Nikon 70 300mm Lens Filter Size

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Nikon seventy-300mm VR

FX AF-South f/4.5-5.half dozen K (2006-2017)

Intro   Specs   Functioning   Recommendations

Nikon AF-Southward 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR
(FX, DX and 35mm coverage, 67mm filters, 26.2 oz./745g, five’/1.v m close focus, almost $250 used if y’all know How to Win at eBay). bigger. I’d also look for it at Amazon and
sometimes yous can find them reconditioned at Adorama, but today I’d get it used at eBay.

My biggest source of back up is when you use those or any of these links when you get
anything, regardless of the state in which y’all alive. It helps me go along adding to this free website when y’all go yours through these links — merely I receive
nothing
for my efforts if you buy elsewhere. Thank you for your support! Ken.

April 2018

Nikon Reviews   Nikon Lenses    All Reviews

Sample Images from California’s Central Coast
June 2010

NEW:


70-300mm VR AF-P FX
and
70-300mm VR AFP DX
are newer versions, only they only works on the newest cameras.

Introduction


       top

Intro   Specs   Performance   Recommendations

This Nikon 70-300mm VR was the latest of many lxx-300mm range zooms from Nikon back in 2006, and today is replaced by the




seventy-300mm AF-P VR DX or 70-300 AF-P VR FX which take faster autofocus but piddling to no compatibility with older cameras.

Delight read the rest of this review knowing I wrote information technology in 2006 before the newer lenses existed.

This lens was the first 70-300 to add Vibration Reduction (VR) to eliminate the need for a tripod, AFS focusing to allow instant transmission focus override, and several hundred dollars in added expense. It’s the but seventy-300mm range lens that will autofocus on the D40, D3000, D60 and D5000.

For FX and motion-picture show, this was my favorite tele zoom because information technology weighs less than the f/2.8 lenses and less than the lxxx-400mm VR.

This 70-300mm VR is the very best mod tele zoom lens to become if you prefer a dedicated tele zoom over a do-it-all zoom and desire light weight and moderate price.

Information technology’southward a nice semi-plasticy amateur lens with a metal mount. If y’all need tougher, spend twice as much on the fully professional 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-D for $1,100. If y’all can do without VR (I can’t), get the not-VR 70-300mm G for $150.

For DX, if you already take the Nikon 18-200mm VR, I won’t bother getting this lens, likewise, since most of the range is already covered by the 18-200mm.

Compatibility

This 70-300mm VR Thou AFS lens works perfectly on all digital cameras, and about autofocus movie cameras made since about 1990.

It’s a Grand-type lens with no aperture ring. It won’t work on whatever transmission focus camera.

See Nikon Lens Compatibility for more than. Look in the G and the AF-S columns; you get the to the lowest degree of the features mentioned.

Nikon 70-300mm VR.
bigger.

Good News:

i.) Very abrupt from 70-200mm.

ii.) VR, which means y’all go out your tripod at home.

iii.) Low distortion.

four.) Large, fat zoom ring.

v.) Evenly spaced zooming – no bunching upwardly at either cease.

vi.) Easy manual focus.

7.) Fast autofocus.

eight.) AF is very accurate.

Bad News:

1.) Plasticy butt, merely that’s how we get the low weight I love.

2.) Plasticy, sticky zoom feel.

three.) VR makes a weird water-running sound. I tin experience it through the camera torso every bit it runs. (Other VR lenses simply hiss.)

Switches: Nikon seventy-300mm VR.

Specifications




       tiptop

Intro   Specs   Performance   Recommendations

Proper noun

Nikon calls this the Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor lxx-300mm f/four.v – v.6G IF-ED

   AFS:
Quiet AF and instant manual focus override. Just catch the focus ring.

   VR II:
Vibration Reduction, new version. This ways you can go sharp pictures without a tripod. Nikon claims four stops sharper.

    Chiliad:
No aperture band. Simply works on cameras newer than about 1992.

    IF:
Internal Focusing. Nothing moves on the outside of the lens when it focuses.

    ED:
Magic drinking glass for sharper images

   SWM:
Silent Moving ridge Motor for fast, tranquility focusing.

