AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED

Not so long ago (2002), when I was still using film and a Nikon F5, I was still carrying a heavy tripod around for nearly all my wildlife and nature work. This was very limiting since the low dynamic range of film (especially Velvia) forced me to restrict my shooting when the lighting was soft (early in the morning or late in the afternoon) resulting in very slow shutter speeds.

Thankfully digital has liberated photographers by providing a wider dynamic range, higher base ISO’s and powerful post processing. Thanks to digital I can now shoot in stronger and harsher lighting conditions if I need to and my new base ISO has jumped to 400 ISO. Plus I can go all the way to 1600 ISO if needed without worrying about noise since prints at 1600 ISO look as it they have a touch of “grain”.

So my average shutter speeds have skyrocketed, my trusty tripod see’s less use and my everyday walk-around wildlife lens, the old AF 80-400mm VR has now been replaced by the new super portable and more affordable AFS 70-300mm VR lens.

Little egret (Egretta garzetta) Nikon D300, VR 70-300mm F/4,5-5,6G @ 300mm f/8 @ 1/1250s ISO 400

Compared to the 80-400 VR
The AF 80-400mm VR is a nice lens, very capable and sharper than the AFS 70-300mm VR at the long end, but I was willing to sacrifice some sharpness and some focal length to gain more portability, quicker and better AF and an improved vibration reduction system. Now the combination of the Nikon F5 and the AF 80-400mm VR was pretty good in its days but today a D300 (especially without the grip) combined with the AFS 70-300mm VR make for a very good combination for those who know how to get close to small birds. It may be less sharp but it gives you the chance to get more shots at the subject since its more mobile and a lot faster, which means more keepers!

Painted Agama (Laudakia stellio) Nikon D300 VR 70-300mm F/4,5-5,6G @ 300mm, f/8 @ 1/800s, ISO 400

Construction
I like the construction even though it’s mainly a plastic lens on the outside. The zoom feels good and tight, just how I like it. There’s no more zoom creep which was common on older designs. On the other hand the focusing ring is appalling. Obviously this is not a lens you want to focus manually with often. Thankfully it has a metal internal construction and a metal rear mount so it’s not really a cheap design with a bloated price tag – although still expensive just like all Nikon products.

Compared to most of my lenses, the AFS 70-300mm VR when contracted looks similar to the AFS 105mm VR macro lens, only that it’s slightly slimmer and a little longer by a finger. It’s about the same weight as the macro at 745g and also is a G lens which means no aperture ring. Like the macro it also has a rubber gasket round the metal mount to help in the weather sealing department.

The lens takes 67mm filters. Now there was a time when most photographers carried a whole family of filters and so the filter thread size was an important issue. Today, extra filters have pretty much disappeared from photographers packs (apart from the old time favorite protective filter, the UV that is usually constantly fitted on most lenses – although I personally don’t use them on my everyday consumer zooms). Another plus for this lens is that the minimum focus distance is 1.5m.

Like a lot of the newer designs in zoom lenses, there is a lot of glass packed inside. Amongst the 17 elements (in 12 groups) there are two ED glass elements which is part of why this lens is so sharp and a small group in the back is part of the new VR II system which is supposed to improve hand hold-ability by 4 stops.

VR
I don’t bother checking how many stops the VR may improve my hand holding technique; I just use it and am happy that I get more keepers than before. There are two modes available: Normal and Active. The first one concentrates on evening out any up and down movements which is good for panning and general action photography and is recommended as the standard VR mode for general photography. The Active mode tries to compensate for any movements in all directions. This is supposed to be more energy consuming and is recommended to be used when the Normal mode doesn’t produce the required results.

Personally, I usually leave VR on for most of my photography unless using a tripod or other rock solid platform. Usually foe static subjects I will take 3-4 shots in a continuous rip so I can choose the best image later. This technique will in most cases ensure at least one shot with no blurriness and accurate focus.

AF
This lens is easy in its handling as it feels good with the fat zoom ring and is generally a comfortable lens to use due to its light weight. The autofocusing is fast and accurate and its performance can be helped by pre-focusing. Its also very quiet.

Optical performance
This lens packs a lot of sharpness in a small and light package. When I first tested this lens the results were quite impressive. It was just as sharp if not sharper than the AFS 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens at similar focal lengths and apertures. The lens performs its best between 70 and 200mm where the results are excellent and I would not hesitate to shoot wide open if needed to, though I prefer stopping down 1/3 stop. When extending the reach out to 300mm, you need to close down a stop to get similar results. Basically it is still acceptably sharp at 300; it’s just that the loss of contrast makes the image look less sharp.

White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) Nikon D300, VR 70-300mm F/4,5-5,6G @ 300mm, f/8 @ 1/500s, ISO 200. Shooting small birds at close range can result in some good images.

Surprisingly, the bokeh is quite good as it produces nice smooth backgrounds. Part of the good bokeh performance can be attributed to the rounded 9 blade diaphragm.

There is no noticeable distortion unless you go looking for it and flare is well controlled as long as you use the provided long scalloped hood. Plus there doesn’t seem to be any horrible CA’s (Chromatic Aberrations) even though they do exist and show up from time to time, depending on the lighting conditions and subject contrast.

On the DX format D300 this full frame lens becomes a 105-450mm telephoto zoom and there is no noticeable light fall-off, so images of birds in flight don’t show any darkened corners.

Last words
But let’s put things into perspective; I’m using a D300 plus Nikon Capture NX. Both of these tools add to the lenses performance by reducing the amount of CA’s and possibly other aberrations as well. So for those of you not using Capture NX or a D300 your copy of the AFS 70-300mm VR may perform differently to what I am describing here.

The AFS 70-300mm VR is a nice lens suited for trekking and nature photography. It can fit in a vest pocket easily and can deliver some pretty good images at 300mm. Between 70 and 200mm the performance is excellent and can be used successfully for landscape details or even portraits. So considering its price, its weight and performance, this lens becomes a great choice when looking for a walk around nature lens.

IN SUMMARY

Chromatic aberrations
Although present, not really a problem in most cases. The focal lengths between 70mm and 200mm show the least and after 220mm all the way up to 300mm, blue and purple fringing are more noticeable. The D300 and D3 combined with Capture NX help to remove most traces automatically.

Vignetting
On the DX format cameras there is no noticeable light fall off to worry about.

Distortion
On the DX format cameras no distortion is noticeable unless you shoot a brick wall. In such a case, some minor barrel distortion is will become noticeable at the 70mm focal length and some minor pincushion distortion will become noticeable at 300mm. So really nothing to worry about in most cases.

Sharpness
Between 70mm and 200mm the sharpness is excellent and reminiscent of the fast and more expensive AFS 70-200mm f/2.8 VR pro lens compared at the same apertures. An excellent performance and as such a recommended buy especially if you are interested in using that certain focal length range. At 300mm performance drops, but closing down to f/8 helps to improve contrast as well as sharpness and in most cases the results wont disappoint especially if your subject is close (up to 10m).

NOTES
This is the only way, as of this writing, to get to a portable and affordable Nikkor telephoto zoom lens in the 70-200mm range that can perform so well for so little. People shouldn’t buy this lens if they only need a 300mm tele. In such a case, a straight 300mm prime lens would be a better choice. This zoom excellent between 70-220mm and pretty good at 300mm. One big plus for this lens is its portability. It will fit easily into a vest pocket so for hikers, trekkers and travel photography, this is a great neat little package that offers VR technology.

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