New Nikon 18-55mm VR-Equipped Lens Under $200

[Ben Stafford]

Today, Nikon announced a new Vibration Reduction (Nikon's name for optical image stabilization) equipped lens that is perfectly sized and priced for entry level SLR users. The new Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR lens will be available in December 2007 at an estimated street price of $199.

This news lens is designed to work with any of Nikon's DX format digital SLRs, including the D40, D40x, D80, and D300. The VR capability, especially nice at this price point, offers up to three stops of stabilization. This means you can shoot at three stops of shutter speed slower than you would typically need to prevent blur caused by hand-shake.

The 18-55mm focal length of the lens makes a good "first lens" for many people - covering a range from a wide angle to a telephoto range that is ideal for portraits.

The lens also features Nikon's Silent Wave Motor (SWM) technology for quick and quiet auto focus.

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[usapatriot]

Now only if they opened it to F/2.8...

[CalebSchmerge]

I just bought that lens two months ago, and now they have the VR version! Oh well. I want to get a nice 50mm f/1.8 to help, and that won't need VR (most of the time).