It is definately heavier than most lenses of this range. The lens has very smooth zoom but it is firm. I personally like the stiffness as i had a Tameron comperable lens and every time it hung down the lens zoom would extend itself to full length and then unveriably you would bang it.

A little background - My first 28-300 was the very first lens I ever bought for my first digital SLR, and it was a Sigma. I took a lot of good photos with it, and thought it was a fine lens. As time went on, I bought better glass, and started seeing the shortcomings in it.

Any photographer will tell you that even the most expensive digital body is worthless without good glass to back it up, and it isn't too often you come across a superzoom like this one which ticks all of the boxes.

Beautiful results for amatuer and Professional photographers

Solid Construction; Zoom Lock and Sharp Images

Slightly Heavy if used with Neck Straps

I owned the Nikon 18-200mm which I enjoyed and was sharp to about 120mm but was soft at the long end. The 28-300mm is a much sharper lens and is sharp from 200-300mm. I'm really enjoying this lens and can't believe how good the build quality is. There is no lens creep like the 18-200mm.

Awesome optics; Not soft on long end; No lens creep; Psuedo macro; Excellent Build Quality; Fantastic clarity

Price

Is Nikon's new 28-300mm the ideal travel lens for FX format cameras? Here Gary Wolstenholme puts the lens through its paces.

Good optical performance for a lens of this type; Fast silent focusing; Vibration reduction is very effective; Build quality

Maybe a bit on the pricey side; Distortion at 28mm and 300mm

After buying a D700, I first relied mainly on my old AF lenses from the film days (20-35, 35-70, 80-200) plus some primes, while hoping Nikon would soon come out with serious f4 zooms like Canon users enjoy.

High IQ for such a broad zoom range; VF very effective; silky zoom action, with nolens creep issue (when pointed down); light compared to PRO zooms; nicely finished, including weather seals

Poor lenshood design (often falls off or twists out of alignment); my polarizer lens foils the auto focus

Nikon offers a well regarded DX superzoom for quite a while already, but any FX user looking for something similar, as an occasional or permanent solution, so far only had the option to choose from a very limited list of third-party offerings.

The focal range is fantastic. No need to carry several lenses. When the moment comes, your camera is ready to click. So this is the big advantage.

Nikon has answered the call of FX (full-frame) camera users to provide a lens comparable to their ultra-popular NIKKOR AF-S 18–200mm f/3.5–5.6G VR II DX-format lens with their new AF-S 28–300mm f/3.5–5.6G ED VR.

Great focal range in one lens

What's not to like