The Nikkor 18-200 mm f3.5-5.6G ED-IF, AF-S VR DX zoom lens is almost an alphabet soup of designators for a lens that has both many admirers and numerous critics. It is a lens that generally retails in the U.S. for anywhere between $750 and $799 plus local sales tax(es) and is a lens that many consider to be an ideal do anything lens for users of Nikon digital camera bodies.
Due to its design and designation as a "DX" lens, this Nikon product is not backward compatible for Nikon FILM camera bodies. Oh sure, with the famous Nikon F lens mount, it will fit, but you will also notice a serious case of vignetting when you look through the viewfinder and printing photos this way is nothing, if not a waste of time.
Nikon introduced this lens as an addition to its DX lens line-up and its focal length does, in fact, prove to be both desirable and popular one. It is desirable because on a digital body, it becomes a great general purpose, do- everything lens and popular for the reason that it means one will have to carry fewer lenses on most photo jaunts.
This lens was popularized even further when Nikon announced that it would be "kitted" with the then newly released D200 10.2 MP digital SLR body (now superseded by the just released D300). With the announcement that the 18-200 mm lens would be part of a kit, another part of that same announcement also grabbed the consuming photographic public and that was that this lens would also possess Nikon's famed VR (Vibration Reduction) feature and the Silent Wave Motor capability that the company was adding to many of its newer lens releases.
Like so many photographers who knew of the less than stellar performance of Nikon's 'kit lenses,' I was somewhat skeptical and asked that same oft asked question, "but is it any good"?
Perhaps more background information will be of assistance to the reader and potential buyer.
At the time of this lens's introduction to the public in late 2005, Nikon had announced or released just SEVEN DX only lenses for use by photographers. The list included: the 17-55 mm f2.8 G, the 12-24 mm f4G AF-S,the 18-55 mm f3.5-5.6G, the 18-70 mm f3.5-4.5G AF-S, the 55-200 mm f4-5.6G, the 10.5 mm full frame fish-eye (usable on both film and digital bodies) and the lens I'm reviewing here, the 18-200 mm "super-zoom."
If you've never seen or used this lens, the first impression is a lasting and telling one. This is a very small and compact lens for what it was designed to do. In my case, I noticed that it is much smaller, narrower and somewhat lighter than the Tokina 24-200 mm lens that I bought five years ago (when I shot NOTHING but film). I also determined that the Nikon lens seemed to be less solidly built.
I knew that my Tokina, on my D200 or any other Nikon digital body would yield an effective focal length of 36-300 mm, whereas this lens would yield an effective focal length of 28-300 mm on a 35 mm film body, meaning that the Nikkor lens still retained something of a wide angle capability (albeit not much when one considers it is supposed to start at a very wide 18 mm).
The smaller size of this lens also left me wondering (like so many other folks) just how would Nikon make the VR to work in a lens that WAS SO MUCH SMALLER than their previously released zoom lenses?
LENS DESIGN AND FEATURES
The 18-200 mm lens is constructed in 16 elements, in 12 groups. Three groups are aspheric and two have ED (extra low dispersion glass). The combination of aspheric and ED glass elements means that light will effectively be concentrated, quite sharply on the digital sensor.
The 18-200 mm lens is a two ring lens. That means one ring is utilized for zooming in and out and the other for manual focusing. Like most of Nikon's consumer lenses, the zoom lens is nearer to the front of the lens barrel (when mounted on the camera) and the focusing ring is nearer the back of the lens. Experienced photographers, whether they are pros or dedicated enthusiasts will almost always tell you that they dislike this arrangement because it is backwards from what they believe is the more desirable and LOGICAL placement of these rings.
These same folks have complained to Nikon thousands of times and their cries for relief seem to be falling on deaf ears with both Nikon's engineering and marketing departments. For me, it's a minor annoyance and one I have learned to live with.
This lens will provide an angle of view from ~8 to 76 degrees (according to Nikon literature) on a Nikon dSLR body. For many Nikon owners/users, that makes this lens an "all-day" workhorse lens, a purpose for which I am sure the engineers in Japan gave much consideration.
This lens possesses interesting features, but also omits those that long-time film photographers grew up with and notice when they are absent or deliberately omitted.
This lens has a distance scale, but OMITS Depth of Field (DOF) and Infra-red (IR) markings.
There are ONLY THREE markings other than INFINITY for measurements in feet and meters. THREE! That's IT!
