Nikon shows deft development of classic

Note: I'll stick to my more or less standard disclaimer about my reviews - I'm not a techhead and I'm more concerned with taking nice pictures than analysing in painstaking detail every last nuance of the equipment I use. If you want learned discussion on chromatic aberration, corner softness or purple fringing, you're probably best looking on some of the other excellent photography specialist review sites. Hopefully in this review, I'll be able to give an idea of how good this lens is in use for the average photographer.


Intro

As a Nikon user for the last five years or so, I viewed the Nikon AF-S DX VR 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G with a little suspicion. It seemed to be barging into the territory of a very old and trusted friend of mine, the deserves-to-be-a-classic 18-70 DX kit lens which made so many D70 users happy.

So does the Nikon 16-85 stand up to a comparison and can it step into the shoes of a mid-range kit lens which has proved to be a solid and dependable workhorse for many Nikon shooters over the last few years?

First off, a bit of technical decoding of the roll-off-the-tongue lens name. First off, AF-S means it is an AutoFocus lens with a Silent motor. The DX tag tells you that this lens is designed for Nikon's cropped range of digital SLRs, basically this is not a lens designed for full frame cameras. The VR is for vibration reduction, a high tech system which is designed to reduce the amount of camera shake caused by the photographer and allow you to take photos at lower shutter speeds while retaining sharp pictures. The 16-85 indicates the zoom range of the lens: in this case the widest setting is 16mm and the longest zoom is 85mm. Because this is designed to be used on a APS sized sensor camera (with what is called a crop factor of about 1.5) this actually means the lens's range is more like 24mm to 127mm, or about x5 zoom if you're used to the descriptions on non DSLR cameras.

(As an aside, I have no idea why a lens more or less exclusively designed for APS sensor cameras - to the extent it is DX branded - still refers to the focal length in full-frame measurements, requiring the photographer to work out exactly what field of view the camera will have. Surely it would make more sense to brand this lens as a 24-127?)

Following the 16-85 you get an indication of the "speed" of the lens, the f number. In this case it is 3.5-5.6, which means at the widest setting the lens is f3.5 and when it is zoomed, the amount of light the lens can pass drops to 5.6. It's not strictly necessary to understand exactly what this means, other than the lower the numbers the "faster" the glass, the better the lens and the more light it can pass to the sensor. The implication this has is that "fast" lenses can be used in lower light with faster shutter speeds or narrower apertures. The 16-85 has an average range, professional level zoom lenses would expect to have f ratings as low as 2.8 and often are "constant" in that the f-number remains the same regardless of the zoom setting.

And finally, that G at the end indicated that this is one of Nikon's G-series lenses which means there is no aperture ring on the camera itself, you set aperture through the camera itself.

So, to recap, the Nikon 16-85 is billed as a quiet, autofocus lens, with a shake reduction system, a reasonable useful zoom range and a mid-range "speed" in terms of the light it lets in. Which all makes sense as the Nikon 16-85 is being marketed very much as a mid-level "prosumer" lens, which while it doesn't quite perform at the standard of a professional level bit of glass, is certainly a few steps above much cheaper entry level lenses.

Build/layout

Construction and layout reflects this positioning. The lens is not metal bodied, like it's professional brothers, but equally it's constructed of a solid and hardwearing plastic (with an attractive textured effect which makes the lens look high quality), with a metal mount (important, as this makes the lens much more stable on the camera and is unlikely to wear out over many uses).

The zoom ring and focus ring are covered with a nice, tactile, textured plastic surface giving a good grip and very positive action, even in damper conditions. My 18-70 did "loosen up" over use with the zoom and focus becoming much less stiff and a little too free moving, including some "lens creep" (where the lens will extend slightly under its own weight if pointed downwards) and I suspect given three or four years of daily use the 16-85 may also suffer this.

Sadly, unlike the 18-70, the 16-85 doesn't have a rubber weather sealed gasket on the rear mount of the lens - it's a strange decision considering the relatively little cost of including the gasket compared to the lowering of the lens' "almost pro" value to keen photographers.

On the left hand side of the barrel (as the photographer looks at it from "behind" the camera, are three switches. The top changes between manual/auto focus mode and manual mode. The first lets the camera auto focus, but you can still grab the focus ring and make adjustments yourself. The second setting makes it impossible for autofocus to take place and you have to do the job yourself. Some may not see the point of the switch, but it does have its uses, especially if you're carefully pre-setting focus for certain photography and don't want any risk the camera is going to try and override your setting.

The middle switch turns VR on, or off. The bottom switch chooses between the two VR modes - normal and active. Normal mode aims to reduce camera shake induced by the natural motion of the human body/hands as you take a picture, the camera however should detect if you are panning the camera for your shot and not attempt to correct for this. The "active" setting tries to correct all and any shaking, and is recommended for use if you're, for example, taking photos from a moving car or boat.

