Best Nikon D5500 Lenses [2024 Review]

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Lenses are a very important part of your photography equipment. They can optimize the performance and results of your camera by leaps and bounds. A good camera needs the best lens to give you outstanding results. However, there are so many types available, leaving one confused as to which product to invest in.

The different types of lenses, plus which will suit you best, are crucial to know. Thus, doing some research before buying would help your decision. The abundance of products makes it confusing to decide which lens is best for you.

To assist you in your search, we have a detailed post with everything you need to know about the best Nikon D5500 lenses in the market, along with some great recommendations.

Review of the Best Nikon D5500 Lenses

There are so many products in the market and only so much money to spend on them. It’s crucial to invest in a product that stands true to what it claims. Thus, we have reviewed the top lenses in the market for your Nikon D5500. These products are manufactured by excellent brands and are of great quality.

Brand
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR
AF-S DX Nkr
Sigma
Product
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G Lens with Auto...
AF-S DX Nkr 18-200mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
Sigma 18-250mm f3.5-6.3 DC MACRO OS HSM for Nikon...
Aperture
35mm
18-200mm
18-250mm
Focal Length
f/1.8G
f/3.5-5.6G
f/3.5-6.3
Brand
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR
Product
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G Lens with Auto...
Aperture
35mm
Focal Length
f/1.8G
Brand
AF-S DX Nkr
Product
AF-S DX Nkr 18-200mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
Aperture
18-200mm
Focal Length
f/3.5-5.6G
Brand
Sigma
Product
Sigma 18-250mm f3.5-6.3 DC MACRO OS HSM for Nikon...
Aperture
18-250mm
Focal Length
f/3.5-6.3

Best Overall: Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 35 mm

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G Lens with Auto...

PROS

  • Has a high picture quality
  • Has an excellent low-light performance
  • Is able to blur the background beautifully
  • Compact, lightweight, yet solid construction
  • Aspherical lens element minimizes coma and different lens aberrations

CONS

  • A little loud
  • Doesn’t have image stabilization
  • Shutter speed is slower than expected

What Recent Buyers Report

Buyers were impressed with the results they achieved after utilizing Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G lens. They saw a significant difference in their picture quality and noticed how they were able to shoot better in low-light conditions and achieve a better background blur with it. Overall, it left buyers happy with their purchase.

Why it Stands Out to Us

It stands out to us for having such an incredible design. It is lightweight and compact, yet it is an important piece of equipment you should have in your kit. You can achieve amazing low-light pictures with this lens and blur the background beautifully. The picture quality, construction, and design are also spot-on.

Who Will Use This Most

This lens is best used for general photography. You can use it for weddings, environmental photography or low-light conditions. It will be a delight to travel with, as the construction is lightweight and compact, allowing it to be portable. Overall, it is highly multi-functional and must-have standard lens.

Bottom Line

As a whole, this is a beautiful lens. It is a consumer favorite and can easily be termed as a classic. If you only want an overall excellent product,  you should opt for this because you can’t go wrong with it. The design, performance, and features all make it a stunning product.

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G Lens with Auto...
  • F mount lens/DX format. Picture angle with Nikon DX format 44 degree
  • 52.5 millimeter (35-millimeter equivalent). Rear focusing; Manual focus override
  • Aperture range: F/1.8 to 22; Dimensions(approx.) 70 x 52.5 millimeter

Runner-up: AF-S DX NKR 18-200 mm

AF-S DX Nkr 18-200mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

PROS

  • Features an image stabilization system
  • Can focus up to 20 inches away for great versatility
  • Three aspherical lenses eliminate coma and other lens aberrations
  • Silent wave motor (SWM) feature assures fast and quiet autofocusing
  • Nikon Super Integrated Coating (SIC) enhances light transmission and offers excellent color consistency

CONS

  • Slightly heavier
  • There seems to be lens creep when pointed up
  • Slightly slow in focusing, which may be an issue if you plan on shooting sports images

What Recent Buyers Report

Recent buyers are extremely happy with AF-S DX Nkr 18-200mm F/3.5-5.6G lens. The features, performance, and construction of this unit make it a stunning lens. Buyers noticed an incredible difference in their picture quality when they switched to this one. The excellent features, in conjunction with the design, are what make it a consumer favorite.

Why it Stands Out to Us

This lens has many incredible features, but if we were to pick one, it would be the amazing versatility it provides in terms of focus. The great focus range allows it to work wonderfully for a great number of situations. Moreover, the 11x zoom is remarkable. There is hardly room for error with this lens, which is great.

