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In-depth review from dpreview.com:
›Read the full Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Zoom-Nikkor lens review at dpreview.com
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Product Description
This versatile, 11x zoom with VR image stabilization, is designed exclusively for use with Nikon’s DX-format, and makes for a perfect one-lens solution.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
998 of 1,010 people found the following review helpful
By S. L. Miller
By now there are enough pro reviews out there for experienced shooters to read the handwriting on the wall. No, this is not a 17-35 and 70-200 wrapped into a tiny package. You can't have that for any amount of money. The 18-200VR is NOT meant to challenge the exotics like my 70-200VR or the 200-400VR. It's not even meant to take on a prime. It's designed to be the ultimate one lens solution when you don't want a bag full of heavy glass along for the ride. It features moderately fast (but not very) optics, vibration reduction and a lot of work to keep CA and distortion down. This it achieves with some success, but distortion is still obvious at 18mm. Distortion is sever enough at the wide end to require correction in post (easy to do), but this is NOT lens for those who shoot architecture professionally. This type of distortion is TYPICAL for a lens of this type.
I'm sorry, but those who have panned this lens either got a bad one (quite possible with early batch issues reported) or just don't understand what a walk-around lens is for. This is what we all hoped the 24-120 VR would be, but unlike that lens it gets much more done for just 200 dollars more. Anyone who says there are lenses like this for less...well where? No other superzoom is this sharp, has so little CA and throws in VR II as well...and in a small package!
Now...how good is it in the real world? VERY GOOD. It's a match for the sharp little 28-200G which means it's only a bit less sharp than the 70-200VR which costs twice as much. My first images with this lens were stunning, detailed and fairly sharp to the edges above F5. Close focus gives near macro results and again this lens is SHARP! Focus speed is quite fast of course, but I feel that the 18-70 kit lens is a hair quicker. You could shoot all day with this miracle and do it all without feeling like you need a giant lens. If, like me, you find yourself shooting mostly in the 35-200mm range on a DSLR, this lens makes a lot of sense. It also displayed deeper color saturation and contrast than either the 28-200G or 50mm 1.8. Did I mention that I'm impressed?
Build quality is good, but not great. It's hard to be impressed with any lens build when compared to the 70-200VR. The 18-200 zoom is a bit stiff, the manual focus a bit loose. I suspect Nikon dialed up the zoom stiffness due to early problems with lens creep early on. It's not creeping at all. The size of the lens is only a bit bigger than the kit lens, perhaps as bulky at the Tokina 12-24 if you have one of those.
VR II exceeds all expectations I was able to shoot sharp shots at 1.10th sec exposure. But remember this is NOT fast glass. A moving object in dim light will be blurred at such slow shutter speeds. Thus far this is an impressive effort from Nikon. Even an experienced shooter could find this lens on the camera most days and be happy. "Average" shooters will need nothing more because this lens is that good. The only areas for improvement given the real limits of optical design are in the build quality, which could be a bit better. In the end, even at 700 dollars plus, this lens is pretty hard to resist.
And no, this is not a "kit lens with VR." The kit lens only reaches to 70mm. The kit lens also can't do near macro work as this lens can. The kit lens is also not as sharp. And of course this lens has the latest version of VR that works superbly. There is simply no other lens like this on the market currently. Again, if you're thinking that this lens should be perfect and doesn't require compromises to achieve it's design goals, please do your homework before buying. If you need a zoom to cover this range at F2.8, with no distortion and small size please call Mr. Scott aboard the Starship Enterprise.
For those who question the sharpness of this lens, be aware that there are online tests showing it's even sharper at the corners than the legendary 17-35 2.8! Against my 70-200VR I see a SLIGHT sharpness advantage with the 70-200, but only visible with a 100% crop. Or to put things even more in perspective, this lens works nicely on a D200. Search the forums for yourself. Most D200 owners are reporting great sharpness even with pro bodies.
This lens is simply a ton of fun for people who like to take pictures
I'm sorry, but those who have panned this lens either got a bad one (quite possible with early batch issues reported) or just don't understand what a walk-around lens is for. This is what we all hoped the 24-120 VR would be, but unlike that lens it gets much more done for just 200 dollars more. Anyone who says there are lenses like this for less...well where? No other superzoom is this sharp, has so little CA and throws in VR II as well...and in a small package!
Now...how good is it in the real world? VERY GOOD. It's a match for the sharp little 28-200G which means it's only a bit less sharp than the 70-200VR which costs twice as much. My first images with this lens were stunning, detailed and fairly sharp to the edges above F5. Close focus gives near macro results and again this lens is SHARP! Focus speed is quite fast of course, but I feel that the 18-70 kit lens is a hair quicker. You could shoot all day with this miracle and do it all without feeling like you need a giant lens. If, like me, you find yourself shooting mostly in the 35-200mm range on a DSLR, this lens makes a lot of sense. It also displayed deeper color saturation and contrast than either the 28-200G or 50mm 1.8. Did I mention that I'm impressed?
Build quality is good, but not great. It's hard to be impressed with any lens build when compared to the 70-200VR. The 18-200 zoom is a bit stiff, the manual focus a bit loose. I suspect Nikon dialed up the zoom stiffness due to early problems with lens creep early on. It's not creeping at all. The size of the lens is only a bit bigger than the kit lens, perhaps as bulky at the Tokina 12-24 if you have one of those.
VR II exceeds all expectations I was able to shoot sharp shots at 1.10th sec exposure. But remember this is NOT fast glass. A moving object in dim light will be blurred at such slow shutter speeds. Thus far this is an impressive effort from Nikon. Even an experienced shooter could find this lens on the camera most days and be happy. "Average" shooters will need nothing more because this lens is that good. The only areas for improvement given the real limits of optical design are in the build quality, which could be a bit better. In the end, even at 700 dollars plus, this lens is pretty hard to resist.
And no, this is not a "kit lens with VR." The kit lens only reaches to 70mm. The kit lens also can't do near macro work as this lens can. The kit lens is also not as sharp. And of course this lens has the latest version of VR that works superbly. There is simply no other lens like this on the market currently. Again, if you're thinking that this lens should be perfect and doesn't require compromises to achieve it's design goals, please do your homework before buying. If you need a zoom to cover this range at F2.8, with no distortion and small size please call Mr. Scott aboard the Starship Enterprise.
For those who question the sharpness of this lens, be aware that there are online tests showing it's even sharper at the corners than the legendary 17-35 2.8! Against my 70-200VR I see a SLIGHT sharpness advantage with the 70-200, but only visible with a 100% crop. Or to put things even more in perspective, this lens works nicely on a D200. Search the forums for yourself. Most D200 owners are reporting great sharpness even with pro bodies.
This lens is simply a ton of fun for people who like to take pictures
189 of 193 people found the following review helpful
I waited 6 weeks for mine to arrive and used it almost immediately at an airshow featuring the Blue Angels. I took about 3 gigibytes of pictures at that show. I used the lens with a D50 in sports mode to capture the fast moving planes. It was a great day with not a cloud in the sky. When I later looked at the pictures I was dismayed to see significant light fall off or vignetting on the shots taken at 200mm with the lens wide open at f5.6.
This light fall off is the most significant problem I have noticed with this lens. I contacted Nikon and they said it was normal. Since the lens is made for the smaller DX sensor the diameter of the lens is smaller. This causes mechanical shadowing at long zoom lengths with the lens at the wide open settings of f5.6 until about f11. All lenses have light fall off, to some degree, at the edges. When you use a regular lens made for 35mm with the smaller digital DX sensors the fall off is outside the sensor and not seen. The light fall off was especially noticable with the blue/uniform background. If the background was "busy" the falloff would be less noticable.
Vignetting/light fall off is also usually seen on the wide side of zooms like this. I have not seen any with this lens. I do use a Hoya Pro 1/2 thickness filter so that a shadow is not made when shooting wide angles of 18mm - 28mm or so. I saw a technical review of this lens that noted it had significant outer distortion on pictures taken at 18mm but I have not seen that.
Pros
-Light weight for range
-Large range
-Vibration Reduction
-Sharp, crisp pictures with vibrant colors
-Fast Focus with manual focus adjustment ring for fine tuning
Cons
-Light fall off at long telephoto settings and large f stops
-Vibration Reduction helps with handheld shots but does not stop subject motion in low light, you still need a fast lens for that
-High price and limited availability
-Might get light fall off at wide angles unless expensive 1/2
width filter is used
-Lens Creep (but most telephotos have this to some extent)
I have since used the lens to shoot the Special Olympics. The outside track and field photos are excellent. Inside shots where hit and miss with subject movement in low light being the biggest culprit (was shooting no flash at 1600 iso).
