Is my lens broken or shaking focus ring is normal on kit lens 18-55mm?

[lonerunner]

I don't know how to explain the shaking of lens best so i made a little gif animation but i can't upload gif on this website so here's the link of the gif file



This is 18-55mm Nikon lens that i got with my D3100 in kit when i bought it, from the very beginning the lens was acting like this.

This lens, as you can see on photo, have focus ring from outside and you hold it moving left and right so focus ring is going out and in and i noticed many times that focus ring is not holding still, it's rather shaking like it's loosen a bit, It doesn't matter if VR is on or if it's on Auto or Manual focus.

When i hold focus with my fingers and move it left and right the focus ring is shaking a bit. I have a friend with DSLR but all 3 lenses he own are with internal focus so i don't have to compare my lens with other. Is this normal for this lens or maybe my lens is torn out a bit?

 

[DarkShadow]

I recently traded in my D3100 with the 18-55VR Never did that. Looks like the barrel is loose to me and in need of a repair.

 

[greybeard]

Nice illustration!! I'd say you have a very sloppy copy of the 18-55. How do the pictures look taken with this lens?

 

[lonerunner]

Nice illustration!! I'd say you have a very sloppy copy of the 18-55. How do the pictures look taken with this lens?

Well i got it as a brand new as "original", in "original" package that comes with nikon d3100 kit and package looks like this



And this is only distributor that distribute nikon cameras in my country and all stores get the nikon equipment from them. But when i tried to register camera on nikon website it couldn't be registered.

I find the lens very hard to focus and many times im not satisfied with focus and sharpness of the images, sometime i shoot for few pictures of same thing just to make sure that image is not blured.

You can see the images on my flickr page, it's linked on my signature.


BTW i bought camera in january so it should be in warranty for another year and half if this is really not right for the lens i will take it to reclamation and see what can do.

 

[DarkShadow]

I can tell you this that the 18 55VR is very sharp and is a much under rated lens. My copy was tack sharp and had a very close focusing distance. The good news is that it's not a expensive lens to replace if warranty repair is not a option for you.

 

[lonerunner]

I can tell you this that the 18 55VR is very sharp and is a much under rated lens. My copy was tack sharp and had a very close focusing distance. The good news is that it's not a expensive lens to replace if warranty repair is not a option for you.

Yea the focus distance is very good i can't complain on that, it can focus i think even on 20 cm distance, but overall it's very hard to focus with it for me, sometime images are very sharp but most of the cases i can't get the good shoot. I anyway wanted to get a new lens Nikon 70-300 mm, but i wanted to check out with you guys if your 18-55mm lens is acting like mine.