Discussion
I've got a D40 (as I'm sure the regulars already know) and using the 18-55 and 55-200 has been a real education and a ton of fun - however, I feel like I'm forever swapping lenses and, to be honest, I get more use out of my 55-200 than the 18-55, but I do like the 18-55 (occasionally).
Let's overlook the fact that I wanted a 50mm Prime lens not all that long ago too....
My question is this: (Mahoosive) Cost factor to one side - what would be the downside of getting an 18-200?
Another question would be - what's the difference between the Nikon and Sigma variants?
Or, do I accept the regular lens changes, suck it up, buy a bigger slingshot pack and a good Prime lens?
Am off to bed shortly so limited replies until the morning
Let's overlook the fact that I wanted a 50mm Prime lens not all that long ago too....
My question is this: (Mahoosive) Cost factor to one side - what would be the downside of getting an 18-200?
Another question would be - what's the difference between the Nikon and Sigma variants?
Or, do I accept the regular lens changes, suck it up, buy a bigger slingshot pack and a good Prime lens?
Am off to bed shortly so limited replies until the morning
Edited by james_tigerwoods on Monday 17th August 22:23
I've got the Nikon 18-200.
Don't buy it, or the Sigma.
It is nice to have, but is only a walk about lens. It is not anywhere near sharp enough as other lenses. The sigma is even worse...
I think that primes are the way forward, although of course it depends on what you photograph.. Get a 50mm then decide if you want wider or longer and by that next...
HTH
Don't buy it, or the Sigma.
It is nice to have, but is only a walk about lens. It is not anywhere near sharp enough as other lenses. The sigma is even worse...
I think that primes are the way forward, although of course it depends on what you photograph.. Get a 50mm then decide if you want wider or longer and by that next...
HTH
I've had a D40 for a year also with the 18-55 kit lens as standard. Last month I was looking for a telephoto lens and was suggested to get a 70-300mm Nikkor Lens over the 55-200mm, which I did. I found it a bit heavy and also a bit of a chore having to change lenses - but was impressed with it...I went with the idea of on a 3 day motorsport event, taking close up shots one day - long range the next, and none on the other 
I'm now thinking of getting a lens for really good close-up shots
I'm now thinking of getting a lens for really good close-up shots
I've used an 18-200 on my D80 and D300 for a couple of years and have always found it to be exceptionally sharp. I've back to back tested it with a 17-55 at double the price and in a genuinely blind test found the cheaper lens to be better resolved at the edges. Seriously, nobody was more surprised than I - perhaps there is a quality control issue that makes some examples better than others?
I changed the 18-200 last month for the 24-70 AFS because here I could absolutely see a huge improvement in image quality ... but it's £1200 so that's what you'd expect.
Whilst I would not relish giving up the 24-70 to go back, I would wholeheartedly recommend the 18-200 as an upgrade for you. Chase Jarvis uses it as a scouting lens, Scott Kelby for travel photography and whilst it's not perfect but you'll need a whole bag full of primes if you're going to match its versatility.
dumbfunk
I changed the 18-200 last month for the 24-70 AFS because here I could absolutely see a huge improvement in image quality ... but it's £1200 so that's what you'd expect.
Whilst I would not relish giving up the 24-70 to go back, I would wholeheartedly recommend the 18-200 as an upgrade for you. Chase Jarvis uses it as a scouting lens, Scott Kelby for travel photography and whilst it's not perfect but you'll need a whole bag full of primes if you're going to match its versatility.
dumbfunk
OK. I have the Nikon 18-200.
Super Zoom lenses will always be a compromise: the largest apeture available will be smaller, they will likely be slightly less sharp than a Prime lens, they may be heavier and so on.
The lens has a massive key benefit IMO.
Because it is on the camera nearly all the time and is so flexible when you see the shot you want you can go straight ahead and get it. For anything that is time sensitive - people, action, sports - this is likely the difference between getting the shot and not getting it at all.
The 18-200 is also thought well of as a "Travel Photography" lens. This is because it's flexibility means you can get a wide variety of shots without your carry-on luggage being full of gear.
As a side benefit - fewer lens changes in the field means fewer dust particles on your camera's sensor which means fewer dust bunnies needing Photoshop on your images.
The Nikon is also equipped with VR which means sharper images at slower shutter speeds - useful.
I'm very happy with mine. As an amateur with no pretensions to greatness it's a very flexible, useful and convenient lens. Yes you'll want a proper wide angle and a longer zoom to go with it - one day. Yes a pro would be happy to carry more lenses in the search for the very best image quality - but maybe some would value the flexibility, too.
HTH
Super Zoom lenses will always be a compromise: the largest apeture available will be smaller, they will likely be slightly less sharp than a Prime lens, they may be heavier and so on.
The lens has a massive key benefit IMO.
Because it is on the camera nearly all the time and is so flexible when you see the shot you want you can go straight ahead and get it. For anything that is time sensitive - people, action, sports - this is likely the difference between getting the shot and not getting it at all.
The 18-200 is also thought well of as a "Travel Photography" lens. This is because it's flexibility means you can get a wide variety of shots without your carry-on luggage being full of gear.
As a side benefit - fewer lens changes in the field means fewer dust particles on your camera's sensor which means fewer dust bunnies needing Photoshop on your images.
The Nikon is also equipped with VR which means sharper images at slower shutter speeds - useful.
I'm very happy with mine. As an amateur with no pretensions to greatness it's a very flexible, useful and convenient lens. Yes you'll want a proper wide angle and a longer zoom to go with it - one day. Yes a pro would be happy to carry more lenses in the search for the very best image quality - but maybe some would value the flexibility, too.
