Confused between Nikon AF-S DX 55-200 mm, AF-S DX 55-300 mm lenses And Nikon AF 70-300mm?

I own a Nikon D3100 DSLR. I like photography. I do it only when i get time. I'm confused which lense to buy. Nikon DX AF-S 55-200 mm or Nikon AF-S 55-300 mm. Also is it worth buying the manual focus lense like the nikon AF 70-300mm? I get a problem manual focusing in the night. In day time everything is fine. So which one should i buy out of this three?

Well the first thing is that the Nikon AF 70-300mm will not autofocus on your camera as the D3100 does not have an internal focus motor. You need the Nikon AF-S 70-300 if you want autofocus (AF vs. AF-S).

Between the 55-200mm and 55-300mm lenses, they are pretty much up to you. While the 300mm lens will give you more reach - it is not a significant amount (it is only 1.5x different). And the 55-200 does have a slightly better build - for instance, it is internal focusing while the 55-300mm is not. This means the 55-300mm lens barrel will turn as you focus it - not something ideal if you plan on using polarizing or Graduated and filters.

Between the three, the Nikon AF-S 70-300mm is the best, but it is a lot more expensive than the other two.

The bottom line is that all three lenses will work fine, and as the difference between 200mm and 300mm is not significant, it comes down to choice; cost, etc.

Here is a comparison between 200mm and 300mm:

http://www.althephoto.com/concepts/lenses.php

The AF 70-300 is not worth considering. It's not a great lens and it is heavy. As you know, it won't auto-focus on your camera.

Both of the others will auto-focus, but you can turn that off and focus manually if you like. Personally I would go for the 55-300mm (unless you can afford the more expensive 70-300mm AF-S, which focuses much more quickly and is significantly sharper - but it is heavier).

I have owned the 55-200 and it's very good for the money, but the extra reach to 300mm is worth it if you need to get in close.

One thing to look out for is that there are 2 versions of the 55-200mm lens. There's one with VR (Vibration Reduction) and one without VR. The one with VR is not a lot more expensive but it is definitely worth having the VR functionality. The 55-300mm lens does come with VR. VR is much more important at the long end of the lens. The AF 70-300mm does not have VR and that's another good reason to give it a miss.