Park Plaza Amsterdam - room

Tamron 17-50 mm on the Nikon D300 @ ParkPlaza Hotel / Amsterdam.

nikon 18 135 mm compact lens

The first thing you notice about the 18-135mm DX lens is that it’s rather compact. Where the heck is the 135mm stuffed in? After all, this is a lens that’s smaller and lighter than most previous mid-range zooms Nikon has made. On the flip side, it’s not that much smaller than the also compact 18-200mm, though it is significantly lighter.

The 18-135mm focal range gives you angle of views from ~10 to 66 degrees across the horizontal axis on a DSLR; it’s effectively the same as using an 28-200mm lens on a 35mm body. For some users, that’s a stay-on-camera range. There’s no denying that this is a much-asked-for focal length range. Indeed, even I find it interesting to walk around with this lens, the 10.5mm, plus a small extension tube–that makes for a very compact, light kit that covers a pretty incredible focal length and focusing range.

This is a two ring design; like most recent consumer Nikkors, the zoom ring is the front most ring and the focusing ring is closer to the camera. Yuck. The lens does not have a distance scale, and no depth of field or infrared markings.

The lens does not have VR (vibration reduction), a big disappointment to many potential purchasers. At 135mm and f/5.6, this lens really could use VR.