Nikon's latest kit zoom, the AF-P DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR ($249.95), is available for purchase on its own, but as is the case with most starter lenses, it's a better value when bought at a discounted price along with a camera. Like the nearly identical AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR ($244.00 at Amazon) it sports a compact, collapsible design, sharp optics (with some compromises in edge quality when shooting at wider angles), and a lightweight, plastic build. The differentiating factor in this iteration is the pulse focus motor—the "P" in AF-P—which delivers quiet, smooth focus when shooting in Live View mode. If you're in the market for a standard zoom lens for your Nikon SLR, consider instead the Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM ($322.18 at Amazon) for its versatile range and wider aperture, or the Editors' Choice Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM ($598.00 at Amazon) if you prefer a shorter zoom range and more light-gathering capability.

Design

The 18-55mm ($246.95 at Amazon) is small and light. In weighs just 7.2 ounces and measures 2.5 by 2.5 inches (HD) in its collapsed position. The front element supports 55mm filters, and front and rear caps are included—but if you want to use a lens hood, you'll have to buy one separately ($24.99). That said, I made it a point to shoot some images with the sun toward the corner of the frame sans hood and found that image quality remained strong.

There's a small lock button on the lens. You need to hold it down and twist the zoom barrel in order to extend it for use, and do the same to collapse it for storage. When collapsed, the lens is about two inches shorter, enough to allow you to use a smaller camera bag in many instances.

The zoom ring, covered in hard, textured rubber, has markings at 18, 24, 35, 45, and 55mm. Because the lens is dedicated to the APS-C (DX) sensor format, it captures a field of view that's equivalent to a 27-82.5mm zoom on a full-frame camera. The zoom ratio is modest (3.1x), as is the aperture, but the result is a small, inexpensive zoom.

There is a manual focus ring; it's narrow and sits at the front of the barrel. But if you're using this lens, you're likely using autofocus. Image stabilization is built-in—that's the VR (Vibration Reduction) in the lens name. There are no focus or VR control toggles on the lens itself; you need to change those functions via the camera body. Nikon also sells the lens without VR for $199.95, but steadying handheld images and video is a useful feature that's worth more than $50.

The zoom focuses to 9.8 inches, good for 1:2.6 macro magnification at the 55mm setting. It's not going to get tiny details like a true 1:1 macro—consider the inexpensive AF-S DX Micro-Nikkor 40mm f/2.8G ($276.95 at Amazon) if you're serious about capturing minutiae. But, considering its cost and zoom range, you get pretty solid close focus.

Image Quality

I used Imatest to check the quality of photos captured by the AF-P 18-55mm when paired with the 24MP Nikon D3400 ($300.00 at Amazon) . At 18mm f/3.5 the lens scores 2,203 lines per picture height on a center-weighted sharpness test, which gives stronger preference to the center areas of our test chart. That's better than the 1,800 lines we like to see at a minimum, but image quality is not uniform. The central two-thirds of the image are quite sharp, bettering 2,200 lines with ease, but the outer third drops down to 1,127 lines, delivering noticeably blurry results.

Stopping down to f/5.6 improves edge performance. The average score increases to 2,774 lines, and edges are crisp at 2,009 lines. Image quality is even more consistent at f/8, with both the center and edges coming within 100 lines of the averaged 3,273-line score. Peak performance is at f/11 (3,401 lines), while there's a drop in image quality at f/16 (2,999 lines) and f/22 (2,372 lines).

At 35mm the maximum aperture is f/4.5 and the average score is 2,247 lines. Just like the results at 18mm, the strong performance carries through much of the frame, but edges are blurred (1,363 lines). At f/5.6 there's modest improvement (2,427 lines), but edges are still weak (1,555 lines). You'll need to stop down to f/8 (3,078 lines average, 2,264 lines at the periphery) in order to capture images that are crisp throughout the frame. Performance is even better at f/11 (3,301 lines), before trending downward at f/16 (3,030 lines) and f/22 (2,522 lines).

See How We Test Digital Cameras

At 55mm the maximum aperture is f/5.6 and performance is quite even across the frame, nearing the 2,818-line average score at the outer third of an image. Stopping down to f/8 boosts overall sharpness to 3,135 lines, with similar results at f/11 (3,180 lines). The same downward turn is visible at f/16 (2,894 lines) and f/22 (2,342 lines).

Distortion is also a factor in image quality. At 18mm the lens shows strong barrel distortion (4.3 percent), which gives straight lines a distinctive outward curve in images. Distortion goes away quickly as you zoom; it's gone by 35mm. If you shoot JPGs you can compensate for it by enabling in-camera distortion control, just be aware that some of your frame will be cropped out, slightly narrowing the wide angle coverage, when this feature is turned on. Raw shooters can compensate for distortion using software tools like Adobe Lightroom ($9.99/Month at Adobe) .

Finally we look at how even light is cast onto the image sensor. At 18mm f/3.5 the corners of the image are dimmer than the center by 2.5 stops (-2.5EV), even with the D3400's Vignette Control set to Normal. There is a High setting for JPG shooters who want to further compensate for this effect in-camera, and again, Raw photographers can apply corrections in Lightroom.

Stopping down to f/5.6 drops the deficit to -1EV, which is noticeable, but not distracting, in field conditions. At narrower apertures it becomes negligible. At 35mm f/4.5 the corners show a bit of dimness, -1.2EV, but again, stopping down further eliminates the issue. Illumination is quite even from corner to corner at 55mm.

Conclusions

The Nikon AF-P DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR is a solid, inexpensive starter lens. It's bundled with the entry-level D3400, and is a solid choice for the first time SLR owner. But if you're looking to buy it on its own, consider some alternatives. Its retail asking price is modest for a zoom lens, but if you're willing to spend a bit more money, you can get a more versatile lens with a longer zoom range and a wider aperture for better image quality in low-light—specifically, the $500 Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC Macro OS HSM. Our favorite zoom for APS SLRs is another Sigma lens, but it's vastly different than the 18-55mm or 17-70mm—the 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM sports a wide f/1.8 aperture and superb image quality throughout its range, but that range is very short, and the lens is quite large and heavy.

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