Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR ED Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras

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Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR ED Nikkor Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras
	Manufacturer: Nikon Customer Rating:   List Price: $399.95 Sale Price: $359.95 Availibility: Usually ships in 24 hours Free Shipping Available Available On:

Product Description

This 5.8x zoom, designed exclusively for use with Nikon's DX-format, features Nikon's VR image stabilization and is perfect for portraits and action. The wide-ratio 5.8x zoom Compact, versatile and ideal for a broad range of shooting situations, ranging from interiors and landscapes to beautiful portraits--a perfect everyday zoom. Vibration Reduction is engineered specifically for each VR NIKKOR lens and enables handheld shooting at up to 3 shutter speeds slower than would otherwise be possible, assuring dramatically sharper images.

Product Details

• Perfect for low-light conditions, travel, environmental portrait and general photography

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Customer Reviews

Probably the ideal affordable compromise between range and quality

Review Date: November 16, 2008

Reviewer: Honest Opinion, Australia

If you take photographs for fun then this is a great lens. I am using it on the ultimate fun camera, a Nikon D40 and the lens completes it very well. I usually don't analyse things to death like photographing text from a Newspaper or grid patterns to measure sharpness or distortion. I just use it to take pictures and observe the results like a normal person would. Having said that I am quite critical and have had really good cameras with excellent optics. Overall this lens feels like it is a really good product and feels very robust and well made. It is well finished and shows good attention to detail and quality control. The two rings (zoom and focus) feel and glide very well. albeit with a very slight plastic sliding sound. The switches feel fairly OK and generally everything seems like it will last a very very long time. Of course it cannot match a mid 80's Nikon prime lens but it is hard to make such a comparison. Firstly they are built differently with different numbers of components and secondly they are used differently. Personally I don't understand the difference that a steel camera mount would make over the plastic one this lens has. I suppose if you remove and replace the camera lots of times then it could make a difference. Although having said that a plastic surface on the lens would be kinder the steel mount on the camera. Plastic being self lubricating would prevent both from being scratched. I don't sleep less well at night because of it. Visually the lens looks a bit plain and lacks the silver ring that the 18-55 came with. It also lacks an writing on the forward business end of the camera. There are also no markings for focal length. One thing about this lens that I do find very annoying is the extremely fiddly lens cap. Because of the way they moulded the cap the two surfaces you press together to unclip it from the lens front are very short and smooth and have an angle on them that makes the fingers slip off. As a consequence the lens cap has fallen out my hand onto the floor a few times. That is something to remember if you are standing on a grate, a dirty floor or on a clifftop. This is a common problem with the 18-135 and 18-200 lenses. Now to the lens' performance. It focuses extremely fast and very silently. It has a very useful reach. I have found you can overcome the smaller minimum aperture with a higher zoom and this gives really good bokeh for portraits. The VR works a treat as well. In combination with the camera's really good performance at high ISO it makes it very capable at photographing the insides of restaurants and houses without the need for flash to ruin the colour balance. The lens is very sharp. The photographs I took came out very well. I have no issues with them whatsoever and anything that went wrong in taking those images I would put down to my relative inexperience. The lens did not have any negative effects on the colour, I didn't notice any purple fringing or anything other than really pleasant results. Overall I am actually very happy with the sharpness and detail this lens captures. I am wondering whether to use a UV filter and am not sure about using the petal design hood. There are all sorts of views about the advisability or otherwise of these items. Other products I compared this to are the 18-55 lens my D40 came with. In its own right it is an excellent lens and seems sharp. It does feel a bit on the lightweight side compared to the 18-105. The 18-135 I tried felt a little bit crude in how the zoom ring moved. It didn't feel as well finished compared to the 18-105 and made plastic sliding sounds when operating the zoom ring. That lens was very sharp too but holding it steady at 135mm was a bit difficult. I used a 50mm 1.4 manual focus lens from the 80s that had awesome bokeh but was otherwise a pain to use. The other lens I tried was the 18-200mm which was an awesome lens. It had a focus that seemed even faster than the one on the 18-105 but it was a little too big and made the camera feel very front heavy. Because of that it lost a bit of the fun factor. Along with the fact that it was almost 3 times more expensive I am glad I bought the 18-105. I paid A$385 at Ted's in Highpoint. $385 would equate to US$246 in November 2008. An 18-200 sells for A$1045. Even the 18-135 often sells for more so I feel I got something of a bargain. The people at Ted's are fantastic for customer service and I'm sorry I didn't buy my D40 from them. Anyway I hope this review helps someone.

