Is this lens any good? Seems quite cheap to be any good...
Can anyone post any examples or recommend any websites with examples?
Can anyone post any examples or recommend any websites with examples?
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Nikon 55-200mm VR - Thoughts? Examples?
- Thread starter joefinan
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I just bought one though I haven't really had a chance to shoot much with it yet (nothing I want to share, anyway). Ken Rockwell RAVES about it as one of the best inexpensive pieces of glass you can buy. My only complaint is that it's kind of slow (f/4-5.6), but you're certainly not going to do any better for ~$180. In terms of optical quality, it seems quite good. Just not the best for low light. For the money, I don't think there's a better zoom in this range.
I've been quite happy with the lens. It was certainly worth the money IMO (which is not much!). It seems quite sharp for the price.
The VR gives me about 2 stops (when desperate I can handhold down to about 1/10th; combined with ISO 800 that gives me the ability to do a night shot when I forget my tripod).
The drawbacks I found are:
it is a little slow to focus, but if I set the camera to dynamic I can still reliably get sports shots.
On auto-focus you can't "tweak" the focus like you can with my 18-70
I would like a wider aperture, but it certainly fits in with anything else in that price range.
Here are some I've taken...
Best case scenario, good lighting and a stationary subject:
Sunning Koala
Worst case, night time action shot, requiring a high ISO
Goal Denied!
This is taken at 200mm on a tripod, but the photo has been cropped from its original 10mp size to an approx 1.5mp to give the impression of a macro. The spider was actually 1/2 way up a fairly large tree:
Boris the spider
A couple more random ones...
Flowers
Eagle
The VR gives me about 2 stops (when desperate I can handhold down to about 1/10th; combined with ISO 800 that gives me the ability to do a night shot when I forget my tripod).
The drawbacks I found are:
it is a little slow to focus, but if I set the camera to dynamic I can still reliably get sports shots.
On auto-focus you can't "tweak" the focus like you can with my 18-70
I would like a wider aperture, but it certainly fits in with anything else in that price range.
Here are some I've taken...
Best case scenario, good lighting and a stationary subject:
Sunning Koala
Worst case, night time action shot, requiring a high ISO
Goal Denied!
This is taken at 200mm on a tripod, but the photo has been cropped from its original 10mp size to an approx 1.5mp to give the impression of a macro. The spider was actually 1/2 way up a fairly large tree:
Boris the spider
A couple more random ones...
Flowers
Eagle
Not a bad lens. I generally use it when I don't want to carry my 80-200 around. The VR is OK, but won't help you in sport photos.
I took this last summer.
I took this last summer.
that's very nice bokeh. How's the distortion? I was considering the 18-200 but it's got very bad distortion, or so I read.
^ In his review, Rockwell noted that the distortion on the 18-200, while not horrible, is more than that at the same focal lengths on the two separate lenses (18-55, 55-200).
Judging strictly from reviews and what has been said about this lens, this lens is a better choice than the much more expensive 70-300 mm VR lens, since it's not sharp from 200-300 mm anyway.
It seems like a real winner, and may be my next lens.
It seems like a real winner, and may be my next lens.
Got out and snapped a few pictures in between frisbee games with the new 55-200 VR in a neighborhood park today. Here's one of the decent ones (pure coincidence that it also happens to be of a goose, PixelFactory )
And then some idiot kid kicking it a little while later. I was sitting across the pond, probably about 75 feet away. Not a great picture, barely had time to raise the camera when I saw what he was about to do, but it's at 200mm:
)And then some idiot kid kicking it a little while later. I was sitting across the pond, probably about 75 feet away. Not a great picture, barely had time to raise the camera when I saw what he was about to do, but it's at 200mm: