Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Nikkor Lens

Product Rating
4.53 of 5
15 reviews

Price Range
$640 - $800

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Product Description

Summary

First of all, the Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX Nikkor Lens is very compact - notmuch larger or heavier than the 18-70mm Nikkor that it replaces. Yet it provides a 35mm-equivalent zoom range of 28-300mm, and while it isn't the fast lens Nikon offers, with it's VR image stabilization factor of 3 - stops, it might as well be. While photographing political events leading up to the recent election, I was up against photojournalists with their very large and heavy 300s, and don't feel that I was at any disadvantage.

Strength

Small, light, extremely sharp, with only moderate lens distortion (easily correctable in Photoshop), and with very effective image stabilization (which Nilon calls, Vibration Reduction).

Weakness

Nilon has traded off size for speed, therefore this lens is only moderately fast.

Summary

I am replacing a Nikkor 18-70 DX and a Nikkor 70-300G with this lens. My detailed evaluation gallery with samples is at:

http://www.pbase.com/hsandler/18_200

The lens handles nicely. Fit and finish are good for a plastic lens. Barrel doesn't wobble and I have no issue with zoom creep. The zoom ring has an area around 100mm when it requries more torque to turn it, and the Nikon rep at a camera show told me this is normal, as the lens design has a complex series of cams which cause a reversal of direction of an internal part at that point.

VR really is great. One advantage of having it in the lens instead of in the body as in the Sony system is that you can see the stabilization effect in the viewfinder before pressing the shutter. It generally takes about 0.5 sec to stabilize upon engaging the system by half-pressing the shutter.

Consumers used to small cheap kit lenses may find it a tad on the heavy side as a walking-around lens, but pros will find it light.

Optically, it seems to perform at least as good as the 18-70 DX lens over that range, and certainly is sharper around 40mm where I had problems with the 18-70. At 200mm it's OK for me, but pros may be dissatisfied.

Strength

versatile range
VR

Weakness

A little heavy for a walking-around lens for casual use (parties, family events etc.)
Not as razor-sharp as Nikon's best primes.

Summary

OK I've had it for more than two months and there's nothing much to write about. It works just fine. A real milestone in my photography career. this is an amazing lens. Here's the story:

I realised after using the D200 with my f2.8 constant zooms (17-35, 28-70 and 80-200) that the D200 is a really super tool and that I could retire my last film body (Hasselblad medium format) and only shoot digital. The problem is the f2.8 constant lenses are big, heavy and expensive. The 18-70DX works fine with the D200 but my 70-210 f3.5-4.5 pump zoom blows dust into the mirror box. The 18-200 looked too good to be true. Surely an 11x zoom would not match the image quality of the f2.8 constant zooms?

First observation: I find that images from the Nikon consumer zooms (both 18-70DX and 18-200DX) used on the D200 need extra sharpness and saturation in Nikon Capture to look right. The f2.8 constant zooms look just fine with the standard settings.

Second observation: Prints from the 18-200 don't look quite as good as ones from the f2.8 constant zooms. The effect is hardly noticable. They don't quite have the same finesse.

That's all I've noticed. I would always use the f2.8 constant lenses if I want the best but for most uses the 18-200 stays on the camera. As a walk-about combination with Auto-ISO set on the D200 I just walk about, outdoors, indoors, never make any adjustments, hardly ever use the flash any more either.

Strength

Versatility. Image quality. Small size. Relatively low cost. Image stabiliser really works

Weakness

Zoom creeps forward when the lens is tilted forward at the tele end
Availability

Summary

Versatile. As a newbie into the SLR world, I wanted a lens that did it all. Attached to my D70s, it does most everything. If there is light present, this is the one lens to have.

Nice color. I shoot with either a UV or Polarizing filter on this lens.

I usually shoot sports. When I lived in Idaho, this was no prob, this lens is great for the versatility. But now that I live in Washington, it's not fast enough for the action shots I crave.

I'll probably keep it just because of how versatile it is. Maybe I'll buy some high speed primes. I usually end up shooting with my 50mm/1.8 in the woods, plus it's not as fragile as this big lens and weighs less.

For one lens that does it all, it's really nice.

Strength

Versatile.

Weakness

Not fast enough for low-light.

Summary

Nikon 18-200 VR for those are too lazy to bother with a tripod?

Well the waiting of 9 months is over and I have now got my hands on the Nikon 18-200 VR lens. Was it worth the wait or is VR just an expensive gimmick?

Out of the box, the lens looks well built and finished with a nice smooth Nikon feel, like what should be expected. The wide zoom range will mean that couple of aging lenses can now be retired. (especially my 18-35 Nikkor which has too short a zoom range) Having a multi purpose wide to tele lens will reduce the need for lens changes. VR is a bonus albeit an expensive one.

So are VR lens a reason for tripod manufactured to go out of business!

There is no substitute for a proper camera support; as you can use small F stops to give depth of field. If you are shooting at F3.5 you just aren’t going to get the same DOF and sharpness than if you stop down to F11 for example. Having said that; it can enable a smaller F stop under marginal light. Where you may have to use F 3.5 at 15th sec you can use F8 at 1 ¼ sec

As I live in a very dusty environment; changing lenses can be a problem with dust getting in the camera. Not needing to change lenses is a real plus point and my main purpose in buying this lens.

If you want a complete digital lens kit in a box with VR as well; then the Nikon 18-200 VR would be worthwhile.; It is a jack of all trades but master of none!

. For the wild life or budding rock music photographer; get an 80-200 F2.8 lens; or if you are on a budget and not so concerned about ultimate quality; the Fuji S9000 / 9500 will be far more useful and cheaper.

The Nikon 18-200 VR is No 1 in a field of one; unless some manufacturer comes up with an 18-200 F2.8 lens at less than $1000 ……….dream on!

Strength

The general impression over a few days is that the 18-200 VR is a good general purpose travel lens with decent image quality.

Its usability with VR enables it to go where most lenses fail to reach! The autofocus is good too and its close focusing is a big improvement on my old 70-300 lens.

Where this lens really excels is for photography of static objects like buildings and dark interior like churches in less than ideal conditions. At the wide F3.5 end; one would normally use 15 to 20th sec as a minimum for 18mm focal length. I was able to get reasonably sharp results hand held at ¼ second.

This is pretty handy if you in a place which bans tripods or flash; or are too lazy to bother with a tripod

Weakness

I literally walked out of the dealer after purchasing this lens and straight to a music festival. The musicians and dancers lit by stage lighting will be a useful test of the lens capabilities.

Low lighting and movement exposed the biggest weakness of this lens.
At F5.6 at the 200mm end It is simply too slow for that purpose; as one needs at least 1:125 sec to freeze motion.

The VR does an effective job of freezing static objects; but if you are shooting a dancer at 1/10th of a second you are not going to get her sharp at all; but you will get a sharp background at F5.6 in most cases.

An F 2.8 lens is far more effective.
I made a direct comparison with my aging Fuji S7000 with a f2.5 to F3..2 zoom. I found the Nikon inferior in sharpness because I could not get a fast enough shutter speed even at 800asa to capture moving subjects.

I am saying this to benefit those who may intend buying this lens for low light wildlife or stage photography; as you will be wasting your money!

Another weakness is that out of focus detail (Bokeh) looks harsh and a little disturbing. My cheap 70-300 Nikon looks a much nicer visually.

The lens distortion which is most apparent at 18mm will not be much of an issue for general photography; if you want to take serious architectural photography then you will be best advised to get a more specialist lens like the Sigma 12-24

At present it is seriously overpriced for a consumer lens; but if I had wanted to wait for another year; then maybe the price will have come down to a sensible level.