# D5300 - 18-300mm - Lowry Park Zoo - Tampa, FL



## Parker219 (Mar 22, 2014)

Hello,

Not looking for individual c&c per say, but if you see any photos that you think are worth editing to make a "final" product, please let me know.

This is also for anyone considering the D5300. All of these photos were taken with the 18-300mm dx lens. All the photos were taken in AUTO mode.  I have not sharpened any of these in post at all.

Shots were taken in RAW- imported in to lightroom and mass edited with plus 10 to shadows, minus 10 on contrast, minus 20 on highlights, plus 10 on clarity, plus 20 on vibrance, plus 7 on saturation.  Some might have been tweaked slightly from that, but the sharpness slider was NOT touched at all.  

1. 


L-Zoo-134 by linktheworld219, on Flickr

2. 


L-Zoo-120 by linktheworld219, on Flickr

3. 


L-Zoo-110 by linktheworld219, on Flickr

4. 


L-Zoo-93 by linktheworld219, on Flickr

5. 


L-Zoo-87 by linktheworld219, on Flickr

6. 


L-Zoo-83 by linktheworld219, on Flickr

7. 


L-Zoo-70 by linktheworld219, on Flickr

8. 


L-Zoo-64 by linktheworld219, on Flickr

9. 


L-Zoo-57 by linktheworld219, on Flickr

10. 


L-Zoo-34 by linktheworld219, on Flickr

11. 


L-Zoo-31 by linktheworld219, on Flickr

12. 


L-Zoo-27 by linktheworld219, on Flickr

13. 


L-Zoo-15 by linktheworld219, on Flickr

14. 


L-Zoo-1 by linktheworld219, on Flickr

15. 


L-Zoo-145 by linktheworld219, on Flickr


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## PropilotBW (Mar 22, 2014)

Great looking photos.  Also interesting shooting in Auto mode.... That seems to be a curse word around here.  Were you testing the results, or do you always shoot in Auto?  They turned out great.


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## Parker219 (Mar 22, 2014)

^ Mostly testing,  since it was my first day out with the 18-300 lens. However I have found the auto with this setup pretty good.  Especially since I can fix most errors in post, since im using raw.

Also I didn't have a need for any long exposures or any thing like that today.


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## robbins.photo (Mar 22, 2014)

Great series Parker.   I have to admit I'm very impressed by the sharpness for an all-around zoom like that.


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## pjaye (Mar 22, 2014)

I like the all except for the koala. It looks a little off to me. A little dark. Almost like the white banace was off. It may however just the lack of color compared to the others. Nice set though.


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## Parker219 (Mar 22, 2014)

^ yeah it's shot through glass and has weird lighting. 

Thanks for the comments.


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## Parker219 (Mar 23, 2014)

For what its worth,  I am very happy with the 18-300mm lens. For anyone thinking about getting a dx camera,  if you get the kit 18-55 you will really miss the zoom if you are coming from a bridge camera that had a high zoom.

So, I say, don't even bother with the 18-55, just go with the 18-140 or the 18-300 right away.


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## robbins.photo (Mar 23, 2014)

Parker219 said:


> For what its worth,  I am very happy with the 18-300mm lens. For anyone thinking about getting a dx camera,  if you get the kit 18-55 you will really miss the zoom if you are coming from a bridge camera that had a high zoom.
> 
> So, I say, don't even bother with the 18-55, just go with the 18-140 or the 18-300 right away.



Boy if they made a 2.8 version I'd be all over it.  But then again the thing would probably be 5 feet long and weight 25-30 lbs.. so.. hmm.. lol.


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## Parker219 (Mar 23, 2014)

^ True.  Lol

I want to take this lens to a night concert, and im a little worried about the low light performance,  since I will be bumping up the shutter speed. 

Only one way to find out.  Who knows maybe bumping up the ISO will work for night shots.


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## jaomul (Mar 23, 2014)

They look great. Nothing wrong with auto and superzooms for ccertain occasions.


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## Braineack (Mar 23, 2014)

entry level pics with entry level equipment ;P


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## Designer (Mar 23, 2014)

Parker219 said:


> Who knows maybe bumping up the ISO will work for night shots.



I think that is your best approach for that.

BTW: #10 needs a funny caption.  I see that he has just unwrapped his new underwear, but was probably expecting something else.


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## Parker219 (Mar 23, 2014)

^ Haha, yeah I think he was trying to give himself some shade. Here are some other quickies.


