12-22-2011, 12:28 PM
Having tried / owned all three lenses – Nikon 55-300mm VR, Nikon 70-300mm VR and Tamron 70-300mm VC, I would definitely recommend the Tamron. It’s cheaper than Nikon and honestly I couldn’t tell the difference in image quality. Also I second Markus – at 200-300mm range stabilisation is a must.
Regarding the Nikon 55-300mm lens – if you’re after sport / wildlife shots, avoid. While the lens is reasonably sharp, the AF is *extremely* slow. Difficult to describe, but even the old screw-driven 80-200mm feels lightning fast in comparison. The only reason I got this one is that it was going for $249.99 in US, so I thought I’d grab a bargain. Well, you get what you pay for, obviously <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dry.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='<_<' />
Regarding the Nikon 55-300mm lens – if you’re after sport / wildlife shots, avoid. While the lens is reasonably sharp, the AF is *extremely* slow. Difficult to describe, but even the old screw-driven 80-200mm feels lightning fast in comparison. The only reason I got this one is that it was going for $249.99 in US, so I thought I’d grab a bargain. Well, you get what you pay for, obviously <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dry.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='<_<' />