The new Nikon 800mm lens has made headlines largely through its huge focal length but also because of its price.

In fact, neither is unprecedented. Nikon made a manual focus 800mm f/5.6 lens in the 1980s, but it’s been out of circulation for the past few years. Canon and Sigma both make 800mm f/5.6 lenses too.

At the other end of the scale, Samyang markets an 800mm f/8 ‘mirror’ lens which is advertised at £155, but while the specs sound similar, the optical quality is of a much lower order.

The Nikon 800mm’s price is not unusual for super-telephoto lenses of this type either. Its list price is higher than its rivals’ (the Canon is around £10,000, the Sigma around £4,500) but prices tend to fall quite quickly once dealer discounting kicks in, so the differential will grow smaller.

Besides, lenses like this are not aimed at ordinary photographers. They’re used by professional sports, wildlife or press photographers who would hire or buy a lens like this as a carefully justified business cost, in the same way a builder would need to hire or buy a van, for example. Press and paparazzi photographers will love it, and it could have an important role in security and surveillance.

1. Weight: 4.59kg

Nikon has used two expensive fluorite lens elements to shift the centre of gravity towards rear for better balance, and an aluminium alloy body for ruggedness and light weight. Even so, it still tips the scales at over 4.5kg, which is in line with rival 800mm lenses from Canon and Sigma. That’s not a problem with a gimball head, however, which will still enable you to pan the camera quickly to capture birds in flight or low-flying aircraft at air shows – two subjects where you really do need a lens this long.

2. Dedicated TC800-1.25E ED teleconverter

This isn’t an expensive add-on. It’s included with the lens, and each one is custom-made to match that particular lens. It takes the focal length up to 1000mm, though the maximum aperture falls from f/5.6 to f/7.1. The trade-off between focal length and aperture is normal for teleconverters. You’ll often need this kind of magnifying power for surfing and other watersports, where you have relatively small subjects a long way from the nearest available shooting position.

3. Electromagnetic diaphragm control

Nikon claims this is a first for its Nikkor lens range, and it provides highly accurate aperture control with an extremely low incidence of errors. This extra accuracy is especially important when using the teleconverter, which introduces an additional aperture linkage. The electromagnetic diaphragm control means enhanced stability for auto exposure control in continuous shooting, which is how most sports/action shots are taken.

4. Two fluorite lens elements

This is another first for Nikkor lenses. Fluorite elements are optically superior to glass, with higher transmission rates, minimal chromatic aberration and much lower dispersion, even compared to Nikon’s super ED lens elements.

5. Nano Crystal Coat

This is the coating used by Nikon on its latest pro-quality lenses. It produces minimal flare and ghosting, and this becomes especially important with complex, multi-element lens designs.

6. Four-stop VR

This has Normal and Active modes – Active mode is for when you’re being thrown around on the back of a truck on safari, for example. Often it’s not safe to leave the vehicle in these situations, and animals must sometimes be photographed at long range from a moving platform. VR is essential, given that the minimum safe shutter speed would be 1/800sec otherwise! The VR system also has automatic tripod detection.

7. Integrated tripod foot

As with all big telephotos, you mount the lens on the tripod, then attach the camera to the lens. This is essential for proper weight distribution. The position of the tripod mounting plate is chosen to give the optimum balance for tripod use and panning shots.

8. Protected front element

The expensive front element is protected by a curved meniscus glass element which has no optical effect but helps reduce the risk of damage or the cost of repair.

9. Three AF modes

You can choose between AF/M autofocus priority with manual override, M/A mode, where you can switch from auto to manual instantly in any AF mode, and Manual.

10. TC-801 hard carry case included

The TC-801 hard case is included in the price. It is, of course, custom-made for the 800mm f/5.6, and it also has a slot for the TC800-1.25E ED. It might be a somewhat clumsy solution in shooting situations, but it’s vital to protect the lens properly in transit or store. When you’re using a lens that costs three times as much as your camera, you need to take care of it!

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Nikon AF-S DX 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR

This new Nikon lens takes superzooms to a new level but is it one for the road?

Type: Superzoom lens
Price: £850, $1,000
Web: www.nikon.co.uk

The Nikon 18-200mm VR has long been renowned as the best superzoom lens on the market. For a while though, it hasn’t led the field for outright zoom range, losing out to the Sigma 18-250mm and Tamron 18-270mm, both of which have recently had radical redesigns. Nikon has now come up trumps with its new 18-300mm VR, which boasts the biggest zoom range of any SLR lens on the planet.

