When I got the D90, I knew that I would require a lot of range, to photograph things, people and wildlife. I knew I would be getting the 70mm-300mm VR (see my review of that lense here) for the long end, so the question was what to do on the short side. Based on playing with options and price, The 18-105mm VR is the "general-purpose" zoom lens which I determined to be the best fit for my needs.

Auto focus speed is good, but not great. As the lighting gets dimmer, the AF will hunt more, and more. As this isn't the fastest lens around (18mm f/3.5 to 105mm f/5.6), that is to be expected. You can override the focus manually, if desired, though I haven't really bothered - while the camera may hunt in darked settings, once it locks, you're good. Outside in good light, or in a well lit room, you'll never notice this, at all.

The 18-105mm VR is quite sharp, particularly at the centre. Stopping the aperature down one stop only marginally improves the sharpness (not enough to worry about). The corners are a little soft, at the widest end on the zoom range (<24mm) and on the long end of the range, the corners start to become soft again (>85mm).

The VR (vibration reduction) works well on this lens. It needs to be noted that I have very shaky hands - picture a coffee addict jonesing for his next hit of caffeine. As a result, any lense not offering VR will e a hard sell, unless I can use very high shutter speeds, or some form of stabilization. As my intent is to use this as a WALK AROUND lense, VR was a must. Based on my testing, VR easily saves me 1 stop at 18mm and 2 stops at 105mm.

It is important to remember this is a kit lens, not pro glass. If I was getting paid, this isn't what I'd bring to the party, but since I'M PAYING, things change. The 18-105mm VR is all about balancing cost versus performance. For starters, it's a DX lens; it will not work on "full frame" cameras. The mount is plastic and most of the lens is constructed out of plastic. The f/3.5-f/5.6 isn't all that fast, and won't isolate the subject the way faster (more expensive) glass will. If you need/expect pro results, move on. Otherwise, the 18-105mm VR is a well balanced lens. I have found it to be acceptably sharp throughout the focal range, though the corners can be a little soft on either end of the zoom range. Shooting in good light, or with a flash it may not WOW you, but it won't disappoint, either.

Here are some sample I took with this lens: