18-200mm VR Best all around lens?

[KansanShooter]

Looking for a good all around zoom lens for nature and landscape shots. While researching different lenses..I saw a article by Ken Rockwell praising the Nikor 18-200mm*VR*lens. Said its all he uses now besides a 12-24mm. This is a quote from that article." My 18-200mm*VR*is more than just a new lens. It's changed the way I live and make photos."*I have a*D5100*and I think this may just fit the bill.What are your thought on this lens? Feel free to post pics if you have shot using this lens. Thanks.

 

[SCraig]

If Ken Rockwell says one thing that's a good enough reason for me to do the opposite. There are a few nuggets of wisdom on his web site, but most of it I disagree with.

My walkaround lens is my Nikon 70-300 however seldom is anything I shoot very close. If it is I take my Sigma 17-70 as well.

 

[jwbryson1]

I agree with Scott re: Ken Rockwell, but I do happen to own the 18-200mm lens and find that the quality of photos that I get out of it are generally very good to excellent. But, it's a pretty slow lens, suffers from lens creep a LOT which is very annoying, and may not be the **best** lens for generally carrying around.

 

[tirediron]

The question to ask yourself is: What need(s) do I have that this lens will fulfill? "Swiss-army" lenses (all-in-ones) do a lot of things, but they don't don't do any of them especially well. One of the main reasons to own an interchanable lens camera is to change the lenses. Sticking to a one-solution-fits-most type of lens means you're losing a lot of that power. If you give us a description of what sort(s) of photography you enjoy and what your budget is, we may be able to suggest alternatives.

 

[KansanShooter]

So what we be a good zoom lens for shooting nature, wildlife, and landscapes from a distance? What would be a good wide angle lens for the same?

 

[o hey tyler]

If Ken Rockwell says one thing that's a good enough reason for me to do the opposite.

This. ^^^^^^

 

[o hey tyler]

So what we be a good zoom lens for shooting nature, wildlife, and landscapes from a distance? What would be a good wide angle lens for the same?

I hear the 70-300VRII is good. The tokina wide angle lenses are also pretty good. I'd start looking there. Sigma also has a 10-20mm.

 

[colnago1331]

So what we be a good zoom lens for shooting nature, wildlife, and landscapes from a distance? What would be a good wide angle lens for the same?

As Tyler noted, the Nikon 70-300mm VR lens is a great, "inexpensive" zoom lens for shooting wildlife and nature from a distance. I've seen these used for around $400, if not less. For wide angle/ultra wide angle, nothing beats the Nikon 10-24mm IMHO (except maybe the Nikon 12-24mm, which has a more "professional" build but loses 2mm on the wide end). That said, I've also heard good things about the Tokina 11-16mm Pro DX, but with a D5100 you'll want to be sure to get the II version, which has an internal focus motor.

 

[KansanShooter]

Thanks everyone. Gonna have to check out the 70-300mm I guess.

 

[jrizal]

Make sure it is the AF-S version and not the AF G version. The latter is around around $150 and has so-so performance.

 

[jwbryson1]

Thanks everyone. Gonna have to check out the 70-300mm I guess.

OP, for the record, if you are afraid of buying an "off brand" lens for your D5100 to save some $$, please do not fear the Tokina. I own 2 of them and they are built like a TANK. Superb optics and great value. Much cheaper than Nikkor.

 

[Rafterman]

do not fear the Tokina.

Totally agree. I love my 12-24mm. It's a fantastic lens for landscapes and architecture. If you want ultra-wide on a DX, there is none better IMO.

24mm and 12mm respectively

 

[greybeard]

If you to with a Tokina, make sure it is the model with an internal focusing motor as the D5100 requires it.

 

[bc_steve]

So what we be a good zoom lens for shooting nature, wildlife, and landscapes from a distance? What would be a good wide angle lens for the same?

I hear the 70-300VRII is good. The tokina wide angle lenses are also pretty good. I'd start looking there. Sigma also has a 10-20mm.

Great recommendation.

I have the Tokina 11-16mm and it is excellent. I use it a lot and the fact that it's f/2.8 is handy for night shots. It was somewhere between $600-700 new (canada)

I also have the Nikon 70-300VRII ($445 new in canada). I think it is one of the best inexpensive telephoto zooms out there, definitely better than their 55-300. It does leave me wanting more but I really don't think you could do better for the price. It is still reasonably sharp at 300mm but does suffer from chromatic aberration (for the most part fix-able with PS) at the edges.

Here's a picture I took with it at 300mm f/8, ISO 320:


I plan to upgrade to a better telephoto at some point but this lens fits my needs until that happens. Its widest aperture is 5.6 at 300mm, which is okay since I usually prefer f/8 anyways but a faster lens would probably auto-focus better and combine better with a teleconverter.

 

[TheLost]

Ken Rockwell makes his money from his site. That's why everything is 'the best ever' and every page has hundreds of links to buy from. He makes money every time you click a link from his site.

Ken Rockwell doesn't think you should shoot RAW. Jpeg is good enough.

Ken Rockwell wants you to lower the quality settings on your camera. Why should you shoot to the full capabilities of your camera. Set the image size to small and your good to go.

Ken Rockwell is strange... Where do Babies Come From? or AnalProbe.org (he has other pages up.. those are the ones i remember.. google will find you more).

Ken Rockwell has good advice every once and a while ... but there are better people to get advice from on the internet then Mr. Rockwell (IMHO).