Why is my Nikon 18-55mm kit lens blurry when zoomed past 18mm?
Asked 10/13/2020
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2 answers
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My Nikon D3400 with the 18-55mm kit lens is sharp at 18mm, but images become blurry when I zoom beyond that, especially for distant subjects like landscapes. Strangely, it seems able to focus very close at longer focal lengths. I’ve tried both autofocus and manual focus, and I tested in good light. This started after shooting in very low light, but I’m not sure whether that’s related. Could this be a settings issue or a lens fault?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
5y ago
2 Answers
1
I can focus on extremely close
The closest focus a Nikon 18-55 should work at is about 25cm - that's about 10 inches.
If you can focus much closer than that it is a fault. It likely needs to be repaired or replaced.
Before going down that route try a factory reset on the off chance it is an odd computer issue (which seems unlikely, but these gadgets are quite complex computers now).
My Nikon 3400's kit lens(18-55mm) works fine when I take pictures at 18mm. But when I extend lens beyond that, the picture gets blurry(no clarity)
Again this suggests (to me) a physical fault with the lens.
It all started after I tried to shoot in extremely low light condition.
I cannot see how that would cause a problem. It could be a coincidence and the fault would have developed anyway.
Originally by user46861. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user46861
5y ago
0
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This sounds more like a lens problem than a camera setting issue. If the lens is sharp at 18mm but becomes blurry when zoomed longer, and it also seems able to focus unusually close, that suggests a physical fault in the lens’s focusing or zoom mechanism. On a Nikon 18-55mm, closest focus should be around 25 cm (about 10 inches). If it focuses much closer than that, something is likely wrong.
A factory reset is worth trying in case of an odd electronic issue, but based on the symptoms, a mechanical lens fault is more likely. Shooting in very low light would not normally cause this kind of damage, so that is probably just a coincidence.
If a reset doesn’t help, the practical next step is to have the lens checked, repaired, or replaced.
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