Nikon 55-300 review for potraits năm 2024

For the opportunity Nikon DX AF-S NIKKOR 55-300mm 1 Lens: 4.5-5.6G ED VR SWM HRI many thanks to Alexander, as well as many thanks to the store www.fotika.com.ua (where in 2018 I took the lens again to make sure some of its nuances).

Nikon 55-300mm F / 4.5-5.6 VR

In short

Nikon 55-300mm F / 4.5-5.6 VR - Telephoto Lens with Image Stabilizer for Nikon DX cameras. First of all, the Nikon 55-300mm F / 4.5-5.6 VR is interesting for 5.5x zoom and the ability to use 300mm focal length. Considering crop factor Nikon DX cameras for which this lens was designed, its EGF will be as much as 450 mm. This lens makes it easy to 'reach' distant objects. With Nikon 55-300mm F/4.5-5.6 VR you can shoot people from afar, wildlife, use as a portrait lens. Nikon 55-300mm F / 4.5-5.6 VR has a small aperture F / 4.5-5.6, but avoid grease when handheld photography stabilization system helps Nikon VR second generation. I achieved what I could take off without grease, using 300 mm focal length and shutter speed of the order of 1/80 second. I was satisfied with the work of VR.

Unfortunately, the focusing speed of the Nikon 55-300mm F / 4.5-5.6 VR is at a very low level, and the lens also has a very inconvenient manual focus.

Nikon 55-300mm F / 4.5-5.6 VR

Main technical characteristics of Nikon DX AF-S NIKKOR 55-300mm 1: 4.5-5.6G ED VR SWM HRI:

Review Instance Name Nikon DX AF-S NIKKOR 55-300mm 1: 4.5-5.6G ED VR SWM HRI 3172853 Basic properties

• DX () - Lens designed for Nikon DX APS-C cameras
• AF S () - the lens uses a built-in focus motor
• G () - means no aperture control ring and transfer of focusing distance to the camera
• ED (Extra low dispersion) - the use of special low-dispersion elements in the optical scheme
• H.R.I. (high refractive index) - the use of special elements with a high refractive index
• SWM () - silent wave focusing motor compact type
• DIH (Nikon Super Integrated Coating) - Special Integrated Super Enlightenment Optics
• AM () - normal focus switch.
• VR () - built-in image stabilizer of the second generation, compensates up to 3 steps.
• RD () - rounded petals aperture
• metal mount Front Filter Diameter 58 mm, plastic thread for filters Focal length 55-300 mm EGF for Nikon DX cameras is 82.5-450 mm Zoom ratio 5.45 x Designed by for digital cameras Nikon DX Number of aperture blades 9 rounded petals Tags focal lengths for 55, 70, 85, 105, 135, 200, 300 mm, bayonet mount mark and hood mounts Diaphragm
• 55 mm: F / 4.5-F / 22
• 70 mm: F / 4.5-F / 22
• 100 mm: F / 4.8-F / 25
• 135 mm: F / 4.8-F / 25
• 200 mm: F / 5.3-F / 29
• 300 mm: F / 5.6-F / 29

The lens is deprived of the aperture control ring, control is via the camera menu ()

MDF (Minimum Focus Distance) 1.4 m over the entire range of focal lengths, maximum magnification ratio 1: 3.6 Stabilizer features Up to 3 steps excerpts 300 mm focal length by CIPE standards (indicated on the official website), up to 4 steps by Nikon standards (indicated in the instructions) The weight 530 g Optical design 17 elements in 11 groups, including 2 low dispersion element (shown in yellow on the optical diagram). The presence of such elements is indicated on the body by the abbreviation 'ED'. As well as one HRI element (high refractive index), an element with a high refractive index (location on the optical scheme is not indicated)

Image of optical circuit clickable

Lens hood Nikon HB-57, bayonet type, plastic, comes standard. Transportation With a soft cover CL-1020 Manufacturer country China (PRC), inscription on the lens: “MADE IN CHINA” Period From August 2010 to the present. In 2016 augmented by a lens Nikon DX AF-P Nikkor 70-300mm 1: 4.5-6.3G ED VRInstructions View–> 3D view View–> Current prices in modern online stores

• Look at E-Catalog
• Look at Power outlet
• Look at Magazilla
• Look at Nadavi
• Look at M.Video

The set includes a plastic hood HB-57. The hood is attached to the lens with two clips. The hood can be worn backwards and carried with you at all times, while access to the zoom ring is partially blocked. The diameter of the front filter, as for a telephoto, is small - 58 mm. The diaphragm has 9 rounded blades.