All this and more than explained in greater depth on my Nikon Lens Technology page.

Focal Length

70-300mm.

If used on a DX camera, it gives a field of view similar to the field of view of a 105 – 450 mm lens used on FX or 35mm picture show. (see Crop Cistron.)

Maximum Aperture

f/4.v – v.6.

Eyes

17 elements, 12 groups, including two ED glass elements.

The yellowish elements are ED. The cherry box shows the VR group.

Diaphragm

Lovely 9 blade rounded.

Stops down to f/32 – xl.

Don’t always stop downwardly this far because diffraction will requite yous very soft images.

Filter Thread

67mm.

Plastic.

Doesn’t rotate.

Shut Focus

4.5′ (1.37m), actually measured, from image airplane (back of camera).

Maximum Reproduction Ratio

1:4.

Size

iii.i x five.half-dozen” (80 10 143.5 mm).

Weight

26.260 oz (744.4g), every bit measured past me, naked (the lens, not me).

Hood

HB-36 plastic bayonet, included.

Case

Soft case included.

Nikon Product Number

2161.

Announced

09 August, 2006.

Shipping Since

10 December 2006.

Cost, USA

Nigh $250 used if y’all know How to Win at eBay, March-April 2018.

$497 new or nigh $300 used if you know How to Win at eBay, Oct 2017.

$587, November 2014.

$587, May 2013.

$520, October-Nov 2010.

$540, August, 2010.

RATED MTF

Operation




       acme

Intro   Specs   Performance   Recommendations

Autofocus    Bokeh    Colour Fringes    Construction    Distortion

Falloff    Film    Filters    Flare    Wink    Focal Lengths, bodily

Macro    Serial Number   Sharpness   Audio   VR   Warranty   Zooming

Nikon 70-300mm VR.

OVERALL

It performs ameliorate than whatsoever of the previous 70-300mm lenses.

This is the lens to become if your subjects concur yet. If y’all need to shoot moving things in lower lite, get the faster 80-200mm f/ii.8 AF-D instead. If size, weight and price are no object (they are for me), go the 70-200mm VR or 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II.

FOCUSING
   back to Operation or back to Introduction.

Autofocus is as fast equally my super-fast 80-200 AFS.

If you start off completely out of focus (subject at 6 anxiety and lens at infinity for instance) you lot may need to move it manually to get information technology started, and if it’s way out of focus it may first focus in the wrong direction, bounce off the terminate and head back the other way to acquire your target. So long as y’all’re in the right zone, focus is fast!

Speed

Information technology’s as fast, or maybe a little slower, every bit the 18-200mm VR.

It’s much faster than the pokey fourscore-400mm VR and the other 70-300mm class lenses.

Information technology’s as fast equally my super-fast 80-200 AFS.

It’due south still not instantaneous equally the Canons are, just it’south much more accurate and consequent.

Sound and Noise

Focus is almost silent.

Manual Focus: Plastic on plastic.

Autofocus:
About the aforementioned.

Ease of Manual Focusing

Excellent. I firm fingertip can move the always-on manual focus ring.

Autofocus Accuracy

AF is expressionless-on at all focal lengths.

It’s slower than Canon and it may be pokey at times, and the good news is that every shot comes out perfect.

Focus Animate

Breathing is a motion picture show term which refers to what happens as y’all pull (change) focus from near to far.

This Nikon 70-300mm VR changes magnification a little every bit focused.

BOKEH

dorsum to Performance or back to Introduction.

Bokeh is neutral and much better than my 18-200mm VR. Here are complete images at the longer focal lengths shot on DX. The subject was 10 feet (3m) abroad.

At 100mm I cropped and show simply the centre 50% of each dimension, resulting in twice the magnification of the other images. At 70mm I took the center third of each dimension, or triple the magnification.

COLOR FRINGES

(Lateral Chromatic Aberration or LCA)

dorsum to Performance or dorsum to Introduction.

It has none on whatsoever modern Nikon introduced since almost 2006.

On older generation cameras, it has just a piddling at the longest focal lengths. This lens is canonical by the PPLFPA, Professional person Patio and Lawn Furniture Photographers’ Association, with a grade of “B.” On Gen 2 cameras, information technology has none.

