Should i buy the Nikon 18-200mm lens?

I

ian ditch

Messages
34
Name
Ian Ditchfield
Edit My Images
Yes
Your Opinion please...

I have the fantastic Nikon D40x with the 18-55mm kit lens, I also bought the nikon 55-200mm lens.
Although both are great, i'm sick of continuously switching between the two and now have my eye on the nikon 18-200mm lens which will give me the same focal length with-out continuosly having to switch between my current lenses.

I now want to sell both of my lenses and buy the nikon 18-200mm lens.

What do you think? is the 18-200mm a good idea? or is it a good idea to keep the 18-55mm kit lens and sell the 55-200 lens to fund this?

(I normally shoot landscape / family / close-up etc for fun (normally on days out, a few times a month) and i'm far from needing a pro lens)

Your feedback on this would be appreciated (y)






Current lenses:
The standard D40x 18-55mm lens
+
http://www.jessops.com/Products/Pro...s.com/Products/ProductDetail.aspx?SkuId=29832


The lens that i want:

http://www.jessops.com/Store/s32829...rtBy=RelevanceDESC&IsInStockOnly=False&comp=n
 
go for it, it's an amazingly good lens for all the bases it covers.

granted it's not a prime but if you're after an all in one lens and aren't too fussed about having the most excellent clarity all the time then it's well worth it.

only 2 things that really bother me about it is the lens creep when hanging and it's a little fuzzy opened up at the longer end of the zoom but nothing particularly drastic that would destroy a photo
 
:agree:

I`ve had this lens for almost two years now and wouldnt be without it. It sounds the ideal choice for your circumstances and if you look around, you can get one at a very good price.

Take your D40 to Jessops and ask if you can try out their 18-200vr, dont forget to take a card with you. Take a few shots to see how it performs. If you like it, see if they will match the cheapest price you have seen it for( they wont) then order one on line!

And, expect others to rubbish this lens because they can!

Sure theres better lenses out there, but I dont think you will find one that covers all ranges as well as this one. I use mine all the time, very happy with it.
Allan
 
As mentioned above others will knock the lens but it does what it says on the box...

It is my walk round lens and most of the time lives on the camera, I have been very happy with it.

Shutterman
 
Hi Ian,

Was advised on here to get the 18 - 200 VR for my Daughter's wedding in Cyprus and Son's wedding last weekend.

It is a great lens for the money and for the Wedding I found it great during the day as I had no need to keep changing lenses. During the service I was not allowed to use a flash so was taking pics with my D300 at 1000iso and it performed superbly.

Regards

Chris
 
Hey cheers for your opinion guys, i'm gonna go to jessops later this afternoon and check out this lens, i've been looking around the net for info about this lens and other than the creep, people say its great for the money and perfect for what i'll be using it for.

Thanks all
 
If its any consolation, the new Tamron28-300vc and other superzooms suffer from lens creep eventually. Unlike Nikon though, many of these lenses have a zoom lock to overcome the lens creeping to its full extent as you walk around.
Great idea, but only if you remember to lock it....then unlock it!
I will put up with the lens creep for the convenience.

Allan
 
before I switched to Canon I was going to get one of these, I spent hours looking for a good price and the best price i could find for UK stock was at Mifsuds, they are doing it for £428 and have them in stock, Jessops price was £549, I asked them to price match and they saifd they would drop to £528, I said thanks, but I'll spend a tenner driving to Mifsuds and save another £90. Got there and bought the Canon 5D instead!

Jessops and the like are taking the Mickey out of people!
 
A great lens that makes photography a breeze, I would be lost without mine!
 
If your 18-200vr ( or any other) starts to creep ( it wont from new) try this.....
2725147764_7b521e2eaf.jpg


Took me about 2 minutes to make it just now. I found an oversized O ring ( from an oil filter, not used!), a sharp knife and superglue. Cut to just undersize, glue together then roll it on the lens ( from the bayonet end) and Roberts your Dads brother!

Allan
 
Go down to Jessops with your D40X and shoot some frames under their supervision, shoot through the aperture range and varying focal lengths. Look at the photos on the pc and decide from there.
 
