List Price: $999.00
Sale Price: $949.99
Today's Bonus: 5% Off
** Updated July 1 **
This is hands down the best all-in-one Nikon lens for DX cameras. Well worth the price if an all-in-one lens is what you're looking for.
I bought the 18-300 DX for use on my D7000 as a replacement for my 18-200 DX and my 70-300 FX. With the 18-300, I can carry one lens instead of two, not worry about missing the shot because I have the wrong lens on the camera and minimize the number of times I'm swapping lenses and getting more gunk onto my sensor.
After real life usage of the 18-300 both on and off a tripod, I feel I am not giving up anything in terms of image quality with this lens over my 70-300. That's saying a lot, as the 70-300 in particular is a very high quality lens even though it isn't in Nikon's higher priced "professional" lens category. As compared to the 18-200, you do give up a bit of corner sharpness over the 18-28mm range, but gain center sharpness in that range, gain center and corner sharpness over the 70-200mm range and of course, get the extra 200-300mm range.
**** Overall handling ****
On a D7000, this lens feels well balanced to me. If you've used the 28-300 on an FX camera, it is very much the same feel, weight and size.
The lens handles very nicely. Good manual focus and smooth zoom with just enough stiffness that you really don't get much lens creep. There is a locking switch if you feel you need it (I generally haven't used the lock on my 18-200 VR II or my 28-300).
If you're used to the 18-55 kit lens, it's going to seem big and heavy, but after you get used to it, you'll love the range you're going to get and the image quality!
If you're used to the 18-200mm, it's almost an inch longer and 9 ounces heavier. If you don't need the extra 50% range at the long end, if you're happy with the 18-200 image quality and your primary goal is a small, light package, keep your 18-200. If you need the range and/or want higher IQ in the 70+ range and can afford the price, get the 18-300.
I'm used to the 70-300mm on my D7000 and the 18-300 is only 3 ounces heavier and almost one inch shorter.
The VR works well, just as it does on the 18-200, 70-300 and 28-300.
Auto focus seems to be accurate and fast in good lighting. Auto focus is a bit slower in marginal light, but no worse in my opinion than 18-200 or 28-300. The 70-300 seems slightly faster, but that is to be expected with the shorter focal range it has to travel.
****Real World Image Quality ****
I reviewed the MTF charts for the 18-300, 18-200, 70-300 and 28-300 before ordering the lens (see last section below). I've found that real world testing bears out the MTF charts. Here are my observations at comparable wide, middle and long focal lengths of these lenses taken with a D7000 on a tripod with the mirror up.
18-300 versus 18-200
---At 18mm and 28mm focal lengtha
------18-300 sharper in center
------18-200 sharper in corners
------
---At 70mm, 105mm and 200mm
------18-300 sharper in center and corners
------18-300 looks to have better bokeh
18-300 versus 70-300
---At 70mm focal length
------18-300 better center sharpness
------70-300 better corner sharpness
---At 105 focal length
------18-300 better center sharpness
------Same in corners
---At 200mm and 300mm focal lengths
------18-300 better center and corner sharpness
18-300 versus 28-300
---At 28mm focal length
------18-300 better center sharpness
------28-300 better corner sharpness
---At 70mm focal length
------18-300 better center and corner sharpness
---At 105mm and 200mm focal length
------18-300 better center sharpness
------28-300 better corner sharpness
---At 300mm focal length
------18-300 better center and corner sharpness
Note that there is more focus breathing with a lens like the 18-300, 18-200 or 28-300 than there is with the 70-300. This means if you're standing 5 feet away from a subject and you zoom to 300mm, your subject will appear smaller in the viewfinder with the 18-300 than it will with the 70-300. All the wide range zooms do this to keep the size of the lens as small as possible. At anything from about 60 feet to infinity, you will get the same size on both lenses. The difference in apparent subject size will increase between 60 feet (no difference) to 5 feet (70-300's minimum focus distance). If you can move closer to your subject, you will be able to get the same or bigger size picture of your subject with the 18-300, as the maximum reproduction ratio of the 18-300 is .32x versus .25x for the 70-300.
**** Laboratory Image Quality MTF Charts ****
The comparative MTF charts are posted as a Customer Image next to the image at the top of this page (note I have blacked out everything to the right of 14 mm on the 70-300 and 28-300 charts, as the DX sensor will crop that).
Notes for those unfamiliar with MTF charts:
Vertical axis = % of contrast achieved (perfect lens would be 100%)
Horizontal axis = Distance from center of image in mm (14 mm is corner of picture on DX)
Performance of FX lens over 14mm n/a, since not relevant for DX sensor size
Red lines (S10 & M10) = Contrast of the lens
Blue lines (S30 & M30) = Sharpness of the lens
S= Sagital M = Meridonial the closer these two are to each other the more pleasing the bokeh