Who Will Use This Most

This lens is great for those of you who are just starting out with photography and need a little more help with capturing the perfect shot. It offers image stabilization, silent wave motor, and three aspherical lenses, which allow one to capture excellent pictures without having great expertise. The great features make it a stunning beginner’s lens.

Bottom Line

Overall, it’s an excellent product. Nikon lenses are excellent and this product illustrates that perfectly. It is a great option if you are starting out with photography. The slightly heavier construction does need a little getting used to, but it is barely noticeable once you start using the lens regularly.

AF-S DX Nkr 18-200mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
  • One-lens solution adept in a wide variety of situations
  • Focal length range: 18 -200 millimeter, minimum focus distance: 1.6 feet.
  • Two extra-low Dispersion (ED) elements; Three aspherical lens elements

Best for the Money: Sigma 18-250 mm

Sigma 18-250mm f3.5-6.3 DC MACRO OS HSM for Nikon...

PROS

  • Small and compact size
  • Offers a quick and fast focus
  • Is excellent for macrophotography
  • The wide range of focal length offers great versatility
  • Manufactured with new material, thermal stable composite for little contracting in low temperatures

CONS

  • Heavy to carry around
  • Noticeable zoom creep
  • Hard to focus on fast-moving objects due to the amount of light which comes in, especially at long focal lengths

What Recent Buyers Report

Buyers were ecstatic over their purchase. It is the dream Sigma 18-250mm f3.5-6.3 lens for anyone who has a love for macro photography or generally outdoor photography.

With its excellent zoom and noise free-focus, overall, it’s a stunning product. It is built from the best quality material that keeps it temperature-resistant, which makes it perfect for outdoor use in any season.

Why it Stands Out to Us

It stands out to us for multiple reasons, amongst which, the biggest is the great package for the price. This unit offers a versatile focal length, which is great for multiple situations. It is best-suited for outdoor photography and offers a remarkable zoom. This is a rare expectation from a lens in such great pricing.

Who Will Use This Most

This lens is particularly remarkable for macro photography. It would be great for anyone who has been wanting a lens to perfect their macrophotography skills. This unit offers a wide focal length suitable for multiple situations. Also, it would be an excellent walk-around lens with great outdoor photography results.

Bottom Line

All in all, this is a great lens, with solid construction, which is why perhaps it’s slightly on the heavier side, though it’s something one can easily get used to or overlook, as the performance of the lens is phenomenal. The zoom and focus are absolutely stunning and smooth running. It’s indeed one of the best ones you can get your hands on.

Sigma 18-250mm f3.5-6.3 DC MACRO OS HSM for Nikon...
  • 18-250mm focal length, only compatible with APS-C DSLRs
  • 27-375mm equivalent focal length on APS-C cameras, 28.8-400mm equivalent focal length on Canon APS-C...
  • Micromotor-type AF motor with full-time manual focusing

Best Zoom Lens for Nikon D5500: Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-300 mm

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G ED...

PROS

  • Easy to use and convenient
  • Captures sharp and crisp images
  • Highly reliable and durable construction
  • Offers image stabilization and vibration reduction
  • Provides great versatility in terms of the zoom range

CONS

  • Noisy while focusing
  • Noticeable barrel distortion
  • Auto-focusing is slightly slower

What Recent Buyers Report

Recent buyers were incredibly happy with Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G unit. It provides crisp, sharp, and smooth images unlike any other unit offering this great of a zoom range. It is made with excellent quality material, which is why it is slightly on the heavier side. It stands true to what it claims and provides great image quality and zoom.

Why it Stands Out to Us

It stands out to us for having the incredible zoom range. There aren’t many products in the market quite like this. Often, lenses like this give horrible distortion, however, it isn’t the case with this unit. The performance, sharpness of the image, and overall convenience of the product make it an incredible purchase.

Who Will Use This Most

This would be great for outdoor photography. You get an incredible range of zoom to test out. Plus, the sharpness and crispness of the images would really encourage you to test out the features it offers. It has optical image stabilization and vibration reduction. It is slightly heavy to be a walk-around lens, but one can get used to the weight.

Bottom Line

All in all, this is an absolutely gorgeous lens. The construction, features, and performance all combine to give excellent results in pictures. It is highly reliable and durable. Nikon is the leading brand name for photography equipment globally for creating quality products. This is one of their true masterpieces.

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G ED...
  • Maximum magnification of 032x
  • Angle of view from 76 degree to 5 degree 20'. Focal length range: 18 300 millimeter, minimum focus...
  • Aperture range from f/35 to f/22

Best Wide-Angle Lens for Nikon D5500: Tokina 11-16 mm

Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X116 Pro DX II Digital...

