anyones help is great

[steelersfanincal]

what is anyones opinion on the nikkor 18-200 ED VR lens?
Has F/3.5-5.6 AF DX VR LENS:rolleyes:

[Warin]

Finally got one in off of backorder at the shop I work at.

Used it for ~50 shots with a D50 and a D70s. Wanted to take it and try it on my D200, but it lasted all of an hour till a customer who had been waiting for one came in and snapped it up.

Build quality seems pretty nice, on par with the other "real" AFS lenses I've used. Seemed pretty sharp.

I think its a winner... but I'd have to try one a little longer to give more than an anecdotal opinion regarding its overall quality. But it does seem to be reviewing really well.

[jcon]

Warin, was this customer aware that you had used it before they bought it? Or did you sell it to them as a "new" lens? Just curious.

[steelersfanincal]

Thanks warin, I am thinking of buying the D50 with this lens, so any input would be greatful.

[erichlund]

what is anyones opinion on the nikkor 18-200 ED VR lens?
Has F/3.5-5.6 AF DX VR LENS:rolleyes:
I've been very happy with mine. It did have to go in for maintenance that was the result of a bad batch of chips in the early lenses, but since then, it's been perfect, and I don't believe this is an issue with new lenses.

You do have to be aware that it has significant barrel distortion at the wide end. This is fixable if you have good post processing software, such as Nikon Capture 4 or Capture NX. The barrel distortion disappears fairly rapidly as you zoom in. There is supposed to be some pincushion distortion at the long end, but I haven't really noticed it with my lens.

I've found the lens to be very sharp with good color reproduction. I've been using it on my D200. The VRII works very well. Focus is very fast and accurate.

[eduardofrances]

while the nikkor 18-200 vr is class leading, it isnt free of many problems, it suffers from vignetting and some softness in the telephoto end if not stopped down, many users have reported some purple fringing... for a 700 bucks lens I would expect not to see this kind of stuff, 10x zoom lenses compromise image quality due to the complex design and the budget limit the components may have in the final product

I would prefer to go with a two lens solution like the Nikkor 18-70mm and the Nikkor 70-300 ED or the third party equivalent. they willl produce better quality images when compared with the 10x zoom at the same focal lenght

this is in IMHO :)

[Warin]

Warin, was this customer aware that you had used it before they bought it? Or did you sell it to them as a "new" lens? Just curious.

Of course I told them. It was the first one in, and we wanted to take a look.

Most people dont care, as long as they are told. I have a 70-200 f/2.8L IS USM coming in, and the customer is bringing his camera to the store so we can crack it open and try it out.

I actually have a few out of town customers who have insisted that we shoot a couple dozen shots before sending them their gear. Why? Chances are slim to get a "DOA" camera, but if it is pre-tested, the chance is zero. :)