I realize that manufacturers are trying to cut costs in lens design and feature sets, but IT WOULD HAVE BEEN nice if Nikon had provided the HF (hyperfocal) markings for at least one useful focal length and aperture setting. This OMISSION is, in my opinion a glaring one. It may not be for the average user, who thinks he/she is getting the best lens for the money. This is also an important and usable feature for dSLR users as these ranges are different than they would be for film shooters due to the smaller APS size of digital camera sensors.
This lens, due to its VR design also possesses additional external control buttons on the left side of the lens barrel (when mounted on the body).
They are:
1) MANUAL FOCUS button: In the M/A position the lens works as usual as an auto-focus lens with manual override capability. In th M position, the lens will focus manually (only).
2) VR switch: VR can be turned ON or OFF.
3) VR type: VR can be selected and set to either NORMAL or ACTIVE.
The Nikon literature states that this function is classified as VR II, meaning that this updated version provides more usable range for the function. The company claims 4 f stops of additional range above and beyond what you'd get with normal hand-held shooting. This is ONE stop more than their earlier VR equipped zoom lenses.
I DID find this to be an accurate claim out to 200 mm. There is a caveat, however. At slower shutter speeds, any photographer will have to deal with subject motion and that means the VR capability MAY prove less capable and useful than you have been led to believe. Keep that in mind when considering the overall effectiveness of Nikon's claims about Vibration Reduction (in any lenses so equipped).
For those not completely familiar with Vibration Reduction or those types of features provided in CANON, SONY/MINOLTA, PENTAX, SIGMA or TAMRON lenses, the capability is provided to theoretically eliminate the need to increase your ISO setting on your camera. This applies to both digital and film.
LENS HOOD
The HB-35 Hood is supplied with the lens at time of purchase. It is a butterfly (petal) design and is of the bayonet type. It can be reverse mounted on the lens for carrying and storage. However, doing so adds considerable diameter to the front barrel of the lens. I found that the entire hood is somewhat shallow in depth and as a result DOES NOT provide much effective shading to the front lens element or filter. Still, given what flare can do to images, it's better than no hood at all and this time, Nikon did NOT make it an optional accessory.
FILTER SIZE
Nikon designed this lens around the still "not all that widely used" 72 mm filter size. I have some 72 mm filters, so for me, this wasn't an issue. For others, using a step-up ring will become a necessity. Another possible annoyance.
HANDLING
As a small and compact lens, handling is not as good as in other Nikon designed and produced lenses. Still, it is good enough for the target audience, which, after all is not the professional market. Quite honestly, outside of the military, where acquisition costs are a factor, I don't know ANY professionals who use this lens.
I found the zoom ring to be stiff and having a variety of feels at different focal lengths. I found these different feels to be somewhat disconcerting because I had to remember that they were there and needed to be dealt with.
Nikon has received complaints and quite a few users claimed they experienced 'zoom creep' due to the looseness of the zoom ring. The lenses I use, did not provide me that feedback, but I suppose it is possible.
Zooming the lens to 200 mm will reveal a very sudden and noticeable looseness, while zooming backward shows some real roughness. This IS ANNOYING as well.
The lens barrel extends outward to almost 2 1/2 inches (6 cm) at full zoom (i.e. 200 mm). Fortunately, the barrel does NOT rotate during zoom operation. You will NOT have to readjust any of your filters after zooming. This is especially welcome when using a circular polarizer filter or any of the neutral density graduated filters available on the market.
THE FOCUS RING is narrower than the zoom ring and given its unusual positioning closer to the camera body (as opposed to the Nikon design of its film lenses) will take getting used to. This is also noticeable because there is nothing to differentiate it (other than its narrower dimensions) from the zoom ring. Forget complaining; it does no good. If you buy this lens, get used to the idea of 'reversed ring design' and compensate accordingly.
BALANCE
This lens is pretty small and light for its focal length and I can see why this is an ideal pairing with the D200. It also made me realize the wisdom behind its introduction along with the D200 body. On the larger, heavier pro bodies like the D2X, the D2Xs and the just introduced D3, this lens is a little less well balanced, but not unduly so. Then again, as I said earlier, I don't see too many professionals, who depend on ultra-high quality glass using this lens (other than in an emergency).
LENS PERFORMANCE
Despite my criticisms of this lens, in one area, performance, this lens is an excellent product most of the time. It is not and never will be a perfect lens. But for its target audience, it is a very good lens.
