Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G Ed VR II Lens

As with all Nikon products when you purchase a Nikon product you are getting amazing quality and this lens is no exception. This is a fairly standard lens that you will find in models like the D60 and a few others and is great for people who are beginning to understand the use of DSLR camera systems. When I created my own photography business I use this lens to create stunning photos without any problem. It attaches to the body of the Nikon easily and is not too heavy. It has a decent range which includes a relatively low f-stop function so that you can obtain that nice blurry backgrounds that many photographers aspire to utilize when they set off to have a photoshoot. It is a durable lens made of good quality materials. The only reason to upgrade from this lens in ... MoreAs with all Nikon products when you purchase a Nikon product you are getting amazing quality and this lens is no exception. This is a fairly standard lens that you will find in models like the D60 and a few others and is great for people who are beginning to understand the use of DSLR camera systems. When I created my own photography business I use this lens to create stunning photos without any problem. It attaches to the body of the Nikon easily and is not too heavy. It has a decent range which includes a relatively low f-stop function so that you can obtain that nice blurry backgrounds that many photographers aspire to utilize when they set off to have a photoshoot. It is a durable lens made of good quality materials. The only reason to upgrade from this lens in my opinion is if you are looking for your photos to turn out in a different way, like for instance if you want to get photos of birds really far away then you would be better suited to use a telephoto lens that is much larger but if you are dealing with photographing images of families or children for instance this is a great lens.

A good lens for the money.

There are plenty of opinions out there on these types of lenses. Lovers and haters. The Pros say get a fixed prime lens. Or get the 400-600 lens that costs $6,000. And their reasons are pretty sound. But for those whose budget isn't quite that big or don't require that level of equipment, the Nikon 18-200 is a decent lens. I was able to get decent quality pictures throughout it's entire range. No, it's not perfect, but it was good enough for the work I required it to do. You can still produce very good work with this lens. And for the price, this lens is actually quite good.

Good, but not great.

I knew before buying this lens that it was not going to be the sharpest image quality but that it should, as per multiple reviews, provide a reasonably decent image throughout its zoom range, perhaps a little less sharp at the ends of the focal length. I purchased it as a general, walk-around, all purpose lens. Unfortunately, I am finding the results to be less than anticipated. It will produce a decent image, on tripod, with remote, at short focal lengths, say 70mm and under, but I'm having issues with hand held stability and the focus motor is loud and clunky. Yeah, it could be me, but I dont have the same issues with other nikkor lenses. Granted, I purchased a "like new" used lens and as much as I'd like to believe there were no issues prior to sale, I'm inclined ... MoreI knew before buying this lens that it was not going to be the sharpest image quality but that it should, as per multiple reviews, provide a reasonably decent image throughout its zoom range, perhaps a little less sharp at the ends of the focal length. I purchased it as a general, walk-around, all purpose lens. Unfortunately, I am finding the results to be less than anticipated. It will produce a decent image, on tripod, with remote, at short focal lengths, say 70mm and under, but I'm having issues with hand held stability and the focus motor is loud and clunky. Yeah, it could be me, but I dont have the same issues with other nikkor lenses. Granted, I purchased a "like new" used lens and as much as I'd like to believe there were no issues prior to sale, I'm inclined to believe that the reason for the great price it was offered at, was due to these same issues. Whether these are inherant issues with the lens or whether it developed issues with an original owner, I really cant say at this time. It has however provided me with new knowledge and understanding of the benefits and shortcomings of these types of zoon lens.

Great Lens for Events

I really enjoyed using this lens. It is compact and has great build quality for this type of lens. It provided the versatility needed for shooting an event. While I wouldn't consider it top-quality, it performed great in terms of flexibility and speed.I really liked that even at wide angle, there was some background bokeh when shooting at open apertures.The auto-focus is super quiet and fast - so fast I kept checking to make sure it was working.I had it on VR (not the "Active VR" option) and shooting in low light at exposures down to 1/20th the shots looked sharp - again not product photography sharp, but perfect for event coverage.

