Nikon 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S DX Nikkor Lens Review

Nikon 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S DX Nikkor Handling and features

Weighing 485g and being 85mm long, this lens is a typical size for Nikon's mid-range lenses with a larger zoom range and it balances well on the Nikon D300 used for testing. The lens barrel is constructed from high quality plastics with a wide rubberised zoom ring at the far end of the lens and a distance scale window, with no hyper-focal markings just behind.

With hood	Rear

Focusing is performed internally, so the front filter does not rotate, which makes this lens ideal for use with graduated and polarising filters. Auto focus speeds aren't as fast as some of Nikon's other lenses covering this range and although a silent wave motor has been used, an audible squeak can occasionally be heard during focusing on this sample of the lens.

Side switches
Lens cap on	Zoom extended

The minimum focus distance of 38cm is useful for the occasional close-up image and also means that you're unlikely to be hitting the close focus stop when shooting in tight spaces.

The Vibration Reduction II system fitted to this lens promises to allow hand held sharp shots to be taken at shutter speeds up to four stops slower than would normally be recommended by the usual rule of thumb. In practice, with a little care sharp hand held images are possible about half of the time with a shutter speed of 1/15sec, with the lens set to 85mm. This is roughly three stops slower than the rule of thumb would recommend for this focal length on a DX format camera.

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