Nikon 18-135mm AF-S f/3.5-5.6


I'd get one here.

Introduction

This 18-135mm lens is the equivalent of the great 28-200mm lens on a 35mm camera. That was a popular zoom range since the wide was wide-enough without distortion and the zoom was just about long-enough for good photos hand-held. Longer than that and you were asking for trouble with blur, and the same holds true in the digital realm as well.

Specifications

Maximum Aperture: f/3.5 to f/5.6

Minimum Aperture: f/22 to f/38

These speeds aren't anything to write home about, but they get the job done.

Bokeh is acceptable. This isn't a fancy portrait lens, but compared to the 18-200 VR this lens has a lot better bokeh.

This lens is pretty sharp and the distortions are acceptable.

AF is fast and accurate. This lens uses IF, or Internal Focus, so focusing doesn't change the length of the lens. There is also a manual focus ring that you can grab at any time and adjust the focus without having to use any override switches.

Performance

When I'm shooting in the studio and with strobes I often reach for this lens since it looks good stopped down and you don't need that much zoom when you have to worry about tripping over power cords and you can move your subject and lighting around to suit your needs.

Alternatives

There are about two alternatives to this lens. One is the 18-200 VR which costs several times as much and has only a slightly longer zoom with tons of focus issues and distortion. I'd take the 18-135 over the 18-200 VR.

The other alternative would be to be a little shorter and use the 18-55. This is a fine lens as well and is often found as a kit lens. I'd recommend to just stick with the 18-55, but my best friend, and second-shooter at weddings disagrees. I lent him my 18-135 for a while, and when I wanted it back to do some focus testing of the 18-200 VR he missed it so much he ran out and bought an 18-135 in a day.

Examples

Following are some sample photos to demonstrate the power of this type of lens and some general uses which will likely yield good results. If you shoot things like these, then this lens may be a good one to think about adding to your camera bag.




Yep, I had to use some lens to take the photo of the other lenses, and the 18-135mm was the one.