Here are the full DX guide images from which the crops are taken:

Full DX Prototype, 70mm	Full DX Prototype, 300mm

100% crop from D200 at 70mm	100% crop from D200 at 100mm

100% crop from D200 at 135mm	100% crop from D200 at 200mm

These crops are unsharpened and taken from Large Bones JPG originals.

Since I shot at 5 focal lengths, not iv, I had an extra spot open in this layout so I added a snap of me and the infant working on this. That’due south what you get for reading a noncommercial website!

Construction QUALITY

back to Performance or back to Introduction.

It has a rubber gasket on the lens mountain to keep grime out of your camera.

Exterior:
Plastic.

Barrels:
Plastic.

Filter Threads:
Plastic.

Focus Ring:
Ribbed hard plastic, just very slightly rubbery.

Markings:
Pigment. Gold metal classification plate.

Switches:
Plastic.

Mount:
Metal.

Internals:
More often than not metal with some plastic.

Noises when shaken:
Lots of klunking. This is normal.

Made in:
Thailand.

DISTORTION

back to Performance or dorsum to Introduction.

Distortion on DX is quite proficient, much better than the 18-200mm VR.

On FX, it has moderate distortion.

Plug these figures into Photoshop CS2’s lens distortion filter to correct the distortion for critical use.

	Distortion	FX at ∞	DX at fifty’ (15m)
70mm	barrel	+3.0	+1.0
100mm	pincushion	-1.2	-0.5
135mm	pincushion	-3.2	-1.2
200mm	pincushion	-iii.v	-2.0
300mm	pincushion	-3.0	-0.5

© 2009 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.

Hither’s the proverbial Bad Photographers’ Wall of Shame equally seen on DX:

At 70mm, D200	At 100mm, D200 Education

At 135mm, D200	At 200mm, D200

	(I bet you idea I’d put my kid here again.)
At 300mm, D200

Here’s a larger version of it at 70mm. Move your mouse over information technology to come across it after correction with Photoshop CS2’south lens distortion filter per the tabular array below.

Distortion on DX at 70mm, before and later correction (mouse-over).

FALLOFF (Darkened Corners)

back to Performance or back to Introduction.

This seventy-300mm VR lens has very footling, if any, falloff towards the corners of a DX frame. It is far superior to the 18-200mm VR, which has dark corners at 200mm and f/5.6 on DX.

This is the falloff as seen on a digital camera. It will exist worse on moving picture and FX. From what niggling I tried information technology, it still seems pretty adept on my F100.

These are shots of an Expodisc. This is a tough test which shows even the slightest falloff. You’ll never see this in normal photography. Ignore the pocket-size exposure variations between frames.

Even better, I see fantabulous exposure uniformity between frames.

USE ON Picture show CAMERAS
   back to Performance or back to Introduction.

It works slap-up on my F100. VR and AF work fine.

It works dandy on the F6 and F5.

If you go as far dorsum equally the F4, you lot lose VR, aperture-priority and manual exposure, while autofocus, matrix metering, Program and shutter-priority modes all piece of work slap-up.

Run into Nikon Lens Compatibility for more. Wait in the Thou and the AF-S columns; you get the least of the features mentioned.

USE With FILTERS
   back to Performance or dorsum to Introduction.

Since it’south designed for film cameras, y’all’ll never accept a vignetting problem, fifty-fifty with several stacked filters, on a digital camera. (See Crop Factor.)

On a motion-picture show camera in that location’s no problem either, even with two stacked filters. if you’re going to have a problem, information technology will be at 100mm. Check there first if you lot’re planning on using three or more stacked filters on a motion-picture show camera.

At that place’southward no need for expensive thin-mountain filters.

FLARE AND GHOSTS

dorsum to Performance or dorsum to Introduction.

No problem.

Here are shots looking directly into the blinding California sun. This isn’t a nice sunset, it’s looking directly at the sun. These photos don’t convey how violently bright the sun was, except for the CCD blooming which is the camera’s manner of saying “End this idiocy earlier you go bullheaded, you moron!”

