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 enlarge | Brand: Nikon
Category: Photography
List Price: $749.99
Buy New: $629.95
You Save: $120.04 (16%)
New (16) Used (6) Refurbished (2)
Avg. Customer Rating:  268 reviews
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Fragile: No
Batteries Included: No
Optical Zoom: 11.1
Maximum Focal Length: 200
Minimum Focal Length: 18
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 4 x 6 x 9
Warranty: 1 Year Warranty + 4 Years Extended Service Coverage - 5 Years of Protection Included directly from Nikon USA
MPN: 2159
Model: 2159
UPC: 182080215984
EAN: 0182080215984
ASIN: B000BY52NU
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 MUST OWN lens for walk-around lens & travel June 8, 2006
26 out of 27 found this review helpful
Clearly this is the best all-around, walk around and travel lens. This now always stays on my D70 camera (my other lens is the phenomenal 70-210 VR) when I am traveling. VR operation is delightfull; I tried both the 'normal' and 'active' VR modes to take the pictures of the famous hotels on the strip in Las Vegas at night (hand held and no tripod); and I took those pictures from a moving car. Yet, the pictures came out in stunning clarity and sharpness.
Day light pictures as well came out very vivid and sharp (sharper than my older Nikon 24-120 VR).
A minor annoyance has been the lens creep when pointed vertically down but it doesn't bother me much. And at 18mm, sometimes there is some distortion which doesn't bother me much as it is a minor percentage of the total shots I take.
 Nikon 18-200mm VR DX Zoom June 5, 2006
33 out of 35 found this review helpful
This lens is AMAZING! I have had it for 3 days and have already shot over 3000 picture. Buy it now, you will not regret it.
I am one of those people who resists the fad purchases and the latest photographic gadget (generally not difficult since photography is a hobby AND my hobby budget is limited). Quality photos are more about talent than equipment. A friend let me try his lens and I was impressed enough to start pinching pennies for my own. I purchased mine at a local camera shop ($100 less than available on Amazon.com) It took two months from order to receipt.
What is so great about the 18-200mm VR? The sharpness just pops out at you. My spouse noticed it immediately and she takes only "family/people" shots. I cannot say she is the most discriminating critic but she was able to correctly identify 7 side by side examples of identical landscape shots (I used a tripod and both my Nikon 18-70mm and my 70-300mm G in the comparison). More importantly, you can't tell the difference between shots that are handheld from the shots made when the camera is mounted on a tripod.
I am lightening my outfit bag replacing my 18-70mm and 70-300mm (and my tripod)with this lens, improving my photos with the VR, and don't have to hastle with changing lenses (or exposing my sensor to dust). Again, it won't make you a better photographer but the sharpness of your photos will be markedly improved.
Damn Fine Lens!!! May 30, 2006
12 out of 29 found this review helpful
There is really not much else to say...here is an open offer to those who do not like the lens: I'll buy it for $599.00 cash right now. I have a long list of friends that have seen and used mine and they cannot wait to get their hands on one.
Whoever dislikes this lens lives in some kind of laboratory May 28, 2006
33 out of 36 found this review helpful
If you live in a lab and all you do is perform scientific comparison's between "item A" and "item B" then you could probably find fault with this lens (or ANY lens for that matter). However, if you use your camera to take great photos, than this lens is a GREAT addition to your collection. The VR is very useful and the width of the zoom is without peer. I own a D200 and I have this lens along with the 12-24, 70-300 and 50 1.8 prime and that is all I can see that I will ever need. Conclusion, great lens if you are a PHOTOGRAPHER.
Groundbreaking lens May 14, 2006
668 out of 675 found this review helpful
By now there are enough pro reviews out there for experienced shooters to read the handwriting on the wall. No, this is not a 17-35 and 70-200 wrapped into a tiny package. You can't have that for any amount of money. The 18-200VR is NOT meant to challenge the exotics like my 70-200VR or the 200-400VR. It's not even meant to take on a prime. It's designed to be the ultimate one lens solution when you don't want a bag full of heavy glass along for the ride. It features moderately fast (but not very) optics, vibration reduction and a lot of work to keep CA and distortion down. This it achieves with some success, but distortion is still obvious at 18mm. Distortion is sever enough at the wide end to require correction in post (easy to do), but this is NOT lens for those who shoot architecture professionally. This type of distortion is TYPICAL for a lens of this type.
I'm sorry, but those who have panned this lens either got a bad one (quite possible with early batch issues reported) or just don't understand what a walk-around lens is for. This is what we all hoped the 24-120 VR would be, but unlike that lens it gets much more done for just 200 dollars more. Anyone who says there are lenses like this for less...well where? No other superzoom is this sharp, has so little CA and throws in VR II as well...and in a small package!
Now...how good is it in the real world? VERY GOOD. It's a match for the sharp little 28-200G which means it's only a bit less sharp than the 70-200VR which costs twice as much. My first images with this lens were stunning, detailed and fairly sharp to the edges above F5. Close focus gives near macro results and again this lens is SHARP! Focus speed is quite fast of course, but I feel that the 18-70 kit lens is a hair quicker. You could shoot all day with this miracle and do it all without feeling like you need a giant lens. If, like me, you find yourself shooting mostly in the 35-200mm range on a DSLR, this lens makes a lot of sense. It also displayed deeper color saturation and contrast than either the 28-200G or 50mm 1.8. Did I mention that I'm impressed?
Build quality is good, but not great. It's hard to be impressed with any lens build when compared to the 70-200VR. The 18-200 zoom is a bit stiff, the manual focus a bit loose. I suspect Nikon dialed up the zoom stiffness due to early problems with lens creep early on. It's not creeping at all. The size of the lens is only a bit bigger than the kit lens, perhaps as bulky at the Tokina 12-24 if you have one of those.
VR II exceeds all expectations I was able to shoot sharp shots at 1.10th sec exposure. But remember this is NOT fast glass. A moving object in dim light will be blurred at such slow shutter speeds. Thus far this is an impressive effort from Nikon. Even an experienced shooter could find this lens on the camera most days and be happy. "Average" shooters will need nothing more because this lens is that good. The only areas for improvement given the real limits of optical design are in the build quality, which could be a bit better. In the end, even at 700 dollars plus, this lens is pretty hard to resist.
And no, this is not a "kit lens with VR." The kit lens only reaches to 70mm. The kit lens also can't do near macro work as this lens can. The kit lens is also not as sharp. And of course this lens has the latest version of VR that works superbly. There is simply no other lens like this on the market currently. Again, if you're thinking that this lens should be perfect and doesn't require compromises to achieve it's design goals, please do your homework before buying. If you need a zoom to cover this range at F2.8, with no distortion and small size please call Mr. Scott aboard the Starship Enterprise.
For those who question the sharpness of this lens, be aware that there are online tests showing it's even sharper at the corners than the legendary 17-35 2.8! Against my 70-200VR I see a SLIGHT sharpness advantage with the 70-200, but only visible with a 100% crop. Or to put things even more in perspective, this lens works nicely on a D200. Search the forums for yourself. Most D200 owners are reporting great sharpness even with pro bodies.
This lens is simply a ton of fun for people who like to take pictures
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