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When you glance at the chart showing the parameters of the tested Nikkor and comparing them to those of its competitors from Canon, Sigma and Sony you can find out that the weight and dimensions of all lenses in this class are pretty much similar. The Sigma sticks out the most here as it is physically the lightest but also the thickest. All other lenses weigh less than a kilo and are about 83 mm in diameter in the thickest place. The biggest problems is with the length. The parameters given in the chart concern the minimum position and such an option is unfavourable for the Nikkor. The Canon and the Sony in folded positions - at 70 mm in the case of the former and at 24 mm in the case of the latter – are only 111- 123 mm high but for the Nikkor that value amounts to 133 mm, reached near 50 mm. The Canon and the Sony increase their length with the increase/decrease of the focal length, getting to over 180 mm. When it comes to the Nikkor its length increases from 50 mm no matter whether we go near 24 mm or near 70 mm. The maximum dimension is reached at 24 mm and it is 155 mm. Here we can mention the fact that the zooming and extending the set of front elements don’t make the filter thread rotate and the filter thread comes with a typical diameter for this class – 77mm. You can also notice that, like in the Canon, the lens’s hood is attached to the inner tube, not to the extendable set of front elements. Because of that the hood doesn’t change its position during zooming.

Starting from the side of metal mount, first we find a big and comfortable zoom ring on a solid casing also made of metal. The ring moves quite smoothly and is well-damped but in the 24-50 mm range the resistance is minimally lower than in the 50-70 mm range.

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Further on there is a distance scale behind a small window and on the left from it – a focusing mechanism mode switch (M/A or M). Then we see a manual focus ring which, if you ask me, is definitely too loose. Even not very strong, accidental touch or brush makes the focus “jump” its position quite significantly.

Inside the lens we can find 15 elements positioned in 11 groups which makes the Nikkor one of the simplest devices in this class. The Canon for instance features 16 elements and the Zeiss, produced for Sony – as many as 17. The Nikkor offers the biggest number of special elements for a change. We get as many as three aspherical elements, three others made of low-dispersion ED glass and one element covered by Nano Crystal Coats. The inner design is complemented by a circular aperture with nine diaphragm blades which can be closed down to f/22.

If you buy the Nikkor you will get a petal-type hood, a stiffened case and both caps included in box.