Digital SLR: Lens Best Buys
Lenses Best Buys
The Nikon AF-S DX 18-55 / f3.5-5.6 G ED lens is one of Nikon’s most inexpensive lenses. It often comes bundled with the Nikon D50 DSLR (where the zoom range becomes 27-82.5mm). It’s quite light and for such a cheap lens it really surprised us with its image quality. You can buy it in silver or black, usually for the same price. Score 76%.
The Canon EF-S 17-85mm / f4-5.6 IS USM has image stabilisation built in (the “IS” part of the name). This helps with image sharpness especially when you’ve zoomed in and there’s not a lot of light. It’s a heavy lens, about 475 grams, but it has good zoom power. Score 74%.
The Schneider D-Xenon 18-55mm / f3.5-5.6 is a lens that is normally sold with Samsung DSLRs. It can also fit Pentax DSLRs. Pentax offer a similar lens. Score 73%.
The Canon EF-S 18-55mm / f3.5-5.6 is normally sold with Canon DSLRs. It’s lightweigh at under 200 grams but its zoom power is less than the other Canon Best Buy. If you attach the 18-55mm lens onto a Canon EOS 350D, for example, you’ll get an optical zoom range of 29-88mm (the 17-85mm lens would give you an optical zoom range of approximately 27-136mm). Score 73%.