It’s designed for Nikon DSLR’s with a DX cropped sensor and zooms from a wide-angle 18mm out to a 3.1x zoom of 55mm.
One of its key features is that it has built-in vibration reduction. That helps reduce motion blur from that slight shake you get when taking hand-held photos, especially in low light.
I’ve posted some practical examples of the zoom range of this lens, and I’ll be posting a detailed hands-on review of this lens shortly. In the meantime, here are some samples of photos I’ve taken with the Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G to give a sense of how it performs in real-world shooting.
You can click on each image to open a full-size version for a closer look. Most of these were shot on a Nikon D3400, but some are on different cameras; you can see the shooting information under each photo.
Sample Images Taken with the Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR Lens
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 55 mm and f/25 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 55 mm and f/5.6 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 18 mm and f/7.1 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 52 mm and f/8.0 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 34 mm and f/11 on a Nikon D3400. I often take a variation of this shot in lens and camera tests because it can show up both barrel distortion that bends the columns and chromatic berration. There’s minimal evidence of either of those here.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 40 mm and f/5.6 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 26 mm and f/8.0 on a Nikon D3400. The branches of the cherry trees lining Washington DC’s Tidal Basin offer a good test of sharpness across the frame.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 48 mm and f/5.3 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 55 mm and f/7.1 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 40 mm and f/5.6 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 36 mm and f/4.8 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 55 mm and f/5.6 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 22 mm and f/6.3 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 55 mm and f/5.6 on a Nikon D3400. This was taken across the face of this famous ceiling, so the section at right is much closer than the section at left.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 18 mm and f/6.3 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 55 mm and f/11 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 50 mm and f/5.6 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 18 mm and f/4.5 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 23 mm and f/5.6 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 55 mm and f/5.6 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 55 mm and f/11 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 18 mm and f/7.1 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 55 mm and f/7.1 on a Nikon D3400. This viewpoint, which is one I often use, is a good test of any lens distortion. As you can see, though, the lines that are supposed to be straight are indeed straight. If there’s any distortion, it bends these vertical lines.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 55 mm and f/5.6 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 29 mm and f/4.2 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 55 mm and f/5.6 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 48 mm and f/9.0 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 25 mm and f/20 on a Nikon D3400. This gives a sense of sharpness. As you can see, it’s sharper in the middle of the frame than at the sides, and even the middle of the frame isn’t as sharp as it could be at f/20. I’ve found the sharper apertures to be around the f/8-f/11 range, which is pretty standard.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 55 mm and f/5.6 on a Nikon D3400. This gives a sense of how the background blurs with the wide aperture.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 34 mm and f/4.5 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 34 mm and f/4.5 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 42 mm and f/8.0 on a Nikon D3400. The high-contrast lines in this should bring out some chromatic aberration, and they do to some extent, but it’s not especially strong and easily corrected in Lightroom.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 40 mm and f/6.3 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 18 mm and f/5.6 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 38 mm and f/4.8 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 18 mm and f/4.5 on a Nikon D3400. This is another viewpoint I often use to look at sharpness across the frame.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 18 mm and f/9.0 on a Nikon D3400. You can see both chromatic aberration (left side column) and some slight barrel distortion, but neither issue is especially strong.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 55 mm and f/5.6 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 18 mm and f/4.5 on a Nikon D3400.
Photo taken with a Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens at 42 mm and f/11 on a Nikon D3400. This is a stitched panorama comprised of multiple images, so it’s not really a good indicator of the lens itself, but it does give an example of how the lens can be used with non-standard shooting. Another thing is shows through the absence of ugly, uneven joins in the clear blue sky is that there’s not much of a problem with vignetting.
Nikon’s Other Models of 18-55mm Lenses
Nikon has a few different 18-55mm lenses. They’re all similar, but there are still key differences between them. Nevertheless, telling the model numbers apart isn’t as simple as it could be.
The model used to take the sample photos above is the Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR. This one is often bundled as a kit lens with the entry-level Nikon DSLRs like the Nikon D3400.
There’s a newer version of this lens with the updated version of vibration reduction VRII. It’s model name is Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II. There’s also a version without any vibration reduction, the Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR.
Where to Buy
The Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR is sometimes included as a kit lens in some of the Nikon DSLR bundles, but you can also buy it separately. There’s also now a newer version that has the upgraded vibration reduction (VR II).
You can find them at Amazon. You can often find used versions at KEH that are good value.
- 18-55mm lens with f3.5-5.6 maximum aperture for Nikon DSLR cameras
- Focal length equivalent to 27 to 82.5mm in 35mm photography
Images and product information from Amazon Product Advertising API were last updated on 2019-09-23 at 11:28.
Questions & Comments