Customer Ratings & Reviews

I keep this lens on my camera 95% of the time. A little heavier than the 18-55 but it's worth it. Great clarity in detail even hand held at 200mm.

The lens have very fast focus, takes clear pictures even on low light, the VR does well on long zoom and is not that heavy.

I was seeking a new zoom lens to replace my Nikon 55-200 VRi with my D7100. I didn't really need something wide (have the Tokina 11-20) and the research boiled down to this lens. It has not disappointed. It is a little on the heavy side but I don't mind that because to me it feels more well built than my very light and cheap feeling 55-200 it is replacing. The zoom ring is a bit tight and not consistent throughout the zoom and it will "creep" while you're carrying it unless you engage the handy lock switch. But these aren't huge deals for me. The image quality is very good, especially at higher F stops (8, 11, etc.). It does ok in low light too but of course the 35mm 1.8 or 50mm 1.8 are much better in these cases. I considered the newer 55-200 VRII but gave this a try when I found it on sale at BB. (I lucked out in that one of my local Best Buys was closing and some merchandise that was not going to the newer store was on sale at really good prices). At full price, I would probably say it would not be worth it as 3rd party lenses or the Nikon 55-200 would be a better buy...at least for what I use it for. It is nice to have that wide focal range but you pay for it and it may be quite heavy to use as an all day walk around lens. For the same $ (or most likely less), you can buy the Nikon 35mm or 50mm which give excellent image quality, are cheap, and very lightweight and the Nikon 55-200 which is also light, cheap, and has good image quality.

Some people say, I take a lot of pictures, I do. I use the 18-200 zoom on my camera of the day, as my everyday lens! I keep my D5200 at an arms length and this is lens I keep on it, to be ready for anything! The lens also works wonderfully on my D7100, for events such as weddings and high school reunions. This is the one lens, I just can't be without! Great size and weight but the results are the reason it is my main lens!

I am no professional, but this lens help me take better shots. i installed a polarizer filter and took great pictures on my recent carribean vacation.

Purchased lens with D7100, had a special sale and picked it up for $599. Takes great pictures, fast lens. It's an all around lens to use.

Used this lens for the first time and loved how the pictures turned out. I really like the big zoom range. Used a 55-200mm lens and didn’t like it as much because I didn’t have the ability to zoom out far enough if I wanted. The 18-200 is perfect for me and when I want something zoomed out and then the next second want something zoomed in.

This is truly a great all-purpose lens. I love the 18 inch focal distance and the ability to use wide angle as well as zoom. Using this lens I can truly never miss a shot!

I love this lens, I don't need to be changing lens

I bought this Nikon - AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II Standard Zoom Lens when it was on sale at Best Buy for $499.99 to be used as my general purpose, go to walk around lens. It has not disappointed whatsoever in that regard. I have been fully satisfied with the clarity, contrast, and color saturation of this piece of equipment. I am using it with my Nikon D70S and D3300 DSLR bodies. The ultra-sharp 24 mp sensor in the D3300 camera body will make or break a lens, and expose any flaws. This lens works well with both camera bodies. For a photography enthusiast like myself, this lens works very well for what I purchaced it for. The D3300 body is very light weight, so a lens like this one with with 16 pieces of glass in it will make a lightweight camera body feel a bit front-heavy. Unless you have severe arthritis in your hands and wrists, or are a nit-picker, it is a non-issue. This lens is a bit more balanced on my D70S, but that 6 mp body is rarely used anymore. As many other reviews have stated, there are compromises when such a range of zoom is implemented, so it will not be quite as sharp as a prime lens. The AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II will suffice for everyone but ultra picky pixel-peepers, or those who need a large aperture telephoto. Those large aperture pixel fanatics can go out and spend thousands on a lens and be happy, but for those of us who want a "near" professional results on a budget, this lens will not dissappoint. If I need to have a low-light lens for less than optimally lit indoor events, or "sharp as a tack" images, I rely on my $200 gem, a Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX. These two lenses will cover the needs of 99% of non-professional photographers. I did purchase a Hoya HMC UV filter for the 18-200mm to protect the objective lens glass and it has worked well to keep lens flare to a minimum. The lens creep which has plagued lenses like this one which have a lot of weight just in glass alone is not a major issue while taking photos. If I carry the camera strapped over my shoulder with the lens pointing down and do a lot of walking, the lens WILL slowly and eventually extend fully out. This is simply due to physics and gravity. That's where the 18mm lock button does its job to keep the lens fully retracted when not in use. It doesn't creep while I am composing shots, which is where it would be of most concern. The VR (Vibration Reduction) switch works well, and as intended. It is a must when using the long-end of the zoom range without a tripod. The VR can be shut off to save battery juice when in bright light and the zoom is below approximately 70mm zoom. If a small loss of battery time is not of a concern, then just leave the VR on all the time. If you are going to use a flash at wide angle zoom settings, you'll need a flash unit attached to the hot shoe to keep shadows from occurring. All-in-all, I have been very satisfied with the lens and the images it produces. I gave the lens a 5 star rating due to the quality to price ratio. If you need a lens that will stay on your camera most of the time, this is the one for you! The Nikon - AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II Standard Zoom Lens will satisfy the wide ranging needs of just about everybody but the aforementioned ultra picky pixel-peepers. They can spend their thousands of dollars for professional glass, but for the general population, prosumer equipment will suffice!

