The Nikon DX 18-105mm f3.5-5.6 VR is the kit lens sold with many of Nikon’s newer mid range digital SLR cameras such as the Nikon D90 or D7000, however, as this is an AF-S lens it can be used with any Nikon Digital SLR camera, including the Nikon D3000 and D5000 series. The Nikon 18-105 VR also features Nikon’s optical stabilisation, or Vibration Reduction - VR system, which in the past has proved to be excellent.

Although it still sports a plastic lens mount and is lightweight in Nikon terms, the Nikon 18-105 VR is much nicer to use than the cheaper Nikon 18-55 VR. Zooming is smooth and the lens has much more of a quality feel than the cheaper lens. The Nikon 18-105 VR also comes with a petal shaped lens hood.

Kit lenses are often just a starting point - if you’re serious about your photography usually you’ll soon want something better, but the Nikon 18-105 VR doesn’t have the rather cheap feel of the Nikon 18-55 VR, so for most people I’d think the Nikon 18-105 VR is a much better starting point, and if you’re buying a Nikon DSLR I’d pay the extra for this lens. Wish it had a metal mount though.

However, the Nikon 18-105 does have a decent manual focus ring, although the position behind the zoom ring is the opposite of what I’d consider normal, it is large enough to use comfortably, so way better than the tiny awkward focusing ring on the Nikon 18-55.

Test Results