I have the Nikon AF-S DX 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens, which I’ve been using for 12 years now. It works great with the D5100 - in my opinion, that’s the best combo you can get with this lens. I’ve also used it on my D3300 and now on my D7500, but it doesn’t feel as good or is harder to get just right with these cameras, at least from my experience. I love this lens since it’s been my main lens for all this time, but I’ve decided to use half of my savings to invest in an upgrade that I hope will be my main lens for the next 12 years (unless I feel forced to switch to mirrorless before then). My plan is to use it for at least the next 10 years and longer if possible. The new lens I’ve chosen is the Nikon AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR, which is high-end but intended as a one-time investment, or at least that’s my hope. I primarily shoot nature, animals, and zoo photography.
About to pick up a d3300 with kit lens tomorrow for 50usd. Figured I'd search every secondhand site for lens deals. Found a d3100 with kit lens, 55-300mm vr lens, nikon bag, filters, and charger for $75. Bought it asap lol. Thanks for this demo. I'll be looking forward to using these new cameras. It all started cause I wanted an f mount adapter for my Nikon 1 j5 to take 810mm shots on the cheap. The Nikon 1 zoom lens is like $800 secondhand. Missed an opportunity to buy a Nikon 1 v3 with viewfinder, grip, 10-100mm, and 70-300 mm lenses for $400. I'll regret that forever.
Those are great, sharp pics!! At first , I thought it was shot using the 70-200, F2.8 lens. You prove that it's the photographer who matters, not the kit.
Thanks for the super nice comment. I do pay alot of attention to getting the best settings for the situation much of the time. There are times where the expensive fast lens could make a good photo possible, but the tradeoff would be size, weight, and price! In good lighting or situations you can use a tripod, then these lenses have decent optical quality. The newer ones seem better than the first one i had in the early 2000's . Definitely many good images can be made from what some consider inferior lenses. We shot many lenses back in the day that would be looked down on today. All relative i guess! Thanks for watching!
@@BrettBodkinsPhotography Yes. I got the 70-300 dx, f/4.5-6.3 lens and it is sharp in good lightning conditions. For a hobbyist like me, it works, especially considering the price and weight. I guess for wildlife, I need some practice to get a sharp image but I use it for portraits and love the bokeh at longer focal lengths. Thanks for the video and looking forward to more from you.
@@ruchirsrivastava4828 Thanks again bud and I'm glad you're enjoying the lens... It is a great lens for the price, and as you mention for portability you can't really beat it. As a travel/landscape photographer, that is a compromise that I'm sometimes willing to make... I actually haven't used mine for portraits much, but maybe I'll give it a try when I get some extra time. I am in the middle of a lot of changes to my gear lineup. I bought a z6ii and a d810 at the moment and when I eventually get another crop or 4/3 sensor camera, it will have to be half the size/weight of my z6ii... Got to buy and sell some more stuff to get where I want to be, but enjoying the journey... Got a 50mm 1.4g lens on the way as well... Used that one once or twice before and thats pretty exciting!! Take care bud!
For a travel photographer who mostly does landscapes and needs to keep things compact and light, it's kind of ideal.. I usually use mine on a tripod and at more narrow apertures anyway!! Works out well for that! Thanks for watching!!!
I have a question. I have a Nikon d3400 and I am taking pictures for a wedding in a couple weeks. Do you think this lens would be good for that? The problem with my original Nikon lens is that it doesn't zoom in very far and I don't want to have to stand right in the front to take photos of them.
Madelyn, I would say that you are right about wanting to be able to stand back some distance and its going to present some problems.. Are you going to be the one and only photographer or more like a secondary? If you are going to be the only photographer, I believe you may want to look into renting a lens for the event. If you are secondary, you may get away with using this lens, but may need to up your ISO a bit as it's a little slow. You will absolutely get better results with this lens if you are shooting outside with more light. Most wedding photographers are going to want more than 135mm and something quite fast like f2.8 or faster. As you can see in this video, the lens is pretty good for outdoor stuff and lots of landscapes, but not ideal for the types of portraiture you typically see at weddings... If renting is not an option and you need something cheaper with a bit of a compromise, you could get an 85mm 1.8 and shoot knowing that you will end up cropping in a bit... Hope this helps!
