A couple of years ago I managed to break my trusty old Nikon 18-135 when it fell from the boot of the car at Amsterdam. I replaced it with a Sigma 17-70 which is a cracking lens but it doesn't quite have the reach that I want for medium distance work.
Then.... last week I saw an 18-135 at a reasonable price on Ebay. In excellent condition and a reasonable price of £120 inc. p&p and insurance so I bid on it and won.
The 18-135 isn't the fastest mid range zoom around (f3.5-5.6), it doesn't have VR and it has a plastic mount.......but by God is it one sharp little lens ! The silent wave motor is quick enough me and is what it says...silent ! One handy little feature is the ability to manually override autofocus simply by moving the focus ring. A tap on the shutter button re-establishes autofocus.
At full zoom it does suffer a little from corner vignetting but that's nothing that can't be adjusted out in post processing.
The 18-200 VR is a logical but more expensive option. If Nikon were to reintroduce the 18-135 with VR and its existing optics then I'd be the first in the queue.
Just because a lens is some years old doesn't mean that it's out of date !!
Then.... last week I saw an 18-135 at a reasonable price on Ebay. In excellent condition and a reasonable price of £120 inc. p&p and insurance so I bid on it and won.
The 18-135 isn't the fastest mid range zoom around (f3.5-5.6), it doesn't have VR and it has a plastic mount.......but by God is it one sharp little lens ! The silent wave motor is quick enough me and is what it says...silent ! One handy little feature is the ability to manually override autofocus simply by moving the focus ring. A tap on the shutter button re-establishes autofocus.
At full zoom it does suffer a little from corner vignetting but that's nothing that can't be adjusted out in post processing.
The 18-200 VR is a logical but more expensive option. If Nikon were to reintroduce the 18-135 with VR and its existing optics then I'd be the first in the queue.
Just because a lens is some years old doesn't mean that it's out of date !!
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