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

I thought I had read enough reviews about this all-around great lens for non-pro enthusiasts. I bought the lens in New York City to go along with the D7000, however in NYC, your camera is pointed upwards a lot. When the salesman pointed out that there´s a lock at 18mm, I immediately thought that Nikon knows about lens creep in the previous version of this lens and wanted to rectify the problem. Within several hours of shooting with this lens, it became apparent that lens creep is a big issue. I then came back home to and called Nikon The tech support person said this is a known problem and if severe, should be returned. Online there are plenty of reports and videos about this lens and it´s ´´creep´´. One easy fix is a piece of black tape to the barrel, but with a brand new product, one should not be expected to ´´McGyver´´ it. This is probably the problem with all ´´super zooms´´ but I´m returning it for several shorter lenses.

I have several Nikkor lenses obtained over 20 years. This lens allows me to enjoy my photography from my wheelchair. It is very versitile. I am currently photographing flowers
including close-ups. I call my pics ´´blossoms from a wheelchair´´.

I bought the Nikon D5100 with the kit lens and then added the 55-200 kit add-on. I personally found it annoying to change lenses to have the higher zoom, so I did a lot of research and decided I really wanted one lens that did pretty much everything I needed. I looked at the Tamron 17-270 PZ, the Sigma 18-200 and after reading every review and user comment I could find, decided that as usual, the Nikon 18-200 VR II was the lens I wanted.

I´m extremely happy with the lens. It feels very solid and I´m much happier with the metal mount. I was prepared for some zoom creep as I had read that it was still an issue for many. But my lens has none. If anything, the zoom ring is more stiff than I would have expected, but there is absolutely no lens creep whatsoever.

The pictures I have taken with the lens at either end have been stunning. Much better than the kit lens for sure. And while there´s supposed to be some sacrifice in distortion at the extremes, I´ve not been able to see any, even at 100% crop. At least for me, the lens is everything I could have hoped for and then some.

I know that $849 is not inexpensive, but then in the world of lenses, this is an absolute bargain. It´s a Nikkor lens through and through. And even though the D5100 is a smaller DSLR, it feels more stable on my camera than the kit lens did.

As usual, I´m very happy with my Nkon products. I highly recommend this lens to anyone who is looking for one lens that will pretty much do it all, in one compact, yet highly versatile and well built package. If it also was a macro, that would make it the perfect lens for all situations, but that might be asking too much.

If your looking for a 2.8 you will be disappointed. SOFT no this is not a soft lens. Try using a better camera body. very quick and very versatile.

I purchased this lens to accompany my D7000 body. Together they make a very balanced package and handle quite well. The overarching issue with the 18-200 lens is that it is very soft. I have never been so disappointed in the performance of a Nikon lens. A lens that lacks sharpness to this degree should not carry the Nikon nameplate.

If you are going out for the day with the kids, or just walking around in a new city and don´t want to carry a bag-o-lenses, this is your go to lens. No it isn´t tack sharp. No it isn´t constant 2.8. No it didn´t cost $$$$.
Light enough. Sharp enough. More than versatile.
Actually does suprisingly nice close-up work.
VRII really does give you 3-4 stops. (If you put it on a tripod, remember to turn off the VR. It is sharper without it.)
I haven´t done any sports yet, but it seems fast enough at focusing.
Great all around lens for $$.

Went on my dream vacation, purchase this lens for my Nikon D300S. Took about 5000 pictures and only had to delete a dozen. All the pictures came out perfect, I´m happy I purchased this lens.

This lens is awesome.I took pictures of water falls,kids,pets.I had no lens creep what so ever.The photos were crisp and clean.

Bought the lens, wanted a great multipurpose lens for my D90, and bought it after reading other commentary here. I found the lens to be a massive disappointment, for the following reasons;

Most importantly the images were not very sharp.

Really performed poorly in low light

Did not respond as smoothly as the stock lens that came with the D90

The VR reduction made a ridiculously loud clicking noise when engaged and took a second to actually make the click

The autofocus just would not work well with this lens

Not sure if I bought a lemon or if the lens just generally has issues.

I could not return it because I bought it and immediately went on a long vacation with the lens, I had become so used to Nikon quality that I also failed to bring the warranty, and since you need to mail it back within a set period of days, I blew past that as well. BTW, why do they make you mail the warranty!?!? You should be able to fill it in online, ridiculous in this day and age.

Bottom line is that I have an expensive paper weight at the moment instead of a great multipurpose lens, for this amount of money, I am profoundly upset.