AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

I just bought this as a refurbished lens from a Nikon dealer on eBay. The price was reasonable and I have had good experience with a Nikon refurbished D7000. The reviews have only good things to say about the lens´ optical performance. The only complaint is the mid-range zoom creep. So I checked this out and sure enough my unit also exhibited this behavior when it was held almost vertically up or down. This is no problem for me. For fun I tried a solution that seems to work.

Right behind the lens there is a non-rotating tube that slides inside a rotating tube as the lens zoom position changes. Zoom the lens to the 200mm position. Attach a 1¼-inch piece of black electrical tape lengthwise on the bottom of the non-rotating tube. The tape´s thickness seems to provide enough friction within the rotating tube to prevent zoom creep. Make sure the tape lies flat with no wrinkles.

With the camera on its back and the lens cap on, of course, I placed a 3.3 oz. weight and the lens started to creep back from about the 100mm position. So, it seems, that little piece of tape is just right. It is hardly noticeable because it´s the same color as the lens. Now let´s see if this fix lasts after long lens use. Incidentally, the lens cap and shade weigh 1.1 oz. and cause no creep.

On another matter, I notice that this is referred to as a ´´walk-around´´ lens because of it´s zoom range. Well, a D7000 with this lens, an MB-D11, lens cap and hood weighs 3 lbs. 13.5 oz. A lot of weight to just ´´walk-around.´´ That´s what I like about Nikons...solidly built!

heavier than expected, but, really does the job. i am very pleased with the quality of pix across all ranges

By far I have taken the most pictures (Thousands) with this lens. It is my go to when on vacation. I like this lens so much I kept it when I bought my D800. As you may be aware the D800 is excellent at showing you any inconsistencies or mistakes in your equipment or skills.

Attached are recent photographs taken with this lens on my D800. Prime example, the middle picture showing the the Green Monkey was shot handheld at 1600 ISO, 80mm, f/5, 1/60 sec. in a fairly dark environment and is sharp with excellent color. Hope this helps remove any concerns you may have with this lens.

I have been using this lens for about a month and find it to be great. I´ve had to do a little reading to learn how to focus with this lens but I´m learning quickly and am delighted with my photos. They are very sharp - even on shots that are at the end range of the lens. My Nikon D5100 came with two lens as a package but I found that having to switch lens every time I wanted to do a close-up was a nuisance. I also didn´t like having to carry the two lens around. I had been going to sell the whole kit but when I read about this lens (all very positive by the way) I bought the lens and am very glad I did.

I love the broad range this lens covers, shooting with it offers everything you need on travel shoots and outings with the camera. It easily switched from wide angle room shots, to landscapes, and then decent close-ups of birds. The photo quality was great, the autofocus silent, nice lens....

...then I took it on a winter day shoot. The autofocus stopped working completely around 30F and the lens creep was ridiculous, I´d frame my shot, go to adjust it slightly with the polarizer, or manual focus and everything in the shot would have changed. It wasn´t a well made lens, and I so wanted it to be. I also use a UV filter with a polarizer (UV for lens protection) and the vignetting was horrible at 18mm unless I took a filter off. That might be true in all the DX wides though... Not sure.

Anyway, had to return it, in the end for the lens creep, can´t work with that.

Since the lens came with my D300 back in June 2010 I have owned it and used it as my primary lens. It is a great action lens, as well as a portrait lens. Just very good over all.

So why do I give it lover marks? Becuase after the first year of usig it it started to have ´´Lens Creep´´ meaning if I was pointing up or down (other than level) it would start zooming on its own. I checked with other professionals with nikon equipment to only hear the same thing and that Nikon would not fix it as a defect. So I have a wide black rubber band around the barrel to hold the zoom in place.

Also when I zoom it all the way to 200mm it now goes out of focus.

So it is now a lens with limited uses for me. I have had to purchase other lens to replace it as a daily use lens.

I´m still a die-hard Nikon user, have been for over 40 years. Just not happy with this lens.

My second time purchasing this lens. First purchase as brand new.

Sold original to help finance purchase of a Tamron 70-200 2.8 (non-VC). Love the Tamron, but it´s slow focus motor, and sometimes hunting for focus, and also it´s big size and no image stabilization, had me longing for this lens again.

So bought this lens once more, as refurbished, direct from Nikon´s outlet store online.

My first one had lens creep...where if you face it down, the lens will extend from the weight...this is a common complaint from lots of people, so I just accepted it as is...

Also on that first lens, when I start zooming, the zooming feel was not consistent...where
a. ...when I first zoom out from 18mm it was nice and ´´sticky´´ a little bit, but not enough to prevent lens creep.
b. ...then became super loose
c. ...then became ´´sticky´´ again
d. ...then at far end loosened up just for a little bit of the last zoom

...also a common complaint by others....

Now with this refurbished lens, there is NO CREEP at all, and the ´´sticky´´-ness of the zoom is pretty constant throughout!

Much happier with this lens this time around!

Did anybody say this lens isn´t sharp? Mine sure is. I have a whole series of Nikon AF-D prime lenses and under normal lighting conditions there is barely any difference in the color or detail. I like the 18mm lock switch which makes for easy carrying between shots. You´ll never again miss an opportunity while changing lenses and internal camera dust is minimized. Oh and by the way, leave the tripod at home.

I bought this lens along with my first D-SLR an year ago. Being a point-n-shoot type of a guy till my D-SLR happened, I wanted the ease of not changing lens to take different pictures, and have wide angle and zoom at the same time. This lens looked most versatile. And it lived up to its reputation. I am very happy with my decision to have it as my first lens.
- It takes great pictures in daylight
- It is very good for portraits. I love the bokeh it renders
- It has a nice zoom
- I love the wide angle it provides
With my lens I haven´t noticed any lens creep. It worked wonderfully, right out-of-the-box. I found few reviews complaining about the sharpness, but I have no complains. I am very happy with my lens.

Even though it is expensive compared to the basic 18-55mm lens offered in most D-SLR/lens bundles, I would recommend all first timers to buy this lens. It´s worth every penny!!