As a DX format lens, it delivers an effective 27mm focal length at the wide-angle end, stretching to a mighty 450mm of telephoto power. Despite its greater zoom range, it maintains the same maximum apertures of f/3.5-5.6 as the Nikon 18-200mm, which is a useful one-third of a stop faster than both the Sigma and Tamron at the telephoto end. Only the Nikons feature ring-type ultrasonic autofocus, which is faster and quieter than the Sigma and Tamron’s more basic ultrasonic motors. Handling is also more refined as the focus ring doesn’t rotate during autofocus, as well as offering full-time manual focus override.

Same difference?
Other Nikon refinements carried over from the 18-200mm include a weather-seal rubber ring around the lens mount, to guard against moisture and dust. VR II stabilization is highly effective, living up to its four-stop claim and it comes with both Normal and Active modes. It’s particularly useful at the telephoto end, which naturally stretches rather further than the older lens. Yet more similarities, compared with the second edition of the 18-200mm include SIC (Super Integrated Coating) to help reduce ghosting and flare, and a zoom lock switch to stop the lens stretching out through the zoom range when you’re carrying it around.

There are also some notable differences between the two Nikon lenses. The 18-200mm is based on 16 elements in 12 groups, whereas the upsized 18-300mm has 19 elements in 14 groups. Of these, the 18-300mm has three ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements rather than just two, with an aim to maximise contrast and sharpness. And while both lenses feature a rounded diaphragm to give a smoother appearance to defocused areas in images, the 18-300mm bumps up the number of diaphragm blades from seven to nine, for superior results. Another plus point of the 18-300mm is that it’s free of zoom creep, for which the 18-200mm is somewhat notorious.

Heavyweight champ
Downsizing is a recent trend in superzoom lenses and the latest editions of both the Sigma 18-250mm and Tamron 18-270mm are noticeably smaller and lighter in weight than previous models. At about 88mm in length and around 460g in weight, they’re more akin to standard zoom lenses in these respects, and the filter size is also reduced to just 62mm. Given the suitability of superzooms as travel lenses, it’s a welcome move.

Bucking the trend, the Nikon 18-300mm is substantially bigger and heavier than the 18-200mm, being 23mm longer and weighing in at 830g rather than 565g. As such, it’s about the same size as most FX-format 70-300mm telephoto zoom lenses and heavier than all the most popular options, including the weighty Nikon 70-300mm VR. Couple the 18-300mm with a D7000 body and the combined weight is 1.6kg, so your neck will feel the strain if you’re walking around for hours on end. The filter thread is also upsized from 72mm to 77mm compared with the Nikon 18-200mm.

Performance
Ultimately, the deciding factor is whether the lens’s performance is worth the gain in size and weight. Sharpness and contrast are very impressive throughout the zoom range. Sharpness does drop off a bit towards 300mm at f/5.6, but bounces back if you stop down to f/8. Compared with the Nikon 18-200mm, sharpness is actually a little better at maximum telephoto zoom.

Colour fringing is impressively low for a superzoom lens Again, compared with the Nikon 18-200mm, it’s a little more in evidence at the wide-angle end but lower at telephoto settings. Barrel distortion is rather more pronounced at 18mm, and a fair bit worse than with the Sigma 18-250mm or Tamron 18-270mm. Overall though, the new Nikon gives excellent image quality for a superzoom.

Flat lighting test
Flat lighting is a big test for any lens but the 18-300mm VR retains plenty of contrast, as shown here. Sharpness is impressive at all focal lengths and the extreme zoom range is clear to see.

Sharpness
Impressive throughout the zoom range, sharpness is retained particularly well at the telephoto end, beating even the Nikon 18-200mm.
Sharpness at f/8, 18mm: 2292
Sharpness at f/8, 105mm: 2299
Sharpness at f/8, 300mm: 1723

Fringing
Very respectable for a superzoom, colour fringing is much less noticeable than with most competing lenses, especially at telephoto focal lengths.
Fringing at f/8, 18mm: 0.9
Fringing at f/8, 105mm: 0.61
Fringing at f/8, 300mm: 0.33

Distortion
A bit worse than with the Nikon 18-200mm, barrel distortion is quite pronounced at 18mm, switching to pincushion that’s most noticeable at around 105mm.
Distortion at 18mm: -4.72
Distortion at 105mm: 2.73
Distortion at 300mm: 1.98

Image quality verdict:
There’s little to choose in image quality between the Nikon 18-300mm and 18-200mm, making the extra zoom range worth having if you don’t mind the lens’s increased price, size and weight.

