Nikon 28-300
Probably the only lens you will need on a full frame Nikon camera.
I took only this lens to a trip to Iceland and of the 2'556 pictures that I ended up keeping, the focal length distribution is given above. This is also a bit personal, but like with most zooms I tend to use the extremes much more than the in between focal lengths.
If you have a full frame Nikon camera, this is the only lens you will probably need. It is truly a universal lens. Starts from quite wide and goes quite long and everything in between. It is kind of a let down, you can have this lens, and stop worrying about anything else. This is not a light lens, with the camera, you will be carrying around 1.5kg weight, but if you are travelling and you wonder what you should be taking with you, this solves all your problems.
There is a fair question that needs to be asked, if you buy such a universal zoom is there any point in buying something else? This is really an annoying lens because if you buy it as your first lens, whatever you buy afterwards is going to have a harder time impressing you. On the other hand, if you end up buying it later, it will actually make a lot of your equipment redundant. The problem is, there are no real issues with this lens. As an example, you can not say Nikon 70-300 is better for something than the Nikon 28-300. Similarly the great Nikon 24-70 is technically faster and also quite a bit wider, it is by all accounts a great lens (albeit a very expensive one), but it is really not that much better (and significantly shorter) than the 28-300. So this lens will ruin a lot of other equipment for you.
If you want to compare, this has the same range and mostly the same performance as its APS-C cousin the Nikon 18-200 which can be had (especially used) for much cheaper and is also much lighter.
Versions
- This is as far as I know the only version. Replaced the earlier Nikon 28-200
| Price | Not really cheap |
|---|---|
| Weight | Heavy, 800g |
| Good for | General purpose for everything |
| New or used | Sells usually for about 450 used, which is (comparatively) overpriced. New is around 900. |
This is the universal zoom specifically for the full frame camera. This is why it was made, this lens should only be used on a full frame camera, nothing else.
Please do not use this on a APS-C camera, it will technically work as a 42-450mm zoom. But the Nikon 18-200 covers the same range, is lighter and much cheaper. There is absolutely no point for this lens on a APS-C.
Gallery / see also
This is the lens at 28mm, see the next shot for the same position with 300mm
This is the lens at 300mm from the same position as the previous one at 28mm to show the range.
The lens expands quite a bit at 300mm.
Again a close-up shot at 160mm. The real beauty of this particular picture is not that it is extremely sharp, or perfect (it is quite ok), but how effortless the camera makes this shot happen. This is handled at 1/40s, this is one of three shots, of which only one was not good enough.
Another cute shot of Bianca the Bear.
Comparing with the Nikon 18-200 on the right. They are essentially the same lens, once for APS-C and once for full frame.
Quick shot out of the window.
300mm and a minimum focus distance of about half a meter gets you really close.. But it is still not a real macro, at least something this lens can not do.
Ok I admit, this is a strange combination to use the Nikon 28-300 on an APS-C camera (here the Nikon D500. But it works. Here it even gives a bit of automatic cropping to make this picture look like it was taken with a macro lens.
These pages are for Amateur Photographers and not really for seasoned photographers and professionals. I have no affiliation or commercial interest with any brand/make. I write from my own experience. I ended up using mainly Nikon, so I am more familiar with this brand than others. See price for notes on pricing as well as photography related links.