I bought this lens for my Nikon D50 as a replacement for the 18-55mm lens that it came with. The difference in quality is immediately noticeable. While the standard lens feels cheap and rattles about when you shake it this one is heavier and made from the same heavy duty plastic as Nikon's entry level DSLR range. With the kit lense manual focusing is achieved by gripping and twisting the end of the lens whereas this more upmarket model features a focusing ring. This moves smoothly and can be altered with precision - just what you need on Nikon's AF-S lenses which focus automatically but enable you to override manually with ease.
The optics are as you would expect from Nikkor - fantastic - but not noticeably better than the kit lens. You do get a little extra zoom at the top end but this is not an all encompassing solution, it is a mid-range zoom and a decent one. Focusing is swift and quiet and the maximum aperture of f4.5 at maximum zoom is useful.
If I was buying it today I would save up a bit more cash and get the 18-200mm VR II lens that is out now. Not a huge amount larger but so much more versatile.
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