AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II Lens

I have a Nikon D300, and it originally came with the Sigma 18 -200mm lens, which I have successfully used for a couple of years, and with which I have taken many pictures. So why buy one of these relatively expensive Nikon lenses, that mostly does the same job?Well, the first thing to understand is just how useful a lens with this spread of focal length really is, and I learnt that with the Sigma, and the Nikon lens simply reinforces the opinion. If you only have one zoom-type lens, then the 18-200 range is absolutely fantastic. It changes the way that you look at things.Down at the 18mm end of the travel, you are looking at a landscape or a building where the image in the viewfinder is probably a lot higher and wider than you actually see in real life. Most of us just use the bit in the middle of our vision for most of the time. At the 18mm end, you need to look around a lot more at what you want to capture, and then you need to look around in the viewfinder a lot, to make sure you have framed the shot you want. And then you want the detail, so you head towards the other end of the zoom, towards the 200mm setting, and there is the detail you want to capture. You can go, with the twist of your wrist, from the whole of your view, to a small piece of the detail. None of us routinely see the world this way, so it takes a while to realise what such a lens does. The only other thing that does that, is a one litre sports motorbike, and on one of those you will risk being locked up if you are caught twisting your wrist that much!If you want a beautiful bokeh with the detail, that seems to be the Nikon's biggest advantage over the Sigma, so far as I can see. It also feels a lot more solid, but then the Sigma has survived a couple of years of use, and the Nikon is still new, so time alone will tell. As it is, the only disadvantage to having an 18-200mm lens is that you loose a bit of the perceived credibility that comes with lots of strapping-on of different lenses, for different shots. Of course, with the single lens, you capture things you would otherwise have missed while doing the lens change, but the reality is that with a lens of this type, you really can use your digital SLR camera like one of those drunk ladies camera's, that sometimes make you wonder why you bother lugging a big kit about! These lenses really are that good, that you will find that you fit it, and forget it, for most of the time.When I go out to try to do some serious wildlife pictures, I will always take (OK lug), the 80-400mm zoom but I will walk in with the 18-200 fitted and capture what I can on the way. Sometimes specialist is good, sometimes it's versatility that delivers, and for versatility, this lens simply delivers what you need, for a huge percentage of both time and subject.

Its seldom that you buy a product that turns out to be significantly better than expected.In designing a highly flexible zoom lens, (11-1), the compromise between flexibility and image quality must be of prime concern. However Nikon apear to have done this VERY WELL and I am getting crisp and contrasty results over the entire range of focal length and a good selection of apertures.The advantages of this product are, essentially, a single lens, that can be left on the camera, which can handle a very wide range of situations. The lens performance together with VRII vibration reduction certainly seems to have done the trick.Whilst lacking in sophisticated bokeh for 'classy' portraits, where I will continue to prefer my 105mm F2 D lens, I intend to use this lens on a regular basis.The good price/ performance ratio, relatively light weight and small size are in its favour and I am likely to use higher ISO settings in low light conditions because of the higher f numbers. The cost, size and weight of the Nikon f2.8 zoom offerings are not such an attractive option except for the keenest professionals!!Highly recommended!

People appear a bit divided about this lens, and it seems to be one that is not well-liked by "serious" photographers. I think it is a great little piece of kit, and probably use it more than any other lens because it is so versatile. Any lens that covers such a wide range is going to involve a degree of compromise, so you can probably find one for individual situations that does a better job than this one, but you won't find another lens that can be used in so many different situations. Some of the reviews say it is not particularly sharp, but I find it sharp enough. As with any zoom, the image quality lessens as you approach either end of the focal range, but for the most it is good enough.Until the 18-300mm becomes more widely available, this is likely to remain the definitive travel/walkabout lens for DX cameras.Just a note of caution. I found this lens difficult to get hold of for a while, and ordered one off Amazon market-place. I received a lens in a plain white box, with no packaging, no instructions and no warranty. Not sure what the real story was behind it, but I was not happy and sent it back for a refund. I then searched around a bit, and found one a legit, Nikon-boxed example, stocked by a high street shop for considerably less than the Amazon market-place seller had charged. So I advise shopping round a bit before you buy one of these. I won't disclose the identity of the high-street store, but I will say it was not somewhere I would normally associate with selling quality camera gear.

