Nikon 18-105mm VR Reviews, Samples and References
Last update (Jul 09, 2009): Fourth of July Photos.
This post is a personal compilation of links to Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR ED Nikkor lens professional reviews, user opinions and experiences, tests, ratings and conclusions.
I also link up to images, sample photos and galleries of pictures taken with this lens.
Full attribution is given by linking to the source.
The Nikon 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G VR (vibration reduction) Nikkor lens was introduced on 27-August-2008 as a kit lens for the Nikon D90, which was also announced on the same day.
Recently added
Fourth of July Photos – Very nice carnival and fireworks images by abdoozy, who used the 18-105 VR, Nikon D90 and a Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom Nikkor lens to shoot the pictures.
Official sites, key features and specifications and included accessories
The official websites for the 18-105mm Nikkor lens are at:
Key specs:
- Weight: 14.8oz. (420g)
- Dimensions: 3.0×3.5in. / 76×89mm (Diameter x Length)
Go to the bottom of this DC Watch page for some photos of this lens.
Reviews and opinions
Thom Hogan's rating of the 18-105mm AF-S VR
Thom Hogan assigned an overall rating of four stars for the Nikkor 18-105, and states the following as reasons to buy the lens:
Very good all around; no significant optical faults.
Review at SLRGear.com
The conclusion is positive:
The Nikon 18-105mm ƒ/3.5-5.6 definitely raises the bar for Nikon's current lineup of kit lenses; consistently sharp, even at large apertures, with good resistance to chromatic aberration. Corner shading is prevalent, but it's not a noticeable problem. Distortion is evident and irregular, but again, you're probably only going to notice it if you need your straight lines to be absolutely straight.
Compared with the Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens:
The VR employed in the 18-105mm isn't as robust as that seen in the 18-200mm, offering only one setting for VR (on and off). The VR2 system allows for "active" and "normal" VR usage, allowing for panning shots which compensate for vertical shake only.
On Amazon
Amazon has more owner and user reviews on the 18-70 AF-S lens.
Sample photos and examples, image galleries
Recently added
Nikkor 18-105mm VR Pictures by Neutralday – This Flickr set has full-resolution images taken with a Nikon D90, which were used in their D90 review.
Most of the photos were shot with the 18-105 VR (while the others were photographed with a Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX Nikkor – see this post for the relevant links).
Four Nikon D5000 flower photos, and an ISO6400 full-resolution image
Jeff Klofft shared four flower macros / close-ups, and one ISO 6400 image in this forum post.
The 18-105 VR lens was mounted on Jeff's brand new Nikon D5000 for the shoot.
This is the link to the full-sized version of the ISO 6400 test photo.
Miscellaneous 18-105 photos at DC Watch
Here are the links to images shot with the Nikon 18-105 lens. You'll need to scroll down a bit to see the pictures.
- Test samples shot with a Nikon D90.
- Photos with a variety of lenses. The lens used is mentioned under each thumbnail – keep a look out for the 18-105.
Full-sized image samples at Photo-cafe.jp
They have tons of full-sized photos here, all shot with the Nikon D90.
Lizard Close-up
This 100% crop of the reptile was photographed by cmvsm with the Nikon D90. Focal length was 105mm, and the aperture used was f/5.6.