10 Best Lenses for Nikon D5300 [updated 2024]

Nikon D5300 is widely used by beginner and hobby photographers who are just starting their careers or doing it for fun. It has been a popular choice for photographers as it has a variety of lenses for portraits, telephotos, wide-angle, zoom, prime, and other reasons.

We have compiled the best lenses for Nikon D5300 users in this list. We included the lenses that would be more reasonably priced for the camera user. So you will find primarily entry-level budget lenses. However, we also mixed in some pro-graders that would be an excellent addition for beginners to level up their photography skills.

Read more: How to Choose a Camera Lens That Fits Your Needs.

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Below, you will find short information on the selection of lenses: price ranges, specifications, performance, and where to use them. The price ranges of lenses are measured like this:

• 0 – 400$ – Budget $
• 401 – 700$ – Average $$
• 700+ $ – Expert $$$

You will find here lenses for:

> Portrait
> Wide-angle
> Telephoto
> Macro
> Zoom
> Prime

portrait lenses

1. Nikon AF S Nikkor 85mm f/1.8G

Is this the best lens for portraits? Well, it mostly depends on how you look at it. It will offer an immersive soft background with an aperture of f/1.8 and a focal length of 85 mm. That’s the main selling point and for sure it will give you some new looks for your portraits.

Build and handling: It’s more likely a consumer-level portrait lens, so the build isn’t precisely a pro-grade level, but still solid. Its weight is also pretty light and all necessary buttons and indicators are on the lens. After all, its build and handling are worth the price, as you would expect from Nikon production.

Performance: The main selling point would be an aperture of f/1.8. It’s fast, deals great under low-light conditions, and due to the Silent Wave Motor, it’s also helpful when shooting videos. You won’t get all the bells and whistles, but given its specs and price, it’s worth an investment.

Best for: It’s best for outdoor portrait photography, because with a focal length of 85mm you will need more space to shoot your model. You wouldn’t get the best results if you needed to shoot in tight spaces. But if you or your model is shy, it’s excellent because you don’t have to be close to get the portraits.

It has fast focusing, gives you a creamy background, and produces excellent image quality. All this comes with an affordable price tag. Given its price, it’s the best 85mm fixed lens in the market.

2. Nikon AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G

A beginner-level lens has several perks and has almost the same specs as the previous Nikon lens. A great addition to any camera bag if you don’t want to spend much at first. Despite the low price, it still offers many benefits with quality specs.

Build and handling: As previously, this one is also a consumer-level lens with all necessary buttons and information. But compared to the previous, this lens is even lighter – it’s only 6.6 oz. (185 g). Perfect for long shootings when you take your pictures hand-held.

Performance: Like the previous, it also has an aperture of f/1.8. This gives you nice bokeh, your subject will stand out from the background, and performs excellently under low light conditions. A fast-focusing system is also something that will make your work more efficient and easier.

Best for: As you would expect it’s also mainly for portraits. But again compared to the previous, with this lens you don’t need much space to frame your models. It’s also possible to shoot indoors, but not in very tight spaces. You can also use it for products, capturing details from landscapes, and shooting events and weddings.

It has a large aperture, weighs very little, and produces excellent image quality. All these perks come with a cheap price and would be ideal for beginners who want to try portrait photography.

Wide-angle lenses

3. Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 Art DC HSM

It might be one of the most expensive items here, but it’s not a surprise when looking at its specifications. Furthermore, it offers so much more than the price tag.

Build and handling: Sigma ART lenses are known for their professionalism, which is favored by many photographers. Also, the design is great, thanks to aluminum alloy materials. That gives it a classy look and touch. However, it weighs 28.6 oz. (810 g), which is a bit heavy, but nothing too serious.

Performance: The most significant benefit would be an aperture of f/1.8. Mainly because it’s a zoom lens and this is a bit rare. Like other ones from Sigma production, it’s also great with quiet and fast focusing due to the hypersonic motor.