Overall Score: 4/5

The most obvious thing is the size and weight compared to the existing 18-200mm. The new lens is 23.5mm longer – nearly an inch – and 270g heavier, and you do feel that straight away. You could use the 18-200mm on a smaller body like the D3100, for example, and it would still balance OK, but the 18-300mm makes it feel really front-heavy, and it needs a heftier body like the D7000 or D300s.

The payback, of course, is the huge zoom range, and you can clearly see this in the comparison above. Both shots were taken from exactly the same position.

Everything else, though, is terrific. The zoom action is smooth, and the image quality holds up well even at the maximum focal length.

The autofocus is fast, too. It managed to keep up with these flapping pigeons surprisingly well.

Nikon’s VR system does a good job too, though you have to help it out by keeping the camera as steady as possible at these longer focal lengths.

You do have to watch the shutter speeds, though (learn some of the common mistakes at every shutter speed – and the best settings to use).

It’s not the 18-300mm’s fault, but an issue with superzooms in general. Because you’re switching from a wide focal length, where 1/30sec might be fine, to a much longer range shot, where it most certainly isn’t, you can easily get camera shake creeping in.

It doesn’t help that the maximum aperture goes down at longer zoom settings, pushing the shutter speeds still lower.

So if you’re using any superzoom as a general walkaround lens (and the 18-300mm in particular), be prepared to set a higher ISO than normal just as an insurance against camera shake when you go for a longer shot like these (find out how to reduce noise at high ISO settings).

Stay tuned for a full review of this new Nikon lens just as soon as our testing team has put the 18-300mm through our lab tests. In the meantime, it does look really good – as long as you don’t mind walking round with a big, heavy lens fixed to the front of your camera!

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New Nikon AF-S 800mm f/5.6 VR supertelephoto

Nikon is to unveil its a new monster to its lens line-up. The Nikon AF-S 800mm f/5.6 will be the longest focal length in its current range of optic – an honour currently held by its AF-S 600mm f/4G ED VR.

The longer FX full-frame-compatible lens will have an angle of view of around 3° and will be lusted after by wildlife, sports and paparazzi photographers the world over. It will provide a whopping crop-factor-enduced effective focal length of 1200mm when used on popular DX Nikon D-SLR models.

A prototype of the new lens will be shown at the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Lytham ST Annes next week, and again at the bi-annual Photokina trade show in Cologne this September.

The price, or availability, have not been announced yet – but we expect the recommended retail to be well over the £10,000 ($15,000) mark

It is not the first time that Nikon has had a 800mm f/5.6 lens in its range, however. The Nikkor 800mm f/5.6 IF-ED was introduced in 1986 and discontinued in around 2005. It won’t be light either, and will inevitably weigh in more than the 5kg (11lb) 600mm f/4.

Sigma already produce an 800mm f/5.6 EX DG HSM supertelephoto in Nikon AF mount.

The full press release for the lens can be read here.

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Nikon has announced a new FX-format zoom lens with broad 24-85mm focal range, compact build and Vibration Reduction.

The new AF-S NIKKOR 24–85mm f/3.5–4.5G ED VR offers a focal length extending from wideangle up to telephoto in a lightweight body, and is billed as a multi-purpose lens for FX-format Nikon photographers who want the freedom to shoot a wide variety of day-to-day moments and subjects.

The new Nikon lens features Vibration Reduction technology (VRII), which Nikon says allows substantially sharper handheld images across the zoom range and dramatically reduces image blur, especially when shooting towards the telephoto end of the range.

VRII also enables you to shoot using shutter speeds up to four stops slower when shooting in low light.

The Nikon 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 G also uses Nikon’s Super Integrated Coating to ensure better colour reproduction, while Extra-Low Dispersion (ED) glass and three aspherical lens elements help deliver better sharpness and contrast, even at maximum aperture, Nikon says.

The new Nikon lens is priced £519.99 / €613.00 and comes with a lens case CL-1118 and hood HB-63.

The lens is available from 28 June 2012.

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It follows on from Nikon’s highly successful 18-200mm superzoom, which has won an army of fans thanks to its compact size, build quality and optical performance.