Super People Shooting Lens

Review Date: January 4, 2010

Reviewer: Tiffany Ann, Black Diamond Bay

If I know I'm going to be shooting people, you know, a wedding, bar mitzvah, baptism, birthday party, especially one with children and clowns, then this is the lens I use. If I take both bodies, I'll have a wide angle on the other one, so I can get good group shots inside. The 16-85mm range of the camera translates to 24-127mm in real world photography and that'll give you good wide angle shots and allow you some pretty good closeups from across the room or yard, plus the 80 to 120mm range is perfect for portraits. This lens isn't all that expensive and you're buying better than excellent optics, Nikon quality (the build on this lens is as good as you'll find on any lens made today) and VR that works (it's almost like going a couple stops lower). You might wonder why I'd opt for this lens for people shooting events over the very nice Nikon 18-200mm or the Tamron 18-270mm, well this lens weighs less, focuses faster, takes sharper photos and I've never ever wished I'd had a longer lens at an event, well once, when I shot a wedding in Huntington Beach. It was a beach side condo and there was some good surf action going on, great waves, but that had nothing to do with the wedding. If you want a longer range than the kit lens, this could be a good walkabout lens and there have been days when I've used it for that, though I prefer the more compact Nikon 18-55mm for everyday use and one of the above mentioned wide to long telephotos for vacations. Still if you shoot a lot of people or are planning to, you'll find this lens will serve you well.

Great

Review Date: April 22, 2009

Reviewer: M. Werth, Philadelphia

This lens has had some tough reviews... but I don't know why? Affordable - I bought mine refurbished for 220 (looks and works like new). Great Quality Images - Better zoom range and sharper than the 18-55vr (another great affordable lens) Built in manual zoom ring - This is a must have if you are shooting DSLR videos as there is no auto focus on the D90 Video. This is obviously not a "pro" lens, but it takes great photos and is priced reasonably. I highly recommend it.

Bought this for a short vacation

Review Date: December 11, 2009

Reviewer: pilot27k, Kentucky

I originally got a 18-55mm lens with my Nikon camera and decided to buy the 55-200 as my second lens but found that changing out the lenses was a hassle. When I decided to take a short vacation that was about 2000 miles away, I didn't want to deal with carrying the different lenses around so I bought the 18-105mm. It was one of the best things I ever did. I almost feel like it is the only lens needed for general photography. I chose this particular one because the customer reviews were so good. All my photos with this lens are wonderful. They look professional and that is the point when you buy a good lens from Nikon.

Fantastic all around lens

Review Date: June 7, 2009

Reviewer: Bob, Florida

I'm new to the SLR community (although I have a lot of experience with point and shoots). This was one of the first two lens I bought for my Nikon D80 (both Nikon Factory refurbished). Although I'm not expert yet, it seems like a terrific all around lens. Its got a fair amount of zoom, but can also capture a fairly wide angle. As of now, I have no complaints.

Great all-purpose at the right price

Review Date: December 9, 2009

Reviewer: Bradley Olson, Charlotte, MI

Seems like everyone recommends the 18-200 mm VR lens, but at a cost of over $600-700! Instead, this lens for about half the cost will cover most of the useful range of the 18-200. The VR works great on this lens, especially at 105 where the lens performs admirably. A very good upgrade to a kit lens with more versatility, a more solid feel and VR to make your telephoto shots much better.

Excellent lens, very luminous

Review Date: September 12, 2009

Reviewer: Aniuska, Alexandria, VA

Simply excellent. It allows a great deal of light in the picture, even taking pics indoors or using the zoom. Love it.

Great Nikkor Lens Quality

Review Date: September 29, 2009

Reviewer: Larry Burciaga, Shasta

The refurbished Nikkor 18-105mm AF VR Lens has been functioning very well. The lens is used with a D-60 Nikon. Both autofocus and manual settings have been easy to work with. Great results.

