In summary
The focal length range of this lens makes it ideally suited for photographing landscapes, cityscapes and architecture when used on an FX camera. With these cameras, it would also be suitable for photographing groups of people and covering events, such as family outings and parties.
On a DX body like the D5300 we used for our review, the effective focal length becomes equivalent to 27-52.5mm, which is closer to the angle of view of normal human vision. This limits the angles of view covered and makes it less suitable for landscapes and cityscapes while enabling it to be more of a general-purpose lens.
If you’re after wider coverage for a DX body, the normal 18-55mm kit lens would be a better (and cheaper) option. And you could obtain VR stabilisation and a slightly closer focus with the new AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II lens.
Although we weren’t able to test this lens on camera body with an FX sensor, for its price, the review lens delivered a very solid performance that was well above average for a consumer lens with the D5300. Even though the lens barrel is made mainly from plastic and the lens itself is relatively light for its size and speed, it looks good and has a quality feel that more than justifies its price tag.
Full review
Although designed primarily for FX-format cameras, the AF-S Nikkor 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5G ED is fully compatible with all Nikon DSLRs, including entry-level DX models. It was announced in January 2013 and replaces an older non AF-S lens. The optical design now includes exotic elements and the new lens features a modern Silent Wave Motor (SWM) AF drive to suit photographers who capture movies as well as still shots.
The AF-S Nikkor 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5G ED, shown without the supplied lens hood. (Source: Nikon.)
The re-designed optical system comprises 12 elements in 8 groups and includes two ED (extra-low dispersion) glass elements and three aspherical lens elements and the design is optimised for high-pixel-count DSLR sensors. Although it covers a 1.9x zoom range, this lens weighs only 385 grams and protrudes just 95 mm in front of the camera body. For its size it feels relatively light.
The optical diagram for the AF-S Nikkor 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5G ED lens showing the position of the exotic glass elements. (Source: Nikon.)
Being a G-type lens, this lens lacks an aperture ring, requiring aperture settings to be adjusted from the camera body. Supplied accessories include the standard front and end caps plus a petal-shaped hood and a soft carrying pouch.
Who’s it For?
The focal length range of this lens makes it ideally suited for photographing landscapes, cityscapes and architecture when used on an FX camera. With these cameras, it would also be suitable for photographing groups of people and covering events, such as family outings and parties.
On a DX body like the D5300 we used for our review, the effective focal length becomes equivalent to 27-52.5mm, which is closer to the angle of view of normal human vision. This limits the angles of view covered and makes it less suitable for landscapes and cityscapes while enabling it to be more of a general-purpose lens.
If you’re after wider coverage for a DX body, the normal 18-55mm kit lens would be a better (and cheaper) option. And you could obtain VR stabilisation and a slightly closer focus with the new AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II lens.
Build and Ergonomics
The light weight of this lens is largely due to the use of plastic in its construction, which consists of a plastic barrel based on a metal mount. Its ‘Made in China’ label indicates that it has been produced as cheaply as possible with minimal compromises to Nikon quality.
There’s a thin rubber gasket around the lens mount to keep out dust and moisture. However, the lens is not actually weatherproof.
Internal focusing ensures the physical length of the lens remains constant throughout the zoom range and the front element does not rotate during focusing or zooming. However, the rear group of elements moves in and out over a distance of 1-2 cm as the focal length is changed. They are closest to the sensor at the 18mm focal length and furthest into the barrel at 35mm.
The front element is recessed about 6 mm but its centre bulges forward (although not enough to touch the lens cap). The lens cap clips into a 77 mm diameter filter ring.
The focusing ring is located roughly 1 cm back from the front of the lens. It’s approximately 18 mm wide with a 12mm wide ridged rubber grip band. Behind the focusing ring is a distance scale, which is calibrated in metres and feet and has markings ranging from 0.28 metres to infinity.
A slider on the side of the lens barrel level with the distance scale allows users to choose between two focusing modes: M/A and M. The former selects autofocus with manual override, while the latter is for manual focusing.
The lens barrel steps in abruptly for the zoom ring, which is about 21 mm wide and carries a broadly-ridged rubber grip band that is about 12mm wide. The trailing edge of this ring is stamped with marks for the 18mm, 24mm, 28mm and 35mm focal lengths.
These line up against a white dot on the leading edge of the fixed section of the lens barrel, which is about 22 mm long. The only other thing on this section is the reference dot for mounting the lens on a camera.
Performance
The focusing and zoom rings operated smoothly and were nicely damped. Thanks to the ultrasonic Silent Wave Motor, autofocusing was acceptably fast and very quiet, although not completely silent.
Imatest showed the review lens to be a good performer, although some edge softening was detected at wider aperture settings. Aside from that, centre of field resolution remained consistently high up to about f/10, where diffraction began to take effect. The graph below shows the results of our tests across the aperture and focal length ranges.
Lateral chromatic aberration remained within the negligible band, nudging into the low band at the 35mm focal length. In the graph of our Imatest results, below, the red line separates negligible and low CA.
The review lens showed barrel distortion throughout the entire focal length range. It was very obvious at the 18mm position and just detectable at 35mm. Vignetting at maximum apertures was relatively minor and also most noticeable at the shortest focal length, although still evident at 35mm. Stopping down quickly reduces this problem.
Neither distortion nor vignetting are serious issues with modern Nikon cameras since all have dial-in corrections for both problems. Corrections are also available for chromatic aberrations in many cameras and all three problems can be rectified with modern editing software.
Conclusion
Although we weren’t able to test this lens on camera body with an FX sensor, for its price, the review lens delivered a very solid performance that was well above average for a consumer lens with the D5300. Even though the lens barrel is made mainly from plastic and the lens itself is relatively light for its size and speed, it looks good and has a quality feel that more than justifies its price tag.
SPECS
Picture angle: 100 to 63 degrees on FX body; 76 to 44 degrees on DX body
Minimum aperture: f/22-f/29
Lens construction: 12 elements in 8 groups (including 2 ED lens elements and 3 aspherical lens elements)
Lens mounts: Nikon F mount
Diaphragm Blades: 7 (circular aperture)
Focus drive: Nikon Internal Focusing (IF) System with autofocus controlled by Silent Wave Motor and separate focus ring for manual focus
Stabilisation: No
Minimum focus: 28 cm at all zoom positions
Maximum magnification: Approx. 0.2x
Filter size: 77 mm
Dimensions (Diameter x L): Approx. 83 x 95 mm (distance from camera lens mount flange)
Weight: Approx. 385 grams
TESTS
Based on JPEG files taken with the Nikon D5300.
SAMPLES
Vignetting at 18mm.
Vignetting at 26mm.
Vignetting at 35mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 18mm.
Rectilinear distortion at 35mm.
18mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/400 second at f/10.
35mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/400 second at f/10.
Close-up at 35mm; ISO 100, 1/400 second at f/5.
30mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/200 second at f/7.1.
28mm focal length, ISO 400, 1/80 second at f/4.5.
18mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/160 second at f/8.
35mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/125 second at f/8.
20mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/60 second at f/9.
35mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/40 second at f/10.
32mm focal length, ISO 400, 1/160 second at f/6.3.
30mm focal length, ISO 800, 1/100 second at f/6.3.
33mm focal length, ISO 800, 1/125 second at f/6.3.
30mm focal length, ISO 12800, 1/250 second at f/8.
18mm focal length, ISO 3200, 1/250 second at f/8.
20mm focal length, ISO 640, 1/100 second at f/5.
Additional image samples can be found with our review of the Nikon D5300.
Rating
RRP: n/a ASP: AU$800; US$750
- Build: 8.5
- Handling: 8.8
- Image quality: 9.0
- Versatility: 8.5