Nikkor AF-P DX 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6GVR

I just had an almost one-of-a-kind experience! It started when I was attracted to a memory stick television offer during a chain’s Black Friday promotion. It was only $8, but I kept misreading the ad so I had no idea how large it was. So that evening I went on the internet to the chain’s site to see if they had any details on it. It turned out to be a 64 G, so I resolved to try to stop in the following day. My wife wanted to go to town to do some Christmas shopping and a branch of that chain was at the mall she wanted to shop in.

Since I was on the store’s site anyway I decided to look at their camera lens/accessory offers. I was scrolling down through Nikon lens discarding them because their prices were in the $300-1100 range when I spotted a Nikkor AF-P DX 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 G VR lens selling for $20. I was absolutely flabbergasted. It did say it was “open box” stock, which I interpreted as returned from repair or taken in exchange, except they had 13 of them.

So the next day I went to the store’s camera counter and asked about the lens. The clerk searched his store’s terminal and couldn’t find it. Bless his heart, he pulled out his personal phone and proceeded to find it on the chain’s web site. He searched for locations that had them and found a store half-way around the city had one. While he had the other store on the phone, he asked if I could drive over to get it. I asked if it could be transferred to his store. He said they didn’t like transferring items under $75.

I said I would take the lens and gave my name and phone number so they could set it aside for me.

You have to understand the trouble I was in. I had gone off to thrift while my wife—who is not in the best of shape—had spent an hour on her feet wearing herself out. She had just two things left to do, and both were in the small town we were about to leave to drive a half-hour to get something she had absolutely no interest in. In a smoldering silence we did the closest chore—picking up a gift card—and then went an hour out of her way to go get the lens.

It was really worth it for me. Not only was the original clerk stunned his company would sell a genuine Nikkor lens for $20, but the clerk I picked the lens up from was equally stunned. She has a Nikon camera and couldn’t help thinking she should have at least noticed the opportunity to snap it up. As I paid for it she told me there were just three left somewhere in their chain of stores.

Why would this lens be available for the low price? It could have something to do with the lens will only work on the more recent Nikon cameras—I think cameras released in 2016 and later. Earlier Nikon cameras will not focus this lens, as it does not have a manual focus control!

Literally the lens has a lock/zoom ring and another ring you might think is a manual focus ring except it isn’t physically linked to anything! The ring feeds electrical signals to the camera’s control circuits to adjust the stepper motor in the lens so you can “touch-up” the focus. The lens has electrical connections on the lens mount so the camera controls finding focus and adjusting the aperture (with curved aperture blades—that lessen flare from the sun in the shot).

Bottom line, I do not have a camera that takes this lens! But collecting has to start somewhere. I now have an almost new lens waiting for the first Nikon camera that becomes so old someone wants to sell it reasonably.

(Note: An test was made mounting this lens on a Nikon D70 camera—see follow-up blog)

The lens has 12-elements (two are aspherical) in 9-groups, can focus down to 250 mm, has a silent stepper motor that is fast and positive, is all plastic (except for screws, glass and some metal contact bits), is light, collapses for transport, takes 55mm filters and can take a custom hood (HB-N106) and pouch (CL-0815). It also has in-lens vibration reduction. It has a super efficient lens coating. It is one small handful of advanced technology.

From reports on the internet it is a stunningly good lens.

It was made in Thailand.