Nikon Nikkor General Purpose Zooms

As the title states, lenses here max out at 300mm, so most lenses other than wide zooms are covered here. You can use these camera lenses for just about anything, but primes can take much nicer photos.

As the title states, lenses here max out at 300mm, so most lenses other than wide zooms are covered here. You can use these camera lenses for just about anything, but primes can take much nicer photos.

Whoops, just remembered about nikonpricewatch.com, ok go there you don’t need this website. They have current prices from reputable authorized dealers, however some of these are out of date.

Ok I just need one lens that does it all...

Just buy the 18/24mm – 300mm lens. It covers everything and you don’t need any other lens! Or get any 70mm – 200mm f/2.8 if you’re looking for a pro lens. Ok blog done.

Although I am covering all sorts of zooms, really the two best zooms one should be in the market for are the pro ones, 28-70mm & 70-200mm units. However, if you’re looking for some flexibility without spending so much on the pro lens, then some of these zooms may fit the bill. Additionally, these can help to figure out the price of a DSLR bundled with one of these zooms. As you can figure out if the set is worth paying for, or just buying the lens separately. Lenses here will cover focal lengths in bold:

• From 100mm to 300mm, this focal length is considered telephoto
• 300 to 600mm = super telephoto
• 70 to 100mm = medium telephoto
• 85 to 150mm = “short telephoto”
• 42 to 70mm = normal or portrait
• 18 to 200mm = wide to telephoto lens

Nikon DX Kit 18-55mm Lens – Entry Standard Zoom

• These are pretty much all the same sort of lens, minus the 2147 because its a pro lens.
• 20059 is the newest & “best” lens, 20060 is cheaper because no VR
• 2211 has a collapsing zoom, so it can be shorter than the other two prior lenses
• These kit lenses seem to be not worth more than $70 used

Nikon DX 18-150mm Lens – Wide to Short Telephoto

• Lens are sorted by furthest zoom/focal point\
• These barely hit the cusp of medium telephoto zoom
• The 20055 lens doesn’t have a constant f/2.8 aperture but f/4 isn’t that bad either, comes with nano coat, so its the most durable here
• 2213 is a lens I own and I love it!
• 2162 is cheap to get & probably a good buy if VR is not needed
• 2175 is my next recommendation IF you don’t need such a wild zoom

Nikon DX xx-200mm Lens – Wide to Medium Telephoto

• sorted by lowest minimum focal length, then by release date
• If you got a 18-55mm lens, these might not be needed at all, and you can skip to 70-300mm
• But if you don’t, 2159 & 2192 are way expensive because of the complexity of 18-200mm vs starting out at 55-200mm
• They got a lower aperture at the start, which can be a good thing
• 20050 is the newest and probably best used lens to get here due to its heavy depreciation, & it collapses for more portability!
• 2166 is probably a better idea to get than the 2156, but it is discontinued, most likely to supplement 20050 sales.

Nikon DX xx-300mm Lens – Wide/Natural to Telephoto Zoom

• These are sorted from lowest minimum focal length, & then to release date / ID number
• the 2196 has a longer zoom twist, so it’s better to zoom more accurately but slower
• Here we can see how gigantic the price drops when you start from a 70-300mm vs 18-300mm
• The 20062 is recommended to get because VR, nab the 20061 if you’re going to shoot on a steady tripod & not handheld
• the 2196 is a bit more massive than the 2216, get these lens if you need an ‘all in one’ zoom for anything.

FX Zooms

Now we got the DX zooms out of the way, lets start with the real lenses people are familiar with. Going to start off with the pro lenses then divulge from there. I didn’t get all of the different zoom lengths because I was having big difficulty finding them & I don’t think everyone would of been interested in them. This can change if I do a price update in the future.

Nikkor FX xx-70mm Lens – Mid Zoom Professional

• Sorted from oldest to newest, all are f/2.8 except the 1929 & 20072
• Two Nikkor Z Lens, 20090 & 20072, are not compatible with DSLRs
• most of these don’t have an extending zoom except 1963, 1929, & the ???? ID models I believe… comment if im wrong? 😛
• Tech bloat? Nano Coat 2164, +Florine 20052, 20072, +ARNEO 20089
• The 1963 lens is the most affordable & supplied lens for f/2.8
• The 1929 would be the next best bet if variable aperture isn’t an issue
• the 2164 is seeing a nice discount in the used market due to the newly released 20052.
• The first lens also has the AI version for about the same price…

Nikkor FX xx-200mm Lens – Telephoto Zoom Professional

• Lenses are sorted from oldest to newest.
• Two lenses are f/4, 1184 & 2202, they are still considered pro lens
• The 198x lens is a mix of the 1985 and 1986 lens, because one has ‘new’ in the name but people don’t always add it.
• The 1986 lens & later began the twist zoom, 1985 & prior are push pull.
• For technical details & comparison, visit Ken rockwell’s site.
• For recommendations…. the 1993 is probably the best all around unit
• You could get the 1986 for cheaper in overall higher condition if that is your main concern
• 2185, 2002 & 20063 benefit with Nano coat for better removal of most flares & ghosts the others could get without filters
• 2139, 2195 & 20063, the outer lens does not rotate, so this adds some dirt durability & circular polarizers won’t need rotating when focusing
• The 1993 & later lens have removable tripod collars, additionally the optics were changed from prior versions
• Obviously the 20063 is superb lens, hella fast focusing, & has a shit load of special features others do not
• The 2202 saves you weight & a shit load of cost due to being f/4 (less glass), consider it if you don’t need f/2.8 bokeh/brightness

Nikkor FX 24-120mm Lens – Wide / Medium to Short Telephoto Zooms

• Lens are sorted from lowest maximum zoom to highest, & then idk because I see this f/4 in the way (buzzed at this part of the blog)
• Oh yeah the links are messed up at some of these… oh well owo
• Best lens is obviously the 2145, due to its focal length variances
• The 2193 is the best lens here in regards of ability, but is it worth that price?

Nikkor FX 28-2/300mm – Wide to Telephoto Zoom

• These are sorted from oldest to newest
• not too many of these general purpose telephoto zoom lens… the older 50-300mm are fuckin massive
• 2143 is probably the best all around lens
• 2191 if you honestly insist of having ‘just one lens’ for walking around

Nikkor FX 70-300mm – Standard to Telephoto Zoom

• Sorted from newest to oldest (Edit: Added the 70-180mm, dunno where to put it, so it went here for now)
• the 1st lens here doesn’t really belong… but whatever, sue me.
• 1928 had a lower buying price than the older 1924 but ended up having a higher price…
• 1928 newer better to get, 1924 metal shroud, & dat big ass label
• 2161 adds VR, and 20068 adds pulse motor so that has way nicer video & focusing