The new 18-300mm has a 16.7x zoom range, offering an effective focal range in 35mm camera terms of 27-450mm. The extra zoom range has increased the weight and length compared to the existing 18-200mm. The weight has gone up from 560g to 830g, and the length increases from 96.5mm to 120mm.

The 18-300mm remains quite compact despite this, and shares the 18-200mm’s slim profile, which is a big help when you’re sliding cameras in and out of bags.

Like the 18-200mm superzoom before it, this is a DX format lens, which means it is designed for Nikon’s DX-format SLRs, not its full-frame FX models (though you can use DX lenses on FX cameras in ‘crop’ mode).

The new Nikon 18-300mm price tag will be £850 / $1,000.

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Source: The Verge

Does your lens has more letters after its name than a retired rocket scientist. What do all these lens markings mean?

You can refer to a lens simply by the name of the manufacturer, the focal length, and its maximum aperture – a Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6, say, or Canon 50mm f/1.4. But as lenses have often evolved from decades of development, they usually have a line of additional letters after their names, stamped on the barrel or printed on the boxes.

Some lens markings are about manufacturer branding – defining a more recent range, or a lens that’s built to higher standards than another. Others are to do with the optics themselves, and to highlight specific technologies used in the lens construction.

In the jargon-busting guide below, we’ll translate these lens markings for you.

The ultimate guide to understanding lens markings

AF  Stands for autofocus. Nearly all lenses have this feature, 
but there’s an increasing trend for niche lens manufacturers (such as Samyang and Carl Zeiss) to offer lenses that can only be focused manually.

AF-S  Stands for autofocus-silent. This features on Nikon lenses that use a silent motor to control the autofocus.

AL  Stands for aspherical lens. All camera lenses are made up of a number of individual lenses or elements. Many of these elements are spherical – as if cut from a sphere. Aspherical elements are less rounded – and are used in some types of lenses to help minimise chromatic aberration.

APO  Stands for apochromatic. This features on Sigma lenses that use super-low dispersion (SLD) lens elements to reduce chromatic aberration.

AS  Stands for aspherical  (see AL).

Asp  Stands for aspherical (see AL).

AT-X  Stands for Advance Technology Extra – the branding used on all current Tokina lenses.

D  A type of Tokina lens that’s compatible with full-frame SLRs.

DA  Stands for Digital Auto. This features on a range of Pentax lenses that (unlike some earlier ranges) don’t have a manual aperture ring. They have a ‘Quick Shift’ mechanism that enables you to override focus manually, even when the lens is switched to autofocus.

DA*  Star by name, star by nature. The premium lens range from Pentax, which combines weatherproofing with the advantages of the DA range.

DC  This features on the range of Sigma lenses that are designed specifically for use with crop factor SLRs, and which can’t be used with full-frame models.

DFA  This features on the range of Pentax lenses that will work with full-frame 35mm film cameras, but which are also optimised for use on crop-factor digital SLRs.

DG  This refers to the Sigma lens range that’s suitable for full-frame SLRs (but that can also be used on crop-factor models).

Di  Tamron’s ‘Digitally Integrated’ lenses have a full-size image circle, so they are suitable for full-frame and crop-factor SLRs.

Di II  Tamron’s second-generation Digitally Integrated lenses are designed for use on popular crop-factor SLRs, and are not suitable for full-frame models.

DO  Diffractive Optics is used on a handful of Canon telephoto lenses – the technology allows these long lenses to be made smaller and lighter than equivalents using conventional optical designs.

DT  Sony lens with a smaller image circle, designed for use on crop-sensor cameras.

DX  Tokina’s and Nikon’s way of marking lenses that are only suitable for crop-factor – or APS-C – SLRs.

ED  A lens featuring Extra-low Dispersion glass in one or more of its elements, to help correct chromatic aberration. This abbreviation is used by Nikon, Panasonic, Olympus and others.

EF  Standing for Electro Focus. This is the name of the lens mount that Canon introduced 
on its first autofocus SLRs back in 1987. EF lenses can be used 
on all Canon SLRs.

EF-S  Electro Focus Short back-focus lenses were introduced by Canon in 2003. They have a small image circle so they are only suitable for use on crop-factor SLRs. A modified mount means that they can’t physically be fitted onto incompatible (ie full frame) Canon models.

