Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S ED VR II Nikkor Telephoto Zoom Lens for Nikon DX-Format Digital SLR Cameras

• Posted on February 22, 2012 (171 customer reviews , 4.5 rating )

I owned the original 18-200 VR lens and adored it. It was the only lens I ever really needed to take with me on my photo shoots and personal travel. My only real issue with the lens related to lens-creep. As an active person who is accustom to slinging the camera around my neck and taking off - the original model lens would extend itself (a minor annoyance). The 18-200 VR II has a cam lock to prevent such. This is a phenomenal lens that takes great photographs throughout the zoom range and it has VR so there's no need for a tripod - just buy it and never worry about carrying around 2 or 3 lenses. Check out Ken Rockwell's review - he knows his stuff and has been reviewing equipment for years! Help support his site too! You'll have to google his namd as Amazon seems to remove the link when I attach it.

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Product Features

• One-lens solution adept in a wide variety of situations
• Nikon VR II (Vibration Reduction) image stabilization
• Two Extra-low Dispersion (ED) elements; three aspherical lens elements
• Exclusive Nikon Silent Wave Motor (SWM)
• Focus to 20 inches for extended versatility
• Nikon Super Integrated Coating (SIC)

The 18-200 VR II is an all-around great lens. While it is not "the best" lens available for any single role, it stays mounted on my D90 a large majority of the time. When I don't want to haul around a bag full of gear, this is the lens I take without a thinking twice. Clearly, Nikon had to make some tough choices in balancing the features of this lens, trying to satisfy a wide range of users and applications. Here is my take on where they ended up. This lens IS: - Remarkably versatile with an 11x zoom factor - Surprisingly sharp at all focal lengths - Very good for outdoor sports in good light - Useful for almost-macro close-up work - Solid enough to not require kid-glove treatment - Usable in many indoor situations with the VR system - Reasonably sized, considering the zoom range This lens IS NOT: - Very fast, especially racked out - For low-light sports photography - A pro-level all-metal "indestructable" lens - Well-suited for low-light shooting - Compact or lightweight As noted by other reviewers, the minor distortion and corner fall-off is easily remedied via post-processing software. While many use Photoshop, I recommend DxO Optics Pro software. It has very effective custom modules for this lens and many Nikon DSLRs that work extremely well. The most pleasant surprise for me with this lens is how good it works for "almost-macro" photography. I also have the heavy and expensive Nikon 105mm f/2.8 VR Micro, which is without a doubt the sharpest lens in my bag. However, some of the best close-up shots of bees, flowers, etc that I have taken came from the 18-200, for two reasons. First, unless I am out on a "macro safari" I don't generally have the 105 mounted, so it isn't always "at the ready" for targets of opportunity. Second, with the 18-200 racked out to 200mm, it focuses about 8 inches from the front of the lens (which equates to just over 19 inches from the sensor), which provides a pretty decent close-in range. For lower light or extreme macro situations, the 105 is still the superior lens, but the 18-200 does much better than I had ever hoped for when pressed into macro service.

For the price and the quality given this is a high value lens. So it creeps...big deal. It only creeps when it is pointing down and not being held by your hand. When you're carrying it over your shoulder just activate the "anti-creep switch." I tested the lens at home shooting boxes and other items that contain writing at 15-20 feet. You can read the small writing, enlarged. That's real-world sharpness. I bought the lens to take pictures of people in varoius settings. The 18-200mm gives me the flexibility I am looking for...no more changing lenses to get that close-up of a kid laughing. What finally got me to buy it were the changes made in the VRII and Scott Kelby saying: "Now, you will see some photographers in forums online saying that these lenses (18-200...he had the Nikon lens pictured in the writeup) are basically beneath them, because they're not as sharp as they could be, or they're not as rugged as the more expensive lenses, etc. Don't let that throw you. I don't know of a single photograper that actually has one of these that doesn't love it...etc. As for quality, I have a 30x40" print framed and hanging in my home, Everybody loves it, and it looks perfectly sharp and crisp all the way through." Kelby was right.

