Rankings
The Nikon AF-S DX 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED VR II is a lightweight, retractable telephoto zoom aimed at APS-C users. It offers solid optical performance, VR, and a silent AF motor, though its plastic construction and lack of weather sealing limit rugged use.
The Nikon AF-S DX 55-300 mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR is a budget-friendly telephoto zoom that delivers solid image quality and useful vibration reduction for DX-format shooters. Its plastic construction and slower AF make it less suitable for demanding professional use.
The Nikon AF-P DX 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3G ED VR offers solid sharpness, effective vibration reduction and a quiet stepping-motor AF, making it a versatile, budget-friendly telephoto for DX-format shooters.
The Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG Macro offers an affordable telephoto zoom with a 1:2 macro capability, suitable for full-frame and APS-C DSLRs. While it provides decent sharpness at shorter focal lengths, it suffers from softness at the long end, vignetting, and lacks image stabilization.
The BENOISON 420-800mm f/8.3-16 is a budget manual-focus super-telephoto zoom offering extreme reach, but its lack of autofocus, stabilization, and modest optics restrict it to static subjects on a tripod.
The Nikon AF-Zoom 70-300mm f/4-5.6G is a budget-friendly, lightweight telephoto zoom offering decent performance at the short end, but its lack of VR, slower screw-drive AF, and softness at longer focal lengths limit its usefulness for handheld wildlife or sports.
The Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary is a super-telephoto zoom lens for full-frame DSLRs that balances reach, sharpness, and affordability, offering optical stabilization and a lighter build compared with its Sports counterpart.
The Yanuoda 420-800mm f/8.3 is a manual-focus super-telephoto zoom offering extreme reach at a budget price, but it lacks autofocus, image stabilization, and a fast aperture, limiting its use to bright, static subjects.
| Attribute | | | | | | | Nikon 70-300mm f/4-5.6 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ↓ lower better | 150 mm | 70 mm | 55 mmbest | 70 mm | 420 mm | 55 mmbest | 70 mm | 420 mm |
600 mm | 300 mm | 200 mm | 300 mm | 800 mmbest | 300 mm | 300 mm | 800 mmbest | |
| ↓ lower better | 5 f | 4.5 f | 4 fbest | 4 fbest | 8.3 f | 4.5 f | 4 fbest | 8.3 f |
| ↓ lower better | 1,928 g | 476 g | 335 gbest | 540 g | 717 g | 580 g | 425 g | 880 g |
| ↓ lower better | 260.1 mm | 163 mm | 100 mmbest | 119 mm | 240 mm | 123 mm | 116.5 mm | 238.8 mm |
| ↓ lower better | 280 cm | 110 cm | 110 cm | 95 cmbest | 500 cm | 140 cm | 150 cm | — |
0.2 x | 0.22 x | 0.23 x | 0.5 xbest | — | 0.28 x | 0.26 x | — | |
12 monthsbest | — | 12 monthsbest | — | 12 monthsbest | 12 monthsbest | — | 12 monthsbest |
Click an attribute name to sort · Green = best, red = worst (relative to this comparison)
| Attribute | | | | | | | Nikon 70-300mm f/4-5.6 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Performance(1) | ||||||||
Image Stabilization | true | true | true | false | false | true | false | false |
Mount & Compatibility(2) | ||||||||
Mount Type | Nikon F | Nikon F-mount | Nikon F | Nikon F | Nikon F | F-mount | Nikon F-mount | Canon EF/EF-S, Nikon F, Sony E |
Autofocus Motor Type | HSM | AF-P stepping motor | Silent Wave Motor | Motorized | Manual | SWM | Screw-drive | — |
Optical(7) | ||||||||
Focal Length (Min) (mm) | 150 mm | 70 mm | 55 mm | 70 mm | 420 mm | 55 mm | 70 mm | 420 mm |
Focal Length (Max) (mm) | 600 mm | 300 mm | 200 mm | 300 mm | 800 mm | 300 mm | 300 mm | 800 mm |
Maximum Aperture (f-number) (f) | 5.0 f | 4.5 f | 4 f | 4 f | 8.3 f | 4.5 f | 4 f | 8.3 f |
Minimum Focus Distance (cm) | 280 cm | 110 cm | 110 cm | 95 cm | 500 cm | 140 cm | 150 cm | — |
Maximum Magnification Ratio (x) | 0.20 x | 0.22 x | 0.23 x | 0.5 x | — | 0.28 x | 0.26 x | — |
ED Elements | true | true | true | — | — | true | false | — |
Coating Type | Super Multi‑Layer Coating | Super Integrated Coating | Super Spectra | Super Multi-Layer | Multi-layer | Super Integrated Coating | Super Integrated Coating | — |
Build & Durability(1) | ||||||||
Weather Sealing | true | — | false | — | false | — | — | — |
Physical(3) | ||||||||
Weight (g) | 1928 g | 476 g | 335 g | 540 g | 717 g | 580 g | 425 g | 880 g |
Length (mm) | 260.1 mm | 163 mm | 100 mm | 119 mm | 240 mm | 123 mm | 116.5 mm | 238.8 mm |
Filter Thread Diameter (mm) | 95 mm | 58 mm | 52 mm | 58 mm | 62 mm | 58 mm | 62 mm | — |
Products in the top-left offer the best value (high score, low price).
