Best Nikon Telephoto Zoom Lenses

Check out our best Nikon telephoto zoom lenses, aimed at sports, wildlife and action photographers, but can also be used for traveling and landscape.

We selected only the lenses we feel are truly worth the price, and also offer great image quality. The more you pay the better performance (especially auto focus) you can expect, but even our cheapest telephoto lens is perfectly good the majority of new photographers shooting subjects far away.

What is a Telephoto Zoom lens best used for?

The main purpose of a telephoto zoom lens is to get you closer to your subject. In photography terms this means you are using an increased focal length.

They are most commonly used in things like Sports and Wildlife photography, since these are situations where you can’t very easily just walk up and get a close up. Weddings are also a good use for a telephoto lens. It allows you to capture some cherished family interactions without feeling like you’re interrupting.

Another feature of a telephoto lens is for artistic purposes. It allows you to create a contrasting image between a focus of the foreground and your background.

Is there a different between a Telephoto lens and a Zoom lens?

A nice distinction that I picked up as I was learning is that Telephoto and Zoom lenses are not exactly the same thing. It’s true that they are often associated together, but they are in fact referring to different things.

The term Telephoto really is just referring to a lens that has a ‘long reach’. This typically translates to something longer than 60mm. Where as a Zoom means a lens that can achieve a range of focal lengths.

So here are a couple of examples…

Is a 85mm Prime lens a telephoto lens? The answer is Yes! Since you have a ‘reach’ or focal length of 85mm this falls into the range of what is considered telephoto.

Is a 10mm – 100mm Zoom lens a telephoto lens? Here the answer is Yes and No. While it would still probably be called a telephoto lens since some of the focal length range is, there is also parts of the range that are not considered telephoto.

All this really means is if you see the word ‘Telephoto’ associated with a lens is that it will help you get closer to the action without you actually having to be close to the action. All of the lens in our list below are Telephoto Zoom lenses.

If you’re more serious about telephoto photography and want the highest quality, then you’ll love the rest of our recommended lenses!

Selecting the Best Nikon Telephoto Zoom Lenses

Remember that Vibration Reduction is useful to have if you plan on shooting for hours, or are shooting at long focal length. When you’re zoomed in on a far away subject even just a little bit of movement can have a big effect. All the lenses we selected feature Vibration Reduction.

Best Nikon telephoto lenses we cover:
Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF VR
Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED IF VR
Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II
Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR
Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM

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Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR

The Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S is your best choice if you want to photograph any type of action on a tight budget. Paired with the 18-55mm kit lens, you’re covered on wide, standard and telephoto ranges, so there’s almost nothing you won’t be able to capture.

It’s light and compact, has a plastic mount (like all low priced lenses) and feels solid but not like more expensive lenses. For $150 though, this is all expected and the image quality is really good, along with AF speed and overall performance.

Who is this lens for? Anyone who wants a lot more zoom than what the 18-55mm offers. Outdoor activities, sports, animals, planes, as long as you’re not indoor (where raising the ISO speed is a must).

You can buy it at Amazon or read more reviews here.

Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED IF AF-S VR

If your budget is around $500 and want something better than the lens above, then get the Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED IF AF-S VR, as it comes with improved image quality and much faster auto focus, especially in tougher focusing conditions (but this also depends on your camera).

Nikon has a 55-300mm lens that sort of sits between these two, but we seriously recommend you to either get the 55-200mm or the 70-300mm, as they give you the best value for the money (the 55-300mm gets quite soft after 200mm, you’d be better of cropping a bit and saving a lot of money).

Who is this lens for? If you want better quality than what the 55-200mm offers but aren’t willing to spend too much, you’ll love the 70-300mm for all outdoor activities.

You can buy it at Amazon or read more reviews here.

Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II AF-S

The Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II AF-S is one of the sharpest Nikon zooms available, with superb image quality and excellent overall performance. It’s perfect for both hobby and professional shooters who simply want the best there is, without ever needing to upgrade.

The 70-200mm range and f/2.8 aperture make it perfect for concerts, weddings, sports, reporters and animals, and its auto focus is super fast and accurate.

Who is this lens for? Sports, portraits, weddings, concerts, action, animals (200mm is too short for serious wildlife), landscape, traveling (although not as light as many other lenses), whenever high quality is a must.

You can buy it at Amazon or read more reviews here.

Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR AF-S

The Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6E VR AF-S is a monster telephoto zoom, excellent if you’re looking for a high quality, wildlife/sports lens on a budget. It’s certainly not the cheapest, but it’s affordable in terms of the range and excellent image quality you get in return!

With a fixed f/5.6 aperture you don’t have to worry about changing your settings when zooming, and it’s also good for video recording because zooming in and out won’t affect the brightness of your videos.

After shooting for hours at 500mm, you’ll most likely be tired and some of your shots will be blurred. This is where the Vibration Reduction comes in, and helps you up to 4.5 stops so you can get clear shots even in darker conditions. On a DX camera (D500, D7200, D5300 and so on), its field of view at 500mm is actually equivalent to 750mm!

Who is this lens for? Wildlife and sports photographers who want a lens with excellent optical quality, colors and fast auto focus.

You can buy it at Amazon or read more reviews here.

Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM

The Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM is truly a wildlife photographer’s dream come true.

It comes with Optical Stabilization (like Nikon’s VR) which is a must because after carrying the lens for hours, you won’t be able to be hold it without moving, especially at 600mm. The further you zoom, the more your movement can be seen. Sigma’s OS helps you up to 4 stops, and at 600mm that makes a big difference.

For fast and accurate focusing you got the Hyper Sonic Motor.

Again, telephoto zoom lenses are heavy, the 150-600mm weighs 68.1oz (1930g) but is still the lightest lens that can reach 600mm. An extra 100mm can make a huge difference if you’re shooting subjects that are really far away, and you don’t have to crop as much.

Who is this lens for? Wildlife, bird, moon, outdoor sports photographers. Don’t expect to use it indoors without significantly raising your ISO speed. For $1,000 the image quality and zoom are simply perfect.

You can buy it at Amazon or read more reviews here.

Looking for something else?

If you’re wondering what the best Nikon lens for other types of photography is check out our sister site, Best Photography Gear. In addition to covering recommendations for specific situations they also cover lenses for a lot of different Nikon Cameras.