Rotating Filter Mount

Have decided to buy a D90.
Trying to make decision on the kit lens. The 18-105 is found by reviewers to be inferior to the 18-55 dx vr. Only downside appears to be the front of lens rotates when focussing.
For those who use polarisers and grad filters, do you find this is a problem and is it easily overcome? I also already have 52mm filters from film slr kit.

Thanks
Iain

ThePilot said:

Have decided to buy a D90.

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Congrats! Excellent camera.

ThePilot said:

Trying to make decision on the kit lens. The 18-105 is found by reviewers to be inferior to the 18-55 dx vr.

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Which reviews would those be? I'd take the 18-105VR anyday and twice on Sunday! Yes the 18-55 is a decent lens but the 18-105 is sharper, has the much nicer range and will balance nicely on your D90. Super walk around lens.

Check out this link comparing those 2 lenses (roll your mouse pointer over the image to switch between lenses - note arrow direction above the test images)- the results are quite definitive in favour of the 18-105: Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S VR DX Nikkor Lens Image Quality

ThePilot said:

Only downside appears to be the front of lens rotates when focussing.For those who use polarisers and grad filters, do you find this is a problem and is it easily overcome? I also already have 52mm filters from film slr kit.

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While this is true of the 18-55, the 18-105 is an internally focusing lens so the front element doesn't rotate during focus or zoom (yet another reason to get the 18-105 over the 18-55).

Thanks James.
I was basing my comments on the 18-105 on what ken rockwell thom hogan and camera labs were saying.
I would take most pictures at the wide end of the range. I would need to buy new filters for the 18-105 though.

Iain

No problem Iain.

Yes, Ken is to say the least very high on the 18-55

At this point it sounds like you are leaning heavily to the 18-55VR as your lens purchase given your filter collection (and it will certainly do a fine job for you!). The only obstacle will be the rotating front element of the 18-55 which could be worked around by acquiring focus first and then adjusting the polarizer itself as needed.

I'm not sure where you are located but KEH.com is a very reputable dealer of used lenses and camera bodies.

Quite a few people on this forum seem to be using the D90 and many or them are also using the 18-105 lens with it. Also, many of those people have a great deal more experience with different types of equipment than I do. They can probably give you a better report than I can. I'm rather new to digital cameras and I'm on a tight budget. Consequently, I've never used the 18-55. The 18-105 came as a kit lens with the camera and I'm not at all unhappy with it. I recently purchased the 55-200 because I realized that I frequently felt like I wanted just a tad more reach. I just got it yesterday, so I don't have an opinion yet.

For lack of a better way to put it, the 18-105 feels pretty good when you go out of the house in the morning and you don't know what you're looking for. What are the complaints you've heard and I can tell you whether or not I agree.

From what I have heard, the 18-105 is very sharp and a great walk around lens. Your gonna love the zoom capabilities your gonna have with it over the 18-55. Plus your gonna have a 67mm filter instead of 52mm , so much wider, which can come in handy!

I have the 18-200 and haven't gone back to my 18-55. I never thought I would use the zoom part, but it comes in handy for certain situations! I would go with the 18-105 if I were you.

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Iain, what you have to remember is that Ken Rockwell and Thom Hogan make a living with what they do on the internet. Most of what they say, and their judgements are on the technical side, not on the practical side, so take what they say with a grain of salt. True if you are a professional making 16"x20" and up poster enlargements you would not use the 18x105mm to take the shot. On the practical side it's a great general use lens for the advanced amateur. It's my everyday go to lens and has been for years. Using shots taken with this lens I've made 13"x 18" prints (that's as wide as my printer will go) for photo shows and competitions and have won a number of first place ribbons.