Best Bargain Lenses for Nikon - the underrated 18-70mm

A series for amateurs with sharp eyes and limited budgets

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

photo courtesy of Thom Hogan http://www.bythom.com/index.htm

Basics

This lens is one of Nikon’s ‘mistakes’ as someone on a forum put it, because it delivers far more than it needs to at the asking price. The 18-70 was first shipped as a kit lens with the D70 back in 2004/5, and that combo helped Nikon get back to the top. The lens is still a current model that sells for about $500 on its own, but it’s easy to find good second hand ones for less than $200. That price makes it one of the best bargains in Nikon land.

The basic specs are

Field of view:                              76.5 - 22.9 degrees
Aperture:                                   f/3.5 - 4.5
Min. focusing dist.                        0.38 m
Filter size:                                  67 mm
Dimensions (length x diameter):     75.5 mm x 73.0 mm
Weight:                                      400 grams

Construction

This lens is much better built than the 18-55 VR which has adorned more recent Nikon consumer models, so perhaps Nikon has realized its ‘mistake’. It’s chunkier and heavier but no longer than the 18-55, and it balances much better on a D5000 or D90.

It’s also better built than the 18-105 VR, and is fitted with a metal lens mount. The 18-70’s compact dimensions give no hint of the 15 lens elements inside, including 3 ED and 1 aspherical bits of glass. Nikon’s Silent Wave Motor makes sure the lens AFs on virtually all Nikon DSLRs..

Handling

It’s the perfect size lens and the weight is right. On a smallish Nikon like a D5000, the combo is very easy to hold steady and I’ve never missed VR. When I tested a Tamron SP 17-50 f/2.8 recently, I got a whole lot more blurred shots despite the faster aperture. Yes, I know, that’s hard to explain.

The zoom and focus rings are reversed if you’re old-fashioned like me, but they’re both a decent size and move with the right amount of resistance. Internal focusing means you have more freedom with filters and no rotating bits to worry about. The lens barrel extends about 2cm in two sections at 70mm, and the whole thing feels solid with no wobble or lens creep.

Performance

The lens isn’t fast at f/3.5 but f/4.5 at 70mm is better than the usual f/5.6, and the reach to 70mm is handy. It’s not a sports/action lens, and not really long enough, but it’s fast enough in good daylight to catch kids at play. Autofocus is always fast and accurate, manual focus is always a ready option without switching.

18-70 is a good walk-around range, wide enough for landscape shots and good enough for moving in on the action a bit. Close-ups of objects produce quite acceptable bokeh at the tele-end of the lens.

Image quality

I disagree with Ken Rockwell who claims that there’s no point in buying this lens since the cheaper 18-55 is so good. The 18-55 is good but this one has the superior optics. The 18-70 consistently turns out straight shots with great sharpness and wonderful colours. The optical contortions common to zoom lenses are all well controlled here, from distortion to flare.

 

Real world

Sure, there’s a little barrel distortion at the wide end, but the Tamron 17-50 is much worse. All the reviews mention vignetting but it’s really no big deal. OK, I rotate and crop a lot of images so I don’t see the edges that often. And there’s visible astigmatism. It may be visible but I haven’t noticed.

‘Astigmatism is an aberration caused by asymmetry in the lens. More here http://www.dougkerr.net/pumpkin/articles/Astigmatism.pdf . We’re talking about the real world here and the simple takeaway from me is this: if you get crook shots with this lens on your camera, don’t blame this lens.

Reviews

Thom Hogan:

‘Considering the price, superb performance. This is a far better lens than you'll ever expect for US$300. Far better. Good enough that it stays in my kit for when I want to go light.’

Lenstip:

‘When we compare the Nikkor 18-70 mm with the Canon 17-85 IS, the advantage goes to the former. Both of the lenses are sturdy, sharp and have a good autofocus. They both have visible vignetting. The Canon, however, has a bigger chromatic aberration and higher distortion; it is also much larger and more expensive. ... we can compare the Nikkor with the Sigma 17-70 mm. Here the price is similar. The vignetting and the picture resolution are similar, but the chromatic aberration looks better in the Nikkor. The advantage of the Nikon over the Sigma is a reliable autofocus.’ http://www.lenstip.com/15.11-Lens_review-Nikon_Nikkor_AF-S_DX_18-70_mm_f_3.5-4.5_IF-ED_Summary.html

SLR Gear:

‘Shot wide open, the 18-70mm does very well across its full focal length range, with even its weakest performance (at 18mm) being better than average. Sharpness is also surprisingly uniform across the entire frame. This lens also has an unusually broad ‘sweet spot’, delivering excellent sharpness across the full focal length range when stopped down one to two f-stops from the maximum aperture at each focal length. ...

Bottom line, the Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G DX is a very high-quality optic, well worth the price, and is a real bargain when acquired as part of a D70/D70S bundle.’

http://www.slrgear.com/reviews/showproduct.php/product/131/sort/2/cat/13/page/1

By way of a footnote, this DX lens has an FX twin in the AF-S 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 G ED. The two lenses look almost identical but it seems that the 24-85 is not as well-built and is prone to collecting dust (the 18-70 actually has a weather seal, which is unusual at this price). Nonetheless, the AF-S 24-85 has acquired a huge reputation as a Nikon ‘mistake’, so much so that the lens now sells for as much second-hand as it did new – about $350 or more. We don't know why Nikon discontinued it in 2006.

http://www.bythom.com/2485lens.htm

http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/2485afs.htm

http://www.photozone.de/nikon--nikkor-aps-c-lens-tests/238-nikkor-af-s-24-85mm-f35-45g-if-ed-review--test-report?start=1

Kim

Comments

[John]

I have used this lens for a couple of years now and I am still amazed at the performance/dollar ratio!

[Kim]

I think most of us who own this lens feel the same way, John.
Thanks for the support.
Kim

[S Krishna]

This lens and D70 were my first gateway into dslr world. The combo was a real boost to my confidence as both performed flawlessly and to my expectation. Hogan is right. It is a gem of a lens not always accredited as such. SK

[Kim Brebach]

Yes, this lens firts saw the light as a kit lens with the D70 - best kit lens Nikon ever produced. Much better built than any of the kit lenses they produced since.