Category: Electronics / Cameras & Camcorders
Nikon 18-55 DX Lens. Nikon 18-55 VR DX. Intro Specs Performance Recommendations. Nikon 18-55 VR. Nikon 18-55mm VR (52mm filters, 9.3 oz/263g, about $180). enlarge. If you find this review helpful, getting yours from any of these links to Adorama, Amazon or B&H Photo Video helps me keep adding more to this site. Thanks! Ken. June 2012, October 2011, April 2008 Nikon Reviews Nikon Lenses All Reviews. NEW: 18-55mm VR II. Nikon D3200 Sample Image. French 75 Bistro. 18-55mm VR at 18mm, f/16 at 1/40, Nikon D3200 at ISO 100. Original full-resolution file. Introduction top. Intro Specs Performance Recommendations. This $180 Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 VR lens is a winner. It works perfectly. There isn't much it can't do well. For under $200, this could be the only lens you'd ever need. In some very subtle ways its optics can outperform the more expensive 16-85mm VR and 18-200mm VR lenses. This 18-55mm VR focuses closer than either of the more expensive lenses, weighs less, is smaller and has less distortion at the long end. So there. The 18-55mm VR has superb optics in a plastic mount for light weight and low cost. What you lose for paying less than one-third the price is durability, instant manual-focus override and zoom range. Its diaphragm works perfectly on my D3 at 11 frames per second. Guess what? If you destroy this 18-55 VR after the five-year USA warranty expires, buy a another new one and you're out a total of not much more than half the price of the 18-200 VR or 16-85 VR. It's not likely to break with normal use: I've made 10,000 shots or more with my non-VR 18-55mm pictured below. The worst thing is you might break the mount and drop an expensive heavy camera like the D2Xs if you pick them up by grabbing the lens. (no problems with lightweight cameras.). The 18-55mm VR feels perfectly matched to the weightless D40, D40x, D60 or D80. It doesn't feel bad on my D3, either. It's light but solid. The zoom ring is damped perfectly. This 18-55mm VR is the same as the ridiculously good 18-55mm II kit lens, with the addition of Vibration Reduction (VR). I'm addicted to VR, since with VR I can shoot without a tripod even in the dimmest light. VR helps make remarkably sharper photos when hand-held between 1/4 and 1/30 second. This VR version is a tiny bit bigger than the non-VR 18-55mm II, and weighs two more ounces (60g). This 18-55mm VR is still featherweight and tiny. 18-55mm noon-VR and VR. Nikon 18-55mm AF-S II and this Nikon 18-55mm VR. Compatibility. This is a DX lens, which means it works perfectly on every DX digital camera from the D40 through the D300, and from the D100 and D1 through the D3. It will work great on the D3, but it seems a bit wasteful of most of the D3's large sensor. On film, it will give black corners at focal lengths shorter than 24mm, but almost works OK at 24mm and longer on film as does the original 18-55mm II. If you're a hacker like me and want to use this on older film cameras, see more at Nikon Lens Compatibility. This is an AF-S, a G and a VR lens. Nikon 18-55mm VR. Nikon 18-55mm VR. Specifications top. Intro Specs Performance Recommendations. Nikon 18-55mm VR. Nikon 18-55mm VR: no shortage of reading material!. Name. adorama. Amazon. Search all B&H. [Go]. Ritz Camera. I personally suggest Adorama, Amazon, Ritz, B&H, Calumet and J&R. I can't vouch for ads below. Nikon calls this the Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR. AF-S: Quiet focusing with a silent wave motor (SWM). DX: Only works on digital cameras, usually gives black corners on film. G: No aperture ring. Only works on cameras newer than about 1992. VR: Vibration reduction, rated for three stops improvement. Oddly, no mention of magic ED glass, but Nikon still rates the sharpness as the same to slightly better than the 18-55mm II ED. All this and more explained in greater depth on my Nikon Lens Technology page. Focal Length. 18-55mm. Used on a DX camera it gives the same angle-of-view as a 28-85mm lens gives on a 35mm film or FX digital camera. See also Crop Factor. Maximum Aperture. f/3.5 - 5.6. Optics. 11 elements in 8 groups, including one hybrid aspherical element. A hybrid aspherical element is a glass element to which a thin aspheric plastic film is glued. This lets this $200 lens perform like a $2,000 lens. Nikon has been doing this for a decade, and their other lenses that use this technology are wonderful. Diaphragm. 7 blade rounded. Stops down to f/22-36. Close Focus. 0.9 feet (0.28m) from the image plane (the back of the camera). This is only inches away from the front of the lens!. Maximum Reproduction Ratio. 1:3.2.Filter Threads. 52mm, plastic. Rotates with focus and extends with zooming.