18-200 VR is it really that good?

I had been reading many different forum concerning this 18-200 VR Nikon lens since I was planning to buy one. So far like 80% of the people like it, but those that didn't like it listed many problems concerning this lens... Anyone know any good review on this lens? One people on a thread in Amazon.com even say these lens are mostly defective that's why Nikon didn't crank them out even though they are in huge demand... I heard enough about the nice thing about this lens (as I said about 80% of the message board I read is something nice about it) so anyone have anything bad about this lens? I would like to know if anyone encounter some serious problem with this lens. I tried to seach through this forum but didn't seem to find too many problem with this lens here?

thanks in advance for whoever reply this thread.

Rotto

fast focusing, the vr works well. whats not to like?

its not a 70-200 2.8 vr but its half the price.

rotto_c said:

I had been reading many different forum concerning this 18-200 VR
Nikon lens since I was planning to buy one. So far like 80% of the
people like it, but those that didn't like it listed many problems
concerning this lens... Anyone know any good review on this lens?
One people on a thread in Amazon.com even say these lens are mostly
defective that's why Nikon didn't crank them out even though they
are in huge demand... I heard enough about the nice thing about
this lens (as I said about 80% of the message board I read is
something nice about it) so anyone have anything bad about this
lens? I would like to know if anyone encounter some serious
problem with this lens. I tried to seach through this forum but
didn't seem to find too many problem with this lens here?

thanks in advance for whoever reply this thread.

Rotto

Click to expand...

--check this out http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/index.html I hope this works
Tanglefoot47
Tulalip Wa.

Hello Mike:

Where did you finally get the 18-200 from?

LW

mike bustad said:

rotto_c said:

I had been reading many different forum concerning this 18-200 VR
Nikon lens since I was planning to buy one. So far like 80% of the
people like it, but those that didn't like it listed many problems
concerning this lens... Anyone know any good review on this lens?
One people on a thread in Amazon.com even say these lens are mostly
defective that's why Nikon didn't crank them out even though they
are in huge demand... I heard enough about the nice thing about
this lens (as I said about 80% of the message board I read is
something nice about it) so anyone have anything bad about this
lens? I would like to know if anyone encounter some serious
problem with this lens. I tried to seach through this forum but
didn't seem to find too many problem with this lens here?

thanks in advance for whoever reply this thread.

Rotto

Click to expand...

--check this out http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/index.html I hope this
works
Tanglefoot47
Tulalip Wa.

Click to expand...

Rotto , I like my 18-200vr very much and I've been writing about it in many threads, Thom hogan has a good report on this lens at http://www.bythom.com

amongst other professionals, I read lots of reviews and comments by professionals and members over here and tried a couple before buying mine ,

I think , most negative comments have more to do with the fact that people expected this lens to be a 70-200Vr lens IQ and capability at a range of a f2.8 at a 18-200 range so they will never need another lens,

Of course its not like that , This lens like almost any other lens is a compromise from the perfect do it all lens , but for me anyway, this is a lens that can do 50% of my shootings, Now, that is fantastic, If you read many comments here you will find that many users of the 70-200Vr who praise this lens , and quite justifiably , as a legend , only use it 5% of the time ....

Remember that lenses are just tools ,, and what is important , well, for me anyway, is conveying a message ,with, of course optimal IQ as possible . This lens is (18-200VR) is , I agree with Ken's words : " a miracle" I just complement it with some primes. This lens is very sharp at the center even wide open , which is useful in some instances - I never got this sharpness with good lenses such as the 35-70 or even the 28-70 or 80-200. Its OOF -bokeh is not ideal for a top class IQ portrait for example the 70-200Vr offers much better OOF bokeh or the 85/1.4 is much better, BTW also the 85 ,althouhg an excellent lens, doesnt have the same quality bokeh (for portaits) as the 70-200 or the 85.1.4 for that matter .

The 18-200 is great if you want good IQ at 2 , or even perfect 3 stops down images for edge to edge sharpness , good contrast and color,
--
avis
http://www.pbase.com/avistar/avi_s_photographic_world
Nikon D70, 50/1.4, 105/2.8, 18-200VR SB600, SB800
Gitzo 1228, and 1226 ,

Larry Winters said:

Where did you finally get the 18-200 from?

LW

mike bustad said:

rotto_c said:

I had been reading many different forum concerning this 18-200 VR
Nikon lens since I was planning to buy one. So far like 80% of the
people like it, but those that didn't like it listed many problems
concerning this lens... Anyone know any good review on this lens?
One people on a thread in Amazon.com even say these lens are mostly
defective that's why Nikon didn't crank them out even though they
are in huge demand... I heard enough about the nice thing about
this lens (as I said about 80% of the message board I read is
something nice about it) so anyone have anything bad about this
lens? I would like to know if anyone encounter some serious
problem with this lens. I tried to seach through this forum but
didn't seem to find too many problem with this lens here?

thanks in advance for whoever reply this thread.

Rotto

Click to expand...

--check this out http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/index.html I hope this
works
Tanglefoot47
Tulalip Wa.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--I have a friend in the business and he pulled some strings and I was able to snatch one up

Tanglefoot47
Tulalip Wa.

rotto_c said:

I tried to seach through this forum but
didn't seem to find too many problem with this lens here?

Click to expand...

There are plenty of threads discussing problems with this lens, but the majority of posts are favorable. Here are some problems with this lens:

1. Vignetting - especially at the long end. Not a huge problem since it is easily fixed in post-processing, but it can be annoying with some photos.

2. Distortion - especially at the wide end. This is a fact of life when you talk about superzooms, and this lens has some really bad barrel distortion at 18mm, which straightens out by 24mm and turns to noticeable (but not as bad) pincushion at the longer focal lengths. Again this can be fixed in post-processing, and you won't even notice it in many photos unless you take a lot of shots with straight lines running across the frame.

