Is this lens knackered?
Discussion
Just purchased a new (second hand) lens from Ebay. Reputable seller that sells all sorts of camera kit. No mention of any faults in the listing. Infact, here is the listing : http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200839627380?ssPageName=...
lens is a standard Nikkor 18-135mm DX Kit Lens. Nothing fancy, but a nice upgrade over the 18-55 the camera came with. By many accounts i've seen online, this lens should be very sharp. It's attached to my new (second hand) Nikon D5000. I've not had the camera long and annoyingly, sold the kit lens before I had even tried it so I can't pinpoint this fault (or what I think is a fault) to the body or the lens.
Here is a photo of my garden...
Straight from the camera bar resizing to lower the file size. The center is ok. Not mega sharp by any means but I guess, acceptable. But look to the left and right. It's not just unsharp, but looks like someone has smeared crap over the lens. The detail is non existent and it isn't consistent to the edge either, creeps right in.
I noticed this on a few photos. Only seems to be at the wider end of the zoom. Seems ok from around 50mm upwards but still not sharp as such, a bit soft.
I decided to print of some grids to try and highlight the problem more...
As you can see, the detail gets noticeably softer towards the edge. Doesn't seem as noticeable in this pic compared to the garden one though but it is defo there.
These two, it's just obvious something isn't quite right. I know an out of focus picture when I see one. These just look wrong. Can't quite put my finger on it but the sharpness is all over the place!
So, knackered lens? Knackered body? Or am I just expecting too much from a Nikon kit lens?
Any help appreciated!
lens is a standard Nikkor 18-135mm DX Kit Lens. Nothing fancy, but a nice upgrade over the 18-55 the camera came with. By many accounts i've seen online, this lens should be very sharp. It's attached to my new (second hand) Nikon D5000. I've not had the camera long and annoyingly, sold the kit lens before I had even tried it so I can't pinpoint this fault (or what I think is a fault) to the body or the lens.
Here is a photo of my garden...
Straight from the camera bar resizing to lower the file size. The center is ok. Not mega sharp by any means but I guess, acceptable. But look to the left and right. It's not just unsharp, but looks like someone has smeared crap over the lens. The detail is non existent and it isn't consistent to the edge either, creeps right in.
I noticed this on a few photos. Only seems to be at the wider end of the zoom. Seems ok from around 50mm upwards but still not sharp as such, a bit soft.
I decided to print of some grids to try and highlight the problem more...
As you can see, the detail gets noticeably softer towards the edge. Doesn't seem as noticeable in this pic compared to the garden one though but it is defo there.
These two, it's just obvious something isn't quite right. I know an out of focus picture when I see one. These just look wrong. Can't quite put my finger on it but the sharpness is all over the place!
So, knackered lens? Knackered body? Or am I just expecting too much from a Nikon kit lens?
Any help appreciated!
The front doesn't rotate on this lens.
The seller has agreed to take it back and send me a replacement. Sent him the garden pic and he agrees the lens is faulty. Said he just tested it by reviewing the pics on his camera, where it isn't evident unless you zoom right in.
Hopefully the new one will be better
The seller has agreed to take it back and send me a replacement. Sent him the garden pic and he agrees the lens is faulty. Said he just tested it by reviewing the pics on his camera, where it isn't evident unless you zoom right in.
Hopefully the new one will be better
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