Nikon 55-300mm F / 4.5-5.6 VR

It is assembled well, with a metal bayonet mount, the Nikon 55-300mm F / 4.5-5.6 VR weighs a little more than 500 grams. When zooming, the rear lens of the lens moves, driving air through the insides of the camera.

Nikon 55-300mm F / 4.5-5.6 VR

Focusing

Nikon 55-300mm F / 4.5-5.6 VR focuses thanks to 'SWM'-motor (Silent Wbird Motor - quiet wave motor) and refers to the lens''type (with built-in motor focusing). Nikon 55-300mm F / 4.5-5.6 VR uses compact 'swm' motor.

Important: this lens will automatically focus on all Nikon DSLR cameras.

Despite claims that the focus motor is silent, noise is present during actual operation. This noise will affect the sound quality during movie shooting using the microphone built into the camera. During automatic focusing, you can sometimes hear and feel how unpleasantly the focusing mechanisms rub (including the focus ring).

Auto focus speed is highly dependent on the selected focal length. Focusing speed at 55 mm focal length slow, with an increase in focal length, the focusing speed decreases significantly. At 300 mm focal length, the lens spends a lot of time focusing, and the focusing speed at this focal length value can be considered very very low. Focus speed is independent of camera orientation. Most likely this lens is the slowest in the entire line of Nikon DX lenses.

On the lens housing you can find . In position 'A', auto focus works, and in position 'M' - manual focus. During auto focus, the focus ring rotates and cannot be touched. To perform manual focusing, the lens must be switched to 'M' mode. The lens does not have a constantly manual focus control mode or A / m.

During focusing, the front lens rotates, and the front of the body frame (trunk) moves forward.

The focus ring rotates approximately 75 degrees. When the end positions are reached, the focusing ring stops. The ring is narrow, but rubberized. Manual focusing with this lens is hell. With manual focus focus ring jerks. You can forget about smooth focusing - in order to manually shift the focus ring, you have to exert considerable effort, after which the ring starts to move and flies over the desired value.

When used on a camera Nikon D90 (with unpretentious Multi-CAM 1000 focusing system) the lens behaves well, rarely focuses incorrectly. I had no problems with focus accuracy and focus. On camera Nikon D90 I checked the presence of the back and focus front at different focusing distances and different values ​​of the focal length (infinity and MDF as well). Pictures taken using the Live View mode (which does not suffer from back / front focus) were used as a measure. Focusing accuracy using the central cross-shaped phase sensor completely coincided with the Live View mode.

The minimum focusing distance is 140 cm (the distance from the camera’s matrix / focal plane to the subject). With such an MDF, the maximum magnification factor is achieved by 300 mm of the focal length and is 1: 3.6 (you can shoot a weak macro).

Nikon 55-300mm F / 4.5-5.6 VR

Other focusing features:

1. There is no depth of field scale, focusing distance and mark for working in the infrared spectrum. There is nothing at all, except for the focal length marks.
2. During tests focus shift (shift-focus) was not noticed.
3. Present very strong 'Focus Breathing' effect (changes in viewing angle during focusing).
4. Nikon 55-300mm F / 4.5-5.6 VR has no special focus problems in Live View (tested on Nikon D90).
5. When changing the focal length, focusing is almost not lost.
6. The lens does not have a hard stop (hard infinity mechanical stop) which allows you to accurately and quickly focus the lens to infinity under any external temperature conditions.
7. Unknown compatibility with teleconverters.
8. During shooting at a low temperature, about -5C, the auto focus with this lens began to fail.

Nikon 55-300mm F / 4.5-5.6 VR

Sample Photos

Photos from Nikon 55-300mm F / 4.5-5.6 VR turn out good, though the lens is a bit soft on a range of 200-300mm on open apertures, there is light vignetting on open apertures. Distortion is almost invisible. Sample photos taken on Nikon D80, on-camera JPEG without processing.

