Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-70mm 1: 3.5-4.5G ED DX SWM IF Aspherical review

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-70mm 1: 3.5-4.5G ED DX SWM IF Aspherical - great small versatile lens for cropped cameras Nikon DX. It was the first zoom lens for Nikon DX cameras, introduced back in 2004 with a camera Nikon D70... I can assume Nikon did their best to make their first crop wagon good. Anyway, Nikon 18-70 / 3.5-4.5G is one of the oldest lenses in Nikon DX format. To replace it was later released Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm 1: 3.5-5.6G ED SWM Aspherical, which turned out to be worse in general than 18-70mm.

Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-70mm f / 3.5-4.5G ED-IF

Main technical characteristics of Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-70mm 1: 3.5-4.5G ED DX SWM IF Aspherical:

Nikon 18-105mm 1: 3.5-5.6G ED Nikkor VR AF-S SWM DX IF Aspherical and Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-70mm f / 3.5-4.5G ED-IF

Nikon 18-70 / 3.5-4.5G is a good all-rounder, its EGF is 27-105 mm. This range of focal lengths is very often used on cropped cameras. Lens fit for any simple photo tasks.

Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-70mm f / 3.5-4.5G ED-IF

The lens has internal focusing - When zooming and focusing, the front lens does not rotate. Lens autofocus is surprisingly fast... The lens even has a focusing distance scale, which is often a luxury for a budget lens. Also, the lens has a 'M / A - M' focus mode switch. In the 'M / A' mode, automatic focusing with manual focus priority is available - this means that manual focusing is always possible without having to move the lens to the 'M' position.

Unlike many lenses of the Nikon DX series, such as 18-55, 18-105, 18-135, 18-200, etc. Nikon 18-70mm f / 3.5-4.5G uses a large and powerful focus motor ring type.

Funny but even more advanced zoom lenses by type Nikon 18-105mm f / 3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S DX Nikkor и Nikon 18-135mm f / 3.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor do not have 'M / A' focus mode.

Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-70mm f / 3.5-4.5G ED-IF

In manual focus mode, the focus ring rotates approximately 120 degrees, as for a whale lens, manual focus is surprisingly convenient. The zoom ring is rubberized, but the focus ring is not. The minimum focusing distance is 38 centimeters, which allows you to shoot macro with an increase of 1: 6,3.

Bokeh lens. The rounded aperture blades make almost even circles in the blur zone.

My copy has come a long way in life, after which the zoom system got a little loose. The lens itself is made quite high quality, it even has a metal mount. By the way, Nikon 18-70 / 3.5-4.5G will automatically focus on all Nikon camerassince the lens has a built-in focusing motor SWM. I used NIkon 18-70 mm on cameras without any problems Nikon D40, D40x и Nikon D80.

Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-70mm f / 3.5-4.5G ED-IF on a Nikon D40x camera

Comes with a lens Hood HB-32. The lens hood can be installed back-to-front, while it will be difficult to use the lens, as access to the zoom ring will be lost.

Optical design of Nikon 18-70nn AF-S

The lens consists of already 15 elements in 13 groups, moreover, one element is aspherical, and three elements are made of special ED low-dispersion glass. I believe that for a whale lens, the presence of such a number of special elements that can improve image quality is a very serious indicator. You can read more about all the optical circuits of Nikon DX lenses. here.

Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-70mm f / 3.5-4.5G ED-IF

If you choose a relatively cheap universal zoom, perhaps the following plate will be useful in this:

Tablet comparing budget zooms

NIkon 18-70mm AF-S stands out for its aperture F / 4.5 at maximum zoom position. Aperture at F / 4.5, 1,55 times more than F5.6. 2/3 stops of aperture gain are not so much important for faster shutter speeds as for comfortable sighting and autofocus. You can read more about focusing at different maximum values ​​of the F number. here, but you can read how to take pictures without hand blur here.

Dimensions of some lenses: Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm 1: 3.5-5.6GII ED SWM Aspherical and Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-70mm 1: 3.5-4.5G ED DX SWM IF Aspherical and Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 18-135mm 1: 3.5-5.6G ED SWM IF Aspherical и Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm 1: 3.5-5.6G ED SWM VR IF Aspherical

Sample Photos

All photos in the first two galleries without treatment. Only reduced size to 3 megapixels and imprinted data from EXIF. The image from the lens suffers from severe distortion and vignetting at 18mm. Sharpness is not the best, but quite normal for such a lens; sharpness at the corners of the frame drops noticeably. But the lens perfectly holds back light. Due to the 7-petal diaphragm with rounded petals, it is difficult to achieve star effect with strong light sources.

