18-300mm vs 28-300mm for D3100

AByrnes · Jul 3, 2013

I have decided that I am going with an ultra zoom lens as my next lens purchase. Please don't argue whether it's the right buy, I have researched, debated with myself forever, and finally made my decision so that's not what I need input on. I currently have a D3100 and don't know that I see myself upgrading to a FF in the foreseeable future. I have read some really great reviews on the 28-300 that make me think it has an edge on the 18-300 overall. However, since the 28-300 is the FF lens and I'm running a DX camera, I understand that I am going to lose some of the width on the low end. Is that loss worth going with the 18-300 instead of the 28-300? Am I giving something up to go with the 28-300 (besides the cost difference) instead of the 18-300 that was made for DX cameras? I have found lots of reviews comparing the 18-200 to 18-300 or 28-300, but I just can't seem to find anything out there that answers this question for me. I'm ready to purchase, just need to figure out which one is going to work best with my camera and ultimately give me the best quality pictures.

thereyougo! · Jul 4, 2013

With the 28 - 300, you will lose a lot of width at the wide end. Every millimetre counts at the wide end. So the 10mm will be a lot. It will depend on what you shoot. On DX the widest equivalent FOV on the 28 - 300 will be a near normal FOV of 42mm in comparison with a wide angle of 27 on the 18- 300. That's an extra equivalent FOV loss of 15mm which is a hell of a lot. I suspect that the 28 - 300 is indeed better than the 18 - 300 as I have the lens myself and it is pretty good even on D800 but if you need the wider end, this will be meaningless. 28 - 300 could blow the 18 - 300 out of the water at 150mm, but it can't do 18 - 27. I personally would find it too much of a handicap on my shooting if the widest I could go was an equivalent FOV of 42mm. YMMV