Beginner Which Zoom Lens out of the two??

Dan ives

Dan ives

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Hi Just wondered if someone can give me some advice on Which lens to look at, Its for a Nikon and the two I have been looking at are:

AF-S VR 70-300 f/4.5-5.6G IF ED and the AF-S DX 55-300 F 4.5-5.6 G VR

The first lens is nearly £200 more than the 55-300mm but trying to ascertain what the differences will be and if they will be noticeable.

The 70mm being a newer model and having the VRII and ED lens I suspect is where the money is but the 55-300 still has the VR built in so still sounds like a decent choice.

Can anyone shed any light and educate me as to where the differences lie and if spending more will result in a sharper, better quality image?
 
Hi

Not tried the 55-300, but have used both the 55-200vr and the 70-300 and the 70-300 is better in terms of picture quality than the 55-200vr.

It will help other provide more info if you confirm the camera body you have and what you want to use the lens for.

Thanks
 
Ok thanks I have a d3300
I would like to shoot things like birds in the garden on feeders in trees etc nothing at real distance but also something capable of taking a decent picture of say for example a plane at an air show, not the sort of thing for plane pictures on the side of a mountain in Wales.
 
One is a DX crop sensor lens and the other FF FX 70-300mm is full frame btw out of the two lenses
I would personally get the 70- 300 VR as it can be used on both types of body.
 
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I've not used the 55-300 but the 70-300 is a quality lens which I have used on both ff and crop.
 
Thanks for your replys so think I will spend the extra and go 70-300 as I would like a FF body at some point down the line
 
The 70-300VR is much the better lens and the autofocus is much quicker.

An alternative is the Tamron 70-300 VC which, by most accounts, actually better than the Nikon and cheaper to boot.
 
I had both 55-300 and 70-300.

The 70-300 is miles better. I had the 55-300 but rented the 70-300 to see if it was better, back when I had a D3200. Loads better, better IQ, faster Autofocus.

Highly recommend spending the extra on the 70-300

And, btw, I've since upgraded to FF (D600) and the lens is still great on it.

By all means though, I've heard really good things about the Tamron 70-300mm VC. Try it if u can first (y)
 
Thanks guys more to consider, I had seen the tamron but didn't know too much about it to be honest. Can that also be used on an FF body? Think I need to try the two side by side to make a fair comparison.
 
Dan ives said:
Thanks guys more to consider, I had seen the tamron but didn't know too much about it to be honest. Can that also be used on an FF body? Think I need to try the two side by side to make a fair comparison.
Click to expand...

To be honest, I don't think you'll see any difference between the Nikon 70-300 VR and the Tamron 70-300 VC.

All the technical reviews/ lab tests you see online comparing similar lenses, in the real world you don't notice much difference.

There's one thing I've learned from photography, chucking lots of money at things because we need the absolute best that we can get, is not necessarily the best thing to do!

Sure, we all like comparing lenses, cameras etc, getting right down to the nitty-gritty with the differences ( I admit I do it too) but the last couple of times I've bought a lens from a shop, I honestly couldn't see any differences in the images!
 
wezza13 said:
To be honest, I don't think you'll see any difference between the Nikon 70-300 VR and the Tamron 70-300 VC.

All the technical reviews/ lab tests you see online comparing similar lenses, in the real world you don't notice much difference.

There's one thing I've learned from photography, chucking lots of money at things because we need the absolute best that we can get, is not necessarily the best thing to do!

Sure, we all like comparing lenses, cameras etc, getting right down to the nitty-gritty with the differences ( I admit I do it too) but the last couple of times I've bought a lens from a shop, I honestly couldn't see any differences in the images!
Click to expand...
I often find it best to try the lenses out for myself if possible as test scores don't tell the whole picture imo. Most modern lenses are going to be adequately sharp enough, but I'm more interested in how a lens renders images, how much contrast and 'pop' it has, and only by seeing images can I really tell this.
 
Lab tests are just that lab tests, often real world use is very different
 
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