Nikon 55-300VR Impressions

[MystrE]

I got a Nikon 55-300VR lens with my D5100 kit and I've been using the 55-300 a lot lately. I've been walking the woods behind my house and also trying to get a few bird photos, mainly with the 55-300VR. It tends to hunt focus in situations where the background is "busy" but I'm overcoming this somewhat by using the center focus point. I'm learning how to best use the 55-300 lens and am trying to develop my handholding skills at the same time. I'm pleased so far with both lenses that came with the camera, even the 18-55 VR kit lens. Here are a few photos taken yesterday with the Nikon 55-300VR...

 

[MystrE]

I'm trying to figure out ways of using the 55-300's "sweet spot" which I believe is around F8 or F11. Since my backyard has a tall tree line and the sun is behind the trees most of the day, it get fairly shady during the winter months which makes it a challenge to get enough light for this lens to hit the sweet spot aperture wise. My budget and I like this lens and I am excited over finding ways to squeeze out the best possible image quality this lens can provide.
I also need to find the time to explore how well the 18-55 kit lens works as these are the only lenses I'll be using for quite awhile.

 

[Nikanon]

You will notice the 18-55 is a bit more sharper than the 55-300 once you start using it. During the day the 55-300 is OK to use but once it starts getting dark that lens will hunt a lot even if you bump up the iso the IQ of it will be sub par at best. My suggestion is keep shooting with the 55-300 when you get comfortable with the focal length and better shooting technique scrap that lens and get the 70-300 VR. You might lose a little on the short end but IQ is a big improvement over the 55-300 and its a real bargain for the price.

 

[MystrE]

The lens on a Nikon P7700 I recently returned to a vendor had a nice aperture range (f2-f4) but it was a purple fringing maniac and had what looked like a hair stuck to an internal lens element. I had to return that camera, get a refund and then purchased a Nikon D5100. I really liked the fact I could flash sync up to 1/2000 sec. with the P7700 which worked out nicely when photographing hummingbirds. More than anything, I'll miss having the aperture range of the P7700 with my 2 current lenses but I'll make do. I look forward to seeing what kind of hummingbird photos I can come up with with the D5100 and the lenses I have now. Here is an example of a hummer photographed using that Nikon P7700; I hope I'll be a little more successful with the D5100.

 

[MystrE]

Since I've been off work for awhile, I'm hanging around the backyard and trying to get some bird photos with the 55-300VR lens. This cardinal and I have been playing hide and seek in my sweet olive tree for a few days...

 

[MystrE]

I had to crop that last photo to help the cardinal stand out a little more. I am generally pleased with the lens. It is a challenge to get that lens to come to focus in situations like the photo above but if I do center point focus and hope the bird stops at a more open area of the foliage, it is doable.
Critiques are welcome, I have thick skin.