Nikon 55-300mm F / 4.5-5.6 VR

Personal impressions

The Nikon 55-300mm F / 4.5-5.6 VR is an ambiguous lens. On the one hand, it shows good image quality, and on the other hand, it shows a horribly implemented focusing system. If you have money to spare, I recommend a good and proven full frame lens. Nikon 70-300 mm f / 4.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S VR Nikkor. If there are no funds, then you can safely do with a simpler model Nikon 55-200 / 4-5.6GII VRII.

I recommend this Nikon 55-300mm F / 4.5-5.6 VR only if working in the 200-300mm range really matters. Based on my experience, I want to add that the difference between 200 and 300 mm focal length is not very noticeable in photographs, and 200 mm is quite enough for many photo tasks. Especially EGF for a 200 it will be 300 mm.

All in all, I consider the Nikon 55-300mm F / 4.5-5.6 VR an unsuccessful lens.

Nikon 55-300mm F / 4.5-5.6 VR

Lens prices in popular stores can look at this link, or in the price block below:

Nikon 55-300mm F / 4.5-5.6 VR

Video review

Video review you can take a look on my Youtube channel or lower:

Comments on this post do not require registration. Anyone can leave a comment. Many different photographic equipment can be found on AliExpress.

Nikon 55-300mm F / 4.5-5.6 VR

All original Nikon DX telephoto lenses

1. Nikon DX AF S Nikkor 55-200mm 1:4-5.6G ED SWMarel 2005
2. Nikon DX AF S Nikkor 55-200mm 1:4-5.6G ED VR IF SWMMarch 2007
3. Nikon DX AF S Nikkor 55-200mm 1:4-5.6GII ED VRIIJanuary 2015
4. Nikon DX AF S Nikkor 55-300mm 1:4.5-5.6G ED VR SWM HRIAugust 2010
5. Nikon DX AF-P Nikkor 70-300mm 1:4.5-6.3G EDAugust 2016
6. Nikon DX AF-P Nikkor 70-300mm 1:4.5-6.3G ED VRAugust 2016

A list of absolutely all lenses of the Nikon DX series, as well as a lot of useful information on lenses and cameras Nikon will find .

Nikon 55-300mm F / 4.5-5.6 VR

All 70-300 Class Full Frame Lenses with Stabilizer

Sigma

• Sigma DG OS 70-300mm 1: 4-5.6 (for Sigma SA, Sony A, Nikon F, Pentax K, Canon EF / EF-S)

Tamron

• Tamron DI SP 70-300mm F / 4-5.6 VC USD A005 (for Nikon F, Canon EF / EF-S, Sony A)

Canon (EF, EF-S)

• Canon Zoom Lens EF 75-300mm 1: 4-5.6 IS USM
• Canon Zoom Lens EF 70-300mm 1: 4-5.6 IS USM
• Canon Zoom Lens EF 70-300mm 1: 4-5.6 IS II USM (NanoUSM)
• Canon Zoom Lens EF 70-300mm 1: 4.5-5.6 DO IS USM
• Canon Zoom Lens EF 70-300mm 1: 4-5.6 L IS USM

Nikon (F, FX)

• Nikon ED AF-S Nikkor 70-300mm 1: 4.5-5.6G VR IF SWM
• Nikon ED AF-P Nikkor 70-300mm 1: 4.5-5.6E VR

Sony (E, FE)

• Sony FE 4.5-5.6 / 70-300 G OSS

The names of the lenses are indicated according to the inscription on their body.

