 300mm f/4D AF-S was made in Japan). Although I have no problem with the lens being made in China and understand that it is cheaper for Nikon to produce lenses there, I am not particularly psyched with sample variation at this point – see notes further down in this review. NIKON D750 + 300mm f/4 @ 420mm, ISO 400, 1/4000, f/5.6 Diffraction limiting sets in at at ƒ/16; fully stopped-down performance is acceptable at wider focal lengths, but at 135mm and longer, it becomes quite soft; at 300mm and ƒ/29, we note around 6 blur units across the frame. As you can see, the lens is capable of producing great results when shot at f/8.0. Vibration Reduction – VR II

Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR Review

So, which one is sharper, the Nikon 55-300mm or the Nikon 55-200mm? As you can see from the above tests, both perform equally well, with the 55-300mm performing just a little better than the 55-200mm towards the longer range at 200mm. Overall, I would say the performance is almost identical, with small differences here and there. When it comes to distortion, CA and other lens characteristics, lenses are very comparable, with the 55-200 having a little more vignetting at 200mm than the 55-300. The obvious advantage the 55-300mm has over the 55-200mm, is focal length. Those 100mm play a big role when it comes to reaching distant subjects and without a doubt, the 55-300mm is a lot more useful than the 55-200mm. Build quality is pretty decent for a consumer zoom. Most of the outer parts are plastic – contributing the light weight of the lens –, but the optical elements are made of high-grade glass. The zoom ring is wide and ridged, and zoom creep is not an issue. On our test sample, the zooming action was very smooth, but I've come across a few copies that had somewhat stiffer zoom rings – this is something to watch out for when shopping for this lens. It's a nice light lens for its range. Build quality is okay (although the metal mount is a nice touch). Now here is where things start getting interesting for the 55-300mm – it performs sharper not only wide open, but also stopped down to f/8.0 in the corners: In the end I think Nikon built a nice, light lens here and, despite some minor niggles, I prefer it over the 70-300 for my purposes (general photography - family & scenics/wildlife - no sports).have been using the 55-300 along with my standard 18-55mm Nikkor, and must say its a very good combo. I have used it for some wildlife photography and the results are definitely more than satisfactory. Its an awesome lens and there is no 2nd thoughts about it. Again, the center looks very similar to 200mm, with slightly softer image at f/5.6 that gets sharper at f/8.0 and f/11.0. Sharpness Test – Nikon 55-300mm @ 300mm Corner Frame VR is the second version like my 16-85mm and works very well at 300mm. The only thing I noticed about the VR is that it takes a half-second or so to stabilize, so you have to be a bit patient before you press the shutter. Again, the sharpness is pretty good overall, but we are already seeing some loss of sharpness at the largest aperture and f/5.6. Stopping down the lens to f/8.0 and f/11.0 produces the best results. Sharpness Test – Nikon 55-300mm @ 105mm Corner Frame

Nikon 300mm f/4E PF ED VR Review - Photography Life Nikon 300mm f/4E PF ED VR Review - Photography Life

The 300mm focal length on a DX camera gives the same angle of view as a 450mm lens on a 35mm camera, producing a pronounced telephoto effect. My next series of tests involved driving to and wandering around a local Spanish mission. These tests, with my D7100, were not comparisons, per se. But I have taken so many earlier shots at the same locations with several lenses that I tend to remember the earlier results. My principal purpose, though, was not comparison but just to see what the lens does with a variety of subjects and its full range of focal lengths, with and without the Kenko 1.4x TC and in or out of crop mode. Thanks to the use of ED low dispersion glass in the the design, the 55-300mm doesn't suffer much with the dreaded effects of chromatic aberrations. Throughout the zoom range colour fringing barely exceeds 0.5 pixel widths and should not pose too many problems in normal shooting conditions. Weight-wise, the Nikon 300mm f/4D AF-S is pretty light when compared to expensive super-telephoto lenses from Nikon. At 1440 grams, the lens is only 100 grams lighter than the 70-200mm VR II and 130 grams lighter than the 80-400mm VR. Autofocus Speed and Accuracy

Supplied Accessories: HB-57 Snap-on Type Lens Hood, LC-58 Snap-on Front Lens Cap, LF-4 Rear Lens Cap, CL-1020 Soft Lens Case When it comes to AF, the 55-200mm zoom is surprisingly slow for a modern AF Nikkor, and is one of the slowest focusing lens in the AF-S line-up. This isn't particularly bothersome if you're photographing stationary subjects, but can pose difficulties when trying to shoot sports. On the plus side, we did not experience much “hunting”, at least in good light. Low-light focusing can be more problematic, but given the slow maximum apertures on offer, this isn't meant to be a low-light lens anyway. Chromatic Aberrations