Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR Reviews
Outstanding Lens
By Yvonne
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-01-27
I love, love, love this lens. The image quality is great and it replaces two other zoom lenses I have with one that is faster and higher quality. It's a bit heavier than I anticipated, but that does not matter given the other fine features and quality.
Great lens
By Brian
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2020-12-03
16-80mm has almost every focus tenth I need for landscape photography. This lens is razor sharp, and my photos look great.
Amazing!!!!
By Margaret
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2020-06-02
Lens was bought and delivered with no issues, lens itself has amazing quality and is worth the big purchase
Lens purchase
By Mark
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2020-05-11
I called Nikon to inquire about the incompatibility of my lens with my camera. They could not explain why. I was put in touch with the Nikon specialist at B&H and he clearly explained the problem. I decided to keep the lens to use with my other camera. Thanks!
A let down. Not sharp for the $
By Daniel
Rated 3 out of 5
Date: 2020-01-24
I have been using this lens on my D 500 for over a year and have enjoyed the light weight and wide range. The cheap plastic feel was fine because it was light to carry. Then I purchased a 1980’s $40 Nikon series E 50 mm lens and made the mistake to compare them. To my amazement, the $40 lens was much sharper. To be fair, my next step is to have the lens calibrated to the camera. If things don’t improve, it will be time to trade it in.
Not that impressed
By Ciaran
Rated 3 out of 5
Date: 2019-11-02
I ordered the refurbished version of this lens. It arrived in a plain cardboard box with a Nikon refurbished sticker on it. Inside, it was wrapped up in bubble wrap without the usual custom packaging you get with a Nikon lens. Included were the Nikon hood, a Nikon lens cap, a generic rear cap, and a refurbished 90 day warranty card.
I usually test lenses on a tripod, mirror up, VR off, etc, but since this is a walk around lens I decided to test it more like I would use it. I tested it indoors, medium intensity lighting, VR on, hand held, and focusing in live view on a D5600. I took test shots at 16, 35, 50, and 80mm, focusing in the center and each edge for each focal length. I took the same shots with a Sigma 17-50 at 17, 35, and 50mm, and with the Nikon 18-140mm at 80mm. At 16, 35, and 50mm, I shot the 16-80 wide open, and at 80mm I shot it at f/5.6. I shot the same apertures with the other lenses.
I was not very impressed with the comparisons. I saw no significant improvement between this lens compared to the other two. Considering the list price, and being the kit lens for the D500, I was expecting something better.
The 16-80 has its advantages. It is a bit wider than the 17-50 and longer, but sacrifices some speed. It is wider and faster than the 18-140, but gives up a lot of telephoto reach. If it were my only lens or I was stepping up from the 18-55mm kit lens, I would be happy with it. But given I own these two other lenses, the 16-80mm is a bit redundant. I was expecting a happy medium between zoom range and speed with an increase in image quality. Since it offered no obvious increase in image quality, I decided to return it.
Awesome! Just awesome!
By Sungat
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2021-12-10
My, my, my, what a lense, had no idea it was going to be such an outstanding item. Well, I haven't used it yet, the adapter to Z camera is still coming, but, it's obvious, clear as a day, this is one really awesome piece of equipment. It's huge! Worth its every penny. B&H's done a great job, too; read it somewhere that they really cater to photographers. It's true. Very happy camper here. 16-80 (times 1.5), this going to be the only workhorse we will need and it's simply exquisite! What a lovely piece of equipment.
Underrated; you get what you pay for
By Andrew
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2021-07-29
A lot of reviewers didn't understand this lens. In terms of optics, it is near-pro in quality, but sized for APS-C. That's exactly what I wanted, and that's exactly what I got out of it in the past year or so. Sure, you won't get extremely nice zoom feel, and the dumb lens hood is not reversible. Also, while the sharpness is comparable to AF-S primes (it really is that good) the bokeh is not great (this isn't a portrait lens, but a do-it-all normal-wide zoom). What you will get, though, is an excellent lens for the sizable chunk of cash you'll be putting up for it. The lens unleashes the full potential of your DX camera (in my case, D7500, which has the same sensor as the D500 and the Z50). It has the extremely convenient FX-equivalent zoom range of 24-120mm. And it is insanely sharp and contrasty. (Your camera should correct any distortion and vignetting automatically.) It is fast (f/2.8 at the widest end, f/4 at the longest), it focuses quickly, it's well built (for consumer standards), it has good instant MF override, and the VR is excellent. And it's a really nice size. I have yet to figure out exactly what reviewers were complaining about. Sure, it's $1000 outside a kit, but you get that kind of image quality. Plus, you can get this for under $800 refurbished, and less as part of a kit (if you are lucky enough to find one these days). This is a just-go-out-and-shoot ultraversatile lens. If you have a Nikon DX DSLR and you are an ambitious hobby photographer (or if you are a pro with a D500 and want to get that camera out for some non-birding, non-sports photography) this one is the only game in town. It keeps my AF-S 50mm f/1.8 at home. Plus, I'm sure it'll be an excellent lens on a Nikon Z DX camera with an adapter.
