Nikon Zooms | Photocrati

Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED DX II AF-S Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Photo Zone

The Nikkor AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED DX II is a marginal update to the original mk I variant. The optical design has not been changed so the general observations regarding image quality remain the same. The tested mk II sample has a sightly better centering thus resulting in an improved center quality… The resolution figures are actually very good … The contrast level at large apertures (primarily wide-end) leaves something to be desired though. The distortion characteristic is about average, whereas vignetting is surprisingly well-controlled for a DX-type lens (APS-C image circle). Chromatic aberrations are quite high and can be field relevant in some situations. Naturally this has all to be seen in the context of the extremely low price tag so all-in-all it is almost surprising what the lens is capable to deliver. If you use ~f/6.7-f/11 you’ll be a happy camper in most situations. … READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S IF-ED Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below. Get information and user reviews for this lens from Amazon: Nikon 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G ED IF Autofocus VR Nikkor Zoom Lens

Photo Zone

A general-purpose lens that covers a useful focal length range for Nikon’s FX DSLRs. Nikon’s AF-S Nikkor 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6 G IF-ED lens covers a 5x zoom range and provides a suite of convenient focal length settings for owners of the company’s D3 and D700 cameras but is also usable on DX models where the 1.5x crop factor gives it an equivalent focal length range of 36-180mm. Its affordable price tag makes it attractive to amateur photographers. … READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED DX AF-S Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below. Get information and user reviews for this lens at Amazon: Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED IF AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens

Photo Zone

The Nikkor AF-S 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED DX is a lens with many souls. The lens is capable to deliver very good resolution figures and low CAs but on the other hand distortions as well as vignetting are very pronounced specifically at 18mm. However, most users will rarely use large aperture settings at 18mm so the vignetting problem is usually no show stopper. The build quality of the lens is very decent and the Silent-Wave drive provides a speedy and silent AF. All-in-all the price performance ratio of the Nikkor is very sound. … READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S DX Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below. Get information and user reviews for this lens at Amazon: Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR ED Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

SLR Gear

The Nikon 18-105mm Æ’/3.5-5.6 definitely raises the bar for Nikon’s current lineup of kit lenses; consistently sharp, even at large apertures, with good resistance to chromatic aberration. Corner shading is prevalent, but it’s not a noticeable problem. Distortion is evident and irregular, but again, you’re probably only going to notice it if you need your straight lines to be absolutely straight. The inclusion of VR to this level of lens is a welcome addition; we don’t have pricing for the lens individually, but There will finally be an alternative to the 18-200mm VR for users who don’t need that range of focal lengths. Nikon was able to improve the optical quality, reduce the weight, and presumably, the end price. It’s easy to recommend the 18-105mm to Nikon shooters as an excellent walk-around lens. READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S DX Nikkor Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below. Get information and user reviews for this lens at Amazon: Nikon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

Photo Zone

Quality-wise the Nikkor AF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 G IF-ED DX positioned itself between the AF-S 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G and the AF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G VR – just as you would/should expect it regarding the zoom range and complexity of design … The center resolution is excellent throughout the range. As to be expected the border performance suffers a bit at 18mm and less so at 35mm but it’s still pretty good here. … Typical for most dedicated APS-C zooms the vignetting figures aren’t quite as good – at 18mm and 135mm @ wide-open aperture the results are rather dismal … At 18mm the lens also suffers a bit from rather hefty barrel distortions but this is quite typical for a lens in this class. CAs can be visible without being excessive although purple fringing can intensify the effect quite a bit in extreme contrast situations. … All-in-all a good consumer grade lens and maybe the current value king in Nikon land. … READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 28-50mm f/3.5 AI-s Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Ken Rockwell

If you come across one of these and want a fast, small, fun, sharp and practical manual-focus zoom, this 28-50mm f/3.5 AI-s is a winner. READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 20-35mm f/2.8D IF Autofocus Nikkor Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Thom Hogan

My first two cars cost less than this lens. An F100 body costs less than this lens [now that it’s only available used, that’s no longer true]. You’re already carrying a heavy camera body (N90s, F4, F5), are you sure you want to nearly double the weight? Ever tried to buy a 77mm circular polarizer? Expect to pay US$100-150 for a good one. And you won’t find one of these at any old photo store. Even my favorite local pro shop doesn’t always have them in stock. Yup, that’s right, a US$1600 lens with no DOF scale. Instead, you get this nifty cut-it-out-of-the-manual-and-assemble-it-yourself scale. Right, and where exactly do I carry this flimsy excuse of a tool? Of course, at 20mm and f/22 focused at 2 feet, infinity is still within the circle of confusion! Build. is solid. Heck, mine survived a full on rock attack. Performance, once state-of-the-art, is now just really good. “¦ READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 70-180mm f/4.5-5.6D ED Micro AF Review Round-Up

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Photo Zone

The Micro-Nikkor AF 70-180mm f/4.5-5.6D ED delivered very good although no exceptional results (at conventional focus distances). The resolution is excellent at 70mm but the quality decrease towards the long end of the zoom range – a single ED element is obviously not enough to match the mid to long Micro-Nikkor fix-focals at their respective focal length. However, we are talking about an ambitious zoom lens here and flexibility simply comes with compromises. Vignetting and distortions are basically negligible and CAs are only an issue at 70mm. The build quality of the lens is exceptional with only the tiny tripod mount to complain about. … At around 1500â‚¬/US$ the lens is fairly pricey, more so regarding its rather slow max. apertures … for the same price you may also get a Nikkor AF 80-200mm f/2.8D ED plus a 100mm macro lens which would make more sense for the majority of users. READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G IF-ED AF-S Nikkor Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Get information and user reviews for this lens from Amazon: Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S Nikkor Wide Angle Zoom Lens

Photo Zone:

The Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G ED exceeds the already very good performance of its predecessor. The center quality is nothing short of outstanding matching or beating the resolution of a 10mp APS-C sensor. The border quality is very good at large aperture increasing to excellent levels at f/5.6-8. However, you’ve to be careful with the curved focus field at 24mm which can result in out-of-focus corners! Distortions and vignetting are very low and not really field relevant. Chromatic aberrations are generally well controlled although they could have been somewhat more symmetrical (in the tested sample). The bokeh (out-of-focus blur) is unusually smooth and buttery for a zoom lens with aspherical elements. Please note, however, that 70mm f/2.8 isn’t terribly fast on an APS-C DSLR so you’ve to be fairly close to your main subject in order to produce a pronounced out-of-focus blur. The build quality of the lens is superb and it ´s a joy to handle it in the field despite its comparatively hefty size and weight. The high speed and low noise of the silent-wave AF drive is the cream on top of it all. The primary aspect which can spoil the game is, unsurprisingly, the high price point of around 1500â‚¬/US$. … READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 28-70mm f/3.5-4.5D AF Review Round-Up

If you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Photo Zone

The Nikkor AF 28-70mm f/3.5-4.5D is an old lens but surprisingly it performed really good on the Nikon D200. The resolution figures are on a very high level and pretty even across the APS-C image frame. Vignetting is pretty low and the level of CAs is quite moderate. Typical for most standard zooms there’s pronounced degree of barrel distortions at 28mm but otherwise it is a minor issue. The build quality is ok but some may not like the rotating front element. Unfortunately the zoom range (equivalent to 42-105mm) isn’t really all that attractive on an APS-C DSLR anymore. READ FULL REVIEW

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