3. Slow variable aperture - If this lens wasn't VR, it'd be pretty difficult to use in many situations. The VR helps tremendously, but you'll still get motion blur if you don't have a wide enough apterure to get the shutter speed you need to stop action. This is a trade off one should expect with any superzoom.

4. Build quality - I don't think it's that bad. Certainly not up there with my 80-200 or my Tokina 12-24, but it seems reasonably solid. One of the most popular complaints about this lens is zoom creep. If you hold the lens at a steep angle between 35mm and 135mm, the zoom will creep. Not a big deal for me since i just use my left hand to support the lens and zoom at the same time (this lens is for handheld shooting and NOT a tripod). This has never been an issue for me. The zoom ring also has variable resistance throughout the range...which can feel sloppy, but is something I got used to.

Even given these drawbacks the 18-200 is one amazing little lens. The image quality is excellent for a super zoom. I find it to be very sharp and the bokeh isn't bad (not great, but not bad). I bought it as a travel zoom and I'm happy enough with the results to use it quite often even when I'm not travelling. Most of the photos in the following gallery of a trip to Greece were taken with the 18-200 (others taken with Tokina 12-24 or 35mm f/2):
http://burgerandfrey.smugmug.com/Travel/196522

Thom Hogan's review of this lens is very balanced:
http://www.bythom.com

For sheer versatility in a single lens, nothing beats the 18-200VR. Just take a look at the variety of these shots, all taken with the 18-200VR on my D200.

This first shot is a collage of 6 images taken in rapid succession and combined together in Photoshop (1/1250sec 105mm at f/6.3 iso400):



A macro image (with no extra gear) taken at 112mm f/5.6 iso400 1/60sec handheld with VR:



An early morning tripod shot of the LDS temple in Salt Lake City, 4 exposures merged together with the Photoshop HDR function (32mm, f/11, 1/4sec to 2secs, iso100):



Another handheld shot with VR (18mm 1/30sec f/8 iso100) taken at Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado:



A handheld VR shot at the Texas State Aquarium in the underwater viewing area (27mm, f/8, 1/80sec, iso200):



Finally, an action handheld VR shot with the lens fully zoomed and wide open (200mm, f/5.6, 1/750sec, iso200):



--
Steve

--
Steve

Very nice. Did you do some perspective correction in post?

As I posted in a different thread I'm facing focus problems with mine.

From some shot tests I liked the colours rendition, sharpness, good contrast, ability to get sharp images under dim light and/or lower speeds, though.

However mine sometimes doesn't focus at all and no, it is not hunting. The camera display shows error 04 and... nothing happens! It doesn't hunt for focus nor nothing... simply stops woking!
I am currently waiting for its replacement.

--
Rui

Yes, I did a little perspective correction so that the temple didn't look like it was leaning back away from the camera. The bottom of the image looks like it is slanted down to the left. That is a correct rendition of the natural slope of the location.
--
Steve

There are several discusions 18-200 with several lenses
By example mine with 60 micro:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1034&message=20196348 another threads, like this one, with 70-200, another with the best zoon, yhe 17-55, etc. etc. etc.
I start thinking I love it.
--
Light !!!

Hello Mike:

mike bustad said:

--I have a friend in the business and he pulled some strings and I
was able to snatch one up

Click to expand...

Thats cool...Always good to have friends in high places...

I'm still trying to get a decent Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 and compare it to a Nikon 18-70 until I get the 18-200...I figure most everything happens for a reason so I'm being patient...

LW

mike bustad said:

Larry Winters said:

Where did you finally get the 18-200 from?

LW

mike bustad said:

rotto_c said:

I had been reading many different forum concerning this 18-200 VR
Nikon lens since I was planning to buy one. So far like 80% of the
people like it, but those that didn't like it listed many problems
concerning this lens... Anyone know any good review on this lens?
One people on a thread in Amazon.com even say these lens are mostly
defective that's why Nikon didn't crank them out even though they
are in huge demand... I heard enough about the nice thing about
this lens (as I said about 80% of the message board I read is
something nice about it) so anyone have anything bad about this
lens? I would like to know if anyone encounter some serious
problem with this lens. I tried to seach through this forum but
didn't seem to find too many problem with this lens here?

thanks in advance for whoever reply this thread.

Rotto

Click to expand...

--check this out http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/index.html I hope this
works
Tanglefoot47
Tulalip Wa.

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

--I have a friend in the business and he pulled some strings and I
was able to snatch one up

Tanglefoot47
Tulalip Wa.

Click to expand...

It really is that good - very versatile. Perfect? No. Great when you want to go off on a trip with only one lens? You bet. My two lens travel kit these days is my 18-200 VR and my 50 f1.8. One's broad, the other's fast. Enjoy it.
--
All the best,
Kit
Please see my pictures at
http://www.parazz.com/albums/kithg

Hi Andy had a look at the review of the 18-200,not one i have read before.I think it is inconclusive a sit on the fence review.

He has exactly the same opinion as me im not sure if i like it or not.Had some very mixed results with.Its not totally useable at wide or long.So do we need the 18-200 .Im damed if i can make my mind up.But i cant think of an alternative.

I dont really use the topend 200mm much probabley between 18-80 is my most used range.

Why can't this lens be used on a tripod?

Of course it can be used on a tripod. Nikon simply advises us to disable VR when shooting on a tripod. I have taken many images with the 18-200VR on a tripod.
--
Steve

Yeh, it's a landmark lens for what it does. Don't believe me. Look at the images and testimonials as well as competent reviews from such authorities as Rorslett, etc.
BTW, some of the Canon folks are green with envy...
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1029&message=19731509

RB
http://www.pbase.com/rbfresno/profile