18-135 lens

[mdo574]

any comments on the kit lens that comes with the d80 18-135, just purchased this item..thx mike

[TenPoundMonkey]

it's a fine lens, it won't blow you away at all, but it works and is cheap(ish). It's sharp enough, but I notice color fringing on mine.

I wish it had VR and i am not a fan of it's plastic mount.

[Phrasikleia]

There's some detailed information about it here:

http://www.slrgear.com/reviews/showproduct.php/product/993/cat/13

It's very sharp for a consumer zoom, but suffers from distortion and vignetting. Fortunately, the latter two are easily fixed in PP.

[Foucault]

I recommend the 16-85mm vr Nikon lens for your D80. It's miles above the 18-135mm.

[jaseone]

I recommend the 16-85mm vr Nikon lens for your D80. It's miles above the 18-135mm.

There always has to be at least one in every thread...

Is the 16-85 VR better than the 18-135? Yeah sure it is but the 18-135 will suit most people's purposes just fine, the only thing I wouldn't like is the lack of VR and if the OP wanted to gain that then I would recommend the kit D90 lens the 18-105VR.

It is like telling someone a Lexus is better than a Toyota, is Lexus better? Yeah it generally is but will a Toyota meet most people's needs? You bet ya!

[Abraxsis]

I totally agree. I just bought a D80 and went shooting with it this afternoon. I foind it to be too soft for my tastes. My really old Tamron 70-210mm MF lens blows it away, and today I actually broke out the 50mm 1.8 to ensure I got the shots I needed to get. I drive far out into the countryside for shots, so its important that I get them. HOWEVER, I am a IQ freak, and even though I critique the soft IQ harshly, its more than enough for 95% of the users who will buy it. Also, for shots where the soft grainy look is what youre going for it's perfection.

I also agree with the lack of VR. My opinion is do what Im doing, save a couple weeks and buy a 18-200 VR lens.

There always has to be at least one in every thread...

Is the 16-85 VR better than the 18-135? Yeah sure it is but the 18-135 will suit most people's purposes just fine, the only thing I wouldn't like is the lack of VR and if the OP wanted to gain that then I would recommend the kit D90 lens the 18-105VR.

It is like telling someone a Lexus is better than a Toyota, is Lexus better? Yeah it generally is but will a Toyota meet most people's needs? You bet ya!

[Phrasikleia]

There always has to be at least one in every thread...

Is the 16-85 VR better than the 18-135? Yeah sure it is but the 18-135 will suit most people's purposes just fine, the only thing I wouldn't like is the lack of VR and if the OP wanted to gain that then I would recommend the kit D90 lens the 18-105VR.

It is like telling someone a Lexus is better than a Toyota, is Lexus better? Yeah it generally is but will a Toyota meet most people's needs? You bet ya!

All you say is true, but it doesn't hurt to let someone know what their options are. I once made the mistake of buying a superzoom purely by reading reviews of all comparable superzooms and choosing the best of the lot. Had I posted to a forum about it, someone would eventually have told me the truth about superzooms and saved me from having found out the hard way. I learned that I should have spent more on a better lens, because soft or downright blurry pictures aren't acceptable for my purposes. For me, it was not money well spent. But I agree that for some folks, "good enough" will do just fine.