This 3.8x wide-angle zoom, designed exclusively for use with Nikon’s DX-format, is ideal for general photography including landscapes and portraits.
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Go to –> NIKKOR 18-70mm Description
Lens nikkor Reviews
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Good lens for the D50, December 25, 2005
By A. Drew “adrew” (Fort Worth, TX)
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.
Better than you’d expect from a “kit” lens., March 27, 2007
By Bill “Bill” (Houston TX)
I must say, this lens rocks. It’s very contrasty and color redention is great. And very sharp, too. Many zoom lenses don’t perform well at their longest focal length, especially at the widest aperture. But even at 70mm and f/4.5, it can still hang with the big boys. There’s a little bit of light falloff in the corners at 18mm wide open. However, that’s no show stopper because it’s not bad and rarely will you need a wide open aperture at that focal length. There’s some barrel distortion at 18mm, but will not be noticable in most shots. In the real world we don’t take pictures of pieces of paper with grid lines, do we? The f/3.5-4.5 is a little faster than your typical f/4-5.6 zooms. So you get slightly faster shutter speeds and better autofocus performance in low light. And the autofocus is fast and accurate, especially for a lens in this price range. The focus ring has a nice smooth damped feeling when focusing manually. But the focus ring is in the back and zoom ring in the front, which takes some getting used to. Build quality is great for a lens of this price point. And there’s even a rubber seal on the lens mount-I’ve never had a lens with a seal. The lens hood was hard to remove and install, but if you grab it by the sides and not top and bottom, it makes it easier. But I still found it a little tight, so I sanded the plastic stops on the hood. You may want to do this to yours. The filter thread is 67mm-filters of this size are a bit pricey, but not nearly as bad as 77 or 82mm. Overall, the 18-70 is about the best bang for the buck Nikon offers!
Excellent lens and a great bargain!, December 18, 2006
By BJPhotoMan “bjphotographer” (Olive Branch, MS)
I have read good and bad remarks about the 18-70 lens (mostly good, though). Maybe it’s a question of whether you get a good copy or not. In any case, my 18-70 Nikon is excellent in every way: sharpness, color, contrast, distortion (obviously there is some as noted on the official review on this website, but it is entirely reasonable considering the zoom range and the price). I own a D200 and decided to run this lens through the typical battery of testing through the various focal lengths and apertures. I did not find anything whatsoever to complain about. I also own the Nikon 50 1.4 lens and at 50mm, this zoom seems every bit the equal at equivalent aperture speeds. Obviously the lens is slower and would prevent use in low-light conditions without flash or higher ISO settings (maybe VR would be cool to have). At 18mm it’s a little soft until 4.5 (5.6 and slower is excellent), but only a little soft and entirely acceptable as any lens (excluding the Pro series Nikkors) tends to be soft wide open. Trust me, if your copy is as good as mine, you will be completely happy with the 18-70. I am, and I highly recommend it! (I would love to have the 18-200 VR, but who knows when I will ever see one as Nikon has told dealers 6-12 month delays, too bad: I would love to have one of these. Until then, I am happily shooting with my 18-70 on my D200 as my main lens).
Well Made and Heftier Than the 18-55!, May 19, 2008
By Pat Martini “patmartini” (Sedona AZ)
Having purchased a D40 Kit, I got to look at the 18-55 lens. Certainly a bargain priced Nikkor to compete with the Canons. The 18-70 new style ED IF lens is far and away the heavy duty superior. I ordered one and immediately noticed the differences. The optical quality of the little lens isn’t really bad at all, but the 18-70 is certainly better. The greater reach also helps keep it on the camera most of the time.
It’s heftier construction and feel is more steady and sharper. While there is some distortion at the low end under certain conditions, like most DSLR zoom lenses, it is not readily noticeable, and only occurs under certain conditions. Certainly not a deal killer!
This 18-70 is the one you will have on the camera most of the time, and can take the job and do the work. Overall a heavy duty Nikkor with a reasonable price, and tack sharp results. You’ll like it!