EX  Sigma’s designation for its premium lens range.

f/X.X  The f-stop number is 
the size of the lens’s maximum aperture, measured as a fraction of the focal length of the lens. On some zoom lenses there may be two apertures quoted – f/4-5.6, for example. This means that the maximum aperture gets smaller as the lens is zoomed in. The maximum aperture on the lens barrel may also be expressed as 
a ratio – so 1:4-5.6.

FA  Pentax lens that’s full-frame compatible, and that features an old-fashioned aperture ring.

FO  Tokina’s Focus-One-touch mechanism allows you to switch quickly from autofocus to manual focus operation, and back again, by snapping the focus ring backwards and forwards.

FX  A Nikon, or Nikkor, lens that’s compatible with its full-frame SLRs, as well as crop-factor ones.

G  Stands for Gold – a designation found on top-class Sony lenses. It’s also used for current Panasonic Lumix compact system cameras and lenses.

HID  Stands for High Index Dispersion, a type of glass used in Tamron lenses that helps to minimise chromatic aberration.

HSM  Sigma’s Hyper Sonic Motor is used in some of its lenses to provide faster and quieter autofocus operation.

IF  Stands for Internal Focusing, and is found on many lenses from many manufacturers. The lens is constructed so that it doesn’t change in length as the lens is focused. It also means that the front element doesn’t rotate – which can help with the use of some lens attachments, such as petal-shaped lens hoods and polarising filters.

iFn  Stands for i-Function, a feature of Samsung NX cameras which allows photographers to access a number of key camera settings via a button and ring around the lens.

II  This stands for second-generation – a classic lens that’s been updated in design by the original manufacturer.

III  Stands for third-generation.

IS  Stands for Image Stabilization – optical camera shake reduction found in a wide number of Canon lenses.

L  Stands for Luxury, and is used to designate Canon’s best pro lenses, which have superior build quality and weatherproofing.

LD  This features on Tamron lenses that use one or more Low Dispersion lens elements to help reduce chromatic aberration.
mm  Stands for millimetres – used to measure the focal length of a lens.

OIS  Optical Image Stabilisation – the system used on Panasonic lenses to reduce camera shake.

OS  Optical Stabilization is 
the system used on some Sigma lenses to reduce camera shake.

PC-E  Stands for Perspective Control-Electronic. Used to designate Nikon’s range of tilt-shift lenses, which enable you to move the front elements on the lens to avoid or exaggerate lens distortion. They are commonly used in architectural photography to ensure vertical lines remain parallel in the picture.

PZ  Stands for Power Zoom, 
a servo-assisted zoom facility found on some Panasonic compact system camera lenses.

PZD  Stands for Piezo Drive, 
a type of ultrasonic motor used in Tamron lenses to provide 
fast, quiet autofocus.

RF  With Rear Focus, the group of elements nearest the camera are used to focus, providing faster autofocus. This feature is found on super telephoto lenses.

SAM  Stands for Smooth Autofocus Motor – used in recent Sony Alpha lenses.

SD  Super-low dispersion – 
the glass used in Tokina lenses 
to reduce chromatic aberration.

SDM  Supersonic Drive Motor, Pentax’s fast, quiet focus motor.

SLD  Super-low dispersion – lens elements in Sigma lenses that reduce chromatic aberration.

smc  Stands for Super Multi Coating, a seven-layer coating used on Pentax lenses to reduce light reflected the lens itself.

SP  Super Performance – a long-standing tag found on top-of-the-range Tamron lenses.

SSM  Supersonic motor – used for high-speed autofocus in top-of-the-range Sony lenses.

SWM  Silent Wave Motor, 
the high-speed quiet AF motor used on Nikon’s AF-S lenses.

TS-E Tilt-shift Electronic – Canon’s range of perspective control lenses (see PC-E).

UD Ultralow dispersion – type of glass used in Canon lenses to reduce chromatic aberration.

USD Ultrasonic Silent Drive, Tamron’s fast, quiet AF motor.

USM Ultrasonic motor – fast, low-noise autofocus motor used by some Canon lenses.

VC Vibration Compensation – optical camera-shake reduction system on some Tamron lenses.

VR Vibration Reduction, Nikon’s image-stabilisation system.

WR Weather Resistant – found on certain Pentax lenses.

XLD Extra Low Dispersion; glass used in some Tamron lenses to reduce chromatic aberration.

XR Extra Refractive – type of glass used in Tamron lenses. It can bend light at bigger angles than normal glass, helping make the overall size of a lens smaller.

ZA Zeiss Alpha – a range of Sony lenses made by Carl Zeiss.