I am not an expert photographer and my mainly use this lens mounted to my Nikon DSLR is for astrophotography, usually when I am on holiday in placs where there is a dark sky. I have used in wide angle mode and at full zoom. At wide angle it is pretty accurate at shooting the night sky. However at high zoom I have been less impressed,. Having taken pictures of the moon and star constellations, teh results have been mixed. While the pictures of the moon were good, I wouldnt say the results were pin sharp, especially at ISO ratings of 800 and above.

I have recently returned to the world of DSLRs and bought a Nikon D5100 with the standard lens and a 70-200mm lens to give me the range I wanted for most of my pictures. Although I appreciated all the things I had missed from my old film SLR I soon realised why I changed to compacts some years ago. I hate carrying and changing lenses. A lot of people may immediately say that this is the whole point of an SLR but there are a lot more reasons for using one instead of a compact, such as shutter speed, picture control, the ability to take sharp pictures in low light and many more. This excellent lens means that I have all of these advantages plus I can walk around all day with a single camera unit and do not have to worry about changing lenses every other shot. It is very well made, autofocus is extremely fast and quiet, very compact and the picture quality is, if anything, better than the other lenses. As other people say, it is a little heavy but I have walked miles with it round my neck without a problem. If, like me, you don't want the hassle of changing lenses all the time and don't want to miss goods shots as a result, then buy this lens.In the future, I may well buy some other lenses for special requirements but, for general use and on holiday, this lens is perfect.

I have used NIKON equipment for over fifty years, ever since being introduced to the NIKON F as a student at the Royal College of Art, London. Nothing manufactured since has tempted me in the least to switch to any other make. After years of chemical film-processing, the development of digital photography enabled one a new take on life, with immeasurable efficiency gains in speedily processing imagery outside the darkroom. NIKON rose to this challenge with a masterly line of pixel-based cameras. This DX lens was bought to be fitted to an existing D90 body, fully compatible, with great ease of use....and of superb quality throughout its zoom range. I tend to work mostly in traditional manual mode, given my background, so tend not to use features such as autofocus....but then the NIKON system still allows one to do just that, in addition to all those automatic capabilities. Fitted with an added 72mm UV filter, that both protects the front optics of this lens, and reduces landscape haze, there is no sign of vignetting. The lens itself comes with a custom lens hood, and a protective drawstring pouch. These days, this versatile equipment is used for regular on the fly recording of my scientific and engineering projects (see sample image). Recommended.

Im loving this lens. Ive had it 4 weeks and Im very pleased with the images it captures and the size of it. Being 72mm lens it captures more light than my 52mm and gives a sharper picture. The length of it is fine so it fits nice in my excellent waterproof respirator bag at surplus and outdoorsI love it mainly as it has such a useable range of focal lengths, eliminating the need to chop and change and buy and carry extra lenses. Commercially, Nikon have shot themselves in the foot with this one :) Great for an Ataxian like me !Its quite an expensive lens so I went for a 2nd hand one and glad that I did.

I had to check to make sure I'd not purchased something used by accident, nothing in the listing says used.The lens cap is scratched. The lens itself has marks on, dust! There is no bag or hood as is advertised.The item came in packaging that looked like it had been recycled in to this purpose. There is another address label under mine.It was not in a box, but wrapped in bubble wrap, rattling around in the packaging. With only a loose piece of brown paper for support.I'm really disappointed with this.I did not even attempt to attach this to my camera so can not speak to how it works.

Es un lente todo terreno, muy versátil y sobre todo cuando sales de viaje y no deseas cargar más que un solo lente, este es el ideal.