Review of AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200 mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II Telephoto Zoom Lens

Good Points: This is a fabulous all-in-one lens. The image quality is everything you could hope for. There is no loss of sharpness that I could find at the high end of the range as there is with cheap zooms. It focuses fast and does not search when focusing at difficult subjects such as those with the same colour value with soft edges. The average user will have everything they need here from wide angle to a moderate zoom without needing to change lenses. It is as happy indoors in artificial light as it is outside in bright sunlight. The image stabilisation makes a world of difference if you have never had this feature before, removing camera shake. It is hard to fault.Improvement Points: There is slight parallax around 18mm, but this is inevitable so can hardly ... MoreGood Points: This is a fabulous all-in-one lens. The image quality is everything you could hope for. There is no loss of sharpness that I could find at the high end of the range as there is with cheap zooms. It focuses fast and does not search when focusing at difficult subjects such as those with the same colour value with soft edges. The average user will have everything they need here from wide angle to a moderate zoom without needing to change lenses. It is as happy indoors in artificial light as it is outside in bright sunlight. The image stabilisation makes a world of difference if you have never had this feature before, removing camera shake. It is hard to fault.Improvement Points: There is slight parallax around 18mm, but this is inevitable so can hardly be classed as an issue.Once used for a while you may want a better zoom, but Nikon's 28-300mm is at least £150 more (often much more) and weighs more too.It is not a light lens but as you don't have the hassle of carrying and changing lenses you quickly forget the weight and it is certainly not heavy enough to worry about.

The Perfect Travel Lens for the Nikon DSLR

This is the ideal travel lens, its features such as the VR and normal and Active modes. I took one of these on my trip to the Dominican Republic last year and found it to be a really all around travel lens. With this lens it performs as I expected, Superbly. I shoot a lot of landscapes, as well macro from a good distance on some wildlife which may or may not wish to be photographed of want to have humans near them. I strongly recommend your consideration for this lens as part of your photo accessory inventory.Its a bit on the heavy side however boosting the iso and using an f8 aperture for most shots as well for macro using the f5.6 As to a Con, heavier than the Sigma Lens, but as well its quality and versatility makes up for the difference in weight I have used ... MoreThis is the ideal travel lens, its features such as the VR and normal and Active modes. I took one of these on my trip to the Dominican Republic last year and found it to be a really all around travel lens. With this lens it performs as I expected, Superbly. I shoot a lot of landscapes, as well macro from a good distance on some wildlife which may or may not wish to be photographed of want to have humans near them. I strongly recommend your consideration for this lens as part of your photo accessory inventory.Its a bit on the heavy side however boosting the iso and using an f8 aperture for most shots as well for macro using the f5.6 As to a Con, heavier than the Sigma Lens, but as well its quality and versatility makes up for the difference in weight I have used this lens on all of my Nikon Cameras and it preformed magnificently without issues. D50,D90, D3100, D5600

The ultimate one lens solution

My D80 came with the excellent Nikkor AF-S 18-135mm 1:3.5-5.6G ED which I have owned for nearly 10 years. On a number of occasions when I needed an additional lens/body combo, I had access to a D300 fitted with this 18-200mm lens. I was deeply jealous as I found the additional zoom beyond my 18-135mm really useful. Also, the VR helped in low light/slow shutter speed situations as well as long focal length, hand held shots. When new, it was nearly twice the price of the lens I bought but after nearly 10 years, I've taken the plunge and bought a second hand one - because "I'm worth it". I'm very pleased that I did and that I got the VRII version with the locking zoom feature since this lens, and my 18-135 before it, both suffer form zoom creep when pointed up/down. ... MoreMy D80 came with the excellent Nikkor AF-S 18-135mm 1:3.5-5.6G ED which I have owned for nearly 10 years. On a number of occasions when I needed an additional lens/body combo, I had access to a D300 fitted with this 18-200mm lens. I was deeply jealous as I found the additional zoom beyond my 18-135mm really useful. Also, the VR helped in low light/slow shutter speed situations as well as long focal length, hand held shots. When new, it was nearly twice the price of the lens I bought but after nearly 10 years, I've taken the plunge and bought a second hand one - because "I'm worth it". I'm very pleased that I did and that I got the VRII version with the locking zoom feature since this lens, and my 18-135 before it, both suffer form zoom creep when pointed up/down. The performance is as expected for what is fundamentally, a compromise lens. Obviously, the aperture is less than ideal but it would be both unaffordable and unwieldy to try and enhance that across this span of focal lengths. The moderate distortion at longer focal lengths is also acceptable when considering the great flexibility offered by this one lens solution. Yes, there are much better prime/limited zoom lenses out there, but that's not the point. This is the ultimate walkabout, single lens solution, ideal for holidays and weekends away when space is at premium. The only downsides are is that it's a different filter size, not a major issue, but it's also considerably heavier so that the overall balance of the camera is different.

