Cam and Cheese

The Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED lens is a great all around lens that you can travel light with when going on vacations. You basically can live with just this one lens when travelling, or even if you just don't want to spend thousands of dollars on your kit. The 18-200mm is equilvalent to 11x optical zoom, and the Vibration Reduction (VR) is good for those longer exposures required in dimmer areas.

What a long name this lens has. I'll go over what each of the initials stands for as I go through this review. I believe the Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR DX lens is the best do-it-all Nikon lens for consumers (not pro). It can be purchased now for about $700-800 brand new. That's a great deal, for something that can give you an equivalent 11 times zoom, AF-S, ED, and also vibration reduction.

I purchased this as my first SLR lens for my D80 because of the versatility of the lens. Being new to the world of DSLRs, I wasn't sure what I would want to take pictures of, so I decided to get a lens that can do everything, and test out what focal lengths I like the most, so I can go and buy better lenses in the future. Sure it doesn't have a really high maximum apperture, and its apperture decreases fairly rapidly when you increase the focal length. However what you get is a lens that you can take on your vacations to use in most circumstances. At the wide end you have 18mm (27mm equivalent) which is good for your landscape shots, at the far end you have 200mm (300mm equivalent) which you can use for close ups in sports, or zooming in on distant objects. Honestly, the f/5.6 at the far end isn't that bad, especially if you are shooting in the daylight.

In The Box

The box comes with the 18-200mm Lens, a soft case, lens cap, rear cap, and also a flower-shaped lens hood. Nikon Canada also has a 5-year Canadian Warranty.

VR II

What is VR? VR is Nikon's version of Canon's IS or image stabilization. It stands for Vibration Reduction. It has a motor built into the lens that tries to counter act natural shaking due to hand holding your camera. This is very important in longer exposure shots, such as those longer than 1/50 of a second. Please note that it will not help against motion blur if your object is moving, just the blur caused by natural shaking from your hands.

This lenses VR comes with a switch that allows you to change from normal mode to active mode. You'd want to use active mode when you are shooting out of a moving vehicle, and there is more vibration than normal.

You can turn VR on and off. Vibration Reduction uses more battery than normal, so don't use it if you are worried about battery life, although Digital SLRs last a very long time, since they don't depend on the LCD being on all the time. You'd also want to turn it off when your camera is mounted on a tripod, which may result in ruined pictures since the motor is still rotating and trying to compensate for hand shake. The safe rule would also be to turn it off when you are shooting 2 times faster than 1/focal length. For example, if you were shooting at 200mm, and your shutter speed is 1/400, it would be safe to turn it off.

AF-S

AF-S allows for a silent wave motor (SWM) to control the focusing of your lens. It's for quieter and faster focusing. And it's great!

DX

DX just means that this lens is made for Nikon Digital SLRs. I'm not sure if it will still work on a film SLR.

G

G means the lens mount. It doesn't have an aperture ring like film SLR lenses. Remember though, most Nikon film SLR lenses can still be used with Nikon Digital SLRs.

IF

IF means internal focusing. That means the motor focuses the lens inside the body, meaning no moving parts outside of the lens. It will not extend or retract as it focuses, which is a good thing. It also allows you to use circular polarizers.

ED

ED is the lens type, and it stands for extra low dispersion, allowing for better quality photos and images, by producing a apochromatic-like performance with high contrast and sharper images. This lens has two ED glass elements, as well as three aspherical glass elements.

Although its a good all around lens, there are some faults. Since it doesn't have internal zooming, many of these lenses are prone to zoom creeping, including mine. What's that? Well zoom creeping is when your lens zooms in or out on its own from gravity. If your lens is at 18mm, and you point your camera directly to the ground, it will start to zoom out as gravity pulls down on it. This will bother you if you're hanging your camera on your neck or shoulder. As you walk, the lens will start creeping out. My lens, was made in Thailand, so that may be one thing to look for when purchasing tihs lens. The Zoom-creeping doesn't actually start at 18mm for me. It starts at around the 70mm mark. I've also held another one, that was made in Japan, and did not creep at all. The dampening was very tight. Also note that, if it DID have internal zooming, the lens would be WAY longer than it is, basically however long it is when fully zoomed out.

You can take good shots with this camera. When you try to get bokeh, however, the results won't be that great, as the colors in the background won't blur and fade into each other well. However, I've been spoiled by a 35-70mm f/2.8, 80-200 f/2.8 and also a 50mm f/1.8, so obviously the f/3.5-5.6 cannot compare. Nikon has a "7-blade rounded diaphragm that Nikon claims creates a natural blur for out-of-focus elements."

Another good feature about this lens is that it has a Auto/Manual and Manual Focusing switch. Even though your camera body is set to autofocus, you can still adjust the focusing yourself, with the camera in the auto/manual mode. It does not lock the focus ring.

Another factor, is the minimal focusing distance. The MFD of the 18-200mm is about 50cmm or 20 inches. However, I've used it closer on an object, while zooming, and manually focusing into an object in my light box. You can always zoom in to get "closer" to the object.

Specifications

Max Aperture Vs Focal Length

Pros

• AF-S for fast and silent focusing
• VR II System to reduce movement from hand shake, and it works really well.
• Great travel lens/do-it-all lens, allowing you to travel light since you only need one lens
• Great starter lens

Cons

• Zoom-creeping on some lenses
• Fairly expensive for a consumer lens
• Not so great bokeh

Final Thoughts

This lens is definitely for someone who doesn't want to carry every lens in their kit when they go traveling. It may not be economical to carry a wide lens, and a zoom lens, and everything in between when they are going on vacation with family. It'll just be too heavy, and too tedious to switch lenses all the time. However, some people know what they want to shoot, and don't need every focal length between 18-200mm. But this review is for the new people out there, that aren't exactly sure what they want. This is a great lens to help test out what you want out of your SLR and help you decide in the future what you want to do.

I'd definitely take this lens with me whenever I go on vacation, or even go out for the most part, when I'm not sure what I'll be taking pictures of. It covers wide pictures for my landscapes, and then I can zoom in to take pictures of distance objects, and perfectly frame my pictures. I'm not a wedding photographer or event photographer just yet, so I can live with this aperture. The VR also makes it a great lens for hand-held shooting.

If possible, go test out the zoom-creep before purchasing this lens. There are some out there don't have this problem, and also many that do.

I fully recommend the 18-200mm lens for those out there that need a lens that can do it all.

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites