Page 30 - Fuse Magazine - Volume 41 2018

group test: Budget telephoto zooms

mount option: Nikon DX mount option: micro four thirds

Nikon AF-P 70-300mm Panasonic PZ 45-175mm

f/4.5-5.6E ED VR f/4-5.6 Power OIS

£700/$750 £350/$440

Nikon’s AF-S 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED VR has long Pairing well with Panasonic’s Micro Four Thirds cameras,
been a favourite budget telephoto zoom, but it’s now this lens is ideally suited to both stills and video capture.
been discontinued and replaced by this version, which Making the most of the MFT system’s 2x crop factor, it
sits at the higher end of the budget price range. It adds delivers an ‘effective’ 90-350mm zoom range in a small
an AF-P (Pulse) stepping motor autofocus system, plus and light package. Even without a retracting design,
an electronically controlled diaphragm, which make it the lens is only 90mm in physical length and, more
incompatible with a number of older Nikon DSLRs. remarkably, retains a constant length throughout the
The upside of this change is that the AF is quick and zoom and focus ranges. At 210g it’s the lightest lens in
essentially silent, while aperture consistency is improved this test group, despite having a metal mounting plate.
during rapid bursts of shooting. However, there’s no A bonus for movie capture is the lens’s powered zoom
focus distance scale and, unlike the Canon 70-300mm mechanism: you can operate it either by twisting the
lens on test, there’s no LCD info screen. zoom ring or via the W/T (Wide/Tele) switch towards
A new VR system delivers 4.5-stop performance, while the rear of the barrel. Both zoom control options, as
the Active mode of its predecessor is replaced by a well as the focus ring, are electronically rather than
Sport VR mode, preferred for tracking erratically moving mechanically coupled.
subjects through the viewfinder.
performance
performance The optical stabiliser is worth three stops, but outright
Image quality is excellent, and sharpness throughout sharpness is disappointing. There’s practically zero
most of the zoom range is spectacular. The class-leading fringing or distortion, thanks to MFT in-camera
VR lives up to its billing. Overall, this weather-resistant corrections, while nano-structure coatings help to keep
lens is a joy to use. ghosting and flare at bay.