Page 32 - Fuse Magazine - Volume 41 2018

G R O U P T ES T

Budget telephoto zooms

hOW ThE
LENSES Canon EF-S 55-250mm Canon EF 70-300mm Fujinon XC 50-230mm nikkor aF-S DX nikkor aF-P Panasonic PZ Pentax 55-300mm Tamron SP 70-300mm
COMPARE f/4-5.6 IS STm f/4-5.6 IS II USm f/4.5-6.7 oIS II 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E 45-175mm f/4-5.6 f/4.5-6.3 Da PLm wr f/4-5.6 Di VC USD
Vr II
ED Vr
Power oIS
mount options EF-S EF-S X DX FX mFT k EF FX a
Contact www.canon.co.uk www.canon.co.uk www.fujifilm.co.uk www.nikon.co.uk www.nikon.co.uk www.panasonic.com www.pentax.co.uk www.tamron.co.uk
Street price £300/$300 £465/$500 £330/$400 £240/$150 £700/$750 £350/$440 £400/$380 £330/$450
Elements/groups 15/12 17/12 13/10 13/9 18/14 14/10 14/11 17/12
Diaphragm blades 7 9 7 7 9 7 9 9
min aperture f/22-32 f/32-45 f/22 f/22-32 f/32-40 f/22 f/22-32 f/32
optical stabiliser yes yes yes yes yes yes No Yes (C N only)
autofocus Stepping motor Ultrasonic Stepping motor Ultrasonic (motor) Stepping motor Stepping motor Stepping motor Ultrasonic
motor type (ring type) (ring type)
Internal No/yes No/yes No/yes No/yes No/yes yes/yes No/yes No/yes
zoom/focus
min focus distance 0.85m 1.2m 1.1m 1.1m 1.2m 0.9m 0.95m 1.5m
Max magnification 0.29x 0.25x 0.2x 0.23x 0.25x 0.2x 0.3x 0.25x
Filter size 58mm 67mm 58mm 52mm 67mm 46mm 58mm 62mm
mounting plate Plastic Metal Plastic Plastic Metal Metal Metal Metal
weather seals No No No No yes No yes No
Included accessories None None None None hood, pouch hood, pouch hood hood
Dimensions 70 x 111mm 80 x 146mm 70 x 111mm 71 x 83mm 81 x 146 62 x 90mm 77 x 89mm 82 x 143mm
(dia x length)
weight 375g 710g 370g 300g 680g 210g 442g 765g

ThE NIkON IS bEST, bUT PRICEy

ThE AF-P 70-300MM F/4.5-5.6E ED VR CONTINUES A GRAND TRADITION

or advanced features, build quality, the Tamron 70-300mm offers 55-200mm lenses are only really
F quality, autofocus and optical a massive saving in cash. worth considering if you want a
stabiliser performance, and For Canon photographers, the particularly compact, light APS-C
sheer image quality, the Nikon new 70-300mm II IS USM is streets format tele-zoom.
FX-format 70-300mm comes out on ahead of the previous edition, and is
top. The AF and AF-S versions that more sensibly priced than the Nikon
came before it were somewhat lens. The balance is redressed a little,
legendary as ‘affordable’ telephoto however, as Canon sells the lens
zooms, but the new edition takes hood separately and the accessory
everything to a new level, including is outrageously expensive in the UK
the price – it’s a lot less affordable and Europe. The Tamron 70-300mm
than its predecessors, and twice the VC USD performs nearly as well as
price of some other lenses in the the equivalent own-brand Canon
budget telephoto sector – even and Nikon lenses, and wins out when
more in some cases. If you can it comes to value for money.
accept a modest compromise in The Canon 55-250mm and Nikon