Returned from Europe (my thoughts on lenses)

I haven't posted here on dpreview for a while. Looking back it looks like the last time I posted, I was complaining about how I didn't think the 18-200 VR was useful because it just sat at home on my shelf.

Well I just returned from Europe (Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and England) and the 18-200 VR got more use than any other lens I brought along. I had in my bag: Nikkor 50mm 1.4, Nikkor 85mm 1.8, and Sigma 30mm 1.4, and the 18-200 VR. I can change lenses extremely fast, and still I found the 18-200 VR unbeatable.

The 50mm and 30mm were mostly just dead weight. The 85mm 1.8 got decent use. I like the 85mm 1.8 because its so short and small, especially when compared to the 85mm 1.4. I find telephoto lenses to be extremely useful in Europe and especially zooms. I was considering only bringing primes but the zoom was a life saver. Especially the VR. My D70 has now been on two Europe trips. Last year I took 22,000 pictures, this time I only took about 7000 (but the number of keepers is much higher this time around).

I usually shoot with auto ISO, and do f/8 and forget about it. Sometimes with a polarizer. I matrix meter most of the time. When I have a polarizer I usually compensate with +0.5 EV. I usually just left the VR on Active the entire time. If I'm trying to sneak a portrait, I open the lens up to the widest aperture to throw the background out just a little more.

All these photos below were taken using the 18-200 VR.

















http://flickr.com/photos/karneyli

Nice shots...especially like 4 and 5. I just got a 18-200 myself, wished I had photo ops like that!

Nice stuff... my stepson is thinking of buying a travel lens and I am trying to talk him into the 18-200.
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Pete Biro

Very nice Photos.

Morris
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http://qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/~morris/POD

Beautiful shots. My 18-200vr comes in tomorrow. Can't wait.

These are stunning. Bright. Colorful. Sharp. I'm thinking about the 18-200VR and the 70-300VR when it becomes available. I suspect, like the 18-200, the 70-300 will be nearly impossible to find unless you pay premium dollar. I just have the 18-70DX and am waiting to purchase a zoom telephoto that doesn't weigh as much as the 70-200. You obviously are enjoying Europe's richness. Thanks for sharing.

love 4. you should try and sell it somewhere.

Very nice work. A friend of mine just came back from 16 days in Germany, The Netherlands and Italy and he too swears by the 18-200 VR, he was absolutely impressed with the lenses usability. He says that it will be the only lens he travels with and he travels often.
Ted
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http://photobucket.com/albums/y260/tdkd13/

yegster said:

love 4. you should try and sell it somewhere.

Click to expand...

u know I've tried selling my photos on Alamy but its so hard... I wish it was easier.

Being a very frequent traveler and considering that I do live (when I'm at my new home country) in semi desert conditions the 18-200 Vr was a very nice lens to have. Got it froma trip to holland for around 800 usd (OK a bit more than what you guys pay) but that's considered a cheap price for such a lens in Europ. Now it sells for a similar price in Dubai where things are considered to be much cheaper that in Europ as it's a tax free country.

Anyway it has been a very nice lens to have and has been with me to lots of travel and after thousands of pics taken with it i'm really happy for this lens and wouldn't have any other over it.
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Sony P7
Nikon coolpix 5700
Nikon D70s 18-200VR 50mm1.4 SB600

Wow.

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D50, 18-70, 50f/1.8D. Love it.
DK21M Eyepiece magnifier.
Nikon 950, still used !

Great discussion on the 18-200.

I am shooting with a 18-70 and thinking of doing a similar trip.

How often did you shoot with the lens set greater than 70mm ? And how much was it over 70 mm ?

Thanks.

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D50, 18-70, 50f/1.8D. Love it.
DK21M Eyepiece magnifier.
Nikon 950, still used !

I live in switzerland at the moment and have travelled to many places throughout almost all of europe over the past few years...

Actually I am a slight little bit envious of that 18-200 VR of yours...

I just bought my D70s (am VERY HAPPY WITH IT)... and considered the 18-200... however it was out of stock everywhere...
well will get one later this year... it seems to be the perfect travel lens...

how do you like that 30mm 1.4 Sigma lens??

btw... your shots are very good... I enjoyd them a lot... especially your capture of the pisa-tower is amongst the coolest I've seen. I really do like that cropped / "tilted" (or straight, depending on what way you look at it ) view of the pic.

thanks

I would say quite a bit. See... all the portraits i did were at 200mm, mainly because I love bokeh and I wanted to sneak as many as possible for as far away as possible. The nice thing about this lens is the VR makes a world of a difference when the light just isn't available and it is sufficiently sharp at 200mm.

