These formal tests, and most reviews, independently consider the various easily-measurable aspects of lens performance - acuity, aberrations of various types, perhaps (though usually cursorily) color rendition; and then attempt to grade the lens based on some rational summation of its good and bad qualities.

The kit lens is okay, but there is a noticeable difference in sharpness and over-all quality (great bokeh) with this lens

Excellent quality and theprice was cheaper than I found elsewhere.

These are my first Telephoto lens, I don't like optical quality of pictures are not sharp, with some cromatical aberration and it's noisy

Great quality and price

Great quality product and great

this lens is not VR, but for the price, the quality is awesome

And I have to say I was missing out on the better quality photos

The build quality is not bad at all

You'll see that the quality of the images is excellent

The quality of the photos is not amazing but good enough for most uses and I did get a used copy of the lens so this could just be my particular one

Just don't like the quality of the photos

Quality feels better that I expected.

The build quality is good for the price range

So far I-ve gotten great quality close-up shots of far objects and I couldnt wish for anything less for the price.

The quality of the lens is approved by the pictures themselves

This lens deserves the best quality filter you can afford

The build quality is plasticky and for a lens of this focal length range, it's a tad

Came in a timely manner, and produces very good quality pictures.

The extra 100mm is very nice and the quality is terrific.

Manually focused the lens to take pictures and I enjoyed the quality even though I only got a few minutes to take pictures

This is a great quality lens.

Excellent lens, great quality

The pics are clear and of good quality, though due to the extra weight of the lens using a tripod works better

If you are newer to photography and want an inexpensive, good quality 70-300mm lens, this is the one for you!

I am very surprised that Nikon produce such a poor quality Chinese made lens

Not a VR lens, but using a monopod to steady the camera can produce good quality images

The build quality of this lens is good

Amazing pictures, great quality

The lens is of great quality and the shipping experience was stress-free

That, and their superior build quality, is in my opinion their only advantage

It has excellent image quality - you won't get anything appreciably better in a zoom, unless you spend at least a thousand dollars more.

Great quality for the price and speed of delivery

It complements a 18-105mm, and if I'd have to choose again, i'll probably replace the 2 by a 18-200.The rate is more about the usage, quality is excellent

The build quality feels much more solid and rugged, the focus ring is a true grip ring and not the dinky thing on the end of the 55-200mm's barrel.

The build quality isn't the best, but it is still pretty durable.

If you're wanting a bit higher quality (particularly at the long end), or are hedging your bets about upgrading to FX at some point, go with the 70-300.Addendum:

The quality of this lens has exceeded my expectations

The Vibration Reduction feature does improve photo quality on the higher zoom end when handheld

Excellent quality lens

There is the high end, expensive 70-300 Nikkor for professionals, and, most of all, there is the ubiquitous 17-200 VR which covers most of the range, has great quality,and converts in effect your SLR into a high quality all in one camera.

Great quality.

Pictures are good quality but the auto focus is not compatible with my camera, so only manual focus works

I thought the VR would help improve the quality of my shots.

(and I've heard it argued that the 55-300 is actually better, particularly at 200mm where it has its sweet spot, but to my eyes it's a wash).The extra wide-angle reach of the 55-300 is significant, though, and it performs pretty well at that end of its zoom, so be mindful of whether you really want the (substantially) better image quality at the long end [of the 70-300], or the increased zoom range and wide[r]-angle flexibility [of the 55-300].The autofocus speed and accuracy of the two is fairly comparable.

The lens is really heavy with poor picture quality compared to kit lens and other lens I've recently purchased

The problem is you feel suckered into going to the full zoom, because it appears sharp while photographing, but unfortunately the quality is disappointing when you get home to see what you've got.

I really like this lense, it gives me the the zoom quality that I was looking for.

It was much better quality than I thought for being only about $200 and most of my quality lenses are at least $1,000.

excellent Lens with outstanding picture quality

The quality of the Bokeh (Out of focus areas of the photograph) is very nice and pleasing.

Excelent quality for the price , it does what it suppose to do

Quality is seriously impressive i would recommend this to any photographer you cannot go wrong with nikon

But honestly, the 70-300 kit lens gives me the same quality - amazing quality actually.

Excellent build quality.

Excellent quality and theprice was cheaper than I found elsewhere.