Best for: Due to its wide-angle capabilities and large aperture, it’s great for indoor shooting, events, weddings, and product photography. As an everyday lens, it’s also superb for travel, street, and even portrait photography.

Overall, every photographer would like to have it in their camera gear. It adds so much versatility and it never lets you down when you are surprised by weather conditions or unexpected environments.

4. Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED

With a small investment, you will get an excellent focusing motor, variable focal lengths, and magnificent image quality. A great lens to discover new dimensions in the photography world.

Build and handling:
Nikon’s consumer-level lenses typically feature a compact and lightweight design, and this model is no exception, maintaining the ability to produce high-quality visuals. Its weight is almost two times less than the previous one with 16.2 oz. (458 g), which will make it easier for beginners to shoot hand-held. For fast changes between focusing modes, you will find a switch (M/A and M).

Performance: A maximum aperture of f/3.5 is decent for a budget Nikon lens. However, you will need enough light for shootings to get photos without much noise. A twilight can cause trouble when shooting in low light without a flash. It also includes Silent Wave Motor, which enables it to shoot videos without a focusing noise.

Best for: With the broad angle capabilities and focal lengths, it’s the most beneficial in shooting with very little space, like real estate, events, group photos, or street photography. With that lens, you can fit a lot of objects into one frame.

It’s perfect for hobby photographers who need a wide angle range and don’t have that high of a budget for another item in their camera gear. 

telephoto lenses

5. Sigma 150-600mm 5-6.3 Contemporary DG OS HSM

It’s a great deal for your camera gear when you are eager to catch wildlife or get moments from sports events. Considering this category, it’s pretty affordable for telephoto photography.

Build and handling: Those familiar with telephoto lenses know they weigh a lot. This one is 68.01 oz. (1,930 g), which is pretty lightweight considering the standard of telephoto lenses. Usually, these weigh an additional 35 oz. (1kg). Nonetheless, it hasn’t lost any spark with the weight loss, because it feels like a pro-grade lens.

Performance: Other than an extended range of focal lengths and decent aperture, it also includes several great specifications and benefits. It’s considerably great under low-light situations, which will be beneficial with landscape shootings. Another feature, the hypersonic motor, gives you much more pleasing focusing. Lastly, built-in image stabilization is a top feature.

Best for: This lens is foremost for shooting objects at a very long range. With a maximum focal length of 600mm, it’s amazing for shy wildlife. You will get sharp photos of wildlife animals and birds with image stabilization and a tripod. Also, it’s used for sports photography and gets you the details of landscapes.

Even though it’s one of the most expensive lenses on that list, when considering these specifications, it’s pretty cheap.

6. Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3G ED VR

It’s a telephoto lens to consider when you don’t want to make a significant investment at first. Even though it’s one of the cheapest lenses on that list, it performs and produces decent quality.

Build and handling: It has the same build as other consumer-level Nikon lenses, nothing too bad nor too great. It only weighs 14. oz. (400 g), which is excellent and makes it possible to shoot sharp photos hand-held. A simple and compact design is all you need to shoot objects.

Performance: With an aperture of f/4.5 it’s not the greatest during low-light situations. You will need a tripod to lower shutter speeds to get visuals without noise. However, this budget lens includes VR (vibration reduction) image stabilization, which will make shooting objects much easier.

Best for: As you would expect, it’s best for shooting objects at a very long distance. You would most benefit from it when shooting wildlife and landscapes. After all, it’s a great lens to take photos on the go because it doesn’t weigh much. No need to set up your area by finding the right place for a tripod.

It’s super cheap and as a hobby photographer, it will give you new dimensions and focal lengths to complement your portfolio.

macro lens

7. Nikon AF-S DX Micro-NIKKOR 40mm f/2.8G

It’s small with a large aperture, and on top of that, it’s very affordable. An excellent way to discover macro photography.

Build and handling: It’s a lightweight and compact macro lens, which, by dimension, looks like a pancake. It weighs 8.3 oz. (235 g) and due to being small, it can fit into a camera bag without unmounting the lens from a camera. Otherwise, the look and build are similar to Nikon’s consumer-level production.

