The Best Lenses For The Nikon D5300 – Improve Your Photos

Prime Lenses - Fixed Focal Length

Prime lenses offer stunning sharpness, low-light capabilities and very wide apertures. All great things for top-notch photography.

They are a great way to sharpen your photography skills, shoot in low-light or portraits because of the wide aperture and blurred background effect.

The only downside of these lenses is their lack of zoom. Every photographer has at least one in their arsenal though, and these are some of your best options for the D5300.

Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm F1.8G

Hailed by many a photography review site as the best entry-level lens for Nikon DXs around, this is one of the first lenses you should consider getting.

For the price (usually a couple of hundred bucks), you get high-quality optics with a huge amount of light. This is due to the large aperture (F 1.8). That means a few things:

• Shooting in low light like indoors, late in the day/early evening
• Sharper images in general
• More of that sexy background blur we all love in portraits (the lower the f-stop the easier it is to achieve)

This lens also has a fixed focal length of 35mm, which on this camera is equivalent to 50mm – considered to be the photograph version of seeing what the human eye sees (ie. no zoom).

It is perfect for either starting out and learning how to properly shoot compose great photos as well as not rely on zoom to take your photos (zooms have less light and less sharpness anyway, so are never ideal).

Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 50mm F1.4G

Another lens that rocks in low light. This one has a little bit more than the one above, with an f-stop as low as 1.4! It is also a slightly longer fixed focal length of 75mm equivalent.

It also has a built-in auto-focus which is necessary for the D5300, which does not have its own motor. So, that is another great thing about this (and the one above) lens.

As for major benefits over the lens above, given it is nearly double the price, I am struggling to find many:

• Also fits the FX series lenses (if you have one or plan on it)
• Slightly longer focal length
• Lower f-stop – more light, sharper, steadier images, with a touch more background blur

It is also heavier & bigger than the 35mm version.  So, unless you really need this one, or have another FX series camera from Nikon, I would just go with the 35mm above.

Sigma 35mm F1.4 ART DG HSM Lens for Nikon

Some awesome lenses cost an absolute bomb. But this lens from Sigma is the best compromise when it comes to awesome lenses without the huge price tag.

Everyone that uses the Sigma 35mm 1.4 is blown away by how sharp it is. In some tests, it even outperforms the Nikon equivalent, that is way more expensive.

Do you need this lens to take great photos? No.

But once you get it, you will see the difference.

• Stunningly sharp images
• Great background blur at low f-stop (aka Bokeh)
• Impressive low-light capabilities

If you are just starting out, I would again stick with the Nikon 35mm at the top of this review. But, if you want to take things to the next level, this is your lens. Mid-range price, with top-range performance!

Zoom Lenses

Zoom lenses give you the flexibility to compose your shot on the fly without having to get closer to your subject.

They can range from the relatively close zoom (50mm) to very far (300mm or more), which can really help capture those subjects you just can’t get to.

Things to be on the look out for include f-stop range, image stablization (you get more shake with zoom) and built-in auto-focus (as the D5300 does not have it’s own motor for that).

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200MM f/4-5.6G ED VR II with Auto Focus

The Nikon 55-200 is a decent workhorse lens for those that want the ability to reframe their shot a bit without having to move. It is not the biggest zoom around, so if you want more bang in terms of zoom, check out the 300mm one below.

This one is a great lens to get you started, and quite nicely priced too (below 200 bucks). So, won’t break the bank. It also comes with some impressive features for the price:

• Fast and quiet focus (built-in)
• Reasonably low f-stop (but not great at very low light)
• 4 stops of vibration reduction, handy on a zoom lens as it accentuates movements

For the amount of zoom you get, with built-in auto-focus and stabilization, this is a great lens to add to your arsenal. Combined with the 35mm above, you have almost all situations (bar macro) covered.

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300MM f/4-5.6G ED VR II with Auto Focus

Similar to the 55-200 zoom above, this one goes quite a bit further – 300mm. That extra 100mm can make quite a difference, especially if you aim to shoot wildlife or sports. That is when zooms really come in handy.

Just be aware that you get a far bigger and heavier lens as a result.

For the rest, it comes with some nice built-in Nikon features:

• Fast and quiet focus (built-in)
• Reasonably low f-stop (but not great at very low light)
• 4 stops of vibration reduction, handy on a zoom lens as it accentuates movements

For the amount of zoom you get, with built-in auto-focus and stabilization, this is a great lens to add to your arsenal. Combined with the 35mm above, you have almost all situations (bar macro) covered.

Tamron Auto Focus 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 Di LD

If you are on a bit of a budget, lenses from the likes of Tamron are a good bet for a zoom lens. They offer enough features to enable you to take decent photos with a zoom, but without breaking the bank.

Of course, there are compromises in terms of materials and some features they don’t have (like stabilization and fast-autofocus), however, this lens still comes with:

• Fast autofocus (built-in)
• Low weight (under 1 lb)
• Built-in macro mode with 1:2 zoom

A great starting point for a 300mm zoom that should last you a while, or until you want to upgrade to something more substantial.

Wide-Angle Lenses

If you love shooting landscapes, or just want to capture absolutely everything in a scene, then a wide angle lens is now on your list!

Some zoom lenses include a wider angle, but rarely do they go wide enough to satisfy the true landscape photographer.

So, in this section I will take a look at a few very nice wide-angle lenses you might want to add to your camera bag.

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED Zoom Lens

For those of you who really appreciate that ultra-wide angle when shooting, this lens is worth its weight in gold. It goes beyond the usual 24mm equivalent, which is already wide enough and gives you a full 109 degrees of view.

Of course, there will always be a little bit of softness in the corners with such a wide-angle (10mm), but that is almost impossible to avoid.

• Wide range of angles from super-wide to the standard field of view
• Reasonably fast auto-focus
• Solid construction

Although this is a pricey lens, you get a wider angle than most other lenses and a wide aperture too (f/3.5) which not all manufacturers can give.

If you want to try a more budget version, keep scrolling down to the Sigma 10-20mm below.

Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM Lens

A decent alternative to the Nikon above, for the price – which is less than half.

Of course, you will have to compromise on a couple of things. First is the slightly higher f-stop (4.5), second is the narrow range of view. According to many reviewers, there is also a little more noticeable distortion on the super-wide end, but only the truly experienced photographer tends to worry about it.

For the rest of us there is

• A decent wide-angle range
• Same weight as the more expensive Nikon
• Low-price for a wide-angle at this range

If you don’t expect a pro-quality lens for under 500 bucks, then this one will definitely take many a great photo for you.

Macro Lenses

If you like the idea of shooting things really close up, then you are going to need to invest in a macro lens. They allow you to get amazing close-up shots of anything from flowers to insects (and anything else you can creatively imagine). You just need a lens that can focus at that close a range and still give you a nice sharp and in focus shot.

Nikon AF-S DX Micro NIKKOR 85mm f/3.5G

Hailed as one of the most affordable entry-level macros for those with a Nikon 5000 range camera, the Nikkor 85mm is a great macro lens.

It has built-in image stabilization to help get the sharpest shot, even at that close “macro” range. And, it also has its own autofocus motor, which the 5300 camera needs (because it doesn’t have one). This is also one of the reasons other affordable macro lenses are not really an option.

The focus is also quite fast, and quiet, which is important when you are photographing things that tend to move at the slightest noise!

Many reviewers also love this lens because it can also double as a portrait lens with enough bokeh given the f/3.5. So, you can use it for different purposes on a shoot without having to always swap out your lens.