Good 'ol sharp shooter!
I was looking for a standard kit lens something like the 18-55mm DX VR for my D3100. So I've made some survey and studies on several review sites. Surprisingly, I've been fated to met this 'ol glass. It was a used-serviced-unit and I paid MYR580 include a lens filter.
When I purchased it that time, in my heart was saying "...I hope I purchased a right lens". Once I reached home, without thinking much, I got down from my car and immediately took a few shots around my house yard garden. Then rushed to my desktop to transfer the images into my PC to catch a quick preview on it...BAAMM ! it gave me a big wide smile ! :)
The result was AMAZING! I never believe this 'ol glass able to deliver such beautiful quality. I'm not sure whether it was my setting or was it just lucky. But in the end of the day, what matter is the end result. The colour is nice and the bokeh is delicious to look at! Sharpness is stunning with a lot of fine details. But of course, things aren't built perfect. The only down side of this lens is it came without VR. It's very challenging to shoot in a dimmer condition. It's recommended that to shoot with Speedlite or at least the built-in flash (which I dislike to shoot with flash at all) to get a decent result. Other wise if you don't mind a grainier picture, pump up the ISO accordingly to suit your taste :)
For modern time like this, I think this lens is never in the list for any typical Nikon owners out there already because there are many good alternative than this ol' 18-70mm, instant examples are the 18-105mm VR for extra reach plus its VR as bonus and also the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 non VC for those who deal a lot in lower light condition. They'd claimed that this Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 is a devil lens, cheap and sharp even on widest aperture. While for the Nikkor 18-105mm, it has good standard useable wide angle (18mm) and also good reach at 105mm coupled with a reliable VR assist. If you've got extra budget, I would recommend the Sigma 17-70mm F2.8 OS HSM for all-purpose photography as option over the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8. But of course, if you ask me am I regret having this 18-70mm? My answer is NO, because it is still one of my sharp kit lens and I truly appreciate and enjoy its capability in good lighting but of course, when comes to lower/dimmer light condition, I believe the 18-70mm will give some hard time for us and that moment, you'll miss the the VR that 18-105mm had :D