There are a lot of reviews comparing every feature of the lense. They are long, detailed, but more confusing than helpful. So I'll try to keep it short. Let's say you a typical amature photographer. You take all kinds of pictures in all kinds of conditions. So what lense would be the best? You can probably live with some minor distortions but nothing gives you as much freedom as a wide range zoom. If you shoot inside a room, you really need 18 m on a low end. The smaller the number the wider the angle and the more people you can squeeze into the frame from the other side of party table. Every mm here makes a big difference. So 18 mm on the low end is pretty much a must have. On the longer end, well, the bigger the better. However, if you that also means heavier and it also means much harder to take good pictures because on a long zoom range the camera gets less light, it's sensitive to shaking hands and the lense distortion is getting worse. Also it's more expensive. So bottom line is - if you can afford the Nikon 18-200 mm lense - go for it. That will be your single all around lense and you won't feel sorry. If it's too pricey - check out the 18-105 mm one. Think about it this way - there are a lot of specialized lenses but really only a few all-around ones. So 80% people really need to choose between only 3: 18-55, 18-105 and 18-200 and the biggest factor here is how much you can afford. So it's actually not that complicated. I few side notes. It's tempting to buy a couple lenses instead of one. It looks like you're getting more for less, but in reality changing lenses is not something people do often. The extra lense is heavy, it takes time to change, every time you take a lense off, there is a risk you can get dust inside the camera - there are a lot of reasons why having two lenses is not the same as one. Other vendors. You can get much cheaper lenses from other vendors like Sigma etc. I heard mixed stories. Some people got lucky and got good glass, some were not. If you can try and buy, you may want to take a chance. But Nikon quality control is pretty good, so there is not much risk there. Protective filter. If you're planning to spend many hundreds on a lense, please, don't forget to buy a good protective filter. Something like UV(0) or clear glass. Once you try to wipe out the glass on the lense, the microscratches on surfice will cause all kinds of image defects so you should never ever touch the lense glass. The filter is way more forgiving and it can be replaced easily. A bad filter can ruine the quality, so don't be cheap, plan to spend somewhere in $50-90 range. And finally, why would you not buy this lense? 1. Price. Most people say this lense is nice but too expensive. Since there are new better camera bodies for the same price coming out pretty much every year and the lenses hold value very well I'd suggest you to consider buying the best lense you can afford and maybe saving a bit on a cheaper body. The lense will likely outlast the camera. 2. Weight. This camera is heavy. No DSLR will fit in a pocket but this lense on a camera will require fairly large bag to carry and holding it on your shoulder for a day could literally be painful. There could be some other reasons like if your requirements are very high and you need some specialized or professional grade lenses but if you're requirements are that high, I don't think that review will open your eyes anyway. Hopefully this review will help you.

Product Description

New ultra-high ratio zoom lens AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II for use expressly with Nikon DX-format digital-SLR cameras. A number of unique Nikon technologies have been developed for, and applied to, including a high zoom magnification of 11.1x, a Vibration Reduction (VR II) image stabilization system that provides camera shake compensation equivalent to increases in shutter speed by four stops, and a Silent Wave Motor (SWM), as well as a zoom lock switch. Designed expressly for use with Nikon digital-SLR cameras, exceptional image performance is assured. As the compact AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II covers an extremely wide range of focal lengths (18-200mm, equivalent to 27-300mm in 35mm format; a zoom magnification of 11.1x), it offers excellent versatility for various scenes that include portraits and landscapes. The addition of a zoom lock switch allows photographers to secure the lens barrel at its minimum length, eliminating the natural gravitational effect that can draw the barrel downward during transport. This lens offers superior optical performance in a compact size of just 77 x 96.5 mm, despite a high zoom magnification of 11.1x. Nikon's Silent Wave Motor (SWM) assures fast and quiet autofocusing. The Vibration Reduction system (VR II) provides camera shake compensation equivalent to increases in shutter speed by four steps. Two Vibration Reduction modes are available. NORMAL VR mode: