K. Johnson
- Comment
- - - HELPFUL HINT - - - If you just purchased your first Nikon DSLR (DX format), want to upgrade from the kit lens, and dont know which lens to buy - This is it! Trust me, just buy it! Better yet, if you havent purchased your camera yet, buy the body only, and then get this lens, (or buy it bundled as an alternative to the kit lens). This is a DX lens, so I assume if you are looking at this lens that you are not a professional photographer with a full frame camera. Chances are...you are either an amateur or an enthusiast, looking to upgrade from the kit lens, and wondering which lens to buy. When I purchased my first DSLR, I spent months pouring over reviews, reading DxOMark ratings, and trying to figure out which lens would fill my needs. Every new DSLR owner always wants to know which lens they should buy, and with the selection out there, it can get overwhelming. Luckily, I had a professional photographer friend who told me to get this. WHY YOU SHOULD BUY IT: 1. With the 18-140 range, you are covering everything from wide-angle to a decent telephoto range that will fit most photographers needs. Unless you need a super zoom, for photographing wildlife, this is an almost perfect range, and will replace a variety of lenses, enabling you to carry only this lens for the vast majority of your photography needs. I cant overstate how important this is. For instance, on vacation, you need only bring this one lens instead of 2 or 3. Very convenient, and enables you to catch random shots without having to change lenses. 2. Great optics, nice and sharp with good color. Unless you are willing to spend over $1000, its hard to beat the quality. There is a reason it is rated so highly! 3. Solid build, acceptably fast autofocus, smooth, with no creep, and a nice metal mount. Some other lenses, (like the 18-105) have a plastic mount, which is completely unacceptable in my opinion (shame on you Nikon for making plastic mounts). If you have ever slightly knocked a lens with a plastic mount, you know that the plastic mount breaks insanely easily, and is expensive to replace, (and dont even bother trying to do it yourself). This lens feels good in the hand, nice and solid, yet balanced. Its a little on the heavy side, but considering you only need to carry this lens, instead of several....its a wash weight-wise. 4. Considering that this lens will replace several, the price point is decent, particularly when you compare the optics to some of the other Nikon offerings. IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING THE 18-105: Dont do it. The 18-105 has less range, lower quality optics, and a plastic mount, which is a crappy flimsy thing that will eventually break, unless you treat it very, very gingerly. For approximately $100 more, you are getting much better quality optics, better range, and a solid metal mount that will take a beating. The $100 savings of the 18-105 is simply not worth it.