I couldn't believe how nice this lens was when I looked at the pictures it produced. I recently sold my D60 with the 18-55 and the 55-200 that the package included. I wanted an all purpose lens for my D7000. It's much heavier than the 55-200 but there's a lot more going on in there. This thing is tack sharp @ 200 with good light. If you are on the fence about getting this lens I'd say.....buy it, you probably won't be sorry.

The Nikon 18-200 vr lens is the lens I grab when I am going on vacation, to an event which I cannot control the distance of my subject. The vibration reduction allows me to shoot steadily even in low light and allows me to use the long end of the lens 200mm without a tripod. The Nikon 18-200 is also a very sharp lens built with excellent quality. I also own a Tamron 18-200 and the Nikon is built better and produces better pictures. When I go shoot family portraits, I shoot with my Nikon 24-70 and my wife uses the Nikon 18-200 vr for different angles and perspectives. The combination makes for some excellent photographs. If you want a one lens does all lens, this is it. A plus, is on the Vibration Reduction a switch that says active, it allows you to shoot clear pictures from a moving car. So when you are on vacation and see that beautiful scene that God provides so often, you can shoot it without stopping on the side of the road.

Took the lens on an Alaskan trip, to use with my d5000. I already owned the 18-55 and 55-200 lenses, but wanted to travel with a more compact arrangement. Not having to change lenses "on the fly" while out exploring let me capture both landscape panoramas, as well as the fast moving outdoor wildlife. There were several situations where, if I had to change lenses, I would have missed a shot. The lens is noticably heavier that the 18-55 or the 55-200, and it's built and feels more rugged, as well. If I could do it over again, I would have bought the d5000 body, with the 18-200, and not bought the two lens kit.

Be honest with yourself about what your intended use of this lens will be. If you're looking for a "do it all" lens then this is about as close as you'll get. If you're shooting high school sports events you may want to look at other options. This lens quickly drops to the 5.6 f stop setting when you start to zoom and in a gymnasium, theater or foot ball field you'll quickly feel the pinch of not enough light to maintain a reasonably fast shutter speed so the action doesn't get blurred. I've had this lens for nearly a year now and use it for about 75% of my shots. If I had it to do over again I would probably get an f2.8 zoom to better deal with low light situations.

Nikon did a great job with the 18-200mm lens. The lens covers a broad range and is generally light enough for carrying around anytime, anywhere to capture almost any situation. The 18mm wide angle gives you the option for sweeping panoramas, and the 200mm zoom (especially when combined with the ability of the Nikon D7100 to do a 1.3x crop, making the effective range over 250mm) is a very nice telephoto to have. For the price, you probably won't find a better lens that covers such a large optical zoom range. I was going back and forth between this and the 18-300mm that Nikon makes. I decided on the 18-200 for two main reasons... first, the 18-300 is heavy as heck, much worse than this guy (my mom has the 18-300 and holding it around my neck for even 10 minutes was a little taxing), and second, I honestly don't do much shooting beyond a 200mm range. If you need it, the extra 100mm for the price is not a bad deal at all, but from other reviews I've read, you start to run into vignetting and some sharpness issues at full zoom of the 18-300. If you're not in need of 300mm zoom and fine with occasionally using some digital cropping to enhance zoom, the Nikon 18-200 is a worthy buy.

For the amount you are going to spend on this lens. It is well worth it. You would have to spend a hell of a lot more to get a better lens then this one. The lens takes very sharp and contrasty photos. Works well in low light. Not 2.8 well. But very good. It can focus as fast as any lens I have ever used. Its small compact and a great walk around lens. The lens replaced my 24-120 vr. And I will never look back. The difference in picture quality is amazing. 18mm may not be wide enough. And 200mm may not be long enough. But for everything in between. This lens is perfect. It is a great compiment to my Sigma 10-20mm and Sigma 50-500mm. GET ONE!!! YOU WILL LOVE IT!!!

I think I own 10 lenses and this is still my go-to. I wish I'd bought the 18-300mm and skipped the 70-300mm, but hindsight is 20/20, and a lot of the shots I've taken with the 18-200mm I've been very pleased with. First, it eliminates the need for carrying around the 18-55mm and 55-200mm kit lenses, replacing them with a single piece of glass, rubber, plastic, and metal that will take sharper pictures faster in more conditions and in less time. If you can only afford one medium telephoto I recommend you consider this model. After taking over 9,000 photos with it last year I can tell you it still does a great job, "lens creep" has not become a problem, and it still focuses snugly, but never too-tightly. You won't get far-off shots of birds, but it does just about everything else really well for $600 or less.

Overall this is a good lens for the price. I wanted a one stop lens of sort and I'm very happy with this one. It's a great travel lens because you don't have to swap out lens since this covers most situations. I took it to a recent vacation with the family to D.C. and was extremely happy with the pictures I took with it. I definitely would recommend this lens to anyone. At first the camera did feel a bit heavy but it's because I was use to using a smaller lens but after a couple of minutes holding and shooting you get use to it. As noted by several other reviews it's an overall good lens. I definitely recommend it.

Very good all around lens. My go to lens now. My go to lens was an 18-105, but the bayonet connecter was plastic and broke. This lens has the same specs with a longer zoom. Plus it has a steel bayonet, which is a real bonus for the size of the lens. 85% of the shots I take are with this lens. Excellent buy!!!!

Very good all-purpose lens. I am lazy and hate changing lenses - thus perfect for me. The only drawback I can find is it's a bit on the weighty side. Be that as it may, my 18-55mm and Tamron 70-300mm I now leave at home in a drawer.