Nikon D5100 Digital Camera Review

Chromatic Aberration

We found minimal chromatic aberration with the 18-55mm kit lens. The most egregious examples seemed to be moderate blue fringing in high-contrast scenes. Again, a better lens will largely reduce this effect, and it only shows up in extreme examples, generally near the edge of the lens.

The 18-55mm kit lens was sharpest at the wide angle when its aperture was stopped down between f/8-11. We found it sharpest in the center, with some fairly significant falloff in contrast as you approach the edge of the lens.

Distortion

We found little distortion overall, but it was most noticeable at the extreme ends of the zoom range.