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Finally ordered 18-200 vr!

TheMasin9

TheMasin9

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 22, 2004
585
0
Huber Heights, OH
i just placed my order for my nikon 18-200 vr lense. I think that my setup will be quite nice now: Nikon D50, 18-200vr, 70-300(for those shots that are just a bit out of reach), and sb-600 flash. Im looking forward to start using this setup. Anyone interested in an 18-55 nikon lens? since i have the range covered on the same f-stop range, i figure ill be able to get rid of that one and maybe go for a 50mm f1.8 instead.

Thanks
 
Cool! When you get it, can you please do a comparison shot? Take a picture at 18mm, then zoom in on the same spot to 200mm and take another? Thanks. I think that one will be my next lens.
 
Just keep a lookout for lens creep when using this lens. It might not be a problem for you, but never-the-less, it's there.

Hope you enjoy it though, I had a quick shot of one the other day and looking through the viewfinder, it was very refreshing going from 18mm all the way to 200mm while still using the same lens.

Chris
 
TheMasin9 said:
i just placed my order for my nikon 18-200 vr lense. I think that my setup will be quite nice now: Nikon D50, 18-200vr, 70-300(for those shots that are just a bit out of reach), and sb-600 flash. Im looking forward to start using this setup. Anyone interested in an 18-55 nikon lens? since i have the range covered on the same f-stop range, i figure ill be able to get rid of that one and maybe go for a 50mm f1.8 instead.

Thanks
Click to expand...

you can prob. pull 50 beans or so in on the ebay with the stock 18-55mm, and good call with the 50mm 1.8, i dont want to beat a dead horse by saying how great it is, but it really is a nice lens. good luck!
 
Sounds like a great setup. That is the lens I want to get in the future, but it's going to be a while get I do. I also want to get the 50mm 1.8 as well.
 
TheMasin9 said:
i just placed my order for my nikon 18-200 vr lense. I think that my setup will be quite nice now: Nikon D50, 18-200vr, 70-300(for those shots that are just a bit out of reach), and sb-600 flash. Im looking forward to start using this setup. Anyone interested in an 18-55 nikon lens? since i have the range covered on the same f-stop range, i figure ill be able to get rid of that one and maybe go for a 50mm f1.8 instead.

Thanks
Click to expand...

You'll probably hate me for saying this but...

I just sold mine, hated it. Ouch, it is awful amateur feeling lens (just my opinion - ken rockwell goes mad for it). I replaced it with a brand new Nikon 80-200mm for more or less the same price.

I never enjoyed using it, when trying to focus on an object in the distance (like a person standing around) it would just focus constantly and never let me take the photo (no matter what setting I changed in camera D200). I lost a few great shots at a friend's wedding because of this - the couple walking down the aisle for example, the lens just focused, focused, focused and never took the picture. It just isn't an enjoyable lens, it feels too plasticy - I felt it from the moment I first put it on my camera, I just had a bad feeling about it and it turned out to be right.

You'll probably love it though, I'm quite picky with my lenses (clearly ; )
 
Try selling the 18-55mm on craigslist. I sold mine a few months ago for $100. It was also never used and was in superb condition, but you may have better luck there than on eBay.
 
Jebaloo said:
I never enjoyed using it, when trying to focus on an object in the distance (like a person standing around) it would just focus constantly and never let me take the photo (no matter what setting I changed in camera D200). I lost a few great shots at a friend's wedding because of this - the couple walking down the aisle for example, the lens just focused, focused, focused and never took the picture.
Click to expand...

This sounds like a lens that needed service - unless these are all low-light instances. AF on these variable-aperture lenses can have problems in low light, since AF functions at the max aperture and, for these lenses, the max aperture at the telephoto lens just isn't that wide. The "camera setting" doesn't really impact this.

That's actually a good argument for getting the Nikon/Nikkor 18-200 versus the Sigma, since the Sigma's aperture at 200mm is f/6.3!

I really enjoy using my 18-200. Autofocus problems are rare enough that I can't think of it ever happening - but I have manually focussed it on occasion (yup, even with my D70's viewfinder).
 
Yeh, I think that the focussing problems were at the long end. I don't really see the point of VR on a zoom lens when you can't focus at the long end in low light. If you can't even focus or make the shutter go, then VR is pretty much useless.

Camera settings can be changed to aid in this situation. For example, to allow the camera's shutter to fire even when the lens isn't on green-light focus. Some cameras default settings don't allow this.

I have to say I'm not a fan of VR, I've never seen good results from it and really just see it as an uneccessary battery drain.

lens was new, so probably didn't need a service.

All of these are opinions are from this lens only though, VR might be good on other lenses, but not the one I had.

I do think that it's ludicrous that this lens is so popular though, when you can get the 80-200 for more or less the same price, and that is a tip top of the range pro lens with incredible optics and no gimmicks.
 
All I can say is I've used mine at 200mm using autofocus and VR, and gotten shots I wouldn't have gotten otherwise.

Here's an example - maybe not particularly inspiring, but it's a good example of where I find this lens useful. 200mm, f/5.6 (max aperture at 200mm), aimed up above horizontal maybe 15 degrees or so; all of which, for me anyway, combined makes it hard to hand-hold in a rock-steady manner. I didn't sharpen it, and yes I know it still needs a touch of color correction.

quartzite_mountain.jpg


The 80-200 is no doubt sharper glass; but at twice the length and three times the weight, I would NOT have gotten a sharper picture without a tripod - I doubt it would've been even this sharp hand-held (and this is where the 18-200 is at its weakest).
 
It just isn't an enjoyable lens, it feels too plasticy - I felt it from the moment I first put it on my camera, I just had a bad feeling about it and it turned out to be right.
Click to expand...

My understanding is there are two versions of this lens -each functionally identical but differing in the perceptual build quality. Supposedly, the lens was constructed at two sites for a while as Nikon tried to meet the demand.

I haven't seen the supposedly more "plasticy" version myself so take this with a grain of salt.
 
Jebaloo said:
You'll probably hate me for saying this but...

I just sold mine, hated it. Ouch, it is awful amateur feeling lens (just my opinion - ken rockwell goes mad for it). I replaced it with a brand new Nikon 80-200mm for more or less the same price.

I never enjoyed using it, when trying to focus on an object in the distance (like a person standing around) it would just focus constantly and never let me take the photo (no matter what setting I changed in camera D200). I lost a few great shots at a friend's wedding because of this - the couple walking down the aisle for example, the lens just focused, focused, focused and never took the picture. It just isn't an enjoyable lens, it feels too plasticy - I felt it from the moment I first put it on my camera, I just had a bad feeling about it and it turned out to be right.

You'll probably love it though, I'm quite picky with my lenses (clearly ; )
Click to expand...


were you in af mode or manual?
 
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