Believe

When the shutter is open it is lens the does the work. So it is never an idea to skimp on investing in good lenses. It is hard to believe that a 11x zoom could be a good lens. But it is. Let me qualify that - it is a great lens for what it is designed for i.e. an ideal one-size-fits-all travel lens. It takes the place of at least two, possibly three lens in your camera bag.
Optically it is categorically not a top flight Nikon lens - for best results use software such as DXO in your work flow that can correct for the distortion and boost contrast. The long end is a little soft and there is visible chromatic aberration at the edges - all can be corrected in software. At the shortest end there is noticeable distortion - again correctable. It is surprising good for close up work!
Handling and build quality - again not top flight, but good enough. I don't like the flimsy, short hood but I use it - but watch out if you have a DSLR with built-in flash because it will mask some of the flash. It extends a long way out when zoomed out and feels a bit wobbly whilst its there - but the pictures seem okay. It will also creep under the effects of gravity if not locked at either end - again live with it or use a wide elastic band to hold it steady.
Utility - this is where it scores. If you are traveling it is an absolute boon. Just one lens to carry and it stays on the camera - which means no risk of sensor contamination in wild places.
Bonus - VRII - this makes up somewhat for the slow max aperture especially at the long end. My hand holding technique is pretty good (modest eh?) but useable handheld pictures at 1/6th of a second - read the EXIF and believe. Note however that VR is good for keeping the background steady - moving subjects still need fast shutter speeds to freeze motion - I would not recommend this lens for action sports.
Gripes- there will always be some - I would prefer it 0.5 stop faster across the range, I would like a zoom lock, I would like it to use 77mm rather than 72mm filters, I would prefer an internal zooming design. All that and it would probably cost three times what it does.
Conclusion - take into account the limitations, understand what this lens is good for. You will see a lot of hype on the Internet about this lens. How could a 11x zoom be that good? One answer - its a Nikon - believe!

Great Lens!

I was immediatly impressed with this lens. It feels well made and sturdy. The image quality seems impressive, and the Vibration Reduction works extremely well, making telephoto shots a pleasure to take. I would recommend getting this over the non-VR version anyday, it really is worth the extra money.

A really great buy

I bought this flash to go with my Nikon D40 and it works perfectly with it. I am a bit of a novice when it copmes to photography but I was pleasently surprised with the results I got using the 'bouce flash' technique.
I will never use the internal camera flash again!
In all a really worthwhile addition to an SLR.

Beware of the seller if you want cashback

This review is more about Simply Electronics than the lens itself. I ordered this lens at the same time as a Nikon D80 and another lens (which was delivered by a different seller). Nikon are currently running a cashback offer of £50 if you buy a D80 and one lens, or £75 if you buy a D80 and two lenses.

When this lens turned up it turned out to be sourced from the US, so is not included in the cashback offer. When I complained to Simply Electronics about this they just said that most of their items are sourced from the UK but in this case it came from the US, so unlucky. They said it was my fault for not checking with them first!

So if you are buying this lens from Simply Electronics be aware that it may cost you an extra £25!

Oh, by the way, the lens is excellent!

Fantastic!

This Nikon SB-800 Speedlight was purchased to be used with a D300 D-SLR.

Although not the most powerful flashgun available on the market it's however, powerful enough and extremely well built and it's manual is very comprehensive and I'm still digesting all of it's content.

As with all of today's camera/flashgun manufacturers, whose products work effortlessly together, Nikon products are no exception. You get various auto modes such as I-TTL, AA etc. depending on your camera type, together with full manual mode when desired. It comes with a case, stand, soft light diffuser, gel kit and the extra battery attachment so a fifth battery can be use which reduces it's recharge time but strangely, no batteries. I'm currently using five rechargeable 1300mAh Ni-MH AA batteries with no issue whatsoever, although as yet I haven't tried my 2700mAh batteries in it. Some people seem to have problems with the higher capacity Ni-MH batteries in various flashguns.

