Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G II DX AF-S ED Zoom-Nikkor Lens - Factory Refurbished includes Full 1 Year… for $84.95 + free shipping

Rakuten has the brand new one for $73.95 via Onecall (after coupon code GET20CE), which comes with 5 years warranty!

Linky [rakuten.com]

Quote from deals4mykids : Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G II DX AF-S ED Zoom-Nikkor Lens - Factory Refurbished includes Full 1 Year… for $84.95 + free shipping http://www.cameta.com/Nikon-18-55...-27316.cfm Amazon has these new for $125. http://www.amazon.com/Nikon-18-55...B000LWJ1ES I'll take the ~40% savings. The Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX lens is an ultra compact, lightweight standard zoom lens that has a 3x focal zoom range and is ideally suited to the compact Nikon digital SLR cameras. This lens offers the most basic zoom range in the DX lens series, an equivalent focal length in 35mm terms of 27-82.5mm. It will conveniently cover everything from tight indoor portraits to standard snap shots.

Last summer, My local camera man charged me $110 to repair my basic lens for the nikon d40 . This is pretty slick.

It's a good deal on that lens and I sold it for as much on CL from the recent d3100 deal on ebay.

I would however get a 35mm or 50mm prime instead which is what used to replace it on my camera.

Good lens optically. It is built cheaply, but you can't fault its optics, as it can still hold up today. So, if you want a very small and light lens for walking around, this may be a good option for you to pick up. The smaller lens makes people notice you that much less, whereas if you have a lens with a huge front element, people notice you (both thieves and potential subjects for street/city shooting, so with this lens you end up with cityscape photos that people aren't coyly trying to see if you're including them in the shot or not).

Quote from diabel : It's a good deal on that lens and I sold it for as much on CL from the recent d3100 deal on ebay. I would however get a 35mm or 50mm prime instead which is what used to replace it on my camera.

Back in the old days, a normal lens (for most people's SLRs today, this falls into the 30mm-35mm range) was all you got with a camera, even through the 1980's when zoom lenses were still iffy performers compared to prime lenses. However, today, I don't believe that a prime can replace a zoom for most people's uses, even if I do often go out with the 35mm on the front of my camera instead of my 18-70mm. A 50mm prime especially doesn't replace a midrange zoom, as walking around with only a telephoto lens is rather awkward. The 35mm and 50mm lenses complement a midrange zoom more than replace it, although if someone like you uses primes nearly all of the time, this would be a nice inexpensive lens to keep around for those times when you want wide angles or the convenience of a zoom, seeing as it is very light and doesn't take up much space.

Quote from Gonzo122 : Last summer, My local camera man charged me $110 to repair my basic lens for the nikon d40 . This is pretty slick.

lolwut? and you paid?

why didn't you just go buy a used one?

Quote from fyu : lolwut? and you paid? why didn't you just go buy a used one?

I am so confused right now!!

Quote from deals4mykids : I am so confused right now!!

He's asking Gonzo why anyone would consider paying $110 in repair costs for a lens that is only worth $100. That would be like me going to my mechanic and agreeing to $25,000 repair on a brand new Civic; why not just go buy a new one for less money?

Quote from shnitz : He's asking Gonzo why anyone would consider paying $110 in repair costs for a lens that is only worth $100. That would be like me going to my mechanic and agreeing to $25,000 repair on a brand new Civic; why not just go buy a new one for less money?

haha i got you, thanks!

How does this compare to the kit lens that comes with the D3000 line? Is it a significant improvement or am I better off spending a little more on a nicer lens? I just need a generally usable lens (I don't have a specific use case in mind).

Quote from SDNick484 : How does this compare to the kit lens that comes with the D3000 line? Is it a significant improvement or am I better off spending a little more on a nicer lens? I just need a generally usable lens (I don't have a specific use case in mind).

It's the same lens that came with your camera. Are you happy with it? The two logical upgrades from it are:

-Nikon 16-85mm. This is like your lens, but on steroids. It zooms out wider, it zooms in further, it's built better, has fast autofocus and a better vr system, etc. the only problem is that it is regarded as being overpriced for what you get, even though the optics are great.

-sigma 17-50mm os hsm. There's a deal thread for this floating around right now. It's basically the same zoom range as your current lens, but it's a little sharper, and more importantly it's constant aperture f/2.8 so you get blurry backgrounds and can shoot in lower light. This is the lens that I'd go for to replace the 18-55mm, but of course why are you upgrading? Is there a shortcoming with your lens, or are you just trying to keep up with the joneses? Type "Nikon 18-55mm Flickr group" into google to see what people are achieving with your current lens. Either worthwhile upgrade will cost you $500+.