For about the same money you can get a Nikon or Sigma 2.8 lens that covers approx. 80-200mm. I have read several opinions that you will still have fewer bad pictures with the VR of this lens and I believe that is true. It is not a perfect lens, but it takes great pictures once you know its limitations.
One tip - If you get this lens, when you use it on a tripod turn VR off, it will actually cause your photos to be blurry.
UPDATE-Fall 2008 I have stopped using this lens and am instead using the Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical IF Macro Lens for Nikon DSLR Cameras which has "Vibration Control" and a wider range going all the way out to 270mm. It focuses almost as fast and has a wider diameter hence the vignetting of the Nikon is gone. One last thing is that it has much less lens creep and even a lock at 18mm.
This light fall off is the most significant problem I have noticed with this lens. I contacted Nikon and they said it was normal. Since the lens is made for the smaller DX sensor the diameter of the lens is smaller. This causes mechanical shadowing at long zoom lengths with the lens at the wide open settings of f5.6 until about f11. All lenses have light fall off, to some degree, at the edges. When you use a regular lens made for 35mm with the smaller digital DX sensors the fall off is outside the sensor and not seen. The light fall off was especially noticable with the blue/uniform background. If the background was "busy" the falloff would be less noticable.
Vignetting/light fall off is also usually seen on the wide side of zooms like this. I have not seen any with this lens. I do use a Hoya Pro 1/2 thickness filter so that a shadow is not made when shooting wide angles of 18mm - 28mm or so. I saw a technical review of this lens that noted it had significant outer distortion on pictures taken at 18mm but I have not seen that.
Pros
-Light weight for range
-Large range
-Vibration Reduction
-Sharp, crisp pictures with vibrant colors
-Fast Focus with manual focus adjustment ring for fine tuning
Cons
-Light fall off at long telephoto settings and large f stops
-Vibration Reduction helps with handheld shots but does not stop subject motion in low light, you still need a fast lens for that
-High price and limited availability
-Might get light fall off at wide angles unless expensive 1/2
width filter is used
-Lens Creep (but most telephotos have this to some extent)
I have since used the lens to shoot the Special Olympics. The outside track and field photos are excellent. Inside shots where hit and miss with subject movement in low light being the biggest culprit (was shooting no flash at 1600 iso).
For about the same money you can get a Nikon or Sigma 2.8 lens that covers approx. 80-200mm. I have read several opinions that you will still have fewer bad pictures with the VR of this lens and I believe that is true. It is not a perfect lens, but it takes great pictures once you know its limitations.
One tip - If you get this lens, when you use it on a tripod turn VR off, it will actually cause your photos to be blurry.
UPDATE-Fall 2008 I have stopped using this lens and am instead using the Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical IF Macro Lens for Nikon DSLR Cameras which has "Vibration Control" and a wider range going all the way out to 270mm. It focuses almost as fast and has a wider diameter hence the vignetting of the Nikon is gone. One last thing is that it has much less lens creep and even a lock at 18mm.
165 of 170 people found the following review helpful
I have had this lens for ~2 months and use it on my D80. I also have a few other lenses, two primes and one wide-angle zoom.
Before purchasing this lens I would encourage anyone to search online and read the technical reviews of it. I agree with their consensus which is:
- if you want a very flexible zoom that gives you VR and a wide range of focal lengths without too much weight or bulk, and if you don't want to be switching between lenses, then this is the lens for you. It's good enough to cover most shots in a range of common conditions. If you want the quality of SLR but only one lens then go for it.
- if you want great optical quality (ie low distortion etc), and/or wide enough aperture to give low light ability/fast shutter speed, then the design compromises in this lens make it a questionable choice for you.
In short, the designers have definitely preferenced this lens's amazing flexibility at the cost of other attributes found in higher quality (though less versatile in some respects) photographic glass.
This design balance may suit you brilliantly or it may not suit you at all. It all depends on what you are buying the lens for, and what sort of use you intend to have for your photographic equipment.
