It's still noticeably faster than the AF-S 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DX telezoom, though. With the lens attached to a D7000, auto-focus is somewhat slower and more “hesitant” than on the AF-S Nikkor 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR. Focal RangeĪt the 18mm end of the zoom range, the angle of view is 76°.Īt the 300mm end, the angle of view narrows to 5° 20', which is equivalent to that of a 450mm lens on a 35mm camera body (at least when focused at infinity). The lens is not claimed to be weatherproof, but there is a rubber seal around the lens mount that should provide basic dust protection. The filter thread does not rotate on focus. The lens takes 67mm screw-on filters, which are considerably cheaper than the 77mm ones needed for the 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR. Given that the lens isn't prone to zoom creep, there is little actual use for this switch, but Nikon recommends that you use it when carrying the camera anyway. On the other hand, the new lens does retain the IF (Internal Focus) mechanism and SWM (Silent Wave Motor) features, as well as the zoom locking switch that allows you to lock the zoom ring at the focal length of 18mm for carrying. The distance scale has also gone missing.
The VR (Vibration Reduction) system is less sophisticated – notably, there are no separate 'Active' and 'Normal' modes to choose from. In terms of features, the new Nikon 18-300mm VR has less to offer than the older one. The ribbed zoom ring is sufficiently wide – and somewhat stiff too, but not annoyingly so.
Zooming is not internal – as you can see, the front extends considerably upon zooming to 300mm. In addition to being lighter, the new lens is also considerably shorter than the old one – zoomed out, the 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G ED VR is only 99mm long, whereas its older brother is 120mm. Tipping the scales at 550 grams, the new AF-S DX Nikkor 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G ED VR is 34% lighter than the older 18-300mm Nikon lens, although it's still about 100 grams heavier than the Tamron AF 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD. The new Nikon 18-300mm VR lens mounted to a Nikon D7000 body The Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G ED VR is currently available for £629.00 / $896.95 in the UK and the US, respectively.
More than 30% lighter than the existing AF-S DX Nikkor 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR, the new lens has a brand new optical formula comprising 16 elements in 12 groups (including 3 ED and 3 aspherical lens elements), a 7-bladed iris and a smaller 67mm filter thread. The AF-S DX Nikkor 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G ED VR is Nikon's second 18-300mm lens for DX-format cameras.