What is an Upgrade to the 18-200VR Lens

[fkelly]

I see that their is much debate about the 18-200vr lens being so-so. "jack- of -all-,,etc, etc. What lens would offer the best logical upgrade. Into the world of great glass.
I currently have a D40 but will probably end up with a D90.

I use this lens and am picking up the 35mm AF-S1/8G lens.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[WayneF]

Nothing else will do 18 to 200 mm of course, but my upgrade was the Nikon 16-85mm. Very pleased with it, esp its sharpness. Wish it were f/2.8.

[mikman]

This is a hard question to answer. If you want an upgrade, you're going to have to buy lenses that cover a smaller focal range. The aforementioned 16-85mm is very good, as are other third party lenses such as the Sigma 17-70mm (placed first in Germany's largest photo magazine, the Nikon 16-85 placed second). It very much depends how much you want to spend, the Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 is a great lens but costs five times as much as your D40. The same goes for the 70-200mm 2.8. I personally have a Nikon 55-200mm f4-5.6 that shoots decent pictures, but it's not really a step up from your 18-200mm. The Nikon 70-300mm might be worth looking into though, along with a decent standard zoom.

[shadowlands]

I've owned several lenses in the past. I adore owned the 18-200 VR without a doubt. My copy is sharp. It's my workhorse.

[Dirk]

but a workhorse that needs new horse shoes

well one problem with multizooms is that they are only good in reach as a walk around lens but mostly suffer from vignetering, ca and are not good over 100% of the range

the best sollution when you want a better Image Quality is save save save for primes or short zooms in the pro section of tamron, tokina, sigma and nikon

but if you want a good tele that has reach, has qood IQ and is light sensative , sell the house, buy a caravan stop eating at 3-5 star restaurants, sell the car for a diesel or low petrol consuming one .. and so i can continue

really the old 18-200 are better build than the new 18-200 that come on the market now (but that is with practically everything , it is a "oh it doesn't work anymore throw it a way consumption economy"

[PaulT]

Originally Posted by WayneF

Nothing else will do 18 to 200 mm of course, but my upgrade was the Nikon 16-85mm. Very pleased with it, esp its sharpness. Wish it were f/2.8.

I completely agree with everything Wayne said.

[KmH]

There is the AF 24-85 mm f/2.8-4D IF ($700, new).

The reason the 18-200 gets panned is because of the 10x+ zoom. To many compromises have to be made to go 10x on a DSLR zoom. The barrel distortion of the 18-200 is the worst of any mainstream lens.

[WayneF]

Originally Posted by KmH

There is the AF 24-85 mm f/2.8-4D IF ($700, new).

The reason the 18-200 gets panned is because of the 10x+ zoom. To many compromises have to be made to go 10x on a DSLR zoom.

I also have the 24-70mm f/2.8 and the 70-200mm f/2.8, and both are fabulous, but they are not 16mm, and they are not light weight. The 16-85mm is a great compromise when it is desirable to carry only one lens all day. Very sufficient, and 16mm DX is only 24mm FX, which is not extremely wide (is not at all "too much").

Yes, 18-200 is actually 11x+ zoom, which is a little too much. Both the 18-200 and 16-85 have VR, which can help the sometimes f/5.6 maximum (in some cases).

[shadowlands]

My copy doesn't suffer from too many of the above issues. To each his own. I've owned The Tamron 28-75 2.8, and my copy is just as sharp (believe it or not) and same distortion. I love the 11x zoom in one lens. It's something I wish I had many years ago. Again, to each his own...

[Brenda Read]

Nobody has said anything about the legendary 70-200mm F2.8 VR. It's one of Nikon's Magic Trio. I use my 70-200 more than any other lens.

Here are my opinions of Nikon's Magic Trio.
Nikon 14-24mm AF-S F/2.8
Nikon 24-70mm AF-S F/2.8
Nikon 70-200mm AF-S VR F/2.8 (My Fav)

If you want some great wide angle glass at a great price, check out the Tokina 11-16mm (No built in focusing motor... Not AF-S or HSM). It works great on the D80, D90 and D300. It's about 1,000 less than the above lenses and it gets great reviews.

I think you will love the D90. It's a huge upgrade from the D40.

You can also rent all of the above lenses from borrowlenses.com. It's a great way to try before you buy.

Good Luck : )