Funnily enough, I've just purchased an 18-55 VR and 70-300 VR to replace my 18-200 VR.
Didn't care for the lens creep and the distortion at the wide end, or the weight.
Love the lightweight 18-55. That range suits my style of shooting. I don't mind changing lens if I need a longer reach.
 
Or you could always get the sigma 18-200OS, so no zoom creep at all and save yourself over £100 on it too, and quality is spot on.
 
i didn't mangage to get to jessops today (forgot rugby was on! great win for the wire :clap:) so i'm still looking for advice on this lens.

I have had one eye on the sigma lens but in my simple little mind i think that if i'm buying a new lens i'd get the better one as i don't want to buy another one for a while, thats why i've asked about the nikon 18-200 lens but i know that just because its made by nikon doesn't mean its the better lens.

The creep doesn't really bother me and i like the idea of the band that allanm shows above but i'm unsure if the creep will get worst the more the lens is used?

I've found a good thread comparing these lens here :http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=56223

Thanks for your input ***
 
No.

Buy the 18-55 VR and 55-200 VR.

Optically better, and half the price.
 
Ah, the dissenter........

ian ditch said:
Your Opinion please...

I have the fantastic Nikon D40x with the 18-55mm kit lens, I also bought the nikon 55-200mm lens.
Although both are great, i'm sick of continuously switching between the two
Click to expand...

.....So, no point really

Allan
 
allanm said:
Ah, the dissenter........Allan
Click to expand...

He asked a question - I answered.

Didn't realise "Yes" was the only answer allowed :)

He could buy a second D40 if changing lens is that onnerous, it would be cheaper, one lens on each, and you keep up the quality.
 
As many have already said, its a good walk around lens. I'm in France at the moment on holiday. I brought all of my kit with me. But for ease the 18-200mm has come in handy a lot of the time.
Its a decent lens. Its not as good as my 70-200mm, but I tried lugging that around Disneyland and soon changed back to the 18-200mm.
I'm on holiday. I like to take 'decent' holiday snaps whilst here. They arent likely to be posted on here for serious critisism, so it does the job.
If you want an all in one lens that means no swopping over and a decent range, then its a good lens.
Too many people expect too much from it. Its not a 2.8 etc. I've lost count of the number of times I've considered selling it, only to keep it for times like this.
Buy it. Work with it and enjoy it.
In the real scheme of things, its not even expensive nowadays.
p.s
Mine has lens creap also. I just use a black matt wrist band and its sorted. Doesn't look out of place. Does the job. Now if it was my 200-400mm that did it, I wouldn't be a happy chappy.
 
Came across this thread and read it with interest as I'm also after one of these. Best price I can find it for is from onestopdigital - £379.99 delivered.
 
Ian - I have bought from them before a couple of times. Couldn't fault them. Very fast delivery and a pledge to refund any import taxes you might get hit with. Plenty of posotive feedback over on AV Forums and also the photography section of DVD Forums.
 
there is always compromise when you use such a wide focal range but for holiday snaps there's nothing to loose really.
I keep thinking about getting a similar type of lens for my canon kit for touristy stuff.
anyway one stop.
used them twice now.....haven't had a problem as yet. you can get fedex delivery for a tenner if you're worried
 
I wanna reap some praise.

First of all let me thank everybody who posted on this thread, offering their opinion and feedback on this lens. I finally bought the nikon 18-200mm lens and have been testing it all week.

Last thursday, at about 8.30 pm, i placed my order with http://www.onestop-digital.com/catalog/ in hong kong and it was delivered by fedex to my front door on monday morning at just gone 9am. I think its fantastic that this can travel so far around the world so quickly and still save me more than 150 quid.

This lens is great and is far more than i would ever need. i have taken in what people have said about the distortion at long focal length and was delighted to find that alltought it does exist the distortion is far far less than i was expecting.

Thank god i dont have to keep switching between lenses all the time!
 
Glad you're pleased with it. I've only just recently returned and its only just come off the camera. Get out there and enjoy it. Its all about getting the best out of that lens and not expecting the same results as a pro lens.
We can sometimes get carried away with this obsession of perfection and miss the point of enjoying photography for what it is. Especially for holidays...

Enjoy.

Kev.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top