Nikon 2216 AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-300 mm f/3.5-6.3G ED VR Lens, Black

I am a graphic designer and photographer; I am also a Nikon fanboy. I have used Sony and Canon, but always come back to my trusty Nikon D5300. I had an AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-105 mm but sadly smashed it while on a night shoot. I was looking for a replacement but couldn't find a new one, and when I did, they were extortionately expensive.I did some research and found this one on Amazon that I could get on 5, 0% interest instalments, which was a no brainer, I really wish Amazon did more items on the 5 easy payment, 0% interest instalments scheme. It is so helpful and is a peace of mind. I have literally, just ordered a 4K monitor that I found on their website too.The lens is a Nikon 2216 AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-300 mm. But more importantly it has a metal F-Mount, which is a big deal because I have had my plastic one’s break. So, for me that is a massive bonus!I bought a new 67mm hood for the lens and already had a good quality CIR-PL filter.On Friday, I used the lens for the first time on a night shoot for a client in the middle of nowhere with a crew of 50 people and tower lights and the lens was fantastic, the 18-300 zoom was so helpful as the job site was about 650 metres long. I did the majority of photos handheld I took a few on my tripod, but to be honest it was just easier.The lens is not light along with my camera the whole thing weights about 2.6lbs.I got some lovely bokeh shots and some nice clean close ups of the crews. There is a bit of noise but with lightroom I have setup a batch reduction on the RAW files.I have to say this is an excellent official Nikon lens, and for the money it is expensive, but if you are able to do the 0% interest payments. I would highly recommend.

I purchased this lens as an all round travel lens to save me having to carry multiple lens or changing lens while out and about. This lens is very compact and is about the same size as the 18-140. The mount is metal and has a rubber ring around it to help prevent dust getting into the camera but note the lens is not sealed. When you zoom the lens barrel extends outwards but focusing is internal which is great if you want to use any filters as the front does not rotate when focusing. The zoom ring has a ribbed rubber grip and has a nice smooth movement. There is a locking switch to lock the zoom at 18mm when walking about to prevent zoom creep but I so far have not had any issues with this and not used the lock. The focus ring maybe is a little small but does work well. It does have focus override so you can manually adjust the focus even if you are in auto mode.The lens also has Vibration Reduction which can be turned on or off by a little switch on the side. I find this to be quite effective.Picture quality from this lens is quite impressive considering the zoom range on the lens and I find you can still get sharp images even if fully zoomed at the full 300mm. As expected with a lens of this range it does have some barrel distortion at both ends of the zoom but this is easily fixed in post processing. If you want to use filters this lens has a 67mm thread.

i bought this Nikon 18-300mm back in 2012 and have loved it - it would indeed be awesome if it could have 2 more mm but have had what i would call spectacular shots from it for example I do a lot of driving trips and when spying subjects of interest at distances away the lens is fast and at the same time achieved sharp quality results.Unfortunately i have had recurring fungus and doubly unfortunate was in China without my warranty forms. The fungus was cleaned but unfortunately returned and after a second attempt to clean it Nikon Xian said it required sending to Beijing where they had the machine to apparently clean inside the barrel properly.They quoted me a 160 pounds and a month to do it, unfortunately since then Nikon UK have assessed and the entire barrel needs replacing at a qhote of 600 pounds. I would love to buy this lens again but would need to address whether the fungus has been an issue with other 18-300 owners or just a particular catalyst event and inappropriate care on my part.This review was for the first 18-300m that came out and I bought in 2012...it had spectacular results esp when many of my shots were taken in Morocco in a moving car at 100km or out and about in public areas or in low light...as said in the specs it has all weather protection but I got recurring fungus in it and after it being cleaned several times by nikon china, nikon UK quoted £600 to replace the barrel. I bought the new edition 18-300mm -6.3 and just can't get anywhere near the same satisfaction. Totally unhappy with it. Photos are not sharp unless full light/well lit day.

If your after a good all round walkabout lens for Nikon then this is it ' i took this lens & my D7100 out yesterday for a test and was very pleased with the results.My two main lenses are the 105 vr and 300f4 for wildlife so this lens was up against some quality Nikon glass and it held its own. I only manage an hour of testing before the heavens opened ' but i manage three good shots of a buzzard (considering the light)then a good shot of a bee on a flower' if you go to Flickr and check out happy snappy you will see the four pics i have mentioned.Other points ' focus speed = faster than 55-300 slower than 70-300 but very accurate ' VR = the best i have used.This lens is also very light weight at 550g and is a true replacement for a 18-55 +55-300 combo imho.To sum up this lens ' if i was going out knowing i was shooting birds from a distance the 300f4 + tc gets the nod ' if i was going out knowing i was mainly doing macro the 105 vr gets the nod ' if i was going out doing both i would take the 18-300 'its lite weight 'covers a lot of focal range' no lens swapping' and the chance of a landscape shot should it arise.