Best 18-300mm Lens (or similar)

rpsmith79

rpsmith79

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Rich
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Now i know this isnt going to be the worlds greatest lens, but i am after something in this range to use as a general walkabout/travel lens, but there seems to be quite a few lenses around this range and was wondering which was considered the best

I'm happy to go either Nikkor, Sigma, Tamron etc

I already have a Sigma 17-50mm, Tamron 70-300mm and a Nikon 200-500mm, so for the more serious stuff i have most of it covered

Ideally i would be after something to replace the Tamron 70-300mm for use when going on walks and holidays when size/weight/space is at a premium

I'm not nailed on at 18-300mm, but something around that size as i know there are many offerings from Nikon, Sigma and Tamron which vary slightly
 
Can only comment on lenses I have or had. I now have the Nikkor 18-200 since the Tamron 18-270 I had before doesn't work on the V1 and FT-1 adaptor. The Nikkor is a little sharper than the Tamron all the way through its range but is no good over 200mm while the Tamron goes that bit further!
 
Nod said:
Can only comment on lenses I have or had. I now have the Nikkor 18-200 since the Tamron 18-270 I had before doesn't work on the V1 and FT-1 adaptor. The Nikkor is a little sharper than the Tamron all the way through its range but is no good over 200mm while the Tamron goes that bit further!
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Cheers Nod, given the choice (ignoring the fact it didn't work on your other body) which would you rather have, the 18-200 or the Tammy 18-270?

Saying that, the 18-200mm looks nice with it's (semi) Macro capability
 
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Hi Rich, Same here I can only comment on lenses iv'e owned and I personally found the Nikon Nikkor AF-S 18-300mm an ideal walk around lens for what I needed at the time and with my main interest being landscape and wildlife my other lenses cover its range so unfortunately it's up for sale now due to it's lack of use. I actually won a couple of competitions from pictures taken with this lens.
 
David Mercer said:
Hi Rich, Same here I can only comment on lenses iv'e owned and I personally found the Nikon Nikkor AF-S 18-300mm an ideal walk around lens for what I needed at the time and with my main interest being landscape and wildlife my other lenses cover its range so unfortunately it's up for sale now due to it's lack of use. I actually won a couple of competitions from pictures taken with this lens.
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Which 18-300mm is it as Nikon offer 2 versions, one f3.5-f5.6 and the other is f3.5-f6.3 i believe
 
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David Mercer said:
Mine is the 6.3 the newer version.
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Sorry for the barrage of questions, but how is it at 300mm? is it sharp, or do you need to step it down to get acceptable sharp shots?

I too shoot wildlife, but it's not practical to lug around my 200-500mm when out on a countryside walk, so want something that could get a reasonable wildlife shot at 300mm, the Tamron i have is superb for the price/weight, so ideally after something of similar quaility
 
No worries if I can help I will but I have only been doing photography for a couple of years so maybe not the best person to ask but i can go through Lightroom and post some pictures iv'e taken with it at 300mm if that helps?
 
David Mercer said:
No worries if I can help I will but I have only been doing photography for a couple of years so maybe not the best person to ask but i can go through Lightroom and post some pictures iv'e taken with it at 300mm if that helps?
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That would be great if you don't mind, cheers
 
These are all at 300mm and hand held. I don't know if it's because i have to resize them to 1024 to upload on here but they look much more crisp in Lightroom?


CountryFile.jpg _DLM3283-Edit.jpg _DLM4192-Edit-Edit.jpg _DLM4502-2.jpg _DLM2741.jpg
 
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The plan was to use the superzoom on a crop body as an all in one holiday lens but then I got the V1 and discovered that it didn't work so I chopped it in against the Nikkor. Since it was always intended as a single lens option to a multi lens FF system, the extra range would have probably made me keep the Tamron despite the slight IQ edge the Nikkor has. At web size and holiday prints size (6x4 for albums), the slight lack of IQ was relatively unimportant to me - I had plenty of shots of our usual holiday destination from previous visits so snaps would have been fine.
 
Nice one, thanks guys, gives be something to think about now
 
I've had the 18-300 Nikon, the newest model, and thought it was a good lens. Considering the zoom range it offered it was light weight and decent enough quality. I regret that I have sold it.
 
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