70mm	300mm

Utilise with FLASH
back to Performance or back to Introduction.

Built-in flashes are often close plenty to the camera that ultrawide lenses tin can see far enough downwardly to see their shadow cast past a built-in flash.

This lens has no trouble: it can’t focus close plenty or become broad enough, so even at it’s closest focus distance in that location is no shadow from the congenital-in flash.

Focal Lengths, actual

       performance     peak

The effective focal lengths don’t modify with distance.

While the 300mm end of the 28-300mm VR gets shorter every bit you get closer, this 70-300mm remains an honest 300mm at every bailiwick altitude.

MACRO
   back to Performance or back to Introduction.

at closest focus (iv.5′) at 300mm on DX, full image.

100% ingather from above, no actress sharpening.

No news here, this is typical for these kinds of lenses.

Series NUMBER
  dorsum to Functioning or back to Introduction.

The serial number light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation engraved (burnt blackness on black) into the plastic on the bottom rear of the lens butt, just under “Nikon, SWM VR ED IF ø67, Fabricated in Thailand.”

Lenses for the USA have serial numbers prefixed by “US.” If all you accept is a number without “Usa” and you bought it in the USA, yous most likely got stuck with a gray market lens and aren’t covered by whatsoever warranty from Nikon. In the USA, Nikon warrants the their lenses for five years.

SHARPNESS
  back to Performance or back to Introduction.

This 70-300mm VR works great on FX. It’due south sharp at all settings, except may just a tad softer in the far corners at 70mm and f/4.five.

On an sometime (gen 1) DX camera, sharpness is very adept, except at 300mm. Your technique will exist your biggest bulwark to sharp photos. I have a folio on How to Get Abrupt Photos.

Here are my observations on a D200 at 100%. Letters correspond to heart – side – corner. Possible ratings are Eastward – VG – Thousand – F – P. These are subjective. Don’t fret over differences between side by side grades.

Diffraction is normally the sharpness-limiting gene for all lenses, specially digital SLRs, at about f/11 and above. See also How Sharpness Varies with Discontinuity.

* Be sure you’ve got perfect focus.

Information technology’s normal for tele zooms to be worst at the long end, and that’south the instance here. It’s much better at 200mm and below. Weirdly, it was worst at f/xi, and got improve at f/16! This is something weird. I accept no explanation for information technology, simply since I saw operation dip at f/eleven I wanted to mention information technology. Use f/8 if you can, or f/16 if you need depth of field.

Of course sharpness is awful at f/22 and f/32 due to diffraction, like all lenses. This is due to the laws of physics, around which no lens yet has maneuvered.

Audio and Racket
   dorsum to Performance or dorsum to Introduction.

It’southward noisy. You won’t hear it in a camera store, simply in a silent room I tin can hear the VR running at arm’s length. This is normal.

Focus is repose, but the VR system hisses and sounds like running water. Information technology’due south noisier than the xviii-200mm VR. The 18-200mm only hisses, simply the seventy-300mm hisses and hums.

I can feel the vibration of the lens’ vibration reduction system when property my camera!

You’ll besides hear a klunk when the VR starts, and another klunk when it shuts off a few seconds after you release the shutter.

Focusing and zooming sounds like plastic sliding on plastic.

VR (Vibration Reduction)

back to Operation or back to Introduction.

This lists the pct of sharp shots that I get with and without VR. The first effigy is without VR, and the second is with VR.

Read Why VR is Of import to understand more about what these ratings mean.

Now allow’due south chart the slowest speed to get 50% sharp shots at each focal length, and with that, we tin calculate how many stops we proceeds with VR.

“Real Stops Improvement” are how many actress stops I got, VR ON compared to VR OFF.

“Marketing Stops Comeback” isn’t comparing the speed I tin utilise from VR OFF to VR ON, but instead comparison the speed ane tin utilize with VR ON to the one-time-wives-tale speed of i/focal length. That’due south called Lying with Statistics, and that’s par for the course for marketing departments.

TIP:
In dim light, burn several shots and pick the sharpest. Blur is a random upshot, so if you lot fire enough shots, you lot’ll eventually get a precipitous one even at deadening speeds!