Nikon 55-300mm F / 4.5-5.6 VR

An accurate list of all Nikon DX Nikkor lenses

1. 10.5 mm/ 2.8G AF Fisheye [gold ring]
2. 35 mm/1.8G AF-S
3. 40 mm/2.8G AF-S Microphone
4. 85 mm/3.5G AF-S VR Microphone
5. 10-20 mm/4.5-5.6G AF-P VR
6. 10-24 mm/3.5-4.5G AF-S
7. 12-24 mm/4G AF-S [gold ring]
8. 16-80 mm/ 2.8-4IN AF S VR [gold ring]
9. 16-85 mm/3.5-5.6G AF-S VR
10. 17-55 mm/2.8G AF-S [gold ring]
11. 18-55 mm/3.5-5.6G AF-S [black / silver]
12. 18-55 mm/3.5-5.6GII AF-S [black / silver]
13. 18-55 mm/3.5-5.6G AF-S VR
14. 18-55 mm/3.5-5.6GII AF-S VR
15. 18-55 mm/3.5-5.6G AF-P
16. 18-55 mm/3.5-5.6G AF-P VR
17. 18-70 mm/3.5-4.5G AF-S
18. 18-105 mm/3.5-5.6G AF-S VR [Thailand / China]
19. 18-135 mm/3.5-5.6G AF-S
20. 18-140 mm/3.5-5.6G AF-S VR [Thailand / China]
21. 18-200 mm/3.5-5.6G AF-S VR [Japan / China]
22. 18-200 mm/3.5-5.6GII AF-S VR
23. 18-300 mm/3.5-5.6G VR
24. 18-300 mm/3.5-6.3G VR
25. 55-200 mm/4-5.6G AF-S [black / silver, Japan / China]
26. 55-200 mm/4-5.6G AF-S VR
27. 55-200 mm/4-5.6GII ED VR
28. 55-300 mm/4.5-5.6G AF-S VR
29. 70-300 mm/4.5-6.3G AF-P
30. 70-300 mm/4.5-6.3G AF-P VR

Results

Nikon DX AF-S NIKKOR 55-300mm 1: 4.5-5.6G ED VR SWM HRI is an ambiguous lens, a more advanced alternative for Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 55-200mm 1: 4-5.6G ED VR IF SWM.

Advantages

1. built-in image stabilizer, stabilizer works well
2. special optical elements in the optical circuit (ED, HRI)
3. relatively light weight, small diameter of the front filter
4. rear mount lens hood
5. lack of self-extension of the trunk under its own weight (perhaps this begins only with time)
6. metal mount, rubberized focus and zoom rings
7. protective O-ring near the mount for base dust and moisture protection
8. good maximum magnification ratio for macro shooting, which is 1: 3.6
9. ultrasonic built-in focus motor
10. 9 petals aperture, the lens creates fairly smooth blur discs
11. lack of focus-shift during iris
12. smooth and proportional aperture drop from 55 to 300 mm focal length
13. good price / quality ratio, especially when this lens comes in a double-kit
14. good optical performance (low or moderate distortion, vignetting, chromatic aberrationgood sharpness)

The main disadvantages

1. during focusing, the front lens and the thread under the filters rotate
2. very low auto focus speed (this is the slowest lens in the entire line )
3. used for focusing compact 'swm' motor, instead of the powerful and fast ring 'SWM' motor
4. small stroke of the focus ring, very inconvenient manual focus (the most inconvenient in the entire line )
5. rotation of the focus ring during autofocus and, as a result, lack of the function of constant manual focus control
6. problems focusing in the cold (maybe not all copies)
7. while zooming and / or focusing, the trunk moves forward
8. focusing falters while changing the focal length
9. no focus distance scale, depth of field and tags for working in the infrared spectrum
10. the lack of a switch for selecting stabilizer operating modes, which, for example, is Nikon DX AF-S 18-200mm 1: 3.5-5.6GII VR
11. rear lens movement while changing the focal length, small effect of a vacuum cleaner / air pump
12. very strong 'Focus Breathing' effect. During focusing towards MDF, the viewing angle decreases
13. resolution drop in the range of 200-300 mm

Material prepared Arkady Shapoval. Training/Consultations | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram

What is a 55

As a super-telephoto lens covering the 55mm to 300mm range of focal lengths, the AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR is capable of capturing the main subject at sporting events, indoor events or in vacation photos largely, even from a distance.

What is the best aperture for Nikon 55

As with most lenses the optimal results are achieved when stopped down - in the case of the 55-300mm VR, to ƒ/8 or ƒ/11. Best results for sharpness seem to be achieved with the lens set to either 70mm or 100mm and ƒ/8, where sharpness is tack-sharp across the entire frame.

When did the Nikon 55 300 come out?

Product information.