Nikkor Lens AFS DX 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR

Product Information

This is the world's first 18-55mm kit lens with instant manual-focus override, it's also the first with ultra fast focussing. Canon's 18-55mm IS II still sounds like a kid's toy as it focuses, slowly. Most people who buy this will never get any benefit from VR, however if you're reading this review, you probably are the sort of person who learns his camera and will. The Nikon Nikkor 18-55mm AF-P is an all-plastic lens constructed to be as small and lightweight as possible. It weighs just 205 grams (or 195g in the case of the non-VR version)! While size and weight are some of the main advantages of the other DX AF-P lenses compared to their AF-S predecessors (in the case of the 10-20mm wide-angle and the 70-300mm telephoto zoom), there has been hardly any improvement in this kit lens compared to the older iteration of the 18-55mm AF-S VR II, which already came with the collapsible design (push button) known from some Nikon 1 lenses. Just because it is inexpensive and does not take high-resolution images does not mean it is useless. It holds focus while zoomed if the camera is ON, but not if the camera is off. This is because the lens magically keeps its focus electronically as zoomed.

August 2016. Nikon D3300, Nikon 18-55mm AF-P at 18mm, f/3.5 hand-held at 1/4 at Auto ISO 720, Perfectly Clear. bigger or full-resolution file to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely display high resolution files properly).It's perfectly damped with no creep. It feels much better than a lens this cheap has any right to feel. It's perfectly spaced. It's easier to set a precise composition with the 18-55 than with many of Nikon's fancier zooms. You can learn how to use the camera and the lens, as well as how to use your subject to get great photos. Remember, any good photographer makes the best of what they have.

Now, I understand that learning a new skill can be frustrating. However, you can speed up your progress if you have the right guidance/teachers you can learn from.AF speed is passable. It's not very fast, but I've never needed it to be faster for photographing friends and family. 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.

With the AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II lens wide open, you can see some heavy light fall-off in the corners and along the frame edges. Stopping down helps, although to completely get rid of this phenomenon, you will need to use an f-stop of f/8 or smaller. There's also some very obvious barrel distortion at 18mm and mild pincushioning at 55mm, pretty much what you'd expect from an inexpensive kit zoom.The D500, D90, D3100, D3200, D3300, D5000, D5100, D5200, D5300, D5500, D7000, D7100, D7200, D5, D4, D4s, D600, D610, D750, D800, D800E, D810, Df and all newer cameras can be set to correct the distortion automatically in-camera —so long as you have the latest camera firmware installed that covers this new lens. Tipping the scales at exactly 195 grams, the AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II is one of the lightest APS-C lenses that Nikon produces. Coupled to the Nikon D3300, as seen in the photos below, the lens feels well-balanced. 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. The internal barrel extends when zoomed out to 18mm, before retracting to its shortest position at 35mm, then extending again when zoomed to 55mm. The front of the lens does not rotate on focus, which is good news for those who use polarisers or ND grads on a regular basis. Chromatic Aberrations