Nikon 18-200 VR behaves like a Dead duck

[tirediron]

No, there is no way around it. These lenses make a lot of compromises to give an 11x zoom ratio and not be the size of a house. Brighter ambient light and/or larger apertures will help to mitigate the problem slightly, but that's about it.

 

[Designer]

I am still looking for answer.

Please read the answers posted.

Its entirely one's wish whether he chooses to LEARN or not

 

[psran]

No, there is no way around it. These lenses make a lot of compromises to give an 11x zoom ratio and not be the size of a house. Brighter ambient light and/or larger apertures will help to mitigate the problem slightly, but that's about it.

Thanks that was the kind of answer I was looking for, I will have to invest more in Faster lenses if I want good photos in dark

 

[astroNikon]

I have a 18-105 and highly looked at the 18-200 (for outdoor sports). But I read about all the compromises, etc about the lense then decided against it.

I then thought of the 18-140. But then once again the compromises and it's a new lense and not on the used market yet. I'm actually holding out for a 80-200/2.8 AF-D to get what I need. Other than that for general use I still have my 18-105 VR and a few faster non-VR lenses for everything else. Of course now I've learned to add flash even to the top of the camera and not allow it to pop at full power, so the 18-105 is again useful inside instead of just an outside lens.

 

[TheLost]

What camera are you using? (Maybe i missed it)

You are expecting too much from that lens...

The AF speed on the 18-200 is fast.. super fast.. we're talking really fast.. in standard conditions!

In low-low light and high apertures (like if your zoomed out to 150mm @ +f/5.6) your camera will struggle with focus. Welcome to consumer cameras and zooms. If you don't like it you need to upgrade to a fixed f/2.8 lens and maybe a better camera (for example.. a D7100 will focus faster then a D3000)

 

[astroNikon]

Thanks that was the kind of answer I was looking for, I will have to invest more in Faster lenses if I want good photos in dark

as mentioned, add a top camera flash like a SB400, SB600, SB700
faster lenses help too.

 

[psran]

What camera are you using? (Maybe i missed it) You are expecting too much from that lens... The AF speed on the 18-200 is fast.. super fast.. we're talking really fast.. in standard conditions! In low-low light and high apertures (like if your zoomed out to 150mm @ +f/5.6) your camera will struggle with focus. Welcome to consumer cameras and zooms. If you don't like it you need to upgrade to a fixed f/2.8 lens and maybe a better camera (for example.. a D7100 will focus faster then a D3000)

I am using a Nikon D5100, don't know if I have a really bad copy of 18-200 with me. My previous 18-135 was real quick to Lock Focus

 

[KmH]

Focus is controlled in the camera, not in the lens.
The AF module is in the bottom of the camera and in the lens only gets part of the light from a scene.
The camera's main mirror has a section that is 50% transparent. The light that goes through that section is reflected down to the AF module by a smaller secondary mirror that is behind the main mirror.
So a minimum amount of light is required.
In addition to the camera's AF assist light, you can also use a flashlight to light a scene as a means to aiding auto focus.

Auto focus is not a be all to end all either, and there are situations where auto focus just will not work well. (see page 40 of your D5100 user's manual - Getting good results with auto focus.)

 

[Braineack]

I sold my 55-300 to get a 70-300 because I couldnt stand how slow the focus was...

 

[Derrel]

My idea would be to put the camera in AF SINGLE focus mode, and enable the AF assist lamp on a speedlight. The camera's focusing selector must be in SIngle focus mode for the AF assist system to work; that is a prerequisite with both Canon and Nikon d-slrs.

You did not mention how many AF areas you are using. With slower zooms like that one, having multiple AF points enabled can often be helpful on low-contrast or smooth targets. Having three, or nine AF points active, gives the camera multiple data points to read and analyze. Sometimes, especially when using just "one,single AF point", even the center cross-type point, the target is smooth, or low in contrast, and has very little detail for an AF sensor to "read", and so focus can be pretty challenging. Sometimes just rotating the camera a bit can help as well, which changes the angle of the detail in relation to the aF sensor.

 

[Tailgunner]

What is it that you want? You've had several good responses, and the simple fact is, you can only do so much with what you've got; you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear...

Please tell me, would posting the photos show how much time or effort did it take to click them.

I just wanted to know is there some way around Slow autofocus with a Lens like 18-200 and I am still looking for answer.

Its entirely one's wish whether he chooses to help or not

There is nothing you really can do. You need a faster lens for shooting in low light conditions such as indoors. Something with a 2.8 or smaller F-stop...aka larger Aperture. The 18-200VR is a great misc lens but you're going to need something like a 24-70mm 2.8, 28-70mm 2.8, 70-200mm 2.8, or 80-200mm 2.8. Another route would be to look into 3rd party glass like Sigma and Tamron.

 

[psran]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I have my AF assist on but the speedlight that I use does not have Af assist function so I have to rely on weak illuminator of camera itself.

I use Single, centre point focus in AF Single servo mode
The thing that is bothering me the most is missed focusses, my 18-135 even if slow sometimes never missed focus but 18-200 misses it very often Indoors and 50 f 1.8 gets it right 95% times

 

[cgipson1]

I would also like to clarify that I am using AF assist of camera but its too weak beyond 5-6 feet

A Nikon flash will have a more powerful AF assist ... highly recommended! That is one reason they cost more than the Yongnuos... they have more feature!

 

[TheLost]

I sold my 55-300 to get a 70-300 because I couldnt stand how slow the focus was...

The AF in the 18-200VR is just as fast as the 70-300VR.

If it makes you feel better.... My 70-200 f/2.8 doesn't focus in the dark either

 

[otherprof]

I think ordinary indoor lighting would count as low light. Your eye-brain combo reacts well to it because you know what things should look like - colors, etc. - but the camera only "knows" what it sees. It is like shooting under incandescent light. White things still look white to us, but the film (sigh) knows everything is red.