Nikon D80:

Nikon D40:

Nikon 18-105mm 1: 3.5-5.6G ED Nikkor VR AF-S SWM DX IF Aspherical and Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-70mm 1: 3.5-4.5G ED DX SWM IF Aspherical

My thoughts are:

Nikon 18-70 / 3.5-4.5G is much better than Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm 1: 3.5-5.6G ED SWM Aspherical и Nikon DX AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm 1: 3.5-5.6GII ED SWM Aspherical... Used cost Nikon 18-70 / 3.5-4.5G is mere pennies. For example, at one time I bought myself a Nikon 18-70 / 3.5-4.5G for only 130 USD, it became a universal lens for home use on my cropped cameras. I've changed Tamron AF 17-50mm f / 2.8 XR Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Nikon on NIkon 18-70, because Tamron in 2 years just crumbled into pieces, and I have no regrets about it. True, my copy of the NIkon 18-70 was not as sharp as expected. When choosing such a lens, be careful, as there are lenses with different image quality. Nikon DX Lens Considerations here, and a list of all Nikon DX lenses can be viewed here.

The masters who repair the lens claim that the Nikon 18-70 / 3.5-4.5G built-in focus motor is noticeably better than the Nikon 18-55 (all models), Nikon 18-105, Nikon 18-135.

Thank you the store www.fotika.com.ua behind provided by Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-70mm 1: 3.5-4.5G ED DX SWM IF Aspherical lens, which I took to create photos with its appearance.

Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-70mm f / 3.5-4.5G ED-IF

Lens prices in popular stores can look at this link.

An accurate list of all Nikon DX Nikkor lenses

1. 10.5 mm/ 2.8G AF Fisheye [gold ring]
2. 35 mm/1.8G AF-S
3. 40 mm/2.8G AF-S Microphone
4. 85 mm/3.5G AF-S VR Microphone
5. 10-20 mm/4.5-5.6G AF-P VR
6. 10-24 mm/3.5-4.5G AF-S
7. 12-24 mm/4G AF-S [gold ring]
8. 16-80 mm/ 2.8-4IN AF S VR [gold ring]
9. 16-85 mm/3.5-5.6G AF-S VR
10. 17-55 mm/2.8G AF-S [gold ring]
11. 18-55 mm/3.5-5.6G AF-S [black / silver]
12. 18-55 mm/3.5-5.6GII AF-S [black / silver]
13. 18-55 mm/3.5-5.6G AF-S VR
14. 18-55 mm/3.5-5.6GII AF-S VR
15. 18-55 mm/3.5-5.6G AF-P
16. 18-55 mm/3.5-5.6G AF-P VR
17. 18-70 mm/3.5-4.5G AF-S
18. 18-105 mm/3.5-5.6G AF-S VR [Thailand / China]
19. 18-135 mm/3.5-5.6G AF-S
20. 18-140 mm/3.5-5.6G AF-S VR [Thailand / China]
21. 18-200 mm/3.5-5.6G AF-S VR [Japan / China]
22. 18-200 mm/3.5-5.6GII AF-S VR
23. 18-300 mm/3.5-5.6G VR
24. 18-300 mm/3.5-6.3G VR
25. 55-200 mm/4-5.6G AF-S [black / silver, Japan / China]
26. 55-200 mm/4-5.6G AF-S VR
27. 55-200 mm/4-5.6GII ED VR
28. 55-300 mm/4.5-5.6G AF-S VR
29. 70-300 mm/4.5-6.3G AF-P
30. 70-300 mm/4.5-6.3G AF-P VR

Results

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-70mm 1: 3.5-4.5G ED DX SWM IF Aspherical is a good all-round lens for Nikon DX cameras. The lens has a good price / performance ratio and fast internal autofocus. Many amateur photographers bypass this old man, but as practice has shown, the Nikon 18-70mm is a really good lens.

Material prepared Arkady Shapoval. Training/Consultations | Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Telegram.