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

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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

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

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

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 1500€/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 28-70mm f/3.5-4.5D AF Review Round-Up

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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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Nikon 80-200mm f/4 AI-S Review Round-Up

nikon-80-200mm-f-4-ai-sIf you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Ken Rockwell

This is the best manual focus telephoto zoom for Nikon. Of course if you can find one of the huge (95 mm filter) manual focus 80 – 200mm f/2.8s don’t let me stop you, but for my bag I’d get one of these if I wanted a manual focus tele zoom. “¦ READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-D Review Round-Up

nikon-28-80mm-f35-56-af-dIf you own or have used this lens, let us know what you think! Leave your comments and thoughts below.

Ken Rockwell

This crappy little plastic-mount $100 lens is a surprisingly excellent performer. In fact, this is the best example I’ve seen of a lens that stupider people will dismiss without even trying it, whereas in fact it is among the best midrange zooms I’ve used! READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G IF-ED AF-S Nikkor Review Round-Up

nikon-14-24mm-f-28g-if-ed-af-s-nikkorIf 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 14-24MM F/2.8G ED AF-S Nikkor Wide Angle Zoom Lens and Accessory Outfit

Photo Zone

The Nikkor AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8G ED N is a phenomenal lens. It is the sharpest ultra-wide angle lens tested to date. The resolution figures are simply stunning and unprecedented specifically at 14mm … So far it is the only lens in this class which has the potential to scale beyond the pixel-density of 10mp APS-C sensors. And it doesn’t even stop here – distortions and lateral CAs are very well-controlled and vignetting is basically a non-issue in field conditions. Naturally even this Nikkor is not perfect in the true sense – it can flare quite a bit with streaking light sources and the bokeh can look a little rough … The immense front element may be responsible for the superb performance, but it prohibits front filters thus leaving the protruding front element quite vulnerable. … Nonetheless – taking the sum of its qualities into account the verdict can only be … highly recommended! READ FULL REVIEW

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Nikon 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED AF-S Review Round-Up

nikon-af-s-24-85mm-f-35-45g-if-edIf 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 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED is a very decent standard zoom. The resolution characteristics is very good throughout the zoom range and vignetting is very well controlled whereas distortions are about average for a lens in this class. CAs are a weak spot at 24mm only. Mechanically it is good quality consumer lens with a fast and near-silent AF. All-in-all a pretty harmonious package but probably not all that attractive anymore on APS-C DSLRs where a wide-angle setting of 24mm already tends to be a little too long for a standard zoom. … READ FULL REVIEW

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