Professional reviewers consistently praise the lens for its outstanding value-to-performance ratio, highlighting its excellent sharpness, fast HSM autofocus, and effective optical stabilization. PCMag gave it a 4.5/5 rating and named it Editors' Choice, while noting minor distortion and chromatic aberration as trade-offs.
Everyday users echo the professional sentiment, lauding the lens for delivering sharp, detailed images and reliable autofocus at a price that feels fair for the reach. Common praise centers on the built-in tripod collar, hood, and the ability to shoot handheld thanks to stabilization. Recurring complaints focus on the lens's weight, partial weather sealing, and the difficulty of using filters due to the extending front element.
“Perfect for wildlife and birds on my D7500.”
“AF is silent and locks on instantly-great for video.”
“So much lighter than my old FX 70-300mm.”
Professional reviewers consistently commend the lens for its strong optical performance at a modest size and price, highlighting its sharpness at mid-range focal lengths, effective 4-stop VR, and quiet AF-P motor, while noting resolution loss at the long end and a plastic build.
Everyday users overwhelmingly rate the lens highly, praising its lightweight feel, silent autofocus, and the dramatic improvement VR provides in low-light situations, though they note zoom creep and a less solid feel.
Professional reviewers commend the lens for its portability, solid optical performance and the addition of VR, while noting the plastic mount and lack of a built-in hood as drawbacks.
Everyday users love the lightweight travel companion and effective VR, but complain about the missing hood, cheap plastic feel, and reduced sharpness at 200 mm wide open.
Professional reviewers praise the lens for its sharpness at the wide end and mid-range, the inclusion of SLD glass, and the rare 1:2 macro capability at an entry-level price. However, they consistently note corner softness at full telephoto, noticeable vignetting on full-frame, slow autofocus and the absence of stabilization, making it more of a walk-around lens than a professional workhorse.
Everyday users love the macro function, the reach for wildlife and travel, and the reliable performance of the built-in motor on Nikon entry-level DSLRs. Common complaints revolve around softness at the long end, autofocus hunting, occasional internal haze, and the lack of image stabilization, but most owners consider the lens a durable, good-value tool for hobbyist photography.
Professional reviewers view the BENOISON 420-800mm as a curiosity or entry-level gateway to super-telephoto work, noting impressive reach but limited optical quality and missing modern features.
Everyday users appreciate the lens for moon and bird photography when mounted on a sturdy tripod, praising its reach and decent sharpness up to about 600mm, while noting softness at the extreme end and difficulty focusing without live view.
Professional reviewers commend the lens for delivering sharp, high-contrast images across most of its range and for its effective VR II system, while noting the slower AF motor and lack of full-time manual focus.
Everyday users appreciate the lightweight build, long reach, and VR performance, but complain about sluggish low-light autofocus and the extending barrel that invites dust.
Professional reviewers praise the lens for its low cost, compactness, and decent sharpness at the short end, while consistently criticizing the lack of VR, slower AF, and softness beyond 200 mm, noting that newer AF-S VR versions outperform it.
Everyday users appreciate the affordability, light weight, and usable performance for casual portraits, travel, and tripod-based wildlife, but many complain about softness beyond 200 mm, the absence of image stabilization, and the noisy, slow screw-drive autofocus.
Professional editors label it a "starter super-telephoto" lens-affordable and useful for learning, yet limited by the lack of AF, stabilization, and modest optical performance.
Users love the fun factor and reach, especially for moon and daytime wildlife, but complain about manual focus difficulty, softness at 800mm, and the need for camera setting tweaks.
