Nikon 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX ED VR Nikkor Wide-Angle Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon DSLR Cameras by Nikon
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Digital camera reviews of Nikon 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX ED VR Nikkor Wide-Angle Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon DSLR Cameras
Digital camera Review: Great overall lens
Summary: 5 Stars
Great lens to walk around with, very sharp, wide enough for landscapes (though with some distortion) and good telephoto for portrait shots with good bokeh. VR works great, build quality is solid. This is a great step up lens if your considering moving up from a kit lens.Digital camera Review: Great walkaround lens
Summary: 5 Stars
I use this on a D90 as a walkaround lens and have been very happy. I like it better in terms of quality and performance than the kit lenses, although I think it's just a touch pricey and a bit slow at the long end. Can't argue with the results though, and to get anything better would cost much more - and probably doesn't really belong on a D90 anyway. Mostly I use it for architectural shots, so every bit of wide angle helps, especially with the crop factor of the D90.Digital camera Review: Handy little lens
Summary: 4 Stars
I am very lucky I bought this lens. My 18 - 55 failed on me(finally a reason to get rid of that kit lens) and I was in a hurry to get something for landscape and family photo's. I had just blown my budget on a 300 f4 (love it) so I looked and picked this one quickly. I really am a fan of prime lens but have wanted to finally try a VR and with the 16 to 85 it seemed like a jack of all trades to me. I wanted to get a few faster lens but decided to give this one a go.
It was a great idea. I have been shooting sunrise's, sunsets, closeups and more. I have been able to shot close to the ground low light shots by knelling down, setting the aperture and just holding without a tripod and getting super sharp results. The color is great, the weight is easily managed and the lens performed flawlessly.
Up to now my 105 mm and 300mm have been my favorites but the flexibility this lens gives me has quickly moved it to the top of my list. I can not tell you how happy I am with it's clarity and range. Of course I wish it was faster but short of the 50mm 1.4 none are fast enough for me. :)
Thanks Nikon! PS using a D80 with it, love that camera.
Digital camera Review: I hate zooms, but...
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a snob of sorts. I use prime Nikkors, mostly manual focus, and mostly fast apertures. In thirty years of Nikon use, I use manual focus Nikkors even on my auto-focus film cameras.
I tested the waters of digital with a D40 and D60 (the D40 was stolen), and the kit lens that came with each was everything that made me stay with my metal and glass Nikkors when auto-focus ruled the film world, too light, too flimsy, and lacking of a feel of precision. I used my manual focus Nikkors on the D60 with good effect, giving up metering, and a less than exact focusing ability, especially at f/one-point-something.
After reading a review for the 16-85mm Nikkor zoom, I decided to get one so that I could at least have one auto-everything lens for when I wanted to be lazy, or hand the camera to someone else to use. When the lens arrived, it looked much better than the kit lens that sat unused after a brief test period. The lens was first rate in terms of fit and finish. The impression of a fine lens continued when I mounted it and shot images in my low-lit living room. A sharp shot taken at 1/3rd of a second at the 85mm setting was enough to let me know that the new VR label was a true tool, and not just a selling point.
I now have several hundred photos made with this lens, and not a bad one from the lens' fault. The prints I had made from my lab had the tech asking me what I was shooting with... the files were so good.
FWIW... my normal working wide-angle in the film days was 24mm, and this lens has that angle of view when set at 16mm. I was at home with this lens on the first outing, and I stopped thinking about film-versus-digital...I was shooting with a 24mm lens. I never liked the 28mm focal length, so this lens was the one I was waiting for, and I'm glad it came along. There is a difference between a 24mm and 28mm (on film), and it shows up here in the digital world too.
I can recommend this as a quality optic for the digital shooter.
Digital camera Review: It's a Nikon
Summary: 4 Stars
I use the 16-85 as a companion to the 70-300. The 16mm wide end is very nice for general shooting. The quality of build and optics is typical Nikon. The reason for the 4 stars instead of 5, the hood will cast a very strong shadow in your photo if you do not take it off before using the built in flash. At least this is true when used with the D60. I am surprised that this got past the good folks at Nikon. Otherwise it's a great product.