Features Features
Build &
handlingBuild &
handling
Performance Performance
Value Value3.5
Overall
4OverallNT
ikon’s first 18-300mm lens
was a hefty affair that was
less than ideal for a travel
or holiday lens. This is the
second one to come to market and,
while it has a narrower aperture rating
at the long end, of f/6.3 instead of
f/5.6, it’s much more manageable,
smaller and lighter than the older lens.
The optical path includes three
aspherical elements and three ED
elements. Build quality feels pretty
good overall and, as with most Nikon
lenses, the metal mounting plate
comes complete with a weather-seal
ring. In other respects, however, the
lens feels rather basic compared with
the Nikon 18-200mm on test. There’s
no focus distance scale, no additional
‘Active’ VR mode, and the hood is sold
separately as an optional extra.Performance
It’s a game of two halves when it
comes to sharpness, which is very
good at the short end but poor at mid
to long settings. Image quality isn’t
particularly impressive in other
respects, making the lens relatively
poor value when compared to the
Nikon 18-200mm.he extra quality enabled by
an FX rather than DX
format camera comes at
the cost of extra weight and
price. It may seem counter-productive
to hang a superzoom lens on the front
of such a camera, but it helps you react
to wide-angle and telephoto shooting
ops without needing to swap lenses.
With a bigger image circle required to
fill a full-frame sensor, this lens has a
larger diameter and weighs in at 800g.
Tamron also markets a 28-300mm
FX format lens, but the Nikon isn’t
much more expensive yet has a faster
aperture rating at the long end, a faster
and quieter ring-type (rather than
motor-driven) ultrasonic AF system,
and a dual-mode optical stabilizer. It’s
the same VR II generation fitted to the
Nikon 18-200mm lens on test, with
Normal and Active modes.Performance
Helped by the inclusion of three
aspherical elements and two ED
elements, plus Super Integrated
Coating, image quality is good overall.
Sharpness is respectable across the
entire zoom range, although short-end
distortion is noticeable.Nikon AF-S DX 18-300mm
f/3.5-6.3G ED VR
£669/$697
The smaller and lighter Nikon 18-300mm
Nikon AF-S 28-300mm
f/3.5-5.6G ED VR
£929/$947
The best choice for FX bodies
N-Photo verdict N-Photo verdict
Decent build, but for
an 18-300mm zoom
range, the Sigma
performs better and
is cheaper to buy.It’s big and heavy
for a travel lens but
performs pretty well,
as it should with the
extra size.Sharpness
Sharpness is poor at the long
end, and Nikon’s 18-200mm
lens is sharper at competing
zoom settings.Fringing
When uncorrected, lateral
chromatic aberrations are
clearly visible at both ends
of the zoom range.Distortion
Despite the longer zoom
range, barrel and pincushion
distortions are similar to those
of the Nikon 18-200mm.Sharpness
Centre-sharpness is very good
throughout the zoom range
but edge-sharpness suffers
in the middle sector.Fringing
Levels of colour fringing are
just a little bit worse than
average at short to mid
zoom range settings.Distortion
Barrel distortion is severe at
18mm and there’s moderate
pincushion at mid to long
zoom settings.BIG TEST