Great zoom lens

Review Date: November 27, 2008

Reviewer: Ferdinand T. Siagian, Orono, ME

This is a great zoom lens from Nikon. With the vibration reduction the pictures are sharp and the zoom range is great. This may be the only lens that you need from wide angle to a medium telephoto. I'm very happy with this lens.

Exelent lens

Review Date: October 1, 2009

Reviewer: A. CARLOS,

This lens was exactly what I expect from it. With a good zoom rate and an excellent luminosity. The VR is great, REALY GREAT, it is amazing the results with low light.

A great upgrade and overall excellent lens

Review Date: December 26, 2009

Reviewer: Weston Powers, Pennsylvania

I want to say that when I first got this lens for Christmas I was utterly disappointed, not because it wasn't a good lens, but I had my heart set on a prime lens. Well, I pushed my sadness aside and mounted it on my D60. The first thing I noticed about it was the size, it was significantly larger in every way possible over the 18-55mm kit lens that came with the D60. The only thing that didn't change was the f-stop. It was sort of heavy mounted on the D60's tiny body but that is something that is easily overcome. The picture quality and the overall use of the lens is where it started to win me over. I was shooting inside all day with f/3.5, ISO 800 and shutter speed of 1/6 of a second. The pictures came out crisp and clear with the aid of the vibration reduction, whereas my 18-55mm would be a hit-or-miss. I found it great that I could go from shooting wide angle shots to mid-range telephoto shots without having to switch between lenses. I began to see a difference between the quality of my old 18-55mm and the 18-105mm. The 18-105 is the older brother of the 18-55mm kit lens, and it is more useful/ The focusing ring on the lens can override the auto focus. If you are someone in my situation with a three point AF D60, then this comes in handy considering that the focus isn't always where you want it to be. The feel of the lens was different. It felt like it was made of plastic and rubber on the outside, which isn't bad and doesn't inhibit the ability of the lens to do its job, it just feels sort of cheap if you are obsessed with having the best built thing possible. The feeling of cheapness, isn't something to be concerned about, so long as you realize that the lens is meant for picture taking and not groping. The sheer portability of the lens doesn't seem to be an issue, it is just bulkier then the 18-55mm, especially on the puny D60. The lens is the kind you want to have if you enjoy having versatility in your range but don't want to put more money towards the 18-200mm lens. I look forward to using this lens a lot more and seeing what it can do. Like everything else, it's flaws are just something that the user will have to learn to overcome. But if you are looking at buying D40, D60 or D5000 I strongly suggest buying the bodies only and buying this lens.

Great

Review Date: March 13, 2009

Reviewer: C. Thompson,

It was exactly what I was expecting and it works great. I had an 18-55mm lens that got broke and this is the replacement. It has more range so I don't have to keep changing lenses for things at a greater distances. I still want to get a longer lens at a later date.

lens review

Review Date: May 22, 2009

Reviewer: S. R. Schrader, SC, USA

Amazed at how fast it came- like within a couple of days aft ord. Was as described- still in box & brand new condition. Recently went to Fla & used the lens- performed beautifully- it's fast, precise, user-friendly & best of all- most people are saying these pix are award-winning! I am completely satisfied in every way & would definitely do business with these vendors again.

refurbished Nikon 18-105mm DX VR

Review Date: October 31, 2009

Reviewer: lovespictures, Knoxville, TN, USA

Bought this model for much less $$$ as a refurbished unit. Looks brand new. Works perfectly. Great picture quality, and excellent zoom range for all-purpose use. I would definitely buy it again.

Outstanding lens!!!!

Review Date: November 17, 2009

Reviewer: Deputy, Silver City, NM USA

I bought a refurbished version of this lens from Cameta Camera via Amazon and couldn't be happier. The lens appears to be brand new. No wear marks or nicks or scratches at all. The lens works great with my Nikon D90. It allows a wide range of close-up, wide angle, standard, and telephoto opportunities. The pictures are amazingly sharp and finely detailed. I rate this as a must-have lens for your Nikon Digital SLR camera. And don't hesitate to buy a refurb from Cameta Camera. They come with a 90 day warranty from Nikon and are just like brand new.