I haven't heard a clear answer yet to the question "Is one a full-frame lens, and one a crop-sensor lens?".
Is it an endangered species?
https://www.dxomark.com/cameras/launched-between-2002-and-2016/launch_price-from-0-to-45200-usd#hideAdvancedOptions=false&viewMode=list&yDataType=rankDxo
As far as image quality, the Nikon D3400 as rated by dxomark is quite respectable.
It gets a score of 86, and is number 33 in their ranking of 336 current cameras they've tested.
I may have come late to the party, but what effect are you applying, from what program?
Oh, by the way- using a 300 mm lens with a tripod should be the FIRST thing you do!
If you're shooting birds, you may want to consider getting a gimbal head for your tripod.
Unfortunately, this lens is incapable of shooting a sharp image at 300 mm no matter what you do.
https://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Nikon/Nikon-AF-S-DX-NIKKOR-18-300mm-F35-63G-ED-VR-mounted-on-Nikon-D500---Measurements__1061
According to dxomark that lens is sharpest from 18 mm to about 85 mm.
After 85mm the sharpness falls off rapidly into a pit of mediocrity.
(I am well aware that some people that frequent this website view all such scientific tests as "alternative facts"!)
A friend of mine earns his living repairing photographic equipment.
He told me that if you want to buy a lens that will last 50 years or more
buy a prime lens with manual focus.
The parts of the lens that he constantly sees problems with are
zoom mechanisms and auto-focus mechanisms.
He also tells me that incredibly, there are some companies that only
stock lens parts for TWO years!
That means, in some cases, if your lens is more than two years old
it cannot be repaired!
It is because diffraction affects this lens so badly that I've decided not to use it past f11.
Yes, I could get more depth of field at f16 or f22, but the loss of sharpness is dramatic.
I am aware that diffraction affects all lenses.
Oddly enough, dxomark gives the 18-140 a rating of 16 (roughly 32%)
while the 18-300 gets a rating of 19 (roughly 38%).
I have the 18 to 140 and have learned not to use f-stops past f11
because the sharpness plummets.
Thanks for the clarification, Screamin' Scott.
I have a Nikon D7100 and use many "film lenses" on it (with a crop factor of 1.5x).
I also have an adaptor that allows me to use my Pentax 645 (medium format) lenses (with a crop factor of 2.5x).
With the D7100 I can use aperture priority or manual mode.
Are you saying that with the 3000 or 5000 series cameras you get no "in camera" metering?
In other words, you would have to use a hand-held meter or the "Sunny 16" rule?
You cannot CONVENIENTLY use a "film lens" on a Nikon 3000 or 5000 series camera.
You have to have a 7000 series camera or higher in order to be able to control the aperture.
https://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Nikon/Nikon-AF-S-DX-NIKKOR-18-300mm-F35-63G-ED-VR-mounted-on-Nikon-D500__1061
Dxomark has tested this lens and gives it a score of 19 (more or less equivalent to 38%).
Not a good lens.
https://www.dxomark.com/Lenses/Nikon/AF-S-NIKKOR-24-120mm-f-4G-ED-VR-mounted-on-Nikon-D800E__814
www.dxomark.com has tested the 24 to 120 zoom and gives it a score of 25 (which is more or less equivalent to 50%)
which is actually not too bad for a zoom kit lens. The Nikon 18 to 55 kit lens gets a pitiful score of only 15 (more or less equivalent to 30%).
For some reason, the photo is not showing up!
Where I live in Ontario two of the species that were hunted to extinction- elk and wild turkeys,
were re-introduced back in the 1990's or so. They have both taken off and have done well.
Elk are majestic creatures!