NIKON D7000 and NIKON 18-300 VR-II - A PRO Comments

[NikonFL]

I found the following comments by a nationally recognized, Professional Photographer to be quite bold and interesting:

NIKON D7000 The D7000 is Nikon's most advanced camera at any price. The fact that it sells for under $1,000 in 2012 make it a no-brainer, which is why it's sold out. The D7000 is Nikon's best DSLR ever.

NIKON 18-300 VR-II For DX cameras, this lens is an easy recommendation. There is nothing on Earth like this lens. Nothing else covers this huge range with VR and instant manual-focus override. Mud brands like Tamron usually offer cheap copies, sometimes with even broader zoom ranges, but they usually lack full-time manual focus override or good VR, and certainly lack mechanical quality and often lack future compatibility with new Nikon cameras.

I own both. I have owned and sold Nikon F5 (film), D100 and D90. For lenses I have owned and sold Nikon 80-400 VR, Sigma 70-200 2.8 HSM, Sigma 18-250 OS, Tamron 28-300. I continue to own a Tamron 28-105 f2.8 that I will not sell.

I was not planning to purchase the Nikon 18-300, however, I sold my two Sigma lenses which covered the cost. I believed if I held on to the two Sigma lenses much longer, their value would diminish greatly, which is the case with my Tamron 28-105. I paid $800 for the Tamron about 14 years ago and it's now selling for about $150. It works fine in AF on my D7000, as it did on my F5, D100 and D90.

Unlike our Professional friend, I do not consider Tamron and Sigma to be Mud brands, but found the comment interesting.

Gil

[Manfred M]

Sounds like you are quoting Ken Rockwell. Every time Nikon puts out a new camera, it's the best there ever was. He's been on the Canon bandwagon lately too.

He's an amusing read, so long as you don't take his ramblings too seriously.

[dubaiphil]

Definitely sounds like KR - I thought as much after the first line.

Drivel

As usual, 90% of the time

[Melkus]

Good old Ken

[Letrow]

Well, it is Ken, but Ken would also say:

This lens is too big and heavy for me. The whole point of a DX system is small size. Personally, I prefer the smaller and lighter 18-200 VR, and crop in the rare cases I need 300mm

And I think Thom Hogan has said the same thing (about it's size and weight that is).

Still, it is an awesome reach to have on your camera, especially since it is DX.

[GrahamS]

Dear old excitable Ken - if you distil his writing down, there are sometimes gems of wisdom to be had, but anyone who gives a $3000 camera away to charity and still appeals for donations to help his "growing family" leaves me cold.

[nimitzbenedicto]

I found the following comments by a nationally recognized, Professional Photographer to be quite bold and interesting:

NIKON D7000 The D7000 is Nikon's most advanced camera at any price. The fact that it sells for under $1,000 in 2012 make it a no-brainer, which is why it's sold out. The D7000 is Nikon's best DSLR ever.

NIKON 18-300 VR-II For DX cameras, this lens is an easy recommendation. There is nothing on Earth like this lens. Nothing else covers this huge range with VR and instant manual-focus override. Mud brands like Tamron usually offer cheap copies, sometimes with even broader zoom ranges, but they usually lack full-time manual focus override or good VR, and certainly lack mechanical quality and often lack future compatibility with new Nikon cameras.

I own both. I have owned and sold Nikon F5 (film), D100 and D90. For lenses I have owned and sold Nikon 80-400 VR, Sigma 70-200 2.8 HSM, Sigma 18-250 OS, Tamron 28-300. I continue to own a Tamron 28-105 f2.8 that I will not sell.

I was not planning to purchase the Nikon 18-300, however, I sold my two Sigma lenses which covered the cost. I believed if I held on to the two Sigma lenses much longer, their value would diminish greatly, which is the case with my Tamron 28-105. I paid $800 for the Tamron about 14 years ago and it's now selling for about $150. It works fine in AF on my D7000, as it did on my F5, D100 and D90.

Unlike our Professional friend, I do not consider Tamron and Sigma to be Mud brands, but found the comment interesting.

Gil

Still a newbie, can't really say much.
Perhaps when I get better than Ken, I'll have solid info/experience/basis to judge him fairly.