JUst bought the Hummer of cameras and Mcgiver of Lenses

scyzoryk_o4

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Hey, so i just bought a Used Nikon D200 and a new 18-200 VR lens. For the last little while ive been in the market for a new camera to upgrade from my film Zenit... I was thinking of buying a sony A350 with the kit lens when i noticed Henrys had a used Nikon 200 for 1000$(cdn) on sale. I was sold the second i took the magnesium body in my hands with its ultra ergonomic controls. I figured i mite as well get a decent lens, so i got the 18-200 lens which has preformed just amazing in every situation so far..just like Mcgiver :)
So anyways im just posting to say this combo of lens and camera is absolutely amazing and definitely made my switch from film to digital exciting, even though i still carry my old zenit:heart: around just in case
 
The much maligned Zenit was an excellent camera. With typical Soviet efficiency they reckoned mostly you'd shoot between 1/15 and 1/500th and would otherwise use B. They didn't bother with other shutter speeds. To be honest, they were dead right. The screw mount lens was slower to change but was pretty darned good. I started with Praktika and Zenit SLRs but then moved via Pentax to Nikon.

Sounds like you have a great deal there.
 
I hate to tell you this but you did not get a "decent" lens. You got an overpriced marginally sharp lens that is priced for the "all in one" feature rather than image quality. You did get a great body though why not return the lens and get a couple of fast primes for the same price. I really don't mean to be so down but I feel it is my duty as a Nikon devotee to steer people away from products that make them (Nikon) look bad.
 
I kinda agree with JIP, but in terms of versatility you really cant beat this lens with any other lenses currently in production.
 
If you're happy with the lens, then keep it.

Having other people make decisions for you, or holding something of yours to their standards, will only make you unhappy.


I for one am VERY jealous! I hope you take tons of great shots with your new setup (it shouldn't be hard)!
 
Congrats on the Nikon. You will be more than pleased.
 
Congratulations, scyzoryk_o4! Enjoy!

Don't let the criticism on this lens spoil your joy.
It is a good lens, a very good all-rounder.

There will always be a sharper lens... Even if you'd have purchased
the terrific 70-200 f/2.8, there would still be another lens, within that
range, which is a bit sharper.

While super-sharpness is good for some photographs, it is not an
advantage in others (portraits is one example), and the 18-200 shouldn't
be considered as bad, just because some sharper lenses exist.
IMO, it is a mistake to judge a lens by sharpness only, and forget the rest
of the factors.
The 18-200 is not that bad at all. I have sharper lenses, but the 18-200
is on my camera most of the time.

The 18-200 would allow you to take very nice pictures from (effectively)
28mm to 300mm, without changing lenses, and at a very reasonable price.

In time, with pictures accumulated, you'll know which range – or ranges –
of focal length(s) attract you more (wide, mid-range or Tele).
It'll give you a good clue as to which lenses you would like to focus on
in the future.

For me, the 18-200 has often made the difference between capturing a
moment, or missing it altogether, if I'd have had to delay to change a lens.

One tip: As it extends quite a long way forward at 200mm, it gets
mechanically weaker. When extended, it is sensitive to a knock
from the side, so always twist it back to its short length when you
don't use the longer focal lengths.

(And – use the histogram. Push it to the right, just short of having it
pile-up against the right side of the graph.)
 
Its worth noting that supposedly the 18-200 has the best VR of any lens made right now. It can, once again supposedly, compensate for 3-4 stops worth of movement. That's CRAZY! With that, you could use it indoors NO PROBLEM (even if it doesn't have low apertures)!

BTW, my source is not from Nikon, either. I don't remember the magazine, but they did tests, and it came out on top.
 
Congrats on the purchase. The D200 really is a weapon of a camera, so there will be no excuses :). You'll have a lot of fun with that combo.

Best of luck.
 
I hate to tell you this but you did not get a "decent" lens.

Well technically Mcguiver wasn't decent either. He was an older middle aged man who kept getting himself in deep ****, but his versatility always got him out of it. Actually this is one of the best descriptions of this lens I've heard!
 
Well technically Mcguiver wasn't decent either. He was an older middle aged man who kept getting himself in deep ****, but his versatility always got him out of it. Actually this is one of the best descriptions of this lens I've heard!

Oh man, I had to do this

If we replace "McGuiver" with 18-200 VR
and we replace "Versatility" with Photoshop

let's see if we have a good description

Technically The Nikon 18-200 VR wasn't decent either. He was an older middle aged lens who kept getting himself into soft focus, but his PHOTOSHOP always got him out of it.

RIGHT on.
 
You will love the camera and the lens is fine as well. If you out grow it you can just get another lens. I have the D200 and it is great.If youwant to see pictures taken with it look on the nikon site or on photosig critic site and hit D200 gallery and it will blow you away.
 
I hate to tell you this but you did not get a "decent" lens. You got an overpriced marginally sharp lens that is priced for the "all in one" feature rather than image quality. You did get a great body though why not return the lens and get a couple of fast primes for the same price. I really don't mean to be so down but I feel it is my duty as a Nikon devotee to steer people away from products that make them (Nikon) look bad.

yeah, you went bad on that lens. . .
 
If you love your lens it will be great even though it's not!

For christ's sake did I accidentally end up in a Care Bears forum?
 

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