What is the difference between these two 18-55mm kit lens options for the Nikon D3100?

Question

I want to buy D3100 with lens, but I'm not sure I understand the difference between these 2:

1. AF-S DX 18-55mm 3.5-5.6G ED II (VBA280K002) - 480€
2. AF-S VR DX 18-55mm 3.5-5.6G (VBA280K001) - 460€

VR stands for vibration reduction and ED for extra-low dispresion, or am I wrong? Which one is the better buy?

Answer

The biggest difference between these lenses is the VR - vibration reduction. This means you can shoot static subjects at slower shutter speeds and not be affected by hand shake as much. It's a real technical improvement and well worth the €20 difference in my opinion.

"ED" is to be seen as a marketing term in this context - ED glass is very important in high-performance telephotos and the like. In the case of these slow consumer zooms, you're not giving up any performance by forgoing it. In fact, the VR makes the slow max aperture less of a liability, making more photos possible.

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