[BigRich]

My next lens is hopefully to be the Nikon 18/200 vr. I'm looking for an all in one lens with good zoom range.

However ive heard wild opinions from 'its rubbish' all the way over to those who love it. Anyone have the lens on here? If they do whats your opinion on the subject?


Thanks.

[Dabhand16]

I've not used this myself, but one of the Pros who I work with used one recently and thought it was very good. I guess it comes down to usage. I don't think that anyone would disagree that it is a general purpose 'walkabout' lens, so will not do certain things as well as a lens that is designed/more suited to a particular purpose.

If you accept this, it will not disappoint you. If you want more than it can deliver, it will.

[Dave]

Had use of one for a week & have to say a) it was built extremely well & b) for the wide focal range it offers the quality was very good. Only when you start to blow shots up to 100% on a screen & then compare with either prime lenses, or expensive pro glass can you see the differences.

So from your original quoted requirement I would say go for it

Note you can also read some reviews of the Nikon AF-S 18-200mm DX VR 3.5-5.6G IF-ED lens here

[bmarie]

Hi Just joined Pixalo today

anyone used 18-200vr for events say a christening or wedding even.
I have been asked to do a christening but I dont want the hassle of lens changing and I was thinking of buying this lens but not sure. Would appreciate your advice.

[Hooky]

The 18-200VR is my main walkabout lense. I find it versatile and useful. There have been some reports of mild vignetting at 18mm @f3.5 but change to about f7 or narrower and its pretty good. As with most 'superzooms' the performance improves from about 35mm onwards and starts to suffer at the longest end again. These reports seem to apply to test conditions and I must say that apart from at the extremes, I haven't really noticed any major faults apart from some very slight softness. (this is not unpleasant and is only an issue for me if I am doing some major cropping/enlarging)

The build quality is good (way better than the Sigma/Tamron alternatives, which I tried out) and the VR works well. I think for the money (appx £440?) you can't go far wrong. A bonus is the fact that I rarely change lenses now and that lessens the risk of dust on the sensor of my D200.

HTH, regards,

Alan

[Raymo]

I also have the 18-200 VR as my walkabout lens and pretty much ditto what Hooky says

[VikingPhotography]

Bjørn Rørslett 18-200VR review

Bjorn has encapsulated the opinion of the pro photographer on this lens so I need not repeat it. It's not perfect but then again it wasn't designed to be.

Also bear in mind that a few of the 'flaws' stated with regards to this lens will only show up when viewing either very large prints or at 100% manginfication on screen. Some of the issues can be corrected by shooting RAW files and/or careful post-processing of your files.

For the current asking price of £450, though, you can't really go wrong.. considering that you'd need to spend around £2000 on two pro Nikkor lenses to get the same overall reach (based on 17-55DX and 70-200VR)

[WOODY]

I HAVE HAD THIS LENS FOR ABOUT NINE MONTHS, I FIND IT A VERY GOOD LENS.
THE VR WORKS VERY WELL. THE ONLY PROBLEM I HAVE FOUND WITH MINE, IS IT
SUFFERS FROM LENS CREEP, IE SLIDES BACK AND FORTH WHEN YOU DON'T WANT IT TO.

I HAVE NOT FOUND A SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM, SO I LIVE WITH IT, COULD SEND IT
TO NIKON TO GET IT TIGHTENED UP, BUT IT WILL PROBABLY DO IT AGAIN,WHEN IT
LOOSENS UP. APART FROM THAT I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS LENS

[terryts]

I’ve have been very interested in this thread, only I am looking at buying the same lens myself. I’ve read a lot of reviews on the net over the last few weeks, the best one that I found was by Ken Rockwell
The price of the lens is also coming down here in Australia from $1500 last year to just over $800 this year (on eBay.) I hope to buy mine within the next two months,

[BigRich]

Thank you for all your opinions.

[BigRich]

My sort of photography is opportunistic, one min im off to an airshow, the next im seeing my friends band play, plus general snaps inbetween, so this lens seems ideal for me.

Yes i think im convinced now.

[towershot]

What everyone else says really,lens creep a nuisance,slightly soft when blown up.
If you want or demand pin sharp images,give it a miss,
but as a convenient walkabout,it cannot be beat.

PS,if you go to my profile and go to my flykr site,all the shots in the nikon italy set where with the 18-200.

[Charlotte]

I recently bought this lens, but haven't used it yet I read a lot of reviews first tho' + they all pointed to it being an excellent all-round lens + great value for money. I look forward to good things from this lens