Hello,
I have just purchased a Nikon D5100 and would like to purchase another lens. I'm looking at a Nikon AF 70-300mm f/4-5.6G
I'm wondering if this would be suitable for my Nikon and if it is an auto focus lens.
Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks Karen
Comments
VR is vibration Reduction which is more important with long zoom lenses. This takes away handshake. I just started up again with a new D5100. I added the 55-300mm vr lens. It's $399 pretty much anywhere and is a nice lens for me.
Good luck,
Mike
For close situations like flowers, insects and pictures, a 10mm lens would be good. This lens is also good for landscape pictures because of the wide angle view it provides.
There are 10-100mm lenses available but they cost $700-800. A single 10mm lens is less expensive, but you don't have a zoom. If you plan to take pictures like bird photography or sports where you need to get the objects closer, a 55-200mm or a 55-300mm are your best choices.
Good luck,
Peter
The 70-300mm AFS lens, though no faster in aperture than the 55-300mm, is said by many to be better - more robustly made and faster to auto focus. The 55-300mm is not bad, and is a decent buy at the price, and is sometimes discounted or rebated too, but the 70-300mm is, I gather, better made - which probably explains why it's about a hundred bucks more expensive than the 55-300mm.
One distinct advantage of the 70-300mm AFS over the 55-300mm is that it is internal focusing. This means that the front element does not rotate when auto focusing, and that in turn means you can use graduated ND filters and polarizers much more easily. It's also a bit better sealed against dust and weather.
As far as cheats, I would expect that the cheat cards for the 55-300mm are close enough to the 70-300mm since the apertures and focal lengths are similar. The main difference between the two will be in quality and focusing speed.
I agree with @gerardh, that the 55-300mm is quite decent also. This is what I have, and though the 70-300mm is better in many ways, the 55-300mm is very serviceable, and a good lens for traveling, a good buy at the price, and a seamless addition to the usual 18-55mm kit lens. However, if you have a gap between 55mm and 70mm, you will not suffer very much either.