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## Stevepwns (Mar 23, 2014)

Braineack said:


> entry level pics with entry level equipment ;P




Is this an inside thing?  On the surface it seems pretty insulting. Or I am just reading to much into it, and if thats the case. My bad......


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## Parker219 (Mar 23, 2014)

^  I don't take it as insulting because I know he is blunt and is used to full frame/ high end quality.

ENTRY level...not quite...the D5300 is not an ENTRY level camera. As far as ENTRY level pics, that is not a fact, its his opinion based on what he thinks in ENTRY.

So when he makes a comment that is wrong factually speaking ( by saying the D5300 in an ENTRY level camera ) then I don't put too much weight in to any other statements he says.


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## Braineack (Mar 23, 2014)

it was completely a joke. and i was suggesting that the end result was great.  The lack of AA screen on that sensor is noticeable in the full sized pics and that lens, being a super-zoom, does a pretty darn good job attached it to.


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## Parker219 (Mar 23, 2014)

Cool. Thank you. Sorry I cant read sarcasm in real life, not to mention over the internet.


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## grafxman (Mar 23, 2014)

Those are excellent photos. I always check the hair and whiskers and all yours are sharp. I'm glad to see someone else likes superzoom lenses besides me. As if that isn't enough, the lens focuses to one and a half feet! OUTSTANDING!


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## dannylightning (Mar 23, 2014)

awesome pics.


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## Stevepwns (Mar 24, 2014)

Braineack said:


> it was completely a joke. and i was suggesting that the end result was great.  The lack of AA screen on that sensor is noticeable in the full sized pics and that lens, being a super-zoom, does a pretty darn good job attached it to.



Sorry, its hard to read undertones on a forum.


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## Braineack (Mar 24, 2014)

That's why i added the emoticon, brah.


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## DanielLewis76 (Mar 24, 2014)

They are nice shots and look great on the lens. Unless practicing photoshop skills I personally wouldn't go any further with the editing on them though. Most of the shots have some kind of frame cropping on the subjects. My favourite would be the elephant, if you have cropped it (and you got the whole elephant then that would be great) if not it would probably have been best to shot it in portrait.

Nice shots all round though and a good demo of the camera/lens combo!


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## Parker219 (Mar 24, 2014)

^ Thank you for your comments.

Here you go =-)




L-Zoo-119-Elephant by linktheworld219, on Flickr


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## xFireSoul (Mar 24, 2014)

Really lovely photos! Good job


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## Parker219 (Mar 24, 2014)

I wanted to test something....can I "smart sharpen" this in photoshop to pull out some more detail WITHOUT creating sharpening artifacts....


Original- 


L-Zoo-93 by linktheworld219, on Flickr



Edit- 


L-Zoo-93-Meerkat by linktheworld219, on Flickr


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## Parker219 (Mar 24, 2014)

I will post some more edited ones later.


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## grafxman (Mar 24, 2014)

Yeh, the Photoshopped one does look a bit sharper and has a bit more detail. You've really got a winner with that lens. It's great that Nikon recognizes the value of a super zoom. I wish Canon would get off their butts and do something like that. Sigma as well for that matter.


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## Bobr267 (Apr 1, 2014)

Hardly


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## Bobr267 (Apr 1, 2014)

These results are superb and in no way entry level.   I'm pleased to see such high quality from the D5300 as I've just bought one and it hasn't arrived yet.


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## Parker219 (Apr 1, 2014)

^ Cool, enjoy the camera.


Thanks for the comment.

I will look for some of your pics from the d5300.


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## Raj_55555 (Apr 1, 2014)

All you pics are great, but I specially love the composition of the first pic from the second lot of pics you've posted (confusing). 
This is the one I'm talking about.


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## Raj_55555 (Apr 1, 2014)

Braineack said:


> it was completely a joke. and i was suggesting that the end result was great.  The lack of AA screen on that sensor is noticeable in the full sized pics and that lens, being a super-zoom, does a pretty darn good job attached it to.


What is an "AA screen on a sensor"? Googling didn't work.


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## SpikeyJohnson (Apr 1, 2014)

Raj_55555 said:


> Braineack said:
> 
> 
> > it was completely a joke. and i was suggesting that the end result was great.  The lack of AA screen on that sensor is noticeable in the full sized pics and that lens, being a super-zoom, does a pretty darn good job attached it to.
> ...



It is a filter over the sensor that helps clear of Moire effects.  It isn't always necessary unless you say, zoom into fabric. When you do that the pattern can look funny in a photo and have slight rainbows. The filter stops that from happening but reduces sharpness because the idea of the filter is decrease the sharpness to stop the Moire.


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