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I love this camera, its like my child. Its sort of difficult to work, especially when the lighting changes and you have to deal with ISO and aperture and shutter speed. those are the most difficult things to learn. Its still very hard for me even though I'm very dedicated to learning the features on my camera. But over all a very nice quality camera. No live view which sucks, nor is there a video recording feature. Although Nikon brags about their being a 'Guide' feature, its still hard to learn ! make sure you have time to spend on trying to learn this camera, and very patient .
PROS (* indicates the ones that are very important to me) Image Quality*--I am very pleased with the image quality of this lens. I have not yet had time to conduct tests in a controlled environment but my preliminary field tests indicate that this lens will give me the high quality images in outdoor sunlight, under studio lighting conditions, with the built-in flash unit, and with external flash units. Focal Length*--18-55mm is a very usable focal length range. This range is good for the times when I only want to carry one DX digital SLR body and one lens. Vibration Reduction*--This is my first lens for my Nikon with this feature. Filter Size--The 52mm filter size is perfect for my filter inventory. Close-Ups--Even though I did not buy this lens with close-ups in mind, it is comforting to know that at the 55mm focal length, this lens can fill the view frame with an object as small as 6cm. Price*--Less than $100 for an auto focus zoom lens with vibration reduction was too good a deal to ignore. Plus, the low price makes this lens the one to use in a situation where a more expensive lens may be damaged, lost, or stolen. CONS (* indicates the ones that are very important to me) DX lens--This is the first DX lens that I have ever purchased and will probably be the only DX lens that I will ever own because I prefer FX lenses. I prefer FX lenses because I want all my lenses to work not only on my DX cameras but also on my Nikon film cameras and my future FX digital camera. G Lens--I avoid buying G lenses because I cannot use them on my older Nikon film cameras that need the aperture ring to set the f/stop. This is only my second G lens. The 14-24mm f/2.8 was my first. Bayonet Mount--Plastic! Now I have nothing against plastic. In fact, I would rather have a thick tough plastic than a thin weak metal. However, I have heard too many horror stories about plastic lens mounts breaking. Aperture--f/3.5 to f/5.6 is too slow for a maximum aperture. Also, I prefer a zoom lens with a constant f/stop rather than a variable one. Lens Barrel--The lens barrel does not rotate during zooming but it does during focusing. However, the barrel rotates so little that you can still screw a flower petal type lens hood into the 52mm thread. Manual Focus--The small focus ring makes it very difficult to focus manually. I found it easier to focus if I tightly screwed in a lens hood and twisted the lens hood instead of the small ring. Lens Distance Scale--None Lens Depth-of-Field Scale--None Vibration Reduction--I hate that little thump that happens when you press the shutter button half way to focus and then remove your finger because you decide not to take the photo. Durability/Reliability*--This lens does not feel like it was built to withstand the wear and tear of everyday use. Plus, the vibration control and the built-in auto focus motor are two additional moving parts that can break. However, the price of this lens is so low that if anything breaks, it is just as easy to replace the lens as it is to repair it. Comments: Many of the Cons I listed would have been major issues if this had been a high-dollar lens. Since the price of this lens is so low, and the performance of this lens is so high, these Cons can easily be overlooked. In fact, I thought this lens performed so well for the low price that I bought a second one so I would have a back-up to my back-up lens. I highly recommend this undervalued, future cult classic lens.Read full review
The lens is a "kit" lens and has a plastic "F-mount" flange which makes it less durable than higher end Nikkor lenses. The image is pretty sharp and the 18mm side of the zoom works out well with crop sensor bodies (DX). This model is an early one that does not have vibration reduction (VR) and does not have the lock button to lock the lens in a closed (smaller) form factor. The quality and feel is still pretty good for an entry level lens.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I've used this lens for everything from pix of bees on flowers to county fair action shots. I really like it! It gets very close for macro shots and still has enough aperture for a decent depth of field but still enough light gathering with supplemental flash. The 55mm length is pretty good for general distance pictures, although it makes me want the 18-200mm even more. The lens is lightweight since it's plastic, I was a little concerned about ruggedness but so far no problems. As long as the optics stay put in the plastic, I'm happy. Don't get the lens real hot, though. Easy to use (even though the G feature is just plain weird).
This lens is perfect for about 80% of pictures any recreational photographer would take. Works great and the vibration reduction is amazing. Very well built and doesn't feel very cheap like some other nikkor lenses. Highly recommended for any nikon user. The only two downsides to this lens is that there is no aperature ring, which I am fond of (but that is a matter of preference), and the other downside is when you're using it on autofocus. There will be times that the lens will take forever to autofocus, but if you just use the manual focus instead, you will be just fine. So if you're a new shooter and don't know what lens to get to start, this is PERFECT. I might even get a 55-200mm nikkor, just to have a lens for any situation.
