Nikon AF-S DX 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR

I know I’ve said it about other lenses, but this one really is fantastic. It’s really a kit lens, bundled with the Nikon D500, but don’t let that fool you.

Think of this as a step up from the typical kit lenses, like the different versions of the 18-55mm. The 16-80mm sold for just over $1000 when it was introduced in 2015, and it sells for a lot of money still today. I got mine for around 4000 SEK, which, I think, is a decent price.

For me, this lens will replace the Af-P VR 18-55mm and the AF-S VR 18-200mm. But even selling those will not cover the entire cost of the 16-80mm.

What I gain is 2mm focal length on the wide end, something I will hardly ever notice compared to the other lens’ 18mm. More significantly, I will gain speed (light), with the f/2.8-4 of the 16-80mm compared to the other two lenses.

And I will, even though I cannot verify it with any measurements, gain sharpness. I have used the 18-200mm lens a lot because it is versatile, but I’ve not gotten that real sharpness out of it, which I hope to see from this new lens. The 18-55mm has also been a good lens, mainly because it is small and light, which makes for a nice kit to carry, especially with the D5500.

The focal range of 16-80mm (around 24-120mm equivalent) will give me a bit more range compared to the 18-55mm, but lose a bit of range compared to the 18-200mm. But since I have the 70-300mm, which I don’t use that much, I’m hoping that the 16-80mm will now sit on my camera more than the other lenses.

The 16-80mm is a big and heavy lens compared to the 18-55mm, but just a bit lighter than the 18-200mm. On the D7200, it looks great and feels good in my hands too. And it’s got a rectangular lens hood, can’t beat that for looking good.

This is not a macro lens, but you can get pretty close, and it strikes me how shallow the depth of field is at f/4.