Hello. Nice video review! I had one question. Im starting in photography as a hobby. What lens do you recommend for taking wedding reception pictures? IE.. like of the guests, reception, ceremony and bride and groom. Thanks alot.😊
Isaiah, I am not the best person to ask on this as I have refused to get into the wedding photography thing over the years... I have however done some event work and I would say that faster lenses are critical in wedding as you must get the shots no matter what and risk being sued otherwise... I would not use the lens that this video was about... Something like a 70-200 2.8 and a fast normal lens on two separate bodies would be ideal... Later you could start playing around with some prime lenses when you really have everything down to an art... One good fast lens would be better than two mediocre lenses in this field!! Good luck and don't get scared away based on what I've said, its just not my cup of tea. Probably the best paid photography job at this time however!!!
Hello Brett, thank your for your review! Very honest advice and amazing shots. I got my 1st DSLR on 2020 and started taking pictures with vintage lenses here in Argentina, (where it´s almost impossible to buy new gear) but now I´m interested on having an AF lens and started looking adds for this model in second hand condition. What part of Perú are you living? I´be been there for the first time on february to participate in the sundance at karal, near supe
Hey bud, thanks much for watching, but I'm no longer living in Peru but back in the USA. Haven't been shooting as much and not been making videos. It was very difficult to move back to the states. I understand that these types of lenses can be very expensive in South American countries. I sold a few while I lived in Peru. I can honestly say that this is a very good lens for a reasonable price. The problem being that a reasonable price in some countries is ridiculously expensive in others... Take care and happy shooting!!
I have this lense buried somewhere as i mostly been using prime lenses that i got when I upgraded to the nikon d500. i am wanting a good wildlife lense that wouldnt break the bank. since i already have the lense, would the d500, due to the really good af system, balance the slowness issue of the 55-300mm?
I would say its not much faster on the d500 (that was the combo I used most)... Its really more of an all purpose lens that can work for occasional wildlife stuff.. It's light, small, and not expensive and that worked well for me over a full sized and much more expensive setup.. Stopped down a little and on a monopod, it's pretty great!! Since you already own it, see what you think!!
Thank you so much for the compliment. I have never used the 18-105mm but I'm gonna guess you have some other normal lens like an 18-55 or something else. Would guess that you'd still want something wider than 55.. Would this be your only lens? I think an 18-55 and a 55-300 is a great two lens setup.. If you need a single lens, I would probably look elsewhere... Good luck and thanks for watching!
I noticed you had surfing photos. I bought this lenses for surf photography but I haven’t had a chance to use it yet. In your opinion, is this good for surf photos?
Hey Krystal, for surfing you would ideally want something a little faster and possibly longer focal length, however for some situations its a pretty good lens.. One thing you can do is wade in to a certain height (within reason) and can often shave off quite a bit of your shooting distance if you are so brave... The aperture can be worked around in many cases, but this is an inexpensive lens compared to the ideal lens for this scenario... I can't really think of a better inexpensive DX lens that goes out to 300mm, plus this is pretty compact even including compared to 200mm lenses... Anything that competes against it is probably quite expensive... The best surfing photos are often done in lower light, but you may need to raise ISO... As with the rest of photography all things have their compromise!!! Good luck and keep shooting...
Thanks very much Michael! Most of these photos were taken on a d500, but there may be some taken on my old d7000 as well... I would say that most of my landscape photos are taken on my 16-80 that I also have a video about... Thanks for watching! Hit me up on other sites if you got some work up! What you shooting with?