But if you're willing to live with a setting of f11 for the 300mm setting, the quality is superb.

The quality of the glass is decent and its capabilities for range is its strongest feature from this lens

I wouldn't call this lens pro-quality by any streach of the imagination but for the casual user or moderate use pro-sumer, I would highly recommend this bargain of a lens.

but WOW the quality - the photos are just so crispy sharp

Outstanding quality!

Nikon continues to be a leading manufacturer of great quality lenses.

But, quality of photos is fantastic.

all of these are lacking compared to more upscale versions of the lens, and once you get comfortable using the 70-300mm f/4-5.6G AF, you will be left wanting better quality over all

I was tired of the poor quality shots that I was getting from both of

Very fast shipping, excellent quality product

Quality of photos from both lenses are very good

It took outstand pics with great clarity and quality

The lens is fairly heavy but great quality.

Light weight, good quality glass and affordable.

this item gives me the opportunity to get better close ups of friends and other without them knowing it, with great quality pictures

So if you want a excellent quality lens that can take some amazing quality photos at a reasonable price (for the photography world that is), I would recommend this lens to anyone.

But for this price and this great quality, I don't really care and I am enjoying it!!

Because of the noise free high ISO capability of the D4 sensor, I felt that speeds of 250th of a second and above, plus the VR capability of the lens would permit me to shoot sharp high quality pictures at 300 mm

Legendary Nikon quality photographs are easily obtained with this lens

Excellent quality photos as a result.

But the optics are not great quality

the connections for the lens to the camera itself are plastic, and thus already showing a bit of wear and tear from changing it out, love the quality of my photos

Perfect quality sharp focus

In my opinion its best quality is that it is very inexpensive

I enjoy the performance and image quality of this lens so

The build quality feels very good in your hands.

I thought, perhaps I should order the 24-120mm and 70-300mm which theoretically would give me better quality at both ends

Good quality lens for the price.

your buying the better quality lens.

The quality of the images is great, though, I must admit, near that 300 range with some shots I do need my tripod, despite the VR feature

The construction seems very sturdy and "professional" looking - included is a nice "hood" that goes over the end of the lens, and makes you feel like a pro!If you are professional wildlife photographer, and are seeking out the perfect photo of the extremely rare and endangered African-duckbilled-yellow-breasted-warbler, then pay $1,000 for a true pro-quality lens that can stabilize images, etc.

The build quality is also pretty good for the price

just to get better quality pictures with this lens.

If you were looking for a long lens with good build quality that is somewhat reasonably priced I would recommend the Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G

- it's got a good zoom for when you really want it, pretty decent image quality, and best of all, it's a

While not as handy a combination as the 18-200mm lens, I picked up both of these for around the same priceas the 18-200, and in return got even more reach, better image quality across both zoom ranges, and a lighter lens for normal use

The lens case provided was a soft lower quality variety not the hard case advertised.

I've just started taking photos with my first DSLR and this is a great lens for beginners and a good quality considering the price

My copy has excellent image quality all the way to 300mm which surprised the heck out of me.

Very poor picture quality at maximum length.

None the less this a good quality lens

thank u

what a lens, awesome pictures so interesting you just get carried away and ur lost when ur doing a photo shoot, u just wanna click more n more

the aperture to f8 or f11, the images do get sharper but aren't as sharp as in the 70-200mm range

yes the camera loves light and in low light the results are not near as good as when in full sunlight

[a good nikon camera bag, an extended warranty for your camera as well as for the lens..]

I will tell you in decent light or tripod situations this lens is just as sharp as the 70-200 f/2.8 (stopped down one stop from wide open) in the 70-200 focal range on my D700 and just as sharp at all aperatures (once again in the 70-200 focal range) on my D90.

(I have knocked off one star because the sharpness breaks up as you approach 300mm)

I would not let the camera decide what to focus on at that zoom though, like another person said it would probably be the kiss of death with all of that shaking going on, or the camera totally confused as to what what to focus on, since it will focus on perhaps landscape when you want a bird's eye where the bird is on a branch in focus

I can't very well go through the hassle of posting pictures listing all the camera details and settings and then run through every step I laboured through in the Photoshop (n.) process, now can I?

Great (I just need to work on my skills now)Read more