Camera Price Buster User Reviews
Nikon AF-S 16-85mm f3.5-5.6G ED DX VR Lens
Average Rating: Excellent
based on 1 reviews. Click
here to add your own review.
Review by Keith Nuttall on 1st March 2013
Rating: Excellent

Product: Nikon AF-S 16-85mm f3.5-5.6G ED DX VR Lens
I have owned this "quality replacement kit lens" for 5 years, since its release, and I have never regretted it. In my opinion, its an unsung hero, and excellent walkaround/landscape lens. It compliments a high-end DX camera beautifully, producing very sharp and contrasty images at all apertures. It has been 100% reliable, and its coating, although not the pro-end Nano type, produces very little ghosting, even straight at the sun; any flare you may see is quite contained/usable. The zoom casing has a very slight wobble fully extended, but this doesnt seem to matter.
It focuses quickly without hunting, it is lightweight, the VR works seamlessly and effectively, and the focus/zoom rings are smooth and accurate. I did blind 1:1 comparisons with my 24-70/2.8G, viewing landscape images at 100% and there was no significant difference, so this really is a bargain for smaller aperture use.
Its not all high praise though: wide aperture bokeh is a bit fussy, and it only opens up to f/5-5.6 through half of the zoom range. But, given its light weight and relatively low price, these are acceptable drawbacks in my opinion. If I had one wish, it would be for the much-rumoured revised f/4 model, which may just be a myth.
In summary, this is a rock-solid performer, suited to land/cityscape photography, which punches well above its weight.