18-200 VR

D700graham

D700graham

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Hello all, my new to me (secondhand) Nikon D300 should be here on Saturday, and I have also bought a Nikon 18-200 VR lens to go with it, I have read some reviews of this lens and some are great reviews and some are not so good, I suppose I am asking for anyone to give me some input who may have used one?, sorry if this is not in the right place.
 
Not used one myself, but from sample images I've seen, they are ok if a bit soft.
But then you are getting a 10x zoom range which makes for a good walkabout option.

I've got the 18-105VR, and for a day out with the kids it's versatility makes up for any minor shortcomings in optical performance.
 
I use one on my V1 which is a 2.7x crop CSC (your D300 is a 1.5x crop DSLR, in case you didn't know). It's not as sharp as some lenses but does mean I don't need to change lenses often. Basically, it is what it is, an 11x zoom for Dx bodies and it fills its niche quite competently. TBH I haven't used it on my DSLRs yet - mainly because my main body is FF so the 18-200 would send it into crop mode and give me a much narrower field of view than I can get with the FF range of lenses I have.
 
I had one. It was sharp between F8-F11 out with that it was a bit soft. Bonkers flexible but it wasn't especially fast or go wide enough to give that shallow DoF people like for portraits.

The VR suited its intended audidience very well
 
I had an 18-200VR - it suffered from the infamous lens creep when used on a tripod.

Later versions were fitted with a zoom lock but I don't know how effective it is (not very if this demo is anything to go by link).
 
I had one on my d5000 and loved it. Great travel lens - I'd take that and a 35mm prime in a Toploader bag and nowt else.
If you're looking for amazing sharpness it's not the lens for you, but I'm not a pixel peeper and was happy with the results.
 
Thank you for the input guys, I have received my camera but no 18-200, so me being lazy decided to check my emails, and the lens was not available, never mind. So going to look at something wider, I fancy some landscape stuff, so looking at something like tokina 12-24 f4 atx pro, price is good for me and it has got good reviews.
 
I love the 18-200 for its flexibility - wish I'd had it before going to Morocco a couple of years ago! Not had a massive problem with sharpness and I'm not shooting anything that requires speed either, although again I've had no problems there. The biggest benefit for me is it doesn't hotspot on my IR camera, which the 18-105 did (until it smashed! Hence the 18-200 as the only suitable lens the shop had!)
 
I have gone with a 18-105 VR, got it for a good price, so its D300 & 18-105 VR lens is delivered tomorrow so I can try and get out, learning the camera and settings, and trying to look at things in a different perspective.
 
The 18-105 is also a great lens. I had one for over a year before I got the 18-200 and it served me very well.
 
Agreed about the 18-105 VR (apart from the IR hotspot...) and you can get it dirt cheap, particularly if you buy a lens split from a kit. I was expecting to do a like for like replacement when I broke mines, but the shop didn't have. I'm still considering it but I guess I'm now looking to improve the quality of my lens collection rather than the range.
 
Lens is here and attached, all batteries charged, cf cards all formatted and ready, tripod sorted, all equipment checked, and not a clue where to start, lol.
 
Call me a bluff old traditionalist, but I always favour taking a photo or two...
 
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