Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED IF AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens

by Nikon

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3 x 3 x 3 inches ; 13.8 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0001YEOCU
• Item model number: B0001YEOCU
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 21, 2005

Product Description

Compact 3.8X zoom covers portrait to wide view (76' at 18mm to 22 50' at 70mm).Optimized DX lens design is compatible with every Nikon D-Series digital SLR cameras.Three Nikon ED glass elements, plus aspheric element for low distortion and minimized chromatic aberration.Exclusive Silent Wave Motor for high-speed auto-focusing with accuracy and super-quiet operation.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good lens for the range, December 27, 2005

By 

Ben (Pittsburgh) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED IF AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens (Electronics)

I recieved my lens with my D70 kit and have used it for the past year and a half. The 18-70 is a great lens, particularly for outdoor photography. Indoors, it is a little more limited due to the variable aperture but works well when used with flash. The zoom range and the silent wave focus are the best features. Stopped down, the lens is also quite sharp.

My shooting with this lens was predominately landscape and event photography, and has really produced some nice pictures. I've since upgraded to a 17-55 f/2.8 lens due to the better low light performance, sharpness and build quality, but aside from a little barrel distortion and light fall-off at 18mm, the 18-70 is no slouch. I'd recommend it as a light travel lens or a good starter lens.

47 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good lens for the D50, December 25, 2005

By 

A. Drew "adrew" (Fort Worth, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED IF AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens (Electronics)

I bought my D50 at a local camera store in my town. I opted for the 18-70 lens after they recommended it instead of the 18-55 kit lens due to better quality optics and sturdier construction. The 18-55 has a plastic mount while the 18-70 has a metal one.

I've had the camera and lens for a week -- and, so far, I've taken over 400 photos. The lens has an excellent range. The wide angle of 18mm (equivalent to 27mm) is great for shooting interior rooms and group shots (no more telling everyone to sqeeze in!). It zooms out to a decent 70mm (equivalent to 105mm).

Compared to my five-year-old point and shoot, this is a night-and-day improvement. In focuses instantly--even in the dark. Image quality is excellent: it is easy to adjust the depth of field and blur out the background.

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent kit lens, February 1, 2006

By 

abarak - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G ED IF AF-S DX Nikkor Zoom Lens (Electronics)

As most people I guess, I got this lens as part of the D70 kit. The D70 plus this lens make a great kit at a reasonable price. Things I liked -
* Wide to mid-tele zoom range: I find this lens zoom range good for 99% of the photo opportunties I have, which include family life and an occational travel.
* f/22 minimum aperture allows for night photography longer exposures without need for natural density filters
* Optical quality: Given enough available light, this lens is good, color and geometrical distortions are almot unnoticeable. As with all wide lenses, some goemetrical distorion is noticable at the wide zoom range (under 24mm)
* Silent focus and build quality: This is not the old Nikon almost military spec lens construction, it still however feels solid and nice to hold and operate

Things I didn't like -
* The included hood has somewhat cheap feel
* Aperture opening is limiting in some cases, for more capable indoor photography you'll want a fixed f/2.8 zoom, which cost ~3x, or better yet an f/1.8 prime lens and give up zoom altogether.

Why four and not five stars? there are better (and much more expesive) lenses - these would be five stars in absolute rank. In terms of bang for the buck - this is a five stars lens.