Overview
Let me get this out-of-the-way…I’m a ‘super zoom’ fan, and proud of it. What does that mean? It means that pixel peeping lab testers and I might disagree about things. No biggie, while those folks are pixel peeping I’m walking around having fun making compelling images to share with my friends, family, and readers of HOSSedia.com.
Ok, now that we have that out-of-the-way, let’s get to the good stuff.
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What Is It?
This lens is an 18-200mm DX lens with Vibration Reduction (VR). In layman’s terms it is light weight ‘do everything’ lens that is prefect for travel, landscape, and lifestyle photography. On your cropped DX sensor camera (Nikon D7000, D5100, D3200, etc…) it has an effective focal length around 28-300mm. Vibration Reduction is Nikon’s technology that keep the image sharp in lower light and unstable hands.
Here it is compared to a comparable full frame camera and focal length lens (Nikon D700/Nikon 28-300).
The Walk Around The Desert Test
I actually bought this lens for a project I was working on in the middle of nowhere. You can find the middle of nowhere in the Nevada Desert. I made a whole bunch of images along the way and thought I would share them so you can see what the lens is capable of.
Note: These images were shot handheld in RAW using a Nikon D7000 and processed in Lightroom 4. Click on any of the images to view them larger and see the exif info so you can see what aperture and shutter speed I shot them at.
Focal Length
As I mentioned earlier, the focal length of this lens is 18-200, on a cropped sensor that translates to 28-300mm. What does that mean? Let me show you.
Take this at 18 (or 28 converted)mm
…and turn it into this at 200 (or 300 converted)mm
Distortion…Pin Cushion…Blah, Blah, Blah….
You know the lab testing pixel peepers I mentioned at the beginning of this review, well they claim there is some lens distortion present when they are photographing brick walls. One, I don’t photograph brick walls. Two, it is easily fixed in Lightroom. Just enable ‘Automatic Lens Correction’ and select the lens. Boom…all that time photographing brick walls becomes an even a bigger waste of time.
Why I Like It
- Versalility – When I’m traveling, I photograph everything from people and details to landscapes and architecture. This lens covers all my needs.
- Let Your Creativity Flow – Don’t fool yourself into thinking you are going to be using all the lenses you brought with you. I’ve tried that and failed miserably. I end up being burdened not only by the weight but the creative decisions that goes into lens selecting a lens. If you only have one lens, all you have to do is make photos and not worry about which lens.
- Life Happens When You Are Changing Lenses – You can’t pause the world around you to change your lens. Nope, it is going to carry on and you will miss it.
- Price – I bought mine used for $350, but new ones are pretty reasonable. I feel far more comfortable carrying around a sub $1000 lens in strange places than a $2000 piece of glass.
- Vibration Reduction – There was a time when I thought this was a marketing gimmic, but it really works. I have made photos with pretty slow shutter speeds that turned out nice and sharp.
- Oh yeah…the pictures are nice! – The photographs this lens produces are sharp, contrasty and full of color. What else can you ask for?
Things To Note
- It’s Not Sealed – This lens is not sealed from the elements. If you are going to shoot in heavy rain or dust, this might be a consideration.
- VR II – This lens comes in a VR and VR II model. I actually think Nikon only makes the VR II model. Optically they are the same, but the VR II has a lens lock on it which prevents it the lens from extending when you are carrying it around. I have the original one without the lock and it as never been an issue.
- Low Light Portraits – Say you are in a dark dingy bar (where I happen to love photographing people) this lens, with its limited aperture, won’t work that well. VR doesn’t help if your subjects are moving around. In these situations you might have change to a lens with a fast aperture like the 35mm 1.8 or use some flash.
- Vibration Reduction IS NOT Magic – Although I said VR does work, it’s not magic. If you are photographing in a really dark room, the stars, or night scenes you will need to use a tripod.I feel comfortable going down to shutter speeds as low as 1/30 of a sec and certain focal lengths, but beyond that you will need to stabilize your camera.
Conclusion
I bought this lens as the workhorse for my walk around travel/storytelling kit and couldn’t be happier. It’s a permanent fixture on my D7000. If you have a DX sensor camera (Nikon D7000, 5100, 3200, etc….), want to carry one lens and never get tired of carrying it around, get the 18-200 VR (or VR II)….it’s really that simple. If you want to carry two lenses, and you are cool with changing them (be honest) get the nikon 16-85 VR (read my review) and 70-300 VR. That set up will give you some more on the zoom end and a bit more on the wide side. Personally, I’d just roll with the 18-200…but I’m lazy.
A Few Of My Favorites
Justin, Thanks for the review! It sounds like this needs to get on my list for lenses I want…
Mike, it is a great little lens if you need a light weight walk around travel lens. Great stuff!
Hi Justin, I was considering this lens as an upgrade to my kit lens but eventually decided on the 16-85, which I see you also like. Should be here soon so hoping I made the right decision!
Howdy! Both are great lenses for sure. I have had the 16-85 for a long time and have really enjoyed it. the 18-200 is also great because of the extended reach. I’m sure you will enjoy either of them!
Hi Justin,
I have this lens and really enjoy it! I use it on a D7000. I was wondering if you would mind sharing what camera settings you used on the photo of the little orange kitty standing in the stone wall? I loved how the colors and detail of the cat pop out and also the DOF is awesome!
Howdy! That is a great combo, it’s pretty much my camera of choice right now. I use the D700 for wider angle stuff, but anything over 30mm I shoot with the D7000 and 18-200.
I’m pretty sure I was shooting Aperture Priority mode…here’s the EXIF data for you!
Exposure Time: 0.002s (1/500)
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 800
Focal Length: 200mm (300mm in 35mm)
Hope that helps!
Justin
Justin,
I appreciate your practical review. This has convinced me to purchase the 18-200 VR II to use with my D5100; my d7000 I tend to reserve for my bigma (sigma 50-500 with OS – love it). Thank you for sharing your most excellent photos!
Rachel
Thanks for the comment. The 18-200 is as good as it gets. I’ve stuck with a DX system because of it. Versatile and light weight lens with fantastic image quality!
I agree with you. It’s a pain changing lenses as well as trying to decide which lens is best…. then the moment’s gone and you feel you’ve made the wrong decision anyway. I felt this way with my previous camera an Olympus SLR with 35-70mm and 75-210mm lenses. The 75-210mm lens didn’t get used as much as it should have due to the inconvenience involved.
Recently, I decided to get back into doing a bit more photography (especially as I am going to South East Asia – Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos, etc in a few weeks) and started looking at basic DSLR camera and lens combo’s. However, most of those combo’s in either Canon or Nikon have a twin lens, usually 18-55 and 55-250mm.
I kept remembering the issues I had with lenses on trips etc before and wished there was an affordable camera with one lens that eliminated many of those issues. Then I saw a local Australian photography company offering just what I needed, a Nikon D3200 with 18-200mm VRII lens at a very good price ($A474), cheaper than the twin lens and camera combo’s from Canon and Nikon. My mind was made up.
Your down to earth review has helped me realise that I’ve made the best decision.
If I had read it earlier I don’t think I would have even seriously considered a twin lens combo. If I had read your review after buying a twin lens combo I probably would have been pissed off with my decision.
Glad I could help! I love the 18-200…safe travels my friend!
thanks..had been a little confused myself..you made it easy.my thing was the same as to buy one lens which suffices for almost all as changing lenses and carrying them around is more of a pain than pleasure..and you do not want to miss an opportunity.i am buying a d7000nikon next week and was deciding on the lens..big thanks..
You bet! Glad I could help.
Thanks for the review. Have been wanting to purchase a lens for shooting outdoor sports and our vacation to Disney. I know it’s not a fast lens by any means, but I realized that I wouldn’t be able to switch from close up lense to a zoom while in the heat of the moment.
You bet…the 18-200 is a great lens. IF I had to have one…that would be it. Safe travels and I hope you enjoy your time at Disney!
Hi Justin.. can you give me some insight between 18-200mm and 18-300mm.. does extra zoom matters?
Howdy! I haven’t shot the 18-300, so I don’t know much about it. I do have a 70-300 that I will slap on my D7000 on occasion. I assume you are shooting a cropped sensor camera? As you know, 300mm on a cropped sensor is equivalent to 450mm…which is a whole lot of zoom. For my eye, I like that…sometimes I like to get really close to a subject or compress the visual elements a bunch. That being said…if the price/size/weight/optical quality was the same as the 18-200….I would definitely consider it since it doesn’t hurt of have an extra 100mm of reach. I will say that I’ve never felt like I was missing anything with the 18-200 though.
Thanks, helped me deciding to buy a Nikon D3200 and this lens next week.
No sweat, I’m glad I could help. That will be a great rig!