Nikon 2216 AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-300 mm f/3.5-6.3G ED VR Lens, Black

Product Information

Given that this is a DX lens, mounting it to a full-frame camera used in FX mode will result in extremely heavy vignetting, as you would expect. Macro

The good news is that it does not rotate on autofocusing, which makes use of polarizing or ND gradient filters a bit easier. A basic distance scale, marked in feet and meters, appears in a window just in front of the focus ring.Chromatic aberration is the lens' inability to focus on the sensor or film all colours of visible light at the same point. Severe chromatic aberration gives a noticeable fringing or a halo effect around sharp edges within the picture. It can be cured in software.

That brings me to Nikon’s official press release which you can see further down. I usually try not to read what manufacturers have to say about their products because of all the marketing talk. Only very rarely and just some of them sound like their product aren’t actually the best thing that has ever happened in this world or any other, but are judged reasonably realistically. But a short phrase caught my attention whilst I was formatting the press release –“delivering superior performance and image quality”. Sorry, superior to what, exactly? Such an empty statement. There is a chance it won’t be a bad lens, but it won’t be a bad lens compared to another lens in the same category. So, again, superior to what? And in what light with that maximum aperture at the long end of the zoom range? And on what camera? A modern 24-megapixel D7100? Let’s not kid ourselves. Yes, it’s small and light for its parameters and, possibly, won’t be as bad as one might think. But those are just guesses. What is certain is that it won’t be good in absolute terms. This is a lens one buys to sell in a few weeks or months. Even soccer moms are better off with a 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6 VR and 55-300mm f/3.5-5.6 VR or similar duo.

The scale on the left side is an indication of actual image resolution. The taller the column, the better the lens performance. Simple.

B. A seems to be an upgrade of the 18-105 f/3.5-5.6G DX, which is inferior to B. I have owned them both and got rid of the 18-105. The AF-S Nikkor 18-300mm F3.5-5.6G ED VR was announced in June 2012, and holds the distinction of being the longest-range superzoom available for any interchangeable-lens camera system. Its 16.7x, 27-450mm equivalent zoom range trumps Tamron's 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD not only for focal length but also aperture at full telephoto. This comes at a price, though; the 18-300mm is comfortably the largest, heaviest and most expensive DX/APS-C format superzoom around. From Nikon lens literature) Nikon Inc. has announced the latest addition to its legendary NIKKOR lineup, the new AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G ED VR telephoto zoom lens. Designed for the DX-format photographer looking to get more out of their D-SLR camera, the versatile NIKKOR 18-300mm is a compact and lightweight 16.7X all-in-one telephoto zoom lens that delivers high performance and superior image quality. Whether capturing still images or HD video, the 18-300mm lens is built to help users capture content with vibrant colors and sharp details, plus shoot sports, vacations and wildlife with confidence.The Nikon 18-300mm is a very average lens with average performance overall. It is optically worse than the 18-200mm and it is much bigger and heavier in comparison. It has plenty of distortion, chromatic aberration, vignetting and other issues, but worst of all – its optical performance and focus accuracy at long focal lengths is disappointing. Personally, I would rather opt for the 18-105mm kit lens or the 18-200mm, both of which are cheaper and better optically.