SHARPNESS is pretty good throughout most of the focal range. However, for me, I noticed some significant softness from 190-200 mm, making this lens less than completely satisfactory at that focal range. To obtain the best sharpness at 200 mm, I recommend shooting at from f11 to f16.
Throughout the entire focal length of the lens, f11 yields the best and sharpest images for me. This is especially so at and after 100 mm.
At the wide angle, there is almost no discernible difference and quite honestly, since there's almost nothing to discuss, I won't. I'd be wasting your reading time.
Light fall off is IMO quite well controlled, especially considering the super-zoom design of this lens.
Chromatic aberration: this is decent, but not as well controlled as other, more expensive Nikkor lenses. An example would be the 17-55 mm f2.8. Then again, that's a shorter focal length lens that costs approximately 2 x as much. In short, CA is decent for the target audience.
DISTORTION: This category of performance is pretty good. There is some at the wide angle end of the lens and about half of that in pin-cushion distortion at the telephoto end of the lens. There is some linear and wave distortion so I would NOT use this lens for architectural work. Then again, it will not yield you the unusual effects that will generate unexpected or unwanted laughter when people review your photographs.
AUTO-FOCUS: is quite fast and shows a noticeable lack of 'hunting.' I like that in this lens. In low(er) light, the speed of AF will drop somewhat, but not to the point of dis-satisfaction.
This is a contrasty lens and flare is well controlled except for shots made DIRECTLY into the sun (which I hope I need not say, are NOT good for the optic nerves and retinas in one's eyes).
DRAWBACKS WITH THIS LENS
1) Variable Aperture: This is NOT a constant aperture lens and at 200 mm, this lens's aperture is a fairly slow f5.6. The speed and quality of autofocus can and will be degraded somewhat and while not a huge issue, it is a negative, even for the product's target audience.
2) Distortion: At the wide angle end of this lens, there will be times when you will see wave-like distortion in your images. Throughout the entire focal range, you will see and notice some pin-cushion distortion. It is there folks, and it is noticeable.
3) Build Quality: In this category alone, this lens is NOT worth the price you will have to pay. Some users have told me that they've noticed that the lens feels wobbly at 200 mm. After hearing that, I started to pay attention and realized that the USAF and US Army owned lenses that I have used HAVE exhibited an unstable feel at 200 mm. I have NEVER experienced that with my TOKINA 24-200 mm lens with its ALL metal lens barrel.
The inconsistency of the feel in both the zoom and focus rings and the differences in how they operate on different lenses is also something to be noted.
POSITIVES FOR USING THIS LENS
1) Great Glass (Optics): The traditional Nikon attention to design detail and the inclusion of their very high quality aspheric and extra low dispersion glass means that there are no real or significant flaws worth discussing. Additionally, when considering the overall focal length of this lens, the overall performance is commendable.
2) This is the 28-300 for digital SLR users! Yes, this lens takes the place of those 28-300 mm lenses previously designed, developed and delivered back when film was king. It offers super-zoom capability for dSLR users and will be a very effective lens for most enthusiasts most (say +/- 80% of the time for 80-90% of its users). I would add that this IS the case for those folks who DON'T NEED f2.8 for their shots MOST of the time.
FINAL THOUGHTS
There are some users and reviewers who will emphatically state that this lens is a Price/Performance winner. I suppose the jury I've been sitting on is still out when it comes to that verdict. In most USA markets, this is a $750-$800 lens. The 18-200 mm Nikkor lenses that I use are owned by the USAF or US Army and while I like them most of the time, I am not convinced that I should lay-out this kind of money for a variable aperture super-zoom. I already have a 24-200 Tokina which, while a little shorter in the wide angle end of the focal length end of the lens suits my personal use needs just fine.
Secondly, both TAMRON and SIGMA manufacture aftermarket lenses in this same range (albeit both company's maximum aperture is an even SLOOOWWWEEER f6.3). I am hoping to get my hands on both the 18-200 and 18-250 by TAMRON to see how they stack up. Likewise, I'd like to try the SIGMA version as well.
Until I do that, I'll have to reserve judgment on whether or not I THINK the Nikon lens is a real winner in the PRICE/PERFORMANCE category.
For most folks WITHOUT a competing lens, even if it is an older full frame film lens, this is a very good choice. Still, I like being able to use my TOKINA 24-200 on both film and digital bodies. This Nikkor lens does NOT provide me with that flexibility.
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