Nikon - AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR Telephoto Zoom Lens - Black - Black

I attended my brother's college graduation with just a 55mm lense that came with my Digital SLR camera and was extremely disappointed with the pictures I was able to take because I couldn't get close enough to the stage to take good shots. But with THIS 300mm puppy, I can zoom in to my heart's delight. It was easy to attach to my Nikon D5000 camera and the Vibration Reduction feature really helps as I zoom in (as any sniper can tell you, even the slightest "camera shake" is exaggerated the closer you zoom in to your target#, enabling me to take quick, clear shots of my subject from far away. I have included a picture of a heron I was able to take while zoomed in with this lense, and as you might suspect with any wildlife, I was nowhere close to this animal when I took the picture. #Hopefully, all the detail of the picture is transferred as I upload it to this review website. It should be crystal clear)

If you have a DX format camera this lens picks up where your 18-55 mm kit lens leaves off. PROS: At 55-300 mm it is the least expensive 300 mm lens option Nikon makes. The next option for this much magnification for the DX cameras is a penny shy of $1000.00 so for $400 bucks this lens looks pretty good. I have used mine to shoot both wildlife outside at long range and my granddaughters High School graduation inside without flash at about 50 ft. with outstanding picture quality in both situations. The lens has a pleasantly soft bokeh, allowing your subject to stand out against the background. All in all, I could find very little to complain about as far as photo quality goes for a lens at this price point. CONS: The lens shade on this lens is a snap on with 2 buttons to depress in order to engage or disengage the shade on the lens, and not of the more common bayonet type. It is a little finicky when popping it on or off. Summary: This is a very good lens for the money and I have no regrets about purchasing it.

I bought this lens a few months ago to use with my Nikon D5000 because I really love outdoor photography (wildlife) and the 18-55mm that came with the camera wasn't getting me close enough. At the same time, I didn't want to spend thousands of dollars on a professional lens. Being able to zoom to 300mm gets me plenty close enough in almost all situations and the autofocus is faster than I expected. The picture quality is crystal clear as you would expect with any Nikkor lens. This isn't an indoor lens - the aperture isn't tremendously fast - but is fantastic outdoors. I've used it for wildlife, sports, kids, long exposure, etc and have had great results; perfect add on to most kit lenses!

Overall very good lense, at 55-300 it's a good walkaround camera if you are outside and your photo isn't of something closer than 4ft. I take pictures of aircraft so it has worked amazingly for me. The glass let's in good amounts of light for those night time exposures. Recommend a 58mm uv filter to protect the lens.

I've had this lens for about 4 months now. I love it. I really have no complaints. I wanted to get that extra oomph for taking pictures of my daughter playing soccer. I felt the 18-55mm lens just was not getting me on the field like what i wanted. The 55-300mm lens gave me what i wanted. It's gets me 'on the field' with my daughter and i can actually see her face. It works the way i expect it to. The shutter is not obnoxiously loud. It's a little heavy and bulky but that's is something I've gotten used to. I almost got the 55-200mm but the sales woman showed me this and I fell in love. It gives me tat oopmh. She also helped me get a great price! I saved about $150!!

Did my reseach on this lens and read all the pros and cons on it. For the money this lens performs excellently! Its not a fast zoom lens and the price reflects that. I read the reviews stating to save your money and get a zoom that is faster. Well for me, the hobbyis,t I rather save my money buy this lens and a few others that I can have in my bag! I guess it really comes down to what you need.

It is a great lens come with my bundle wit the camera i got and it is amazing it captures a lot of detail and the range is really great. It allowed me to take pictures of the moon:) which is great

I bought my wife a D3100 for Christmas, while boating she realized the 18-55 was not powerful enough. We went out during the Herring spawn and got some great whale pictures with the 55-300 lens. With a powerful flash you can take indoor pics but have to change the flash settings for each distance you shoot. I uploaded some whale and bald eagle pics we were able to get with this lens.