J-SPEIGHT Loc: Akron, Ohio

I and Erv also use this lens and neither of us are disappointed in it. Does a great job.

alphonso49uk

I use mine on a d810 and find it to be brilliant. You must have been unlucky and have a bad copy.

capmike Loc: New Bern, NC

My opinion is that lens is soft all over. Bought it to go with my D 750, very disappointed. Sold it for primes. When you read others who say it is a great lens, just look at some photos submitted. It all depends on what you consider to be a very good pic. My eye was too demanding to accept the limitations of that lens.

jonfrei

Please re-read my statement. I was apologizing because *I* sounded rude.

danoliver Loc: South Central Kentucky

I bought a used Nikon 18-300 5.6 a few years ago and have been disappointed in the sharpness of the pictures when cropped. I am now going through the Nikon AF fine tune process trying to make pictures look sharper. Initial results seem to show a back focus problem. The process to check is not that easy, but better than the price to send to Nikon to do it. my camera is a D500.

SteveTog Loc: Philly

I got a great copy of this lens. I like the 28-300 on both DX and FX bodies. On FX, it makes a great walk around lens, and I can get nice close ups that approach macro capability. For portraits I get great boceh when shooting it long. The IQ that I get is fine for any application that I have considered it for. I have't had the opportunity to print larger than 8x10 with photos from the lens, but when I pixel peep it is almost as sharp as my 105 F/2 DC at similar focal length (my longest prime). It also compares well to my Tamron 28-200 f/2.8 Di VC.

On DX this lens does all of the above, plus it has an effective reach of 450mm, so I can shoot wildlife with it, and it does a great job. It saved me the cost of buying a dedicated wildlife lens and get shots that are by far good enough for the small amount that I do. I would not hesitate to use this lens on a DX body for sports, either.

This lens was not universally well-regarded by the critics (critics usually hate all in one lenses), but it has a strong following of users on the Internet who swear by it. If you can confirm that you are shooting at shutter speeds that should be sharp (remember that longer focal lengths require a faster shutter speed to get a crisp shot, even with VR), you might want to send yours in to Nikon if it is still under warranty. I agree with the commentators who think your copy of this lens might be the problem, not the lens model, itself.

FiddleMaker Loc: Merrimac, MA

I also had this 28-300mm lens for my D750 but I traded it along with all my DX gear for a Tamron 24-70mm G2 series lens. I have no regrets. My copy of the Tamron 24-70 is excellent. But I will say that my copy of the Nikon 28-300 was also a decent lens. I certainly did not have the problems with my 28-300 that you experienced. I don't think that I would ever buy a used lens because there is no guarantee that the lens was never dropped or mishandled.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Sell it to someone like me that LOVES his. I get NO vignetting at wide angle and beautiful shots at telephoto. It is at least as sharp as my 18-200 and that lens is also sharp. And, I don't know what reviews you are looking at, but the ones I see are favorable. (B&H photo reviews with photo's) Sorry to hear your getting less than stellar images.

ToBoldlyGo Loc: London U.K.

His original post says "slightly used".

AZNikon Loc: Mesa, AZ

Something's wrong-have it checked. I have the same lens and I love it!

BenSanford Loc: Falls Church, VA

I have both the 18-200 Nikon zoom (for DX sensors) and the 28-300 zoom (for FX sensors), which of course will also work on DX. Both lenses are excellent - for the purpose for which they were intended, but of course they are a compromise solution that won't match up to the quality of a good prime lens. Comparing it to my old 28mm f2.8 AI prime lens on identical shots, and the zoom isn't even close to being as sharp.

I used my 28-300 on a D600 and my wife used the 18-200 on a D80. It's great when I'm traveling light and can't carry a bag full of lenses.

One problem with the 28-300 is that it is a heavy piece of glass, and carrying on a DX sensor camera, instead of the 18-200 might not be worth the extra weight (unless you want more telephoto and less wide angle - I guess that the 18-200 DC is about equivalent to a 28-300 35mm view, where the 28-300, when cropped is about equivalent to a 45-450)

I just got a D850 and haven't tried the 28-300 on it yet. I took a comparison shot between the 28mm prime and the 18-35mm zoom (not the 16-35 which I now wish I had purchased), and the prime was much sharper. Both shots were with the D850 camera on a tripod.

If I want maximum sharpness (and have the time and the luxury of carrying everything), I will use prime lenses, and some of the old AI lenses are very sharp. I mostly shoot landscapes, so I don't need the fastest glass, and I'm fine with using manual focus.

mleuck

Does anyone here have a clue what they are talking about?

Joecosentino Loc: Whitesboro, New York

Above 200mm you need to be very steady to avoid shake in your images. Do you shot on a tripod? If not try it and see what the results are. My 28 to 300. Is good. But any lens that has that wide of a wrangle is not going to be as good as a prime or a lens with a shorter zoom. There is a lot of moving going on to make that lens work

Joecosentino Loc: Whitesboro, New York

Above 200mm you need to be very steady to avoid shake in your images. Do you shot on a tripod? If not try it and see what the results are. My 28 to 300. Is good. But any lens that has that wide of a wrangle is not going to be as good as a prime or a lens with a shorter zoom. There is a lot of moving going on to make that lens work

russraman Loc: New York City

I’ve been using the 28-300 FX on a Nikon Df for over two years with amazing results. Me lens is sharp with fast focusing, great color rendition and excellent image quality... even extended to 300mm. I’ve seen no vignetting at wide angle shooting. The only downsides are it’s weight, which is a little heavy for carrying around all day, and lens creep when I carry the camera face-down. But overall the 28-300 is a very versatile all-purpose lens for a wide range of shooting situations from street photography, portraits and landscapes to shooting birds and airplanes. Given the lens’ flexibility, it’s a very good value for the money. Have you downloaded the latest firmware update for your D600 to eliminate vignetting?