Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S DX VR Nikkor Review
This zoom has taken me far and wide, expanding my creative vision.
I wasn’t about to be swayed easily. Until now I was not a Nikon enthusiast–my camera allegiances lay elsewhere. So, if I was going to start using Nikon gear seriously, that gear had better prove itself. Accordingly, when I tested out the D300, I chose the one lens that I’d anticipated would either demonstrate the merits of this system or let it fall flat on its face. I wanted a lens wide enough for scenics and groups and long enough to capture people and wildlife unobtrusively. In an all-purpose lens, I also wanted image stabilization, or, as Nikon calls it, Vibration Reduction (VR)–or specifically second-gen Enhanced VR II Vibration Reduction–a nice adjunct when shooting by available light or stretching the limits of a low light-sensitivity rating (ISO).
What I really wanted was one lens that would do it all. I didn’t want to schlep around three or four lenses as I did with my other DSLR system. I wanted a compact solution, but one that would not involve compromise–at least, none that I would notice in everyday shooting.
And that search led me to Nikon’s 18-200 VR. Aside from a fisheye that I carry for an entirely different perspective on the world, this lens is all I’ve carried on recent trips to Germany, Miami, and Las Vegas. It has so much going for it that–well, maybe we should start at the beginning…
