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12 Advantages of the Nikon 16–85mm f/3.5–5.6 Lens for Working Pros and Wedding Photographers

  1. 11628photo image The Nikon AF-S DX 16–85mm f/3.5–5.6 G ED VR Lens is a near-perfect medium-zoom lens for many professional photographers, especially those shooting weddings. Serious enthusiasts will also find it to be an excellent choice when they want more than the standard kit lens that came bundled with their DSLR.

  1. The Nikon lens 16–85mm is compatible with all Nikon DX digital SLRS, which include the D300, D60 and D40, and FX bodies in DX crop mode.

  1. On a DX body, with 1.5x magnification, this Nikon lens is the equivalent of 24mm to 127.5mm in the 35mm format. This very versatile zoom range makes it an everyday-use lens for many amateur and professional applications.

  1. The Nikon 16–85mm f/3.5–5.6 reflects Nikon’s reputation for building solid, durable lenses that receive plenty of use. This is evident in the inclusion of a metal, instead of a plastic, lens mount.

To give this lens pro-grade features, it weighs 17.1 oz. (485g), but its small dimensions, 2.8” x 3.4” (72x85mm), create a compact package that can be easily carried when mounted to the appropriate camera body.

  1. All-day shooters will appreciate the operation of the lens, with a wide rubber zoom ring located at the front and the narrower manual focus ring toward the back. Nikon has added easily-recognizable zoom settings at 16, 24, 35, 50, 70 and 85mm as well as simple display that shows distances in meters and feet, a real help during manual focusing.

  1. With so many possible uses for the 16–85mm, Nikon gave it the company’s VR II, or Vibration Reduction, optical stabilization system. It reduces any shaking or vibrations caused by hand-held shooting at slow shutter speeds or in low-light conditions, so images are still sharp.

  1. Wedding photographers like both Nikon’s Silent Wave Motor (SWM) for quiet auto-focus and being able to take immediate control of focusing with just a twist of the focus ring.

  1. Third-party tests reveal that the Nikon 16–85mm f/3.5–5.6 lens delivers superbly sharp images, especially in the 35–70mm range. Both the center and corners of images were sharp from 24mm and longer.

  1. To provide that sharpness, Nikon designed this lens with 17 elements in 11 groups, which include 2 ED glass elements and 3 aspherical elements. All of them receive Nikon’s Super Integrated Coating, which enhances color accuracy and substantially controls ghosting and flare.

  1. The Nikon 16–85mm also has a minimum focus distance of approximately 15 inches (0.38m) and a maximum angle of view in DX format of 83 degrees.

  1. As one Nikon 16–85mm owner stated online, “Very few camera lenses deserve a 5-star rating, but this is one of them. If you are buying a Nikon D90 or D300, then this is the zoom lens to get to use with your camera. You won't regret it.”

  1. The Nikon AF-S DX 16–85mm f/3.5–5.6 G ED VR Lens is available from B&H Photo Video at $649.95. For more information, visit http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=Nikon+16-85mm+lens&N=0&InitialSearch=yes

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