Auto focus is not the swiftest and is about the same as the 55-200 and perhaps not as fast as the 70-300 so this may not be a good sports lens. Due to differences in field of view between the Nikon 55-300mm and Nikon 28-300mm, I had to adjust the focal length of the Nikon 55-300mm to match around 70mm of 28-300mm. Here are 100% crops from both lenses wide open and f/5.6 (Left: Nikon 55-300mm, Right: Nikon 28-300mm): lens distortion filter. These aren't facts or specifications, they are the results of my research that requires hours of photography and calculations on the resulting data. This Nikon 55-300mm VR lens is a reasonably priced, small, lightweight and very high-powered telephoto zoom for any DX camera. To appreciate size differences between the new 300mm f/4E VR and the 300mm f/4D AF-S, take look at the below side by side comparison:

I have now taken many more pictures with this lens on my D7100, specifically looking for difficult subjects and conditions. In most cases, it has been pretty good to about 200 or 210mm, with or without a Kenko 1.4x TC, in or out of crop mode. So up to roughly 400mm DX net it's fine for "normal" subjects. It's a nice light lens for its range. Build quality is okay (although the metal mount is a nice touch). First, you have to move a switch on the lens, and then the manual focus is sort of a joke. It moves too fast for precise focus at the longer focal lengths where you need it, and almost OK at the short end, where you don't.The VR on this lens is great. The detail I get with hand-helds just amazes me. It has Nikon's VRII image stabilization and it even has a tripod detection mode that reduces any vibration from shutter release when it's on a tripod. If you don't really need 300mm, the 55-200mm VR is the same as this 55-300mm lens, except for the plastic mount and 200mm maximum, for half the price.

Detailed specifications for the lens, along with MTF charts and other useful data can be found in our lens database. NIKON D750 + 300mm f/4 @ 300mm, ISO 2200, 1/1250, f/4.0 Lens Handling and Build As expected, the extreme corners at the largest apertures do show some softness at 55mm. Stopping down the lens to f/8.0 does improve the situation considerably though. Sharpness Test – Nikon 55-300mm @ 70mm Center Frame VR is the second version like my 16-85mm and works very well at 300mm. The only thing I noticed about the VR is that it takes a half-second or so to stabilize, so you have to be a bit patient before you press the shutter. I really like the versatility of this lens – being able to shoot at 55mm all the way to 300mm is very nice, especially for wildlife photography. Unlike the new Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G VR or the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II, this lens is not plagued with a “lens breathing” issue and 300mm on the long side is truly like 300mm, not shorter. Another important thing to note, is that the lens does extend pretty far when zoomed all the way in to 300mm. This is quite normal for this type of a lens and most other consumer zoom lenses also extend out when zoomed in. Zooming in/out was a little jerky and not very smooth on my lens sample, but it probably does get better overtime. The lens does not creep at all and I don’t think it will, even with heavy use in the future. The HB-57 lens hood is specifically engineered for this lens and it snaps on easily – I would leave it mounted on the lens to keep the front element protected against damage and flare/ghosting. NIKON D300 + 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6 @ 55mm, ISO 400, 1/250, f/8.0 What about the new and versatile Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G VR? Let’s see how it compares against the Nikon 55-300mm. Nikon 55-300mm vs Nikon 28-300mm @ 70mm CenterThe lens arrived from the States a few days after I bought it and inside the box as well as the lens I found, a lens cap, a bayonet end cap, a lens hood, small protective bag and a set of instructions. It's also the same size as the excellent 35mm f/1.8 and 18-55mm lenses that are deservingly popular for use on DX cameras. As the lens is zoomed to 135mm, the resolution drops off a little, but is still very good across the frame from wide open, reaching its peak at f/5.6. At smaller apertures, diffraction appears to take a bite out of the sharpness as the lens is stopped down. Finally at 300mm the sharpness at maximum aperture is certainly acceptable, but stopping down the lens to f/8 improves matters noticeably. Here peak performance is found at f/11 where images show good sharpness across the frame.

During testing the Nikon 55-300mm lens proved itself capable of producing decent results. It fills a gap in Nikon's lens line up giving DX camera owners the popular 300mm focal without leaving a gap after the 18-55mm kits lenses provided with most of Nikon's entry-level SLRs. For this reason alone it will be popular, but also for its lightweight and decent build quality for the price point.

If corner shading is an issue at all, it's when the lens is used at its widest apertures, and then, at 100mm or longer; even then, we note corners that are only 1/3 EV darker than the center. Stopped down, corner shading is negligible. Some have commented on the lightness of the lens. At 530g, this is actually the heaviest and largest lens I own (it's a bit big for my standard camera case), but compared with professional/most FX telephoto lenses, it is certainly relatively light. You would probably notice this after a day carrying it on the D7000, but for short periods the weight is not a problem. On a D7000, it feels chunky but not unbalanced. It has a metal mount, and is weather sealed. Neither is essential for me, but they're nice to have.