Nikkor 18-200 VR Lens
In May of 2007, I ordered my first upgrade lens for my Nikon D80. The press and hype around the Nikkor 18-200 f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX VR lens along with my intended use led me pick this lens. At the time, it seemed like the perfect choice for what I needed. And that was, a good general purpose lens that could do many things fairly well. Granted it doesn’t really overachieve at any of them; but it does a good job of clear wide angle shots in the 18-24mm range. The Vibration Reduction II (VR II) system works well and allows you to shoot 3-4 stops lower. I have gotten usable wildlife images shooting handheld at 200mm, 1/40sec, and f/5.6.
I have taken several wide angle shots including this night shot of downtown Nashville (18mm, 15sec, f/14, ISO200) . I also used this lens to shoot a wedding last year. Though it is probably not my preferred portrait lens; its power and flexibility emerged when taking the wide variety of candid shots that are so popular today. And, not having to change lenses was also a big plus.Â
The lens has really performed well for me. There was an issue where the focus ring would not advance past a certain point on the scale. Neither manual or autofocus would move it to the low-end of the scale. After operating the focus manually from top to bottom, it eventually began to focus on the close end of the range. However, from that point on, the VR function stopped operating.
I shipped the lens to the Nikon service center and they promptly corrected the problem and sent it back as a warranty repair. The Nikon service was very good and lens has performed flawlessly ever since.
Overall, I have been happy with the lens and it performed as advertised. You can find a complete review of this lens at DPreview
I have now purchased an new tele-zoom lens that has replaced the 18-200VR in my kit. Since I shoot mostly outdoor scenes and wildlife, I really wanted a professional quality lens that was much faster than the 18-200VR. For that, I chose the Nikkor 70-200mm, f/2.8G, AF-S. I will provide an update on how that lens is working for me later; but there are some shots in my gallery already.