Performance: When you see the specifications, it is a surprise that it has an aperture of f/2.8. It’s necessary for shooting close-range objects because you will lose some light when getting closer to them. Another perk is Super Integrated Coating which deals with overexposed environments.

Best for: The only use is when you want to get these details from small things, aka when going macro. However, it’s not ideal for this kind of shooting. The focal length of 40mm isn’t much for capturing living objects like insects. Luckily, unliving objects aren’t shy, and you can capture these with ease.

It’s an ideal lens to add to your camera gear to capture detailed objects from a very close range.

zoom lenses

8. Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR

This all-in-one lens could be great for those who don’t want to change lenses that often. An ideal partner for hobby photographers or travelers. Great benefits also come with a cheaper price.

Build and handling: The design and looks are identical to the previous Nikon consumer-type lenses. It’s compact and has everything you need on the lens. It also doesn’t weigh much for a zoom lens, as it’s only 14.8 oz (420 g).

Performance: An aperture of f/3.5 and wide range focal lengths are pretty decent indicators for entry-level camera gear. Also, Super Integrated Coating is included to reduce overexposure when shooting in the middle of the day. One of the highlights of this lens is that it has image stabilization, known by Nikon as Vibration reduction.

Best for: It’s an everyday all-in-one lens and it can be used in many ways. It’s not the best for specific photography categories like portraits, but it will be a great addition to capturing different memories. Be it your family events, quick photos on the go, or traveling around the world.

It would be ideal for hobby photographers or, more specifically, for travelers who want to keep camera gear as light as possible—an excellent choice for everyone without breaking the bank.

9. Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED VR

For a long time, it has been a favored standard lens by Nikon users who know its qualities. Furthermore, this lens is known as a workhorse, mainly because it can be used in different ways, conditions, and environments.

Build and handling: The build and design are as expected at a pro-grade level. It even contains weather-sealing materials to cope with bad weather conditions. However, all this puts more pressure on the hands (when shooting hand-held) because it weighs 2.35 lb (1070 g). 

Performance: The main reason why this is used so often is its incredible performance. To reach the desired quality, there’s built-in image stabilization, fast focusing in low light conditions and sharp contrast image quality.

Best for: As it’s a standard lens with focal lengths of 24-70 mm, it can be used in many ways. It’s great for wide-angle landscapes, events, portraits, and travel. It could also be the only lens to use on your travel adventures because this workhorse will give you great visuals regardless of the shooting conditions and environment. 

It’s the most expensive lens on this list, but if the quality is essential to you and you take photography more seriously, then it’s worth an investment.

prime lens

10. Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G

A prime lens is an affordable addition to your camera gear. A small yet powerful lens will surprise photographers with its image quality. 

Build and handling: The compact and lightweight design has given this lens a weight of only 7 oz. (200 g). Thanks to this, it’s super easy to carry around everywhere, and you can shoot hand-held without a “dead arm.” The overall design is simple, and the lens has everything you need to capture beautiful images.

Performance: The biggest perk of this lens would be an aperture of f/1.8. It is more surprising because it’s small and doesn’t cost much. This gives you all the freedom to shoot under low light conditions without slowing down the shutter speed too much. It also has a silent focus motor for videos.

Best for: It’s mostly best for portraits as it has a fixed focal length of 35 mm. But you will have many more uses for it. It could be used for indoor products, events, and wedding photography. Outdoors, you can use it for landscapes, to capture details from street photography, and even for travel adventures.

With a small investment, you will get a large aperture, fast focusing motor, great image quality, and many other benefits—an ideal partner for a beginner or hobby photographer.

Conclusion

That was the list of the best lenses for the Nikon D5300. There will be many more options for this camera, but that lineup was put together to benefit Nikon D5300 users. You could find many more pro-grade lenses for this, but it wouldn’t be reasonable for this type of camera. Hope you find good information and your next lens!

Read more: Best Nikon DX lenses.

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