WARRANTY
  dorsum to Performance or back to Introduction.

I alive in the The states. My site gets read worldwide, so this won’t apply to you if you’re outside the U.s.. Any questions? Phone call Nikon in your country. In the U.s.a., they are at (800) NIKON-United states of america.

Lenses for the The states have serial numbers prefixed by “U.s.a..” If all you have is a number without “US” and you bought information technology in the USA, you lot well-nigh likely got stuck with a gray market lens and aren’t covered by any warranty from Nikon.

In the U.s., Nikon warrants their lenses for 5 years.

ZOOMING
   dorsum to Performance or back to Introduction.

I love the big fatty zoom ring and the evenly-spaced focal lengths.

Many zooms crisis the focal lengths together at ane end of the scale. Not the 70-300mm VR; everything is very well spaced.

Sadly it feels plasticy and in that location is stiction. Stiction, or static fraction, means yous have to turn a little harder to get the band to starting time moving than you do to keep it moving.
This makes it difficult to set an exact focal length, since it’southward nearly incommunicable to motility the zoom band just a little bit at a time.

Airblow

Air blows out my photographic camera eyepiece as I zoom.

Zoom Creep

The zoom will not creep, pointed up or downward. This is a side benefit of stiction.

Focus Shift while Zooming

Focus shifts little, but information technology’s still better to focus after y’all zoom.

Actual Focal Lengths

The focal lengths appear accurate at infinity. Hither’s a comparison of the xviii-200mm VR and this 70-300mm VR at their 200mm settings at infinity:

70-300mm VR at 200mm	xviii-200mm VR at 200mm

IF
(internal focus) lenses shorten their effective focal lengths every bit they focus more closely. The 18-200mm VR focuses much more closely than the lxx-300mm VR, ane.5′ instead of 4.5.’ At x feet at the 200mm setting it’s obvious that the 70-300mm VR is holding 200mm better than the 18-200mm VR:

70-300mm VR at 200mm	18-200mm VR at 200mm

How unlike is 300mm compared to 200mm?

Getting to 300mm vs. 200mm is a main reason people get the lxx-300mm VR over the 18-200mm for DX, so lets run across how much deviation there is.

This compares these settings on the 70-300. This isn’t comparing the 70-300 directly to the eighteen-200. That’s another twenty-four hour period’s work.

70-300mm VR at 200mm	70-300mm VR at 300mm

Maximum Aperture

70mm:
f/iv.v

100mm:
f/4.five

135mm:
f/4.8

200mm:
f/5.3

300mm:
f/five.vi

Focal Length Encoding Accuracy

The EXIF data agrees with the settings marked on the lens at seventy, 100, 135, 200 and 300mm. it is adequately precise, so if you’re merely a little off the EXIF information will as well be just a few millimeters off.

I accept non correlated the accuracy of the markings to the actual focal lengths.

Recommendations

       top

Intro   Specs   Performance   Recommendations

Today the




70-300mm AF-P VR replaces this original VR lens, with faster autofocus but little to no compatibility with older cameras.

The newer 28-300mm VR does the aforementioned thing with virtually the same size and weight, and also covers the residuum of the range downwards to 28mm. It costs more than, but if you get a 28-300mm, it renders a lxx-300mm completely unnecessary.

This Nikon lxx-300mm VR offered the all-time compromise of size, weight, price and epitome quality among all Nikon’s tele zooms, until the inflow of the lxx-300mm AF-P VR. they all cover FX, 35mm film and DX.

For DX I adopt the 18-200mm VR for its greater flexibility. I’ll merchandise the 200 – 300 mm range in exchange for the extensive zoom range of the 18-200mm, too as the closer and more reliable focusing of the eighteen-200mm.

As of September 2009 this seventy-300mm VR was the combination of performance, size and weight. I’grand not going to take an f/ii.8 zoom or the lxxx-400mm VR since they weigh as well much to want to carry around all 24-hour interval, merely today I apply the 28-300mm VR to encompass everything, or the 70-300mm AF-P VR if I need a small basic FX tele.

© Ken Rockwell. All rights reserved. Tous droits réservés. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

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