I'm happy with mine as a flexible "one-stop-shop" tool, especially when I'm travelling light and don't exactly know what I'm going to come across. It does give pretty reasonable images all told, and a fantastic "advanced point-and-shoot" capability.
But does it spend much time on my camera when I have all my other gear on hand and when I want to take a specific high-quality, technically thought out shot? No.
PS: a general-use alternative that a number of people recommend is a 2-lens kit made up of the 18-55 and 55-200. Both come in VR these days and are inexpensive yet arguably better optical quality. Bottom line is you get the same total focal length range and slightly better optics for about 2/3 of the cost of 18-200, with the only downside being the need to switch between the lenses.
Before purchasing this lens I would encourage anyone to search online and read the technical reviews of it. I agree with their consensus which is:
- if you want a very flexible zoom that gives you VR and a wide range of focal lengths without too much weight or bulk, and if you don't want to be switching between lenses, then this is the lens for you. It's good enough to cover most shots in a range of common conditions. If you want the quality of SLR but only one lens then go for it.
- if you want great optical quality (ie low distortion etc), and/or wide enough aperture to give low light ability/fast shutter speed, then the design compromises in this lens make it a questionable choice for you.
In short, the designers have definitely preferenced this lens's amazing flexibility at the cost of other attributes found in higher quality (though less versatile in some respects) photographic glass.
This design balance may suit you brilliantly or it may not suit you at all. It all depends on what you are buying the lens for, and what sort of use you intend to have for your photographic equipment.
I'm happy with mine as a flexible "one-stop-shop" tool, especially when I'm travelling light and don't exactly know what I'm going to come across. It does give pretty reasonable images all told, and a fantastic "advanced point-and-shoot" capability.
But does it spend much time on my camera when I have all my other gear on hand and when I want to take a specific high-quality, technically thought out shot? No.
PS: a general-use alternative that a number of people recommend is a 2-lens kit made up of the 18-55 and 55-200. Both come in VR these days and are inexpensive yet arguably better optical quality. Bottom line is you get the same total focal length range and slightly better optics for about 2/3 of the cost of 18-200, with the only downside being the need to switch between the lenses.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Really good all around lense
I have owned this lens for about 8 years now, I got one as soon as it hit the shelf. Mine has the first generation VR, and its review time.
I give this a 4 star lens. Read more
I give this a 4 star lens. Read more
Published 21 days ago by Jeffrey Johnston
4.0 out of 5 stars
i thought when i ordered it was the vr 2 but its the older version and...
a friend told me he uses it all the time, he's has been shooting for thirty years as a pro so I thought I d try it and it is great now I wish I had the 18-300
Published 26 days ago by whole_e _cow
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not tested
I haven't tested it long term so I will need to revisit my review. I am really picky about my lenses. But so far it is a great every day lens. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Rebecca Harris
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Lens for a Nikon D3100
I was looking to get a little more distance than the 55mm I had that I bought with my Camera. This guy is the best all around lens I have ever had.
Published 3 months ago by Genefan1430
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very good lens and truly versatile; Not good for near subjects when...
This lens is great for 'all-around' use and was expecially nice to have for a trip to Yellowstone where I could zoom out for those wide-panoramic shots or zoom in to get the look... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Michael P. Coleman
3.0 out of 5 stars
A careful word of advice
Used this lens for a bit. Its slow, not very good for low light but it covers a large range so its nice when you don't want to change lenses. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Aeriam
5.0 out of 5 stars
The only lens I use
Sturdy multi-purpose lens with a quiet motor and not too huge. Focus is a little soft at the 200mm mark but not so bad that sharpness can't be improved in post-processing. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Vivian S. Bedoya
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great lens. One tiny flaw.
This is a great lens and is responsible for reducing the waight of my camera bag by about 10 pounds. Where I used to carry 5 or 6 lenses, I now carry only three. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Hodgepodgerama
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great lens.
Amazing lens ever, i will recomended for every one, it doesnt matter what level you have, you dont need to change with other lens.
Published 6 months ago by nanang widodo
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nikon 18-200MM "Lens Creep"
For you guys having problems with "Lens Creep", instead of using tape , invest in a thin black "O-Ring" at your hardware store for a buck or so. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Roulitick
