Sensible purchase

Protect your lens with a filter. Not much experience, but this set of filter has not affected picture quality on my D40x. Actually lost my lens cap, so the filter saved my lens! Alternative would be Hoya pro range, but suitably more expensive

You want me to review this? Er... ok...

As you are probably aware, Nikon have a reputation for producing excellent optical apparatus and accessories, and this camera body cap is no exception.

I have been using this product for several weeks now to cover the hole in the camera when there is no lens attached. It really does cover the hole extremely well -- not suprising since as that is what it is designed to do.

Operation really couldn't be simpler -- when you have removed the lens from the camera, you place the cap over the hole and then turn it, locking the cap into place."But what about if I want to reattach the lens?" I hear you say. Well, fear not -- you simply turn the cap the other way to release it and, bingo -- there's the hole again, just as you left it.

If you think this sounds complicated, it's not. But if you should forget how to operate it, don't worry -- there's instructions embossed onto the cap itself in the form of a weird little arrow and the word"OPEN". You could be blind and still operate this thing (mind you, if you're blind, what would you be doing with a camera in the first place? I once met a deaf girl at a disco. I tried the only bit of sign language I know --"Christmas Shopping" -- but messed it up and apparently I said"You're a witch". Whoops! Anyway...)

It's made of black plastic and you can use it right or left handed.

The only down side I can think of is that, because it's totally black, you might have difficulty finding it in the dark -- unless you're blind, in which case you probably couldn't care less what colour it is. Anyway, I'm going to give it four stars incase they bring out a glow in the dark one.

Images of Jersey with The Nikon Fish-eye

As usual trust in Nikon. The Fish-eye lens is superb, but it is strange to use. The first time I took it out I really wasn't mentally prepared for"what it can achieve", but I have gradually wrapped my ageing brain around it and"go for it- it's fun and fine and a pleasure to have in the camera bag".

Simply stunning!

This really is wonderful. I take a lot of portrait shots and it really does give superb shots. Highly recommended.

The new best 'all rounder'?

I've not had wide experience of nikon lenses, but have had several nikon digital cameras, because I like the image 'straight off the card'. The contrast and colour balance is similar to the fuji slide film I used to shoot with my SMC pentax lenses & bodies. I have a D80 now and have been using the nikon 18-70 dx, which was commonly held to be one of the best of the kit lenses.

Last month I traded up to the 16-85 with VR to try & beat the current round of price rises. I've now had the chance to take it on a trip to Cornwall for a couple of days and I have to say I am stunned at the detail in the images I have come back with. The sharpness is way better than the 18-70 at all apertures and the colour saturation and contrast are also improved. Bar a little distortion at the very wide end and a little vignetting evident when shooting plain subjects wide open, this lens is a steal! You'd have to be very hung up on performance testing to be worried about these compromises when out taking photographs. Hand held images of waterfalls at 1/8th sec using VR have to be seen to be believed. Beautiful misty water and pin sharp rocks & foliage.

The D80 battery doesn't last as long now, but with VR on and hence less flash, 250 shots per charge are no problem. If the widely discussed shortcomings of the 18-200 VR bother you, try this. Yes, its not that fast, but for me to be so pleased when my film favourites were a 50mm f1.4 and a 135mm f2.5, and I would not even consider a zoom lens, just shows how far modern lens design has come. IMHO it is unbeatable as a single walkaround lens.

Great

What an amazing little lens! Very light and compact, so I can take it with me anywhere and not frighten others with the larger 18-200 I usually have. Also, its field of view is similar to my eyes' ( on a DX camera, not full frame ), so I can use it at relatively close range, e.g. when in a room with friends. My 50mm- f1.8, by contrast, has too narrow a field of view and I need longer distances to get a group of people in the shot. Autofocus is fast, and low-light performance is satisfactory, given the 2.8 aperture.
Overall very happy with this purhase!

Clear as crystal!

Bought to protect the front of my Nikon 24-70 f2.8. Also have one on a 70-200 f2.8. I consider it pointless to spend out on these quality lense's and then put a cheap filter on the front and 'spoil' the quality glass. These are SO clear you have to resist touching the filter to make sure it's there. Top quality and worth the money on top of the range equipment (although I buy other filters for my 'cheaper' lense's!).

25yrs and going strong

I bought this rubber eveycup with my FM over a quarter of a century ago. It drastically improves the contrast of the viewfinder. Its very comfortable. Its very cheap. It obviously lasts forever.

The Nifty Fifty!

In my view every Nikon DSLR owner should have either this or the f1.4 in his/her camera bag. The f1.8 is small,light and inexpensive and gives super image quality as well as the ability to shoot in low light without flash or other forms of studio or off camera lighting. It is ideal for portraits although some may consider it too sharp. It is a very sharp lens and some ladies may not like to have their little skin flaws exposed. I find a little Gaussian blur in Photoshop fixes that. A very nice lens well recommended.

Great for 80-400 VR too!

I use this hood on a VR 80-400 f4.5/5.6 and find it ideal.
It is way better than the supplied hood for that lens being a screw fit (much simpler to use/adjust polariser filters etc) and of metal construction rather than the usual plastic one.

Excellence

I'm only going to touch on the things I think useful from my experiences, as there are plenty of reviews elsewhere covering every other aspect:

Build quality: In a nutshell; first class. The lens is solid metal throughout, with sealed rubber focusing and zoom rings. The front of the lens DOES extend, at 50mm it is its shortest (look at the amazon photo) and it extends furthest at 24mm and just slightly at 70mm, the zooming has no effect on the weather sealing apparently, so it must be a rubber sealed mechanism. I have never experienced problems. There's also a rubber seal around the mount which again adds further water and dust protection.

To note: the zoom ring should be SMOOTH with NO play whatsoever, if there is even the slightest grinding, or slip between settings, take it back, I experienced both with my first copy and when I replaced it, the second one was perfect, so don't accept less.

Features: The SWM (silent wave motor) is excellent and focuses faster than I thought possible, it jumps in straight away and there is a manual focus ring with permanent over ride, so you can always be in control if you want to. The internal lens coatings really do the job well and you need to be doing something really crazy to see any ghosts (I know how that sounds)

Image quality: The lens is sharp at 2.8 all over the frame, even the edges, if it isn't and you are sure it isn't your technique, then take it back. Really at this price, don't settle for less! When stopped down to 5.6 this lens is at its sharpest throughout and on DX or FX it is magnificent.

Conclusion: It's great, expensive, but great. Once you get it, you will feel at the top, like you don't ever need a better lens in this category. I don't know anyone who owns it and says 'I wish I saved some money and got a cheaper third party lens' but I do know people with the third party lenses wishing they had mine. And if that doesn't say it all, what possibly can?

Nikon Sj-1 Color

I had mislaid the set that came with my SB800, so ordered this replacement.

These filters are excellent for use under different lights, allowing more natural colours to be achieved without messing about with the camera's colour temperatures. They can also be used to achieve interesting lighting effects.

They fit perfectly into the SB800. Not much more I can say about them :)

Great little lense

A great little all round lense, I bought I because I got sick of lugging around my 17-55 and found 50mm lenses a bit to long on my D300.
Amazing clarity up around f4. Terrific for close up work as well.
I found the build a bit disappointing and theres much more play in the focusing ring than I'd expect but it doesn't seem to affect results. Worth every penny.

Sensible purchase

Protect your lens with a filter. Not much experience, but this set of filter has not affected picture quality on my D40x. Actually lost my lens cap, so the filter saved my lens! Alternative would be Hoya pro range, but suitably more expensive

Nikon Br-3 Adaptor ring.

Nikon Br-3 Adapter Ring This is almost an essential piece of kit if you reverse a lens for macro work. It fits onto any Nikon lens and provides rudimentary lens protection to the mechanism but also allows you to fit a filter to stop the ingress of dust; it has a 52mm filter thread. Usual Nikon high quality.