[james23p]

I feel that because the demand for the 18-200 is so great and so many have bought this lens the 70-300 will be an odd range in their lineup only being 100mm more than there everyday lens the 18-200. If you have a 18-200 are you going to spend another 550 for 100 more mm and another lens change or wait and see if Nikon comes out with a AF-S updated version of the 80-400 at least with this lens you get 200 more mm and this is a more meaningful jump from 200 vs 300. Now for me I have the 18-135 and love it, the lens has for me a nice feel and size its very sharp and I do not have alot of CA just the distortion wide open that is also prone on the 18-70 and 24-85 AF-S G. Oops off subject so for me having a 18-135 and the 70-300 makes a nice 18 to 300 combo and since I find hand holding the 18-135 easy but VR on a long lens like the 70-300 just makes me want one even more. This is what I call a great zoo lens. So now that the price dropped I am only a few weeks away of having saved enough and getting one. Jim