PROS

  • Great for low-light conditions, as well
  • Produces a very sharp and crisp image
  • Does not have any chromatic aberration
  • Features a great aperture range of f/2.8 to f/22
  • Excellent angle of view for estate photography or landscapes

CONS

  • Bokeh isn’t flawless
  • It takes some time to focus
  • Slightly heavy, making it hard to carry

What Recent Buyers Report

Recent buyers loved their purchase. As always, they expected great quality from Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 and the product delivered nothing but the best performance. The composition, design, and features it offered were all top-notch quality. Plus, the fact that Nikon is highly reliable and their products are durable are always great bonuses.

Why it Stands Out to Us

It stands out to us for having an incredible affinity for wide-angle photography. Where most lenses would depict distortion, lack of sharpness, lack of crispness, general overexposure to light, or bad quality, this unit works wonderfully well and captures great quality, breathtaking images. It is a wonderful product worthy of investment.

Who Will Use This Most

If you are someone who has an affinity towards wide-angle photography, this lens will become your new favorite photography equipment. It is outright stunning. If you’ve been battling with distortion and lack of image sharpness, this product will resolve all those issues. It is made for such photography and delivers great performance.

Bottom Line

Last but not least, this product is a true winner. There are multiple products in the market, making big claims without delivering on performance. However, that is not the case with this lens. It performs as well as it claims it will. It is of great quality and produces excellent quality, smooth, and crisp images.

Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X116 Pro DX II Digital...
  • USA Version. 3 Year Tokina Warranty included. Intended for sale within the USA.
  • Aperture Range: f/2.8 to f/22 Designed for Cameras with APS-C Sensors
  • Two Aspheric Lens Elements Two Super-Low Dispersion Lens Elements

Comparison Chart of the Best Nikon D5500 Lenses

What Size Lens Do I Need?

The lens you invest in is perhaps the most important part of your photography paraphernalia. Several factors make a great lens, but which size is the best-suited for your camera? You can figure this out by a measuring a piece known as the lens mount.

The lens you buy should should be based on the size of your camera and should attach easily. Without knowing the mount your camera uses, you cannot buy a suitable product for it. 

Why Did These Lenses Make Our List?

The products mentioned on our list are some of the best, but you may wonder what exactly makes them so special. Apart from being of excellent quality and from well-known brands, these units have many wonderful traits. Let’s look at some of the factors which make these products excellent units worthy of investment.

Reliability and Durability

A camera lens is not a cheap investment. It is an integral part of your equipment and is expensive. Thus, it is crucial for the product you invest in to be reliable, preferably with a good warranty and from a notable manufacturer. Furthermore, its durability makes it a long-term investment.

black nikon camera on a white table with rocky background

Weatherproof

The construction of the lens should be sturdy and made of materials that can handle the harshness of the weather well. These products are made with great, quality materials, which makes them resistant to weather damage.

Image Quality

Perhaps the most obvious trait observed in all these products is the excellent quality images they capture. It is crucial for a lens to be able to produce sharp and crisp images without causing too much distortion. 

What Do I Need to Know Before Buying a New Lens?

There are certain factors one needs to consider before investing in a new lens to ensure it caters to your needs and captures stunning pictures. Let’s take a look at them to give you a better idea:

Maximum Aperture

The maximum aperture of a lens is mentioned in the description. It is a measure of the amount of light your lens allows to pass through. A wide aperture would mean that more light goes through. The picture quality in low-light conditions can largely benefit from this, as in darker conditions, light is scarce, causing blurring which can be avoided.

Focal Length

The focal length of a lens decides whether it is wide-angle or telephoto. Both of these have their pros and cons and are based totally on your personal preference. Telephoto allows you to get really close to faraway objects, whereas wide-angle is more for natural photography and landscapes. Telephoto lenses are usually larger than wide-angle. Meanwhile, wide-angle lenses are known to cause some distortion and are generally smaller.

Image Stabilization

This is a very important factor to consider. It is important to have image stabilization in your lens to avoid any blurring in your pictures. You’ll notice a significant difference in image quality once you have good image stabilization. Image stabilization is achieved by eliminating camera shake through moving elements. 

Conclusion

By now, you should have a great idea of which product to invest in. This post was aimed at helping you find the perfect lens according to your needs. It’s important to research your product well before investing to avoid any inconvenience. Remember all the factors which make a great lens and consider which conditions you mostly shoot in to find compatible features in a lens.