Nikon AF Nikkor 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5 D IF ED

Great walk-around lens I bought this as an "Event Photo" lens for my full frame camera. It focal length is ideal for my style of photography (I learned this by using a Nikon 12-24 on a APC camera). Much of my work is architectural - you could use this lens, but the distortion at 18mm is quite pronounce and you'll have to "fix it in Photogshop" - personally I prefer to use the 17-35 or 14-24 for interior photos. This is a good, inexpensive lens that works well for events and will be a dandy "vacation lens." Not exactly pro grade, but is you shoot RAW and know Photoshop (and have the time) you can make it work for you

SMOOTH AND TACKY! I bought this Lens to fill a gap in my Higher performance category lenses. After reading exhaustive reviews and looking at sample photos on line I decided to go for it. The close focus pictures blew me away! Being careful to look out for straight lines near the edges of the photo I was able to capture super tack sharp pics with my Nikon D80. I have been shooting flowers and new growth for a project and the difference between what this lens captured and my 50mm 1.4D lens/24-60 2.8 sigma was worlds apart. I played with the linear challanges and they are present but barely noticable compared to the other attributes of this lens. If you want vivid colors this lens is also a strong performer. I tested against the 50mm 1.4 and 35-70mm 2.8 and found better color results in the orange, red and violet/purple color range. Close focus is excellent and by just stopping down to 4.5 @ 18mm i was able to get a wider depth on the surface of the flower and still maintain a brilliant bokeh around the tulip. Many others have commented on the merits of this lens and most think the results are great for a mid-range lens. People are also performance strenghts of this lens. I was at a Team party and needed to take a few shots of a large group. in horrible shooting conditions I used my portable flash Quantaray XLF- 50 fliped down the Diffuser and zoomed to 18mm. The results were Great! I took 3 shots total 18mm f3.5, 21mm f4.0, 18mm f5.6. All three shots were useable from a quality standpoint. The last on is the one they used in the newsletter due to beter sucess with team members posing. I know reviewers like K. Rockwell think the kit lens can do the job well but I think this lens perform a clear cut above in richness in image quality and beauty on close focus bokeh. Focus is fast and sharp and it performs like you have 5 fixed length lenses all capable performers at there respective lengths. 18,21,24,28,35. I highly recommend it for Artistic and Group use.Read full review

Excllent Lens! The lens came from Japan in the exact condition as described. It arrived 2 days before it was scheduled, and was delivered in person by a semi-private carrier. Just make certain that your camera can couple & meter "thru the lens" ( many can't) since it is an older AF, not AF-S. I have already taken a couple of hundred shots with this lens. The lens arrived clean with no internal dust or mold, and it performed exactly as I had hoped, if you are thinking of a well priced , reasonably fast, non-professional, wide angle zoom that is well built, this one is a fine choice, & it works great on my Nikon Df.