The Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR ($199.95 direct) is the standard kit lens for APS-C Nikon D-SLR cameras. Buying it along with a body halves your out of pocket costs to acquire the lens, but owners of older Nikon D-SLRs bundled with its non-stabilized predecessor may consider it as an upgrade. It produces a field of view that is roughly equivalent to 27-83mm in terms of full-frame photography.

The lens is light at 9.3 ounces and measures just 3.1 by 2.9 inches (HD). It accepts 52mm filters, but the front element does rotate when focus is adjusted, so using a rotating circular polarizing filter can be tricky. Nikon keeps the weight down by using a plastic mount, rather than the more common metal variety, which is more prone to wear and tear over the years. There's an internal focus motor, which is speeider than older screw-drive systems, but because the front element rotates during focus it can be a bit noisy. A bayonet lens hood is available to reduce flare and improve contrast, but is not included—you'll have to spend another $23.50 if you want it.

I used Imatest to check the sharpness of that lens when paired with the 24-megapixel D5200. The lens managed a very impressive 2,362 lines per picture height at 18mm f/3.5 using our center-weighted testing method, with edge sharpness hovering around 1,600 lines. We declare an image with an 1,800-line center-weighted score to be acceptably sharp. Stopping down to f/5.6 improves the overall score only marginally to 2,410 lines, but edges sharpen up to 1,850 lines. There is noticeable barrel distortion at 18mm, about 3.3 percent. This will make straight lines noticeably curve outward, and is typical for an 18-55mm design. It can be corrected with software if it distracts from your photos.

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Zooming to 35mm narrows the maximum aperture to f/5 and reduces the distortion to a negligible 0.4 percent. The lens scores 2,410 lines here, again with edges around 1,600 lines. Stopping down to f/8 improves overall sharpness to 2,683 lines, with edge sharpness at 2,111 lines. Zoom all the way in to 55mm and the maximum aperture is f/5.6, with an irrelevant 0.2-percent distortion figure. You'll get sharp photos at that setting as well; the lens manages 2,474 lines overall, but is again a little soft at the edges. Stopping down to f/8 improves edge performance to just under 1,800 lines, so your photos will be acceptably sharp from edge to edge.

The Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR is one of the sharpest 18-55mm D-SLR lenses that we've tested, but it's not without its limitations. The narrow aperture limits your ability to shoot in lower light without a flash, and it won't blur the background like an f/2.8 zoom or an f/2 prime lens. It's a good starter lens, but it's one that you'll likely want to upgrade down the road. Nikon offers zoom lenses with longer telephoto reach, like the AF-S DX Nikkor 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED ($399.95), and ones with faster apertures so that you can capture more light like the pro-grade AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED ($1,539.95), but neither are as affordable as this basic 18-55mm optic.