It can be attached directly to the camera's accessory/hot shoe with the light bounced off a wall or ceiling. It can be also be used remotely when set as a slave unit and triggered by the optional SU-800 commander or another SB-800 set as the master. It's so versatile that it can be triggered optically by the D300's built-in flashgun (or any other third party camera/flashgun combination including compact cameras with a built-in flash - I've tried this out with my Olympus Mju 1030 SW so I know that it works!). This can provide extra valuable direct or bounced light from an umbrella or wall etc..

There's the usual multi-channel facility to prevent interference from other Nikon camera/flashgun combo's setting off your equipment in error.

I'm finding the menu system fairly easy to use (with manual in hand to keep me right, LOL) but I've still got a lot of ground to cover and when I can afford more flashguns I'll be working on Nikon's Creative Light System thingy!

All in all an excellent addition to my photographic equipment and I can wholeheartedly recommend it.

The obvious next step for Nikon D40x owners...

If you own a Nikon D40x with its stock autofocus zoom lens rated at 18-55mm new digital style (equivalent to 26-83mm old style), this is the obvious next step purchase. Rated at 55-200mm new style (83-300mm old style) it's small, light and really does cut out camera shake to allow genuine"point & shoot" at its higher focal lengths, giving you a"tripod-less", perfectly matched combination of two autofocus Nikkor lenses covering a full 18-200mm (26-300mm old style). Just perfect... and, for the price, stunningly good value.

Sharp

Agree with all that's been said. I've used this Gem of a lense on the D40 & more recently the D300. My take relates to JPEG image quality, I seldom shoot RAW mode. On either Nikon body the results are pin sharp, it's an excellent portrait lens. Close work is limited to about 2ft from the subject matter, the background blur in such circumstances is beautifully rendered. Focus is manual only on the D40, no real hassle using the focus ring until the 'focus OK' viewfinder indicator shows. The f1.8 allows freedom from flash in dim light situations, a real bonus. No issues with either build or image quality. Excellent 'bang for buck' - get a neutral filter at the same time, also good value from Amazon.

Not for a Nikon D80

I bought this battery after reading the above reviews. It doesnt fit a Nikon D80 you need a Nikon EN-EL3e. Im sure its a quality product thats why i gave it a 5

great camera, perfect for holiday usage

I have a Nikon SLR D80 camera which is regarded by nearly all reviewers as the no1 SlR mid-range camera to own. We also owned a trendy pink canon Ixus camera for compactness eg holiday nights out etc. the canon was terriable, slow, bad battery, several returns to canon for repairs. This nikon is cheap cheerful and great pics, for the price its fantastic and in 18 months or 2 years if i need a new one well for 100 outlay ive got my moneys worth from this 210 ...great buy and soo compact, a real gem

Super fast lense with super fast delivery

I first bought the Nikon 50mm/1.8 lense and like it so much so I returned it immediately to buy this lense instead - the even faster 50mm/1.4 lense. This lense is perfect for taking indoor portraits without flash in semi-dark conditions. I can not find any build quality issues, it is noticeable that this is not a silent motor inside but the AF is really quick.

Simply Electronics shipped this all the way from Hong Kong to UK in only 2 days, which I think is very fast. They also replied quickly when I emailed them.

Does what it says.

Yes It's a remote control for these cameras, but it's an infra-red shutter release and no more. So if you were expecting to to be able to change settings forget it. Frankly the feel is what you might expect from an up-market christmas cracker but at the price it is worth it.

Absolutely stnning!

This lens is fast! fast! fast! Low light is a breeze. If you don’t have this lens then why are you waiting - buy it NOW!

What a little star performer .....!!

This was purchased from Amazon at half the price of high street stores, thank you Amazon. It was bought to be used on my partners Nikon D50 which she uses with me when we shoot Weddings. I have the D80 and SB600 and the SB400 is definately a great flashgun. Small and simple, turn it on and rely on the camera to talk to it and give you perfect pictures every time. The diffuser we bought for it could only be got from a famous online auction site but nobody else sells them that we could find. Again, works really well and the batteries last for 700+ shots when we do two weddings in a day etc. All on 2 AA rechargables, brilliant! Check out the reviews on Amazon.com and Ken Rockwell is you don't believe me at how good it is!