Thoughts on D80 kit lens: AF-S DX 18-135mm

[chet]

DPReview review here.

I've found the D80 body only for $1499, and the kit (D80 body + this lens) for $1909 - so this lens is worth approx $400.

Is it any good, or would it be worth me looking at another lens? I don't know much about lenses

ps. Howcome this is a Nikon lens, and not a Nikkor lens?

[Aussie Dave]

Hi Chet
This lens would be fine to use, but will obviously not be as good as the more expensive lenses.

The Nikon and Nikkor lenses are the same. Can't recall why Nikon sometimes use Nikkor instead of Nikon....but I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for it

[chet]

thanks

I was thinking I might be best off spending the ~$400 on a "better" lens.

[sheepie]

One of the advantages Nikon has had over Canon in recent years (at this end of the market) has been the quality of the Kit Lens. If this lens is anything like the quality of the D70 kit lens (the 18-70dx) then it's well and truly worth the money

[Yi-P]

Im surprised that Nikon didnt even bothered putting a focus distance information scale on the lens


RE: the "Nikkor" -- If you look closely at the image, it still reads "AF-S Nikkor"

[chet]

@ sheepie - excellent, will consider it properly then

@ Yi-p - which image are you looking at? I don't have 20/20 vision, but I swear it says Nikon on the image in the link in my first post.

[gstark]

Chet,

Look here for an image, and here for the specs of the lens.

If you look at the gold printing at the base of the lens body, you'll see that the first line says Nikon DX, which basically means that the lens is designed for Nikon digital cameras.

The second line says AF-S Nikkor 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 G ED, which translates to autofocus using a silent wave motor (faster AF), 18-135 is the focal length range, f3.5-5.6 is the aperture range of the lens, G means that there's no aperture ring on the camera, and ED means that it uses special ED glass in some of the elements, to reduce some optical artefacts and help produce a better quality image.

I've heard no first hand reports on this lens as yet, nor have I had a play with one myself, but if it's anything like their other similar lenses, it should be very good value at this pricepoint.

[chet]

thanks for that guess I wasn't looking hard enough.

Didn't realise what the G meant... that's a pity - do any Nikon/Nikkor lenses come with an aperture ring?

[gstark]

They're basically removing the aperture ring on their newer lenses.

Do you have older Nikon bodies on which they may be used? If not, it's really not an issue at all.

[chet]

No, don't have any older Nikon bodies. I thought the aperture ring was useful for working out DOF - or am I confused?

ps. Found this information (source):

Kit lens. The D70's 18-70mm kit lens was unusually excellent for a kit lens when it debuted. But the D80's kit lens adds unprecedented versatility to the excellence equation, with a focal length of 18-135mm, equivalent to a 27-202.5mm lens on a 35mm camera. It used to take two lenses to cover this range, but now a single, relatively small lens covers the entire range of 7.5x. I think 10x gives most users just what they want in terms of capturing all that their mind's eye can conceive without a lens, but 7.5x is pretty close. Sure, it would be better optically to have the excellent 18-200mm VR lens, but that weighs more and costs several hundred dollars more than this new kit lens. Build quality of the 18-135 is very tight, and it's only a little longer than the 18-70mm.

Far reaching. The D80's kit lens completes a compelling package that is currently unrivaled at this price point.
This non-cheap kit lens has a long list of fine features, including ED glass, a silent wave motor (SWM), digital-specific design (DX), a rounded seven-blade diaphragm for smoother bokeh, manual adjustment after AF in AF-S mode, and it focuses as close as 17.7 inches (45cm) regardless of zoom position. Add a non-rotating front element and an included lens hood, and you have quite a lot for the effective $300 price when purchased with the camera.

[gstark]

No, don't have any older Nikon bodies. I thought the aperture ring was useful for working out DOF - or am I confused?

Perhaps slightly.

You can preview your DoF using the preview button. The D50 doesn't have one, but everything else, I think, does.

But while older lenses carry both an aperture ring and a DoF scale, most newer Nikkors that have the aperture ring seem to have lost the the DoF scale, which is what you would use to try to assess the DoF without using the preview function.

And I think that this is what you're talking about.

Finally, I think that there are printed scales or slide-rule style calculators available for download from the net. These should help you to assess the range of DoF for a given focal length, camera to subject distance, and aperture combination.

[Glen]

Chet, if you mean can you adjust the aperture without an aperture ring, the answer is yes you can via the camera body Adjusting the aperture does affect DOF

[Yi-P]

Newer primes in G lens design, no aperture ring on newer lenses, means no more reversing/adapter rings fun...

[chet]

[quote=gstark]But while older lenses carry both an aperture ring and a DoF scale, most newer Nikkors that have the aperture ring seem to have lost the the DoF scale, which is what you would use to try to assess the DoF without using the preview function.

And I think that this is what you're talking about. [/quote]
Yup, that's what I meant.

Although, now I don't understand what the Aperture ring is/was for.

I still don't quite understand why both rings would be taken off though

Sorry Yi-P?

[gstark]

Although, now I don't understand what the Aperture ring is/was for.

I still don't quite understand why both rings would be taken off though

In newer cameras, the aperture setting is controlled by the camera. This is due to the advent of cameras having CPUs embedded within them.

30 years ago cameras did not have CPUs; they were mostly mechanical and electronics were just starting to invade their space. The only way, in those days, to set an aperture, was mechanically, and physically on the lens.

Thius you had an aperture ring, and the scale was merely imprinted on the body.

Having removed the aperture ring, there was no place left for the scale to live.

[chet]

got it, thanks

Edit: Teds are selling the D80 + 18-70 lens for $1899. So effectivly, I would be getting the 18-70 for ~$400.

Which would be better value? 18-70 or 18-135 ($1999 with D80)?