中古レンズを扱うお店が多々あり、スペックが同じ、状態も同等だとなかなか決めきれなかったのですが、老舗のお店だった事、口コミが信用できそうなものだった事が決め手になり購入しました。とてもよい状態で、梱包もしっかりされて、愛用レンズとなりました。また購入機会があれば1番に選択肢に挙がると思います。

Amazing !!! It arrived 1 week before expected, works great and was also very easy to contact the seller ❤️

İyi

Seit letztem Jahr habe ich etliche Superzooms ausprobiert (Kameras: D5000 und D7000):- Sigma 18-200 OS- Sigma 18-250 OS- Tamron 18-250- Tamron 18-270 VC- Tamron 18-270 VC PZD- Nikkor 18-200 VR I- Nikkor 18-200 VR IIDie Ergebnisse waren größtenteils enttäuschend, die Bildschärfe bewegte sich irgendwo zwischen mittelmäßig und katastrophal. Da ich mich auf Reisen aber defintiv nicht mehr mit 2-3 Wechselobjektiven abplagen wollte, begnügte ich mich bis vor einigen Wochen als Notbehelf mit dem Tamron 18-270 VC. Richtig zufrieden war ich mit diesem zwar nicht (einigermaßen brauchbare Bildqualität, aber mieser AF und nerviger Zoom Creep), aber alle anderen getesteten Objektive waren unterm Strich noch schlechter - sogar das Nikkor 18-200 VR I. Daher erwartete ich von dem Nachfolger VR II eigentlich nicht viel, zumal es hieß, daß die Optik unverändert zum VR I wäre.Stimmt das wirklich? Ich bezweifle es. Es kann natürlich sein, daß mein altes VR I eine Gurke war (Serienstreuung gibts schließlich auch bei Nikon) - jedenfalls ist mein neues 18-200 VR II optisch um Klassen besser als die Vorgängerversion. Schärfe und Auflösungsvermögen unterscheiden sich im unteren Brennweitenbereich kaum von meinem sehr guten Tamron 17-50 2.8 VC. Bei den mittleren Brennweiten schlägt es sich ebenfalls wacker; zumindest mein Exemplar erwies sich dem preiswerten, aber guten Nikkor 18-105 VR klar überlegen. Im oberen Bereich konnte es beinahe mit meinem altehrwürdigen Nikkor 80-200 2.8D mithalten. Gegen 200mm wird es zugegebenermaßen etwas softer, aber immer noch OK. Voll aufgeblendet ist das 18-200 VR II zwar bei den meisten Brennweiten nicht übel, aber wenn die Aufnahmesituation es zuläßt, würde ich trotzdem Abblenden auf f8 empfehlen (Schärfegewinn). Letzteres ist in Kombination mit der superzoomtypisch eher schwächlichen Lichtstärke natürlich ein klarer Nachteil gegenüber 2.8er Zooms oder Festbrennweiten - aber der Vergleich ist nicht fair, denn hier geht es schließlich um eine ganz andere Klasse, nämlich DIE "eierlegende Wollmilchsau" unter den Objektiven. Es lebe das platz- und gewichtsparende Reisezoom! :)Daß ich zur Verzeichnung des VR II nichts schreibe, hat einen Grund: Ich kenne sie nicht und sie interessiert mich auch nicht. Erstens kann die D7000 das intern korrigieren, zweitens können es z.B. Lightroom oder DxO auch automatisch erledigen. Meines Wissens gibt es sogar kostenlose Freeware, die das fertigbringt. Also heutzutage nur noch eine Nebensächlichkeit, kein kritisches Bewertungskriterium mehr, wie noch zu Analogzeiten.Achja, noch ein wichtiger Punkt: Der Autofokus des Nikkor ist absolut erstklassig. Schnell und zuverlässig, so wie es sein soll - also genau das, was ich beim Tamron 18-270 VC vermißt habe und weswegen früher etliche Bilder in den digitalen Mülleimer wanderten.Fazit: Klare Kaufempfehlung! Das Nikkor 18-200 VR II ist zwar ein teurer Spaß, aber jeden Euro wert. Wer keine Lust auf Objektivwechseleien hat, weniger Gewicht mit sich herumschleppen möchte und/oder einfach nur eine Urlaubs- bzw. Allroundoptik sucht, liegt hier richtig.