Best Nikon Lenses

Nikon D90 is the first digital SLR with HD movie mode and is the successor of one of the most popular Nikon digital SLRs: Nikon D80. If you bought Nikon D90 or Nikon D300, what are the good lenses to get? For beginners, read this first to understand the Nikon lenses:

Value standard lens:

Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR is also a good lens at $160.

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The best value telephoto lens:

Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G ED IF AF-S DX VR Zoom Nikkor Lens. This is a light, sharp lens with very useful VR (vibration reduction). The only problems are a little slow and with some vignetting. Both Nikon 18-55mm and Nikon 55-200mm use 52mm filters. There are good deals on Tiffen UV filters, and polarizer filters.


If you prefer one lens, Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Zoom-Nikkor Lens is the one for you. This is a very popular lens. Nikon 18-200mm uses 72mm filters. Check the best deals on 72mm UV filters and 72mm polarizer filters.
Where to Buy

The best value walk around lens:

If you bought Nikon D90, or the coming Nikon D5000, the most difficult decision is: which walk around lens to get? Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8G is excellent, but it is very expensive at $1249. The kit lens is good but it is quite slow at f/3.5-5.6. You will not be able to get the bokeh (blurred background) with this lens. The best and value walk around is Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8. This lens was rated as very good (3.49/5) in photozone.de’s lens performance survey. Tamron 17-50mm is very sharp with the constant aperture f/2.8. The distortions, CAs and vignetting are about average for a lens in this class. The only issue with this lens is the front focus problem with some bad copies. Please make sure to buy from a reputable dealer such as amazon and check for front focus problem after you get the lens. If there is a problem with focusing, exchange for another one. For how to test the lens focusing, read here. Tamron 17-50mm uses 67mm filters. Check the best price on 67mm UV filters and 67mm polarizer filters. Buy Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 for Nikon at the best price:

A new version of this Tamron 17-50mm with VC (vibration compensation) is now available:

Best lenses for Nikon APS-C digital SLRs:

• Tokina AF 12-24mm f/4 AT-X Pro DX (IF) .

Tokina AF 12-24mm f/4 is a very good wide angle lens with good image quality and great building quality.

Tokina AF 12-24mm uses 77mm filters. Here are the best deals on 77mm UV filters and 77mm polarizer filters.

• Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G AF-S $1249

This is a professional grade lens with high building quality and image quality, of course, high price too. The only problem is the lack of vibration reduction. Please note: this is a DX format lens and only work on APS-C cameras such as D90 and D300, not on D700.

Nikkor 17-55mm also uses 77mm filters: best deals on 77mm UV filters and 77mm polarizer filters.

• Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 G ED VR.

This is an exceptional lens with great building quality and image quality. Highly recommended!

Nikkor 70-200mm uses 77mm filters: best deals on 77mm UV filters and 77mm polarizer filters.

Best lenses for Nikon full frame DSLRs such as D700, D3x:

The best wide angle lens: Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S Nikkor Wide Angle Zoom Lens.

The best standard lens or walk around lens: Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S.

The best telephoto lens: Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Zoom Nikkor Lens.

Special Lenses:

Best Macro lens:

Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens

This is an excellent lens with vibration reduction.
If you need to shoot small insets or more working distance, Nikon 200mm f/4.0D ED-IF AF Micro-Nikkor is a great choice. For more details on macro lenses read here.

Best portrait lens: Nikon 50mm f/1.4D AF

Best sports lenses:

Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 G ED VR is a good sports lens. If you can afford the high price tag ($4999 at amazon), AF-S VR NIKKOR 300mm f/2.8G IF-ED lens may be one of the best for serious sports photographers. It comes with an inbuilt Silent Wave Motor for fast AF. It is also compatible with Nikon TC-17EII (1.7x), TC-14EII (1.4x) and TC-20EII (2.0x) teleconverters. More details on sports lenses, read here.

Best wildlife lenses: read here.

Best Nikon wedding lenses: read here

Best landscape lenses for Nikon

Best Nikon travel lens
If you want to have the large aperture but do not want to pay the high price on Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 or Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8, the third party lenses might be an option: Best third party lenses for Nikon digital SLRs

Best lenses need best filters. For the best polarizing filters, read here. For the best UV filters, read here.

Related posts:

1. Best polarizers for digital SLR lenses
2. Best UV filters for digital SLR lenses
3. Nikon D5000: best deal, lenses and accessories
4. Best Nikon wedding lenses
5. Best portrait lenses for Nikon digital SLRs