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Are you thinking about buying a new lens for your DSLR or compact system camera? Remember, the best lens isn’t always the most expensive.

The best lens for your camera is the one with the features that best match your needs as a photographer. These 9 essential lens tips should help give a solid foundation of what you might be looking for when you go to choose the best lens for your camera.

How to choose the best lens for your camera

Lens Tip 1: Speed
Aside from sharpness, this is the key thing to consider. ‘Fast’ lenses have wide maximum apertures – f/2.8, f/1.8 etc. They let in more light and enable you to achieve faster shutter speeds. The downside? They’re heavier and more expensive. ‘Slower’ lenses are cheaper, but you may need to increase the camera’s ISO in order to get action-stopping shots in low light. The speed of a lens is also relative to the focal length – a 500mm f/4.5 lens is relatively fast, whereas a 100mm f/4.5 is slow.

Lens Tip 2: Minimum focus
How close can you get before the lens reaches its near focus limit? This is an important consideration when choosing a telephoto lens. It’s all very well getting a lens which offers a huge magnification, but if you can’t get close enough to make the most of it you’ll have to add extension tubes to get closer.

Lens Tip 3: Floating or fixed aperture?
Another factor that determines whether a zoom lens is cheap or expensive is whether it keeps the same aperture throughout the zoom range (more expensive) or if the aperture gets smaller as you zoom from wide to long (cheaper). The downside of this kind of ‘floating’ aperture (such as f/4.5-5.6) is that, in order to maintain the same exposure, the shutter speed needs to become slower as the aperture gets smaller. So you need to be aware of possible camera shake creeping in.

Lens Tip 4: Handling
How a lens feels in your hands shouldn’t be overlooked. Do the zoom and focus rings fall in the right place for your fingers? Can you hand-hold it? Does it have image stabilisation?

Lens Tip 5: Rotating filter ring
Cheaper lenses can have a front element which rotates as the lens focuses. This causes problems when you’ve got a filter attached – particularly a polariser, the effect of which changes as it turns. The only solution is to focus first before making filter adjustments.

Lens Tip 6: Optical quality
It’s only by testing a lens in a camera shop and reading reviews that you’ll know if a lens’ quality will meet your expectations. Sharpness is key, but so is a lens’ ability to handle flare, vignetting and optical aberrations. Most of those letters after a lens’ focal length – APO, L, ED, ASP – aren’t marketing gimmicks, they do actually signify better glass has been used.

Lens Tip 7: Distance scale
This is useful for calculating depth of field in order to maximise front-to-back sharpness in a shot, and so is particularly good for landscape photography. Many modern lenses, such as this 55-200mm, don’t have one though. Do you think you can live with that?

Lens Tip 8: Type of zoom
There are two types of zoom lens – the push/pull ‘trombone’ style, or the more common ring type. The push/pull type are simpler to use, although longer versions can become unwieldy when zoomed right out.

Lens Tip 9: Lens hood
Not all lenses come with a lens hood. Factor the extra cost in if they lack one – they’re essential. The same is true for a tripod collar for larger lenses.

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The 55-200mm AF-S VR – Nikon’s closest competitor to Canon’s EF-S 55-250mm IS lens – is a ‘DX’ model for APS-C cameras, though it can also be used in ‘crop’ mode on most full-frame Nikon D-SLRs. There are some notable similarities and diferences to the Canon offering. Firstly, the build quality is pretty much the same, with a reasonably sturdy but plastic construction, including a plastic lens mount.

Also, like the Canon, this Nikon lens lacks a focus distance scale. On this lens the manual focus ring looks almost like an afterthought tacked on to the front end of the lens. As well as its small size, the focus ring has very high gearing, making it diicult to use for accurate manual focusing.

Switch to autofocus and the Nikon fares massively better, with a super-quiet, highly accurate AF-S (AF Silent Wave) system that’s a major improvement over Canon’s more humble micro motor. The three-stop stabiliser isn’t the latest and greatest, but it’s pretty efective nonetheless.

The only really limiting factor in this Nikon is its outright telephoto reach, which works out to 300mm when you take the 1.5x crop factor into account. By comparison, the Canon’s 1.6x crop factor puts the EF-S 55-250mm to a much more generous 400mm.

Even so, there are still a couple of extra pluses for the Nikon, as it comes with a hood and soft pouch, which you have to pay extra for when buying most Canon lenses.