18-55 ED or 18-55 VR?Which one is better?

[Alinader]

Hi everyone ,

I had a D40x for almost 4 years, pictures were superb,recently sold it and switched to Canon T2i,did'nt work for me and I returned to nikon ,I bought a brand new D5000 with 18-55 VR lens but whatever I do I cannot get the iQ i used to get with my D40x.Could be this because of the difference beween 18-55 ED coming with D40x and 18-55 VR which is coming with D5000?

 

[whiggy]

For about a week or two in 2011 I had a D3100 with the 18-55 VR. I was so disappointed by the kit but particularly with that lens that it probably contributed a great deal to me returning the whole kit to the store I bought it from and keeping my D40. To me the 18-55 ED II that came with my D40 was miles better. The VR had the zoom ring too stiff, it was prone to flare, the contrast was not as good as the ED II. The VR at those focal lengths did not mean a thing to me. If I had a choice I would pick the non-VR (ED II) in a heartbeat.

 

[DigitalPhilosopher]

To the best of my knowledge, the two lenses are optically identical. I think the difference is probably in the kind of images you expected/got from your D40x versus those you expect/get from the D5000. There are more megapixels in the latter, and if you pixel-peep - as I suspect you are - you are bound to notice more things. The more the megapixels, the more the individual little flaws in your technique (or just pure equipment limitation) show up.

If you truly wanted to be a master pixel-peeper, you should get the two versions of the lens (VR and non-VR) and shoot with the same camera, the same diagram.

Or, go out and take photos. If you're unhappy about them, try to think whether it's because of equipment limitations or individual technique limitations. If you are categorical it's the former, then upgrade to another lens. I seriously doubt there is optical difference between the two 18-55 versions, and even if there were, it would've been infinitesimal.

 

[whiggy]

DigitalPhilosopher wrote:

To the best of my knowledge, the two lenses are optically identical.

 

[Alinader]

DigitalPhilosopher wrote:

To the best of my knowledge, the two lenses are optically identical. I think the difference is probably in the kind of images you expected/got from your D40x versus those you expect/get from the D5000. There are more megapixels in the latter, and if you pixel-peep - as I suspect you are - you are bound to notice more things. The more the megapixels, the more the individual little flaws in your technique (or just pure equipment limitation) show up.

If you truly wanted to be a master pixel-peeper, you should get the two versions of the lens (VR and non-VR) and shoot with the same camera, the same diagram.

Or, go out and take photos. If you're unhappy about them, try to think whether it's because of equipment limitations or individual technique limitations. If you are categorical it's the former, then upgrade to another lens. I seriously doubt there is optical difference between the two 18-55 versions, and even if there were, it would've been infinitesimal.

 

[Alinader]

whiggy wrote:

For about a week or two in 2011 I had a D3100 with the 18-55 VR. I was so disappointed by the kit but particularly with that lens that it probably contributed a great deal to me returning the whole kit to the store I bought it from and keeping my D40. To me the 18-55 ED II that came with my D40 was miles better. The VR had the zoom ring too stiff, it was prone to flare, the contrast was not as good as the ED II. The VR at those focal lengths did not mean a thing to me. If I had a choice I would pick the non-VR (ED II) in a heartbeat.

same experience ,my friend have a D3100 with 18-55VR not happy with the results,I borrowed it for a day,images were soft with no contrast,I also tried it with 18-105 ,not a big improvement.

 

[d3xmeister]

I had and used both for quite a while. The ED II was a better lens for me. The VR is good too but a little less ,,contrasty,, and less sharp at the tele end. Could be sample variation though.

 

[Patco]

DigitalPhilosopher wrote:

To the best of my knowledge, the two lenses are optically identical.

As already pointed out by whiggy, they are far from being optically identical.

I think the difference is probably in the kind of images you expected/got from your D40x versus those you expect/get from the D5000. There are more megapixels in the latter, and if you pixel-peep - as I suspect you are - you are bound to notice more things. The more the megapixels, the more the individual little flaws in your technique (or just pure equipment limitation) show up.

I don't really think 10MP versus 12MP would make that much of a difference. However, the D40x has the same CCD sensor as the D80, and virtually the same as the D200, that many in these forums have said they prefer to the CMOS sensors of later models.