Works but autofocus is broken

The lens is fine except for the fact that it has an image stabilization issue with the autofocus. It makes a really loud whirring sound every time it tries to focus on an object, and the whole image on the viewfinder shakes for a couple of seconds until autofocus is complete. I think this is because there is a broken, lose piece inside the lens that you can hear when you gently shake it. So far, this hasn't been much more of an issue other than annoying and loud, but still disappointing given the description/price of the lens as being in excellent condition.

[Rewarded Review] Great All-Around Lens

I bought this Nikon - AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II Standard Zoom Lens when it was on sale at Best Buy for $499.99 to be used as my general purpose, go to walk around lens. It has not disappointed whatsoever in that regard. I have been fully satisfied with the clarity, contrast, and color saturation of this piece of equipment. I am using it with my Nikon D70S and D3300 DSLR bodies. The ultra-sharp 24 mp sensor in the D3300 camera body will make or break a lens, and expose any flaws. This lens works well with both camera bodies. For a photography enthusiast like myself, this lens works very well for what I purchaced it for. The D3300 body is very light weight, so a lens like this one with with 16 pieces of glass in it will make a lightweight camera body ... MoreI bought this Nikon - AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II Standard Zoom Lens when it was on sale at Best Buy for $499.99 to be used as my general purpose, go to walk around lens. It has not disappointed whatsoever in that regard. I have been fully satisfied with the clarity, contrast, and color saturation of this piece of equipment. I am using it with my Nikon D70S and D3300 DSLR bodies. The ultra-sharp 24 mp sensor in the D3300 camera body will make or break a lens, and expose any flaws. This lens works well with both camera bodies. For a photography enthusiast like myself, this lens works very well for what I purchaced it for. The D3300 body is very light weight, so a lens like this one with with 16 pieces of glass in it will make a lightweight camera body feel a bit front-heavy. Unless you have severe arthritis in your hands and wrists, or are a nit-picker, it is a non-issue. This lens is a bit more balanced on my D70S, but that 6 mp body is rarely used anymore.As many other reviews have stated, there are compromises when such a range of zoom is implemented, so it will not be quite as sharp as a prime lens. The AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II will suffice for everyone but ultra picky pixel-peepers, or those who need a large aperture telephoto. Those large aperture pixel fanatics can go out and spend thousands on a lens and be happy, but for those of us who want a "near" professional results on a budget, this lens will not dissappoint. If I need to have a low-light lens for less than optimally lit indoor events, or "sharp as a tack" images, I rely on my $200 gem, a Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX. These two lenses will cover the needs of 99% of non-professional photographers.I did purchase a Hoya HMC UV filter for the 18-200mm to protect the objective lens glass and it has worked well to keep lens flare to a minimum. The lens creep which has plagued lenses like this one which have a lot of weight just in glass alone is not a major issue while taking photos. If I carry the camera strapped over my shoulder with the lens pointing down and do a lot of walking, the lens WILL slowly and eventually extend fully out. This is simply due to physics and gravity. That's where the 18mm lock button does its job to keep the lens fully retracted when not in use. It doesn't creep while I am composing shots, which is where it would be of most concern.The VR (Vibration Reduction) switch works well, and as intended. It is a must when using the long-end of the zoom range without a tripod. The VR can be shut off to save battery juice when in bright light and the zoom is below approximately 70mm zoom. If a small loss of battery time is not of a concern, then just leave the VR on all the time. If you are going to use a flash at wide angle zoom settings, you'll need a flash unit attached to the hot shoe to keep shadows from occurring.All-in-all, I have been very satisfied with the lens and the images it produces. I gave the lens a 5 star rating due to the quality to price ratio. If you need a lens that will stay on your camera most of the time, this is the one for you! The Nikon - AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II Standard Zoom Lens will satisfy the wide ranging needs of just about everybody but the aforementioned ultra picky pixel-peepers. They can spend their thousands of dollars for professional glass, but for the general population, prosumer equipment will suffice!