Even without knowing which photo you are talking about exactly, that's one of the benefits of using a longer focal length is that you get lens compression.. Effectively you sort of flatten the image into a more two dimensional view... Anything over about 150mm will start to get that look... Works real well for portraits as well... The opposite also happens with wide angle lenses making things in the distance look smaller and further away... You can see that when you try to take photos of the moon or landscapes with your phone camera!! Hope it helps bud!
@@BrettBodkinsPhotography wow, totally understand now! Thank you so much for taking time to explain. I just bought a 55-300 mm lens and landed on your video, glad I did, will go try out compression photos, bokeh etc :)
@@TheRedHalfOfManchester Awesome bud! Glad it could help! Enjoy that shooting. Definitely consider getting a fast prime lens (for bokeh seperation) if you haven’t got one already. If that type of effect is something you’re after! Good luck!
Great video. I just bought a used d5100 with a 18-55 and this 55-300 lens. Should be a great pair. I plan to upgrade lenses and sell these eventually if i do alot with it. I am only in for $330 for all three and a bag. Feel very lucky. Freat vid and explaination. I do like to see what i can do vs numbers. Price point and how to get quality shots and limitations should be all anyone really needs for info.
Yeah a D5100 and those two lenses will be a great start... Add a 50 1.8 at some point and you'll be cooking... I spent years getting the most out of inexpensive gear and any modern gear can definitely do that... A nice 4/3 camera for travel or whatever you already have... Definitely spoiled for choice these days... Enjoy it and thanks for the nice comment!
Thank you very much. I'm never quite sure about that stuff myself and I've tried a couple of things over time. I only hope it can help a few people and I feel like sample images is generally the way to go! Less talk, more rock as they say! Have a good one!
I honestly don't remember. It would have been something in the library for RUclips and I only use the music where they don't require a tag in the description... I'm sorry that I don't think I would be able to find it for you... Have a good one man!
Sorry I missed this comment... No this lens is not a full frame lens... You can always look for the DX designation and those are always crop sensor!!! This was a great lens on my d500!!
Awesome! Thank you very much!! Most of my best shots come from wider angle lenses, but I'm super happy with this lens for the price... Recently moved completely to full frame cameras, so need to sell and find a replacement! Eventually I will probably get another crop sensor kit for traveling, but it needs to be significantly smaller than my Z6ii setup.. Thanks for watching and the nice compliment!!
Hector, just a term that accurately describes certain richer countries of the world. In those countries gear is much much cheaper and easier to acquire at lower prices... In fact I'm waiting on a US trip to replace a camera body at this moment.. If I believed that Peru was less than, then I probably wouldn't be living here.... Thanks for pointing out my insensitivity!
Hey bud, I've honestly had 3 DX sensor Nikon lenses, but based on when I got this lens I would think that most of the images were taken on either the D7000 or the D500... Both great cameras in their respective pricepoints.. I've also owned a d800, d810, and a Z6ii as well as a few film cameras!! Thanks for watching!
I have the Nikon AF-S DX 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR lens, which I’ve been using for 12 years now. It works great with the D5100 - in my opinion, that’s the best combo you can get with this lens. I’ve also used it on my D3300 and now on my D7500, but it doesn’t feel as good or is harder to get just right with these cameras, at least from my experience. I love this lens since it’s been my main lens for all this time, but I’ve decided to use half of my savings to invest in an upgrade that I hope will be my main lens for the next 12 years (unless I feel forced to switch to mirrorless before then). My plan is to use it for at least the next 10 years and longer if possible. The new lens I’ve chosen is the Nikon AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR, which is high-end but intended as a one-time investment, or at least that’s my hope. I primarily shoot nature, animals, and zoo photography.
About to pick up a d3300 with kit lens tomorrow for 50usd. Figured I'd search every secondhand site for lens deals. Found a d3100 with kit lens, 55-300mm vr lens, nikon bag, filters, and charger for $75. Bought it asap lol. Thanks for this demo. I'll be looking forward to using these new cameras. It all started cause I wanted an f mount adapter for my Nikon 1 j5 to take 810mm shots on the cheap. The Nikon 1 zoom lens is like $800 secondhand. Missed an opportunity to buy a Nikon 1 v3 with viewfinder, grip, 10-100mm, and 70-300 mm lenses for $400. I'll regret that forever.
Those are great, sharp pics!! At first , I thought it was shot using the 70-200, F2.8 lens. You prove that it's the photographer who matters, not the kit.
Thanks for the super nice comment. I do pay alot of attention to getting the best settings for the situation much of the time. There are times where the expensive fast lens could make a good photo possible, but the tradeoff would be size, weight, and price! In good lighting or situations you can use a tripod, then these lenses have decent optical quality. The newer ones seem better than the first one i had in the early 2000's . Definitely many good images can be made from what some consider inferior lenses. We shot many lenses back in the day that would be looked down on today. All relative i guess! Thanks for watching!
@@BrettBodkinsPhotography Yes. I got the 70-300 dx, f/4.5-6.3 lens and it is sharp in good lightning conditions. For a hobbyist like me, it works, especially considering the price and weight. I guess for wildlife, I need some practice to get a sharp image but I use it for portraits and love the bokeh at longer focal lengths. Thanks for the video and looking forward to more from you.
@@ruchirsrivastava4828 Thanks again bud and I'm glad you're enjoying the lens... It is a great lens for the price, and as you mention for portability you can't really beat it. As a travel/landscape photographer, that is a compromise that I'm sometimes willing to make... I actually haven't used mine for portraits much, but maybe I'll give it a try when I get some extra time. I am in the middle of a lot of changes to my gear lineup. I bought a z6ii and a d810 at the moment and when I eventually get another crop or 4/3 sensor camera, it will have to be half the size/weight of my z6ii... Got to buy and sell some more stuff to get where I want to be, but enjoying the journey... Got a 50mm 1.4g lens on the way as well... Used that one once or twice before and thats pretty exciting!! Take care bud!
@@BrettBodkinsPhotography Happy to hear about your progress. Good luck to you as well :)
Thanks for an honest review Brett. Like you I think it's a decent bit of kit to have as back up and for a really good price, especially secondhand.
For a travel photographer who mostly does landscapes and needs to keep things compact and light, it's kind of ideal.. I usually use mine on a tripod and at more narrow apertures anyway!! Works out well for that! Thanks for watching!!!
I have a question. I have a Nikon d3400 and I am taking pictures for a wedding in a couple weeks. Do you think this lens would be good for that? The problem with my original Nikon lens is that it doesn't zoom in very far and I don't want to have to stand right in the front to take photos of them.
Madelyn, I would say that you are right about wanting to be able to stand back some distance and its going to present some problems.. Are you going to be the one and only photographer or more like a secondary? If you are going to be the only photographer, I believe you may want to look into renting a lens for the event. If you are secondary, you may get away with using this lens, but may need to up your ISO a bit as it's a little slow. You will absolutely get better results with this lens if you are shooting outside with more light. Most wedding photographers are going to want more than 135mm and something quite fast like f2.8 or faster. As you can see in this video, the lens is pretty good for outdoor stuff and lots of landscapes, but not ideal for the types of portraiture you typically see at weddings... If renting is not an option and you need something cheaper with a bit of a compromise, you could get an 85mm 1.8 and shoot knowing that you will end up cropping in a bit... Hope this helps!
Thank you for sharing your great pictures and technics. I'll buy 55-300.
No problem bud, glad you could find it helpful! Enjoy!
Hello. Nice video review! I had one question. Im starting in photography as a hobby. What lens do you recommend for taking wedding reception pictures? IE.. like of the guests, reception, ceremony and bride and groom. Thanks alot.😊
Isaiah, I am not the best person to ask on this as I have refused to get into the wedding photography thing over the years... I have however done some event work and I would say that faster lenses are critical in wedding as you must get the shots no matter what and risk being sued otherwise... I would not use the lens that this video was about... Something like a 70-200 2.8 and a fast normal lens on two separate bodies would be ideal... Later you could start playing around with some prime lenses when you really have everything down to an art... One good fast lens would be better than two mediocre lenses in this field!! Good luck and don't get scared away based on what I've said, its just not my cup of tea. Probably the best paid photography job at this time however!!!
Hi I would prefer Nikon DX 16-80 f2.8-4 , Its far better than any others and can play in all situations.
@@Fatimabilal518 Thanks alot for your advice and reply!
@@isaiah6131 Your welcome!
@@BrettBodkinsPhotography Thanks alot, great advice!
Hello Brett, thank your for your review! Very honest advice and amazing shots. I got my 1st DSLR on 2020 and started taking pictures with vintage lenses here in Argentina, (where it´s almost impossible to buy new gear) but now I´m interested on having an AF lens and started looking adds for this model in second hand condition. What part of Perú are you living? I´be been there for the first time on february to participate in the sundance at karal, near supe
Hey bud, thanks much for watching, but I'm no longer living in Peru but back in the USA. Haven't been shooting as much and not been making videos. It was very difficult to move back to the states. I understand that these types of lenses can be very expensive in South American countries. I sold a few while I lived in Peru. I can honestly say that this is a very good lens for a reasonable price. The problem being that a reasonable price in some countries is ridiculously expensive in others... Take care and happy shooting!!
Great advice and thanks for sharing this with the audience.
Thanks so much for watching and glad to help!
I have this lense buried somewhere as i mostly been using prime lenses that i got when I upgraded to the nikon d500. i am wanting a good wildlife lense that wouldnt break the bank. since i already have the lense, would the d500, due to the really good af system, balance the slowness issue of the 55-300mm?
I would say its not much faster on the d500 (that was the combo I used most)... Its really more of an all purpose lens that can work for occasional wildlife stuff.. It's light, small, and not expensive and that worked well for me over a full sized and much more expensive setup.. Stopped down a little and on a monopod, it's pretty great!! Since you already own it, see what you think!!
I have 18-105mm should I sell it for 55-300mm or buy it and keep my lens ? These photos are breathtaking 🎉🎉🎉
Thank you so much for the compliment. I have never used the 18-105mm but I'm gonna guess you have some other normal lens like an 18-55 or something else. Would guess that you'd still want something wider than 55.. Would this be your only lens? I think an 18-55 and a 55-300 is a great two lens setup.. If you need a single lens, I would probably look elsewhere... Good luck and thanks for watching!
I noticed you had surfing photos. I bought this lenses for surf photography but I haven’t had a chance to use it yet. In your opinion, is this good for surf photos?
Hey Krystal, for surfing you would ideally want something a little faster and possibly longer focal length, however for some situations its a pretty good lens.. One thing you can do is wade in to a certain height (within reason) and can often shave off quite a bit of your shooting distance if you are so brave... The aperture can be worked around in many cases, but this is an inexpensive lens compared to the ideal lens for this scenario... I can't really think of a better inexpensive DX lens that goes out to 300mm, plus this is pretty compact even including compared to 200mm lenses... Anything that competes against it is probably quite expensive... The best surfing photos are often done in lower light, but you may need to raise ISO... As with the rest of photography all things have their compromise!!! Good luck and keep shooting...
What Camera Body was this Lens mounted on? Nice Landscape Photos, simple and down to earth!
Thanks very much Michael! Most of these photos were taken on a d500, but there may be some taken on my old d7000 as well... I would say that most of my landscape photos are taken on my 16-80 that I also have a video about... Thanks for watching! Hit me up on other sites if you got some work up! What you shooting with?
Beautiful shots. Thanks for the review.
Thanks very much!!! I really appreciate it!! Thanks for watching bud!
