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  5. Why does the Nikkor 18-200mm lens have such a negative reputation?

Why does the Nikkor 18-200mm lens have such a negative reputation?


12 years 11 months ago #54290 by SJM
This morning while surfing around online I came across some bloggers that just talked some serious negativity on the 18-200mm Nikkor lens. I didn't see really any justification towards their claims only that there was a number of people agreeing with them. Frankly I think the 18-200mm is a great every day lens.
Country guy living in the big Apple!
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12 years 11 months ago #54372 by Zardoz
I ran into a guy using one on a D700, and he had some tasty glass grenades with him. I just read one review and he gave the lens a single thumb up, nothing wrong with that. My D200 came with a 70-300 only and I am happy with it, as I would probably be with the 18-200.

I read about one photographer who shoots with a lens till he knows it very very well, he just does not take it off. In the motorcycle world it is called run what you brung. I am very happy with my kit lens, and to those who say I only use "professional lenses" (read fast) more power to you, Do not listen to what others say about you equipment.
The following user(s) said Thank You: snapshot53
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12 years 11 months ago #54498 by Joves
Well on an FX camera it vignetts quite abit on the wide end also it is a variable aperture. I dont have one so I dont know. I hear the same thing about my 80-400VR, they complain it is too slow and that it isnt as good as the 200-400VR AF-S. Well yes that maybe true but, if you take time to learn the lenses weak point then it isnt a problem also the price differences give reach to more people. What the 200-400 is like $4K and is a large lens, while my 80-400 is$1500 and to me is nice and light. If you know how to use a lens and optimize its strong points then the IQ is just as good. I find that some people like to complain no matter what.
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12 years 11 months ago #54724 by effron
If you like the lens, why do you torture yourself by paying any attention to the negative nabobs? I had it, and later sold it. It was just fine, but I got better lenses and didn't use it much.....
Why so serious?
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12 years 11 months ago #54740 by robbie

effron wrote: If you like the lens, why do you torture yourself by paying any attention to the negative nabobs? I had it, and later sold it. It was just fine, but I got better lenses and didn't use it much.....

Bingo!You use what you have until you can get a lens that suits your shooting style.I bought the 18-55 ii because it`s great for Ir plus if the need for a wider lens should come up it`s there at a price I am willing to pay since I don`t need that wide a lens.For my landscapes I wil stitch which will give as wide
a image as I want.I shoot with the old Nikon 300/4,while at the Alligator Farm shooting birds there were 3 of us with that lens,a guy with a 500mm says that the 300/4 is one of the sharpest lens out there.Knowing your lens will help to get the shot,it took me awhile to figure that out with the 300/4,
my method is prefocus at a distant to where the flying bird will be,put the focusing spot on the bird and press the shutter to focus..that`s all.
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12 years 11 months ago #56104 by Stealthy Ninja
I heard it's pretty good on a DX body.

In fact I'm considering getting the FX version (28-300 VR) to use on my D3s (for when I'm out and about with my family and don't want to be bothered changing lenses).

I think the 28-300 is a bit sharper, but the 18-200 (from what I've read) isn't a bad lens on DX.
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www.aevansphoto.com
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12 years 11 months ago #57893 by Mike Ayrouth
That is odd, I have heard nothing but good about that lens. It's a great everyday lens IMHO
Getting BETTER one photo at a time!
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12 years 11 months ago #58062 by Nikonjan
I have the older model and it is my fave all around lens. It may not be as sharp as some of my others but I shoot RAW and sharpen in photoshop. I like the versatility, if I could only have one lens to use it would be this one. Or one similiar. I shoot with a Nikon D300. Would get something different if I go to an FX.
www.betterphoto.com?nikonjan
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12 years 11 months ago #58251 by Yasko
The wide ranging zooms can get soft and lack contrast at the extreme ends of the range when used wideopen, which causes complaints, but hey it's an 18 TO 200 what do you expect?
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12 years 11 months ago #58255 by Stealthy Ninja

Yasko wrote: The wide ranging zooms can get soft and lack contrast at the extreme ends of the range when used wideopen, which causes complaints, but hey it's an 18 TO 200 what do you expect?


Exactly.
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www.aevansphoto.com
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12 years 11 months ago #66551 by lfortier
My D200 came w/ the 18-200 and I love how it works. I upgraded to a 17-50 2.8 only for the aperture. Bought my wife a D40 and she immediately took the 18-50 off and put my 18-200 on as it had a better 'reach'. That was two years ago. I still haven't got my 18-200 back. I hope she never finds out that my 70-200 2.8 works on her D40.
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12 years 10 months ago #77711 by Shadowfixer1
The discussion about FX should never occur with the 18-200 since it is a DX lens. It won't just vignette, you will see a circle on a FX body. I take the majority of my images with the 18-200. I bought the first one in Atlanta. I've tested it against other Nikon lenses and I determined that you may be able to measure a difference with equipment, but you won't see a difference. I didn't test it wide open because that's not how I shoot. It should be weaker wide open and at the 200 end. If you shoot wide open, expect some softness. If you shoot at f-8 and up, it's as sharp as you need. If I could only have one lens, this is it.
www.betterphoto.com/?ramshots
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12 years 10 months ago #77919 by Stealthy Ninja

Shadowfixer1 wrote: The discussion about FX should never occur with the 18-200 since it is a DX lens. It won't just vignette, you will see a circle on a FX body. I take the majority of my images with the 18-200. I bought the first one in Atlanta. I've tested it against other Nikon lenses and I determined that you may be able to measure a difference with equipment, but you won't see a difference. I didn't test it wide open because that's not how I shoot. It should be weaker wide open and at the 200 end. If you shoot wide open, expect some softness. If you shoot at f-8 and up, it's as sharp as you need. If I could only have one lens, this is it.


Not with the auto crop feature. You will get a lot less MP, which is why I said it's pretty good on a DX.
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www.aevansphoto.com
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12 years 10 months ago #78055 by Shadowfixer1
Not with the auto crop feature. You will get a lot less MP, which is why I said it's pretty good on a DX.[/quote]
True, but I then consider that to be the same as shooting with a DX camera. That's why I would never put one on a FX body. I guess it would make sense if you upgraded your camera body and had to wait to upgrade the lens. I hadn't considered that. Anyway, I like the lens a lot, especially for DX.
www.betterphoto.com/?ramshots
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12 years 10 months ago - 12 years 10 months ago #78089 by MLKstudios
While I still love my film bodies, I went from a D70, to a D200 and now a D700. I have a lot of Nikon lenses I could use with those bodies. Only a few for Canon.

My opinion will be biased as I have some really good primes, including Leitz and Zeiss. The Nikon 18-200mm definitely has an incredible range and focuses very quickly in AF mode. It's best used in the middle range and stopped down a bit.

However, the barrel distortion on the wide end is almost painful to me. Of course, it can be used to an advantage, but as a lens for interior shots, the walls are all going to be warped.

If it were used as a "vacation" lens or what my Aussie students call a "walkabout" lens, then it's fine. For serious photography, I almost always grab my primes. If I happen to go on a "walkabout" now, I'll take the 24-70mm and a macro (both are FX).

Matthew :)
Matthew L Kees
MLK Studios Photography School
www.MLKstudios.com
[email protected]
"Every artist, was once an amateur"
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