At 70mm, sharpness is very good in the centre of the frame at maximum aperture, with performance towards the edges only reaching fairly good levels. Stopping down produces a dramatic improvement in performance across the frame, with sharpness being outstanding in the centre and excellent towards the edges of the frame between f/8 and f/11. Ghosting and flare are handled quite well, depending on the focal length and where you place the source of light. Here is an extreme example with the sun in the top left frame: NIKON D800E + 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 18mm, ISO 200, 1/500, f/11.0 Apochromatic lenses have special lens elements (aspheric, extra-low dispersion etc) to minimize the problem, hence they usually cost more. 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. It's still noticeably faster than the AF-S 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DX telezoom, though. Thankfully the filter thread does not rotate on focus, making it that much easier to use graduated neutral density filters and polarisers. Manual focus enthusiasts should take note that the focus ring is rather narrow and located close to the lens mount. Distortion

Here's the Nikon 18-300mm dwarfing its closest rivals, the Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-5.6 DC Macro OS HSM and Tamron 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD (both here in Canon mount, and therefore a couple of millimetres longer than their respective Nikon versions). The Tamron and Sigma have shorter zoom ranges and smaller maximum apertures at the telephoto end, and use micro-type ultrasonic focus motors which don't allow full-time manual override. But they do both have built-in optical image stabilization, and are little over half the weight of the Nikon. Visit us and you'll always find a friendly welcome. Our policy is to treat our customers as we would like to be treated ourselves, a simple ideal that we try hard to live up to. A-M stands for Auto-Manual Mode. Thanks to a mechanism incorporated in the lens barrel, smooth focusing operation in Manual focus mode is realized in the same way as users have become accustomed to with conventional manual-focus lenses by adding an appropriate torque to the focus ring. Sharpness is measured at the centre and edge of the frame and across the aperture range. Levels of sharpness across the frame are good for a superzoom lens An array of switches on the side of the barrel control focusing and stabilization. The top one selects between manual focus (M) and autofocus with manual override (M/A). Next down is a switch to turn stabilization on and off, and at the bottom, one to select VR mode.

The lens's angle of view widens dramatically on focusing from infinity to 0.45m, especially at the telephoto end. This is a common trait with superzooms, and the Nikon 18-200mm, Sigma 18-250mm and Tamron 18-270mm behave in just the same way. The result is that when the lens is focused to 2m, the 300mm telephoto end has an effective focal length that looks much closer to 200mm. In context, it's worth bearing in mind that long telephotos generally tend to used more for distant subjects, in which case the lens naturally behaves as a 'true' 300mm (as you can see from the comparison above). Meanwhile at short distances you merely have to move a little bit closer to compensate. Lens body elements It's an nice lens and it can cover a huge range of subjects due to 18mm-300mm range. It's okay walking around with it on your camera, but it starts to get heavy after a while (Old version). We test lenses using a mix of both real world sample images and lab tests. Our lab tests are carried out scientifically in controlled conditions using the Imatest testing suite, which consists of custom charts and analysis software that measures resolution in line widths/picture height, a measurement widely used in lens and camera testing. We find the combination of lab and real-word testing works best, as each reveals different qualities and characteristics.

Finally, at 300mm, sharpness remains very good in the centre of the frame between f/6.3 and f/11, although performance towards the edges of the frame never really exceeds fairly good levels at this focal length. His expertise with equipment doesn’t end there, though. He is also an encyclopedia when it comes to all manner of cameras, camera holsters and bags, flashguns, tripods and heads, printers, papers and inks, and just about anything imaging-related. Looking to upgrade your equipment? Get competitive prices on major brands with our part-exchange service.A petal-shaped hood is supplied with the lens, which does a decent job of shielding the front element from extraneous light that may cause flare or loss on contrast. Shooting into the light does result in a slight loss of contrast, especially at 300mm, but otherwise, this lens is quite resistant to flare. Submit a valuation request and we'll provide guide prices with no delay. Plus, we'll collect your gear from your home or work for FREE. Chromatic aberration is the lens' inability to focus on the sensor or film all colours of visible light at the same point. Severe chromatic aberration gives a noticeable fringing or a halo effect around sharp edges within the picture. It can be cured in software. We're very easy to find, our London store is just off Oxford Street between Oxford Circus station and Tottenham Court Road station. The Essex shop is located in High Chelmer Shopping Centre, just off the High Street in Chelmsford.The Stevenage shop is located in the Old Town, in the old Post Office with parking outside

At 18mm and maximum aperture, sharpness is very good in the centre of the frame, and falling just short of good levels towards the edges of the frame. Stopping down to between f/5.6 and f/8 produces outstanding sharpness in the centre of the frame, but the clarity delivered at the edges of the frame never really improves beyond good levels at this focal length.The obvious question then, is how well do these two lenses compare in terms of optical performance? I mounted both lenses on my Nikon D850 to try them out, as I don’t currently own a DX Nikon DSLR. Color fringing is most noticeable at the short end of the zoom range, becoming fairly negligible in the mid-sector and rising a little again at the long end. Even so, fringing is fairly minimal for a superzoom lens. The scale on the left side is an indication of actual image resolution. The taller the column, the better the lens performance. Simple. With the lens set to its maximum aperture, you can see pretty heavy light fall off in the corners at the wide end of the zoom range. Stopping down helps a lot here.