My 18-200 VR bit the dust

ippoic

TPF Noob!
Joined
Dec 6, 2009
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
In a fit of carelessness, augmented by the presence of a large, dumb dog, my Nikon 18-200 is currently out of commission. I'm dropping it off tomorrow to determine how much it will cost to fix it. I'm assuming it won't be cheap.

Regardless of the price, however, I'm a juncture in my photography. After shooting on that lens for nearly 3 years, its well-documented issues are finally starting to bug the hell out of me and I was contemplating replacing it in the near-future.

I shoot all over the place, so I'd like to replicate a lot of the focal length that I have right now.

Here's what's been recommended to me thus far:

Tamron 17-50mm
Nikkor 16-85 mm
Tamron 70-200mm
Nikkor 70-300 mm

Are there any other lenses I should be considering? Though I'd eventually love to get a super-wide lens (like the Tokina 11-16mm or Sigma 10-20) I don't have the budget for three lenses right now. I can afford to spend about $1300 - $1400 and, while I'd like to replicate the ranges that I had before, my interest in upgrading would be to improve image quality.
 
Noyze sure did speak highly of his Sigma 18-250mm lens....

If I'm going to replace one all-in-one lens with another, I would think it makes more sense to just get the 18-200 repaired
 
I love the Nikon 70-300. A friend of mine shoots with that lens; and I'd like to get one someday. He has probably close to a million shots on it too. Of course it's been repaired twice for focusing issuses. However, it's been a durable lens!

I'd see how much it's going to cost to fix the 18-200 though; might not be as bad as you think.
 
The Tamron 17-50 is supposed to be great. I have the Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 and it's excellent. Nice and sharp, even wide open. Runs about $420. The build quality isn't robust, but if you want that you'll have to go Nikkor.

The zoom telephoto will be your most expensive portion. You can pick up a used Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8 AF-D for around $800.

Both of those will fit in your budget and are a huge step up in terms of image quality. Plus they're f/2.8 lenses, so you have some lower light capability there.
 

Most reactions

Back
Top