How did you achieve the compression effect with mountains looking closer than they actually are??
Even without knowing which photo you are talking about exactly, that's one of the benefits of using a longer focal length is that you get lens compression.. Effectively you sort of flatten the image into a more two dimensional view... Anything over about 150mm will start to get that look... Works real well for portraits as well... The opposite also happens with wide angle lenses making things in the distance look smaller and further away... You can see that when you try to take photos of the moon or landscapes with your phone camera!! Hope it helps bud!
@@BrettBodkinsPhotography wow, totally understand now! Thank you so much for taking time to explain. I just bought a 55-300 mm lens and landed on your video, glad I did, will go try out compression photos, bokeh etc :)
@@TheRedHalfOfManchester Awesome bud! Glad it could help! Enjoy that shooting. Definitely consider getting a fast prime lens (for bokeh seperation) if you haven’t got one already. If that type of effect is something you’re after! Good luck!
good to hear your voice brett!
Dudeee whats up??? Send me aa message in messenger and we'll catch up via phone or video chat!! Hope all is well man!!
@@BrettBodkinsPhotography yea for sure! we gotta catch up some time! hope you have a nice xmas!
Great video. I just bought a used d5100 with a 18-55 and this 55-300 lens. Should be a great pair. I plan to upgrade lenses and sell these eventually if i do alot with it. I am only in for $330 for all three and a bag. Feel very lucky.
Freat vid and explaination. I do like to see what i can do vs numbers. Price point and how to get quality shots and limitations should be all anyone really needs for info.
Yeah a D5100 and those two lenses will be a great start... Add a 50 1.8 at some point and you'll be cooking... I spent years getting the most out of inexpensive gear and any modern gear can definitely do that... A nice 4/3 camera for travel or whatever you already have... Definitely spoiled for choice these days... Enjoy it and thanks for the nice comment!
Awesome video and honest commentary 👌👍
Thanks so much bud! That’s how I like it! Thanks for the kind words!
I like your presentation format
Thank you very much. I'm never quite sure about that stuff myself and I've tried a couple of things over time. I only hope it can help a few people and I feel like sample images is generally the way to go! Less talk, more rock as they say! Have a good one!
Who does that music in the end?
I honestly don't remember. It would have been something in the library for RUclips and I only use the music where they don't require a tag in the description... I'm sorry that I don't think I would be able to find it for you... Have a good one man!
@@BrettBodkinsPhotography Hey, not a problem.
thats a full frame lens ?
Sorry I missed this comment... No this lens is not a full frame lens... You can always look for the DX designation and those are always crop sensor!!! This was a great lens on my d500!!
Awesome pics
Awesome! Thank you very much!! Most of my best shots come from wider angle lenses, but I'm super happy with this lens for the price... Recently moved completely to full frame cameras, so need to sell and find a replacement! Eventually I will probably get another crop sensor kit for traveling, but it needs to be significantly smaller than my Z6ii setup.. Thanks for watching and the nice compliment!!
Really?
All photos are captured by 55-300 f/5.6 lens? 😮😮
Yes all photos were shot using this lens... I sorted my lightroom catalog by this lens when making this video!! Hope you liked them!!
photo look great
Thank you so much!! Appreciate it!
First world country......wow.
Hector, just a term that accurately describes certain richer countries of the world. In those countries gear is much much cheaper and easier to acquire at lower prices... In fact I'm waiting on a US trip to replace a camera body at this moment.. If I believed that Peru was less than, then I probably wouldn't be living here.... Thanks for pointing out my insensitivity!
what the CAM?? !! №?:;?№*:!
Hey bud, I've honestly had 3 DX sensor Nikon lenses, but based on when I got this lens I would think that most of the images were taken on either the D7000 or the D500... Both great cameras in their respective pricepoints.. I've also owned a d800, d810, and a Z6ii as well as a few film cameras!! Thanks for watching!