N-Photo

STANDARD DX ZOOMS

N

ikon’s DX-format D-SLRs tend to make great travelling

companions. Cameras like the D3300 and D5500 are

compact, lightweight and tremendously versatile.

They can tackle any thing from richly-coloured

landscapes to subtle portraits, and from fast-paced action to

low-light interior and night shots. That versatility is expanded

by a ‘standard’ zoom lens, which covers everything from a

generously wide-angle view to a short telephoto perspective.

A typical 18-55mm DX standard zoom will give an effective

zoom range of 27-82.5mm, making it capable of adapting to

an enormous range of shooting scenarios and subjects at

the twist of a zoom ring.

Some might feel that the zoom range doesn’t go far

enough, especially at the telephoto end, when compared

with the likes of an 18-300mm ‘superzoom’ lens. However,

a standard zoom has a couple of key advantages over a

superzoom: first, it tends to be much more compact and

lightweight, so you’ll only need to fit a bigger, heavier lens

when you actually need the extra telephoto reach; and

second, the lesser zoom range typically equates to less

compromise in terms of image quality, with greater

http://www.digitalcameraworld.com March 2016 127