I usually left the lens with VR active when it wasn't super bright out, turned on auto iso so that the shutter speed didn't fall below 1/30s and I never got a picture with handshake.

Most of the zoomed in archetectural details were greater than 100mm. In my mind, the 18-35mm range is for wide shots, most of the shots then either fell in the 100-200 range. For some reason, when it came down to ths lens, its either I used the telephoto end or the wide end, and seldom the stuff in between.

Whenever possible, I tried to use the 85mm because I love how its so much lighter and does things differently.

Although i do have some issues with this lens. As the mount contacts got dirty, the lens and camera were having issues talking to each other and sometimes it wouldn't know that the lens was even connected. Although after cleaning the dirt off it was all good.

The VR sometimes also "JUMPS" when it was off for a while. You can literally see the entire viewfinder shake violently at the beginning

Karney

me2000 said:

Great discussion on the 18-200.

I am shooting with a 18-70 and thinking of doing a similar trip.

How often did you shoot with the lens set greater than 70mm ? And
how much was it over 70 mm ?

Thanks.

--
D50, 18-70, 50f/1.8D. Love it.
DK21M Eyepiece magnifier.
Nikon 950, still used !

Click to expand...

dg001 said:

Actually I am a slight little bit envious of that 18-200 VR of
yours...
I just bought my D70s (am VERY HAPPY WITH IT)... and considered the
18-200... however it was out of stock everywhere...
well will get one later this year... it seems to be the perfect
travel lens...

Click to expand...

Until I actually took it travelling I couldn't believe this lens could be so amazing. Definitely worth every penny. The VR is a life saver.

dg001 said:

how do you like that 30mm 1.4 Sigma lens??

Click to expand...

Hmm... i'm a little mixed about it. It is soft even when stopped down to like f/2.8 for a large apeture lens. my nikkor 50mm 1.4 stopped down to f/2.8 is razor sharp. The sigma is also quite heavy, it feels heavier than the 85mm 1.8. And the focus is noisy. Apart from that, its a very usable lens. Its great for dinner parties and restaurant evenings because of its low light abilities and makes taking pictures easier because I'm not taking pictures of just people's noses.

dg001 said:

btw... your shots are very good... I enjoyd them a lot...
especially your capture of the pisa-tower is amongst the coolest
I've seen. I really do like that cropped / "tilted" (or straight,
depending on what way you look at it ) view of the pic.

Click to expand...

Thanks Its difficult for me to stay creative on trips because the longer it goes the more tired I get

I was thinking of this lens but went big, I may regret it or just turn into the hulk after a couple of days of walking with the 80-400vr. Nice work, love the 1st one the most it shows artism and says were you were.

The sheer amount of pictures ouch what 7000. pff did you carry a hard drive with you.
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Really I am smiling

Excellent photos... I recently returned from a trip to Greece where I used the 18-200mm VR for the majority of shots. My Tokina 12-24 also got a lot of use, but the two primes I brought were rarely used.

If you're travelling for pleasure it is really nice to not be burdoned with too much gear, or to have to worry about changing lenses frequently.

Here are a few photos from Greece taken with the 18-200:







VR was very useful in museums



And for sunsets

Active VR was useful on the boat ride:

• Sean

I brought the 18-200 VR with me as well and it stayed on for 90% of my shots although I shot it with the D200 while my wife shot the D70 with the kit lens. I did get some use out of the 12-24 but not as much as I thought i would.

Europe was SO CROWDED this year that changing lenses on the fly became an extreme chore and the reach plus VR of the 18-200 made it invaluable for catching the fleeting moments.A little bit of an ISO push and the VR were perfect for interior shots .







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http://tysonfultz.smugmug.com
http://www.pbase.com/tfultz

Just love your no.2 wow very good capture cathedral
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Really I am smiling

Excellent shots! I also have the VR 18-200, but I'm stunned at the sharpness I see in these pics. Did you sharpen in camera, or later in PP?

Mark
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http://www.brandau.nl