The top of the lens has a useful focus range indicator - but as with all Nikon cameras of this type, does not give any depth of field information.

The lens comes with a hood, which fixes on a bayonet style mount at the front of the camera and usefully can be reversed over the front of the camera for storage.

As with all Nikon lenses, you also get a high quality front lens cap and rear cap included with the lens. And a nice gold logo and printing to reassure you your money has gone on a Nikon lens.

In use

Like the 18-70 before it the 16-85 has a very nicely thought out zoom range, ideal to make it the lens of choice for nearly all general photography and many snappers will rarely have need to take it off their camera. It certainly is more or less constantly mounted on mine and I almost never feel I've missed an opportunity because it lack reach or wasn't wide enough.

At the wide end, the extra few millimetres of wide angle are noticeable - letting you take nice big landscape shots. While many argue you can just take a step back to get a wider view, in some cases this just isn't possible - and the wide setting also gives some creative opportunities with close ups and almost "fish eye" perspectives.

And the extra 15mm on the long end, compared to the 18-70 also makes a difference, letting you get that extra step or two closer to the action, without having to actually step closer to the action.

However, if you're into bird watching, or photographing tight property interiors, you will hit limitations. But bear in mind, no general zoom lens delivers these specialist needs and you'll always have to invest in more suited lenses to achieve these shots.

The size and weight of the lens also make it an ideal walkaround lens - not too heavy to carry mounted on a camera all day and unobtrusive enough on the front of the camera not to scare potential subjects.

The controls are simple, well places and easy to use - falling fairly naturally under your fingers.

Focus is very quick and as billed, near to silent - something which can be a little disconcerting and having you check you've not actually left the camera on manual focus. Focus accuracy obviously depends greatly on the camera, but I've seen no problems or instances when the lens has missed focus in an alarming (and non-user caused) way.

Picture quality throughout the zoom range, seems excellent, with good sharpness and no glaring quality problems. Like any zoom lens, you will get some distortion (straight lines bend slightly) at the wide end, but this can be corrected in editing programmes if it really bothers you.

Colour reproduction is also good, with no huge surprises about rendition - as some lenses sometimes do!

In action, the VR system is perhaps less useful than you originally might think. Granted, it can allow you take photos in slightly darker conditions than you would do with a non VR lens, but what it can't do is make any difference to motion blur in the picture - so while you can handhold the camera at much lower shutter speeds at dusk, for example, those lower shutter speeds will mean anything in motion in the picture will still be blurred.

However, in certain circumstances, the VR might help you make sure a shot can be sharp, when without VR it may have been blurred and unusable.

The VR does make a slight hissing noise when in operation (it kicks in when you half press the shutter), does drain battery power more than when VR is off and does cause the image in the viewfinder to swim a little as the lens does its stuff - which for those prone to sea-sickness is not the most pleasant experience in the world.


And as there isn't a non VR version of the 16-85 available - the VR should be viewed as a nice bonus, rather than an essential reason to buy.

The alternatives

So what else could you buy instead of the 16-85?

The lens covers a zoom range not really covered by any one lens in the current Nikon line-up, so for many it might be a must buy.

The lens it is intended to replace, the Nikon 18-70 is still available for bargain prices on ebay etc, and might be a consideration. It's a high quality lens, but doesn't have the same wide setting, or zoom length as the 16-85 and also lacks VR. Build quality and performance is almost identical however.

Many rate the 18-200 VR. For slightly more cash you get a much bigger zoom and only lose a few millimetres at the wide end - and as many say, you can just take a step back! However, issues have been raised about picture quality at some zoom lengths on this lens. However, for the average photographer, this might be a compromise you're prepared to make for what must be one of the ultimate "walkaround" lenses.

The Nikon 18-135 again delivers slightly less at the wide end, slightly more at the long end and is a little cheaper in terms of value for money. However, there is no VR (if this is of use to you) and it has a plastic mount.

The oft-packaged 18-55 Nikon is very cheap, and for a reason. Not only do you lose the wideness of the 16-85, but you also lose zoom length - and all in a pretty cheap, plasticky body!

The professional grade 17-55 2.8 is much feted, but controversially much criticised by some reviewers and criticised. At a almost 1000 dollar price tag, you'd expect it to blow away the 16-85, but some suggest it is on a par with the much cheaper lens, which also offers a longer zoom and VR.

Conclusion

While seemingly expensive, this lens does deliver value for money. It will probably remain on your camera 99 per cent of the time and be responsible for 99 per cent of your pictures. The build quality is not far off professional standard. It is well designed and offers a range and feature set which makes it very attractive to the keen amateur Nikon user and is a fine addition to a D80/D90 or D300 to bring out the best of the camera.

This is a very worthy successor, and dare I say it, a big improvement on my well-loved 18-70 and has certainly relegated its older sibling to the shelf.