HTH
Got to say I've just got an 18-55 VR off Park Cameras (£105, bargain!)to replace the standard 18-55 and it's a cracker. Use it with the D40 and gets this at 800iso:
My travelling kit to Vermont next month is the D40 with this lens and the 55-200VR. Covers pretty much everything, and everything pin sharp.
My travelling kit to Vermont next month is the D40 with this lens and the 55-200VR. Covers pretty much everything, and everything pin sharp.
CivicMan said:
Got to say I've just got an 18-55 VR off Park Cameras (£105, bargain!)to replace the standard 18-55 and it's a cracker. Use it with the D40 and gets this at 800iso:
My travelling kit to Vermont next month is the D40 with this lens and the 55-200VR. Covers pretty much everything, and everything pin sharp.
What's the difference between the VR and non VR lens - would I even notice a difference?My travelling kit to Vermont next month is the D40 with this lens and the 55-200VR. Covers pretty much everything, and everything pin sharp.
I know what VR is, I'm just not convinced that it's necessary on an 18-55 lens.....
Edited by james_tigerwoods on Tuesday 18th August 11:06
james_tigerwoods said:
What's the difference between the VR and non VR lens - would I even notice a difference?
I know what VR is, I'm just not convinced that it's necessary on an 18-55 lens.....
You will be amazed. You can use FAR lower shutter speeds and still avoid camera-shake.I know what VR is, I'm just not convinced that it's necessary on an 18-55 lens.....
My camera, a D2X, ain't so great at high ISO values (grainy) so the ability to still shoot in lower light conditions is very welcome.
Agreed with what Don said (further) above - they're a good lens but compromised in some ways as you'd expect. Personally I went second-hand, got an 18-70 (kit lens, cheap but surprisingly nice) and 80-200 f/2.8 (just awesome) for around the same price as a second-hand 18-200.
Having used a mates 18-200 and my own 80-200 back to back I found the VR wasn't even close to making up for the difference in aperture and glass - but thats to be expected, the 80-200 weighs 1.3kg so isn't quite as good for travelling!
Having used a mates 18-200 and my own 80-200 back to back I found the VR wasn't even close to making up for the difference in aperture and glass - but thats to be expected, the 80-200 weighs 1.3kg so isn't quite as good for travelling!
Edited by GravelBen on Tuesday 18th August 11:54
GravelBen said:
Having used a mates 18-200 and my own 80-200 back to back I found the VR wasn't even close to making up for the difference in aperture and glass
Yep, VR is not the same as fast glass - it does not allow you to get a faster shutter speed, merely to use a slower shutter speed with less shake. Hence it will not help freeze moving objects as a fast lens would.Good technique and/or a handy support to lean on go a long way to getting 'VR' for free IMHO, especially with relatively short lenses. Of course with something like a 70-300 then it becomes more useful as greater magnification makes camera shake more apparent.
I dug out an old shot to demonstrate the VR.
This is a 100% crop from an image taken with the 18-200, hand held at 1/15th of a second with VR switched on. It's straight out of lightroom with absolutely no image manipulation or sharpening.
To my eyes this performance is exceptional for a £500 lens of this immense focal range and even with the far superior 24-70, this level of IQ is certainly not disgraced. Remember this is hand held and I have no special ninja breath holding talents ... yeah, I miss the VR.
(Sorry for the larger than 500px image but click for full size)
dumbfunk
(ETA: Just noticed that PS stripped out the metadata but if you're interested, it's taken on a D300 at 1/15th and ISO200, zoomed slightly to 26mm and wide open at f4. Hardly very flattering numbers right?)
This is a 100% crop from an image taken with the 18-200, hand held at 1/15th of a second with VR switched on. It's straight out of lightroom with absolutely no image manipulation or sharpening.
To my eyes this performance is exceptional for a £500 lens of this immense focal range and even with the far superior 24-70, this level of IQ is certainly not disgraced. Remember this is hand held and I have no special ninja breath holding talents ... yeah, I miss the VR.
(Sorry for the larger than 500px image but click for full size)
dumbfunk
(ETA: Just noticed that PS stripped out the metadata but if you're interested, it's taken on a D300 at 1/15th and ISO200, zoomed slightly to 26mm and wide open at f4. Hardly very flattering numbers right?)
Edited by dumbfunk on Tuesday 18th August 16:10
CivicMan said:
Got to say I've just got an 18-55 VR off Park Cameras (£105, bargain!)to replace the standard 18-55 and it's a cracker. Use it with the D40 and gets this at 800iso:
My travelling kit to Vermont next month is the D40 with this lens and the 55-200VR. Covers pretty much everything, and everything pin sharp.
Sorry for the thread ressurection, but I can't mail you (Civicman) - what are Park Cameras like to buy from?My travelling kit to Vermont next month is the D40 with this lens and the 55-200VR. Covers pretty much everything, and everything pin sharp.
james_tigerwoods said:
CivicMan said:
Got to say I've just got an 18-55 VR off Park Cameras (£105, bargain!)to replace the standard 18-55 and it's a cracker. Use it with the D40 and gets this at 800iso:
My travelling kit to Vermont next month is the D40 with this lens and the 55-200VR. Covers pretty much everything, and everything pin sharp.
Sorry for the thread ressurection, but I can't mail you (Civicman) - what are Park Cameras like to buy from?My travelling kit to Vermont next month is the D40 with this lens and the 55-200VR. Covers pretty much everything, and everything pin sharp.
George
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