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

This is a spectacular lens but is it worth the extreme hype generated? Probably. Coming from digital with my 17-35mm 2.8, I needed something with a little more reach and a lighter lens for travel and general photography. With pro lenses in mind, I was skeptical of the 18-200 but this quickly vanished. I tested both the 17-35mm 2.8 and the 18-200mm VR on a tripod (with VR off) at different focal lengths and F-stops. Both lenses show very little if any difference in quality, perhaps a bit more contrast on the 17-35 and only slightly sharper when viewed at 100%. This is ignoring the obvious benefit of the 18-200 in its ability to use VR or nikon's vibration reduction. Again I was skeptical at just how good VR could be but the results were amazing.

VR is basically like having an electro-mechanical tripod operated by controls in the lens to stabilize the image when the shutter is pressed halfway. While you can't wildly swing your arms around and still expect to get a good shot, VR compensates for the normal 'tremors' present when holding a camera steady and/or wind effects so that you can stop the lens down to a smaller F stop such as F8 and still get a sharp photo. Anyone who tells you this lens will replace your fast, 1.4-2.8 lenses is not correct. Depth of field control and action shots in low light with this group is unparalleled. The 18-200 is just not cut out for either task, as VR will not compensate for blur when using a slow shutter speed.

While everyone likes to place the 18-200VR in the 'walk around' catagory because of its great versatility, I think that often this lens gets snubbed by pro's as being an amateur lens designed for prosumers. Nothing could be further from the truth. Fast lenses have their place, there's no substitute for the quality they possess. The funny thing is, a lot of pro's get the 18-200 to see just how good this lens is and test it against their fast lens arsenal. Is it a fair test? Definetely not, but the results are astonding considering the price points. My advice is wait for the hype to go away, which it already has started to do. This is a $699 lens and it is worth every penny.

Everything about this is perfect the only problem is when i try to shoot a flower or something up close i have to hold the lens in place because the weight of it makes it zoom all the way in other than that I recommend it

Great lens. Has vibration reduction, so it's heavier than an average lens, but it's nice to have range that it does. I put it on a D40 and it's done real well. Professional photographers I'm sure would want to have specific lenses for different shots, but it does a good job combining several lenses into one.

I read Ken Rockwell's terrific reviews on Nikon DSLR cameras and lenses, specially about the 18-200 lens and decided to buy it. Excellent. Took it to Costa Rica and got spectacular shots without the normal constant lens changing. Buy one!

I put off getting this thing for too long, so when our Fearless Leader said, "Here, have some tax money back, so stimulize the economy", I didn't have an excuse. I'm familiar with image stabilization, and missed it when I bought a Nikon D40 last year. All I can say is, dang,, I'm glad to have IS back. Shooting at 1/15 is no problemo...even got down to 1/3 sec, propped up on my elbows. I've had no trouble with creep (as some have mentioned)...zoom is tight throughout the entire range. I like the fact that the mount is steel, as opposed to the 18-55 kit lens' plastic mount (although it, too, gives great results). The rubber seal that's supposed to keep dust out is a nice touch. Auto focus is fast, too. It is a tad heavy, but I don't mind heavy. The way the hood attaches is a bit novel, twisting it on until it clicks, but it's secure. So what if it doesn't scream "Oooh look, I'm a pro lens"? It gives results, and that's all that matters.

fast shipping, exactly what was described, im very satisfied with the product. will be happy to buy again.

This is a great lens for outdoor shooting. It is not the best for macro photography. It is easy to carry, color just match the camera body with pretty looking. VR functions well so far. I have my best feeling about this lens and use it very often.

Brilliant lens, enough said! Sharp, wide angle + a zoom = photo heaven!

I couldnt recommend it anymore

For those who don't want to read the detail below: if you're an everyday amateur shooter with some money to spend, get it. if you're serious about you're work and working with ease, put you're money into a lighter faster lens.

id say this lens would be fun at the zoo or at a birthday party...for what i refer as snapshots. as far as taking photos, you're going to have to do some extra work yourself (tripod, slower shutter speeds, higher ISOs).

i myself, i'm thinking of taking mine back and getting an 18-70mm. i know, stupid right? the 18-70mm has some lens distortion, but so does the 18-200mm. i just really don't need to zoom into 200mm from 18mm. the 18-70mm is much lighter, faster, and half the price. plus, ive already got a nice 70-300mm which produces better results at high focal lengths.

Pros:
1. covers a great length, coming from 18mm into 200mm. this is handy for travel, or trip where you've never been, in which case you're not sure exactly what focal length will be best (as this covers many).

2. yes, it has a Vibration Reduction (VR) system built into it. its pieces of glass inside the lens which move when the camera moves to compensate for small movements (breathing, breeze, small tremors inside cam body).

Cons:
1. 18-200mm...who cares? this is a f/3.5-5.6 lens, so if you're in any low light forget about it. you'll either have to compensate with a slower shutter speed and use a tripod, or you'll have to crank the ISO up high and get a nasty pincushion effect on your photo. unless you're working with a D300 (ISO is pretty nice up to about 800-100), or a D3 (crank the ISO as high as you like with minimal pincusion), this is not a lens friendly to every environment.

2. heavy. i think this is the real reason this lens has a VR system on it...to compensate for extra shake because this lens is a little on the heavier side, especially zooming into higher lengths.

3. VR system...this vibration reduction system can obviously be used to only compensate for very small movements from the camera. i would rather just have a lens that weighs less than have a heavy block with this VR system on it.

4. sharpness is weak. call me crazy, but my 18-135mm f/3.5 is sharper. yes, im picky about sharpness, so unless you're making large prints or using photos for digital design online, you probably won't notice it.

5. cost...i know why this lens cost about $700, but i think the feature you are paying for are not very valuable features; i.e., VR system, 18-200mm, hasselblad glass.

I could not be happier w/ this lens, it works wonderfully. The images are clear, there is no creep at all, and the VR is just awesome. I am very pleased...

good lens, but canon 28-300mm IS USM l for longer reach. I have both of lens, wether is VR or IS, picture quality is good but not excellent compare to Tokina 12-24mm F4 or other professional lens without IS/VR. VR is effective, deadly fast AF, weather seal? not sure, but 24-105mm f4l IS USM is. alot folks discuss about this lens over some BBS, the picture quality of this lens is equal to nikon 18-70 DX not 200mm f2 VR. good travel lens, lighter than 28-300 IS, plastical feel.

I did so much research on this lens and it is very hard to find negative feed back on this lens. Thins alone is light weight, and replaced a few lenses that i wont have to carry around with me any more. The VR feature is sensational... cannot complain about it. it helps you get the job done! If you shoot kids, sport or animals then you should own one! you will not be disappointed. It may seem a bit costly but think of all the lenses you wont have to buy. You cannot find it anywhere else cheaper than Ebay.

1 Con:
the only con is that this zooms so nice that it has a bit of a "creep" (it wont alow you to hold a stable zoom in a down ward position, only in one focal point this happens)but i found a very simple solution to that. to use an "O" ring around the lens. but please dont get me wrong. only some photographers may notice this. and it is not really a problem, just kinda of an annoyance. This only happens cause its own wieght would kinda alow it to zoom out. But this is only known to happen to a very slight few people. but those people still say positive things about it and are happy to keep it. Its not every day you aim down ward to shoot anyways!

I was looking for this item at a good price savings over a new one. This purchase satisfied that need. Used, it is still in excellent condition.

Whether on a D70 or D200 the Nikkor 18-200mm f3.5-5.6 VR lens is the most versatile I own. I highly recommend it to all enthusiasts and digital professionals.

I tell you, for 98% of what most photographers do, this lens is absolutely all you need...it cover standard wide angle all the way through strong telephoto. I conducted some tests comparing sharpness at the different focal lengths between this lens and the 18-70 kit lens and this lens equals it or beats it at each focal length...and of course this one continues into the telephoto range well beyond what the 18-70 can do. In fact, it even rivals some of my old prime Nikkors at 20mm & 105mm! It's a definite winner, and the VR functionality is awesome as well; much crisper hand-held shots, expecially at longer focal lengths. The best all around lens you can buy, period!

I bought Nickon lence for my relative in China. It is what it promised and brand new as never used before. I really don't know how it is works since it is not for me. If I have to write some thing to meet 100 characters for the review, that is all I can write.

I am a professional wedding, portrait and event photographer and I own many different camera bodies and lenses of all different price ranges including consumer, professional, and "prosumer".

After actualy using this lens on the job at numerous weddings I am impressed with its versitility. It offers a wide range of flexibility from 18-200mm which allows me to continue shooting images as they happen instead of changing out lenses and allowing dust inside my camera body, or grabbing a second body with a different lense attached to it.

Normally I would have to shoot with 2 cameras, one with a wider angled lense attached, and a second with a zoom lense, switching out cameras throughout the whole shoot. Now I just use one camera and one lens for almost every shot.

The VR system on this lens is well worth the extra expense. When you are shooting events such as weddings you simply can not utilize tripods or even monopods and achieve the photos that the clients expect. This has always been a problem because of the natural tremor tendancy in zoom mode and wind effects. Now with the VR built into the lens it produces photos that are as stable as if they were taken from a tripod.

I only see 3 drawbacks to this lens. The first being its weight, which is to be expected due to its outstanding construction materials. This is NOT a toy plastic lens. The second is lens creep which is also caused by its weight and construction materials. How often are you really going to shoot straight up or straight down? I have owned this lens since the day after it came out and I have never yet run into a situation where the lens creep has posed a problem. I even used this lens while mounted on my D200 on a tripod and shooting at a fairly extreme angle to capture outstanding shots of the recent full lunar eclipse. Even at such a high angle there was no lens creep. Until the lens is pointed straight up or straight down at about the 150mm range, lens creep s not an issue. The third drawback is its price, but again this is caused mainly by its high quality and durable materials. As I stated, this lens is NOT a plastic toy lens as other competitors are making.

Overall, I would give this lens an Excellent Rating after taking everything into consideration and would definitely recommend this lens to anyone wanting a single lens for their photography needs. This lens has replaced about 4 lenses that I normally carry with me. Now I am able to carry a single D200, this 18-200mm lens, a MB200 multi battery pack, and a SB800 Speedflash and I am ready for almost any photographic situation.

I've been a serious amateur photographer for well over 30 years and almost all that time, I carried a camera or two and multiple lens (mostly Nikon film cameras.) The Nikon 18-200 VR lens is the first time I've been comfortable that while carrying only one camera and one lens, I could handle the vast majority of shooting situations I find myself in. The resolution is excellent, I can see no color anomalies, and it focuses accurately. The vibration reduction feature lets me handhold at least two more f-stops over a non "VR" lens. I'd like the lens to be faster but, its well balanced and the VR feature gives me affect of a faster lens anyway. Paid more for it than my camera body but, in my opinion, digital SLRs evolve much faster than high quality lenses so, I consider a very good investment.

Got this lens to mate with a newly acquired Nikon D80. Performs very well in all situations and saves me from having to tote and change multiple lenses to span the same (18-200mm) range. It does have a slight creep at some zoom setings but this is only a factor if the lens is pointed vertically. It has a lot of features (VR, etc) for the price, although due to supply shortages from Nikon (owing to low yields of the electronic chip) the price has become inflated. Overall still a good choice.

This is a fantastic lens! The glass is near professional quality and images taken with this lens are nothing short of spectacular. No, it is not a pro quality f2.8 lens, but it is also not $1500+ either. It will do 95% of what most of us need a lens for. The focus is fast and near silent (you can hear the VR working a little). It focuses amazingly close, though not a macro lens and the wide angle is plenty wide with the usual distortion...easy to fix distortion, at both ends. The VR works well and can make hand held shots look nearly as good as tripod shots...nearly. Low light performance is good, though the VR only works on static subjects (obviously). If you are going to make a living taking available light shots you are going to have to spend the big bucks...that is just the way it is. Pros will balk and point out the len's flaws, but they have the extra thousands to spend...the rest of us don't. I guarantee you that if you have just a little talent and a decent Nikon SLR you will get results that will keep you from spending your money on a professional photog. Maybe that is why they are whining so much?
Bottom line...this lens is a marvel and now every other lens maker is going to have to play catch-up. If you are expecting this lens to make you Ansel Adams...you will be disappointed. If you expect it to make your photographing life easier, less complicated and in most repects better...you will be VERY happy.

The Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 AF-S VR Nikkor lens is perhaps the most versatile Nikon lens on the market today. The lens produces sharp images out wide as well as close in. The VR (vibration reduction) function does tend to drain battery power from the camera much more quickly than normal, but significantly reduces the chance that your images are blurred. I find that I shoot with this lens 90% of the time; it's great for portraits and landscapes alike!

I've been trying for years to reduce the amount of photo gear I actually need to accomplish various assignments. I purchased this particular lens because it eliminates the need for a great many individual lenses without sacrificing optical performance.

This lens has proven to be a wise choice for me and has become one of two lenses that I pack for every assignment.

this is the best lens nikon makes so far it has done all i was told of lens before i bought it seller explained all about lens and was very good to deal with mcclekkan0

I was looking for a lens to reduce the "load" in my carry on bag while traveling. This lens allows me to shoot everything under ordinary lighting conditions. I am very pleased with the size and weight of the lens. Much lighter than my 80-200 F2.8, and a I don't have to carry my 18mm!

Everything you've heard about this lens is true - the good and the bad. First off, the bad - which is not all that bad. Like *any* zoom, it has some distortion at some focal lengths. I find that personally I can live with this distortion, and God knows if you can't DXO will fix it for you automatically and painlessly. As for the good - excellent usable range, very good (but not killer) sharpness at f8 and above, and the VR is AMAZING. You really truly will never want to go back once you experience the VR - it really is that good.
Get this lens if you can afford it - sell some of your other lenses if you must, you will likely never touch them again anyway. I've sold five of my other lenses; I've only kept my ultra-wide 12-24DX, and an old MF ultra-prime 180mm, more out of nostalgia than anything else.
Nikon Rules!!!!