AF-S DX Nkr 18-200mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

There have been a lot of reviews from guru to new users, so I am just try to cover some points from my 2 cents. I am a new DSLR user just purchased the D7000 with this lens. I did extensive research on the Internet prior to getting this combo. My goal is to get an intro lens while learning DSLR photography and it turn out to be a very good choice.First and foremost, there has to be some sort of compromise when it comes to any "all around" stuffs. I believed most of the negative comments I've seen here are due to the wrong expectations and lack of prior homework. This lens is in the consumer category and not designed to match those at the Pro level, both quality and price wise. And I think it does just that and some more.Basically, each and every lens have specific goals such as landscape, portrait or macro, etc. But I am not sure I am going to shell out thousands of dollar and keep changing lens, not to mention hauling the gears on vacations. I'll leave that to the Pros.One thing for sure, this lens beats any point and shoot camera hands down in terms of picture quality and even give you minor bokeh effects. So I am very happy with it. A side note, make sure you get it from an authorized dealer which will give you a 5-years warranty, Nikon is know to be strict with this.Update: tested with the "zoom creep" somebody complains about. There is no creeping up to around 50 degrees up or down. Lens does creep at straight up or down but that's normal consider the glass is heavy. By the way, good glass is heavy and give you nice pictures. Now, what are the chances that you might be shooting in those positions? At wide open or close (at 18mm or 200mm), lens appears as lock so does not creep. The only occasion I use to shoot straight up is for firework, but then I want to fill the frame with the firework action, which means it will at 200mm and the lens stays. If you get a copy that creeps below 45 degrees, you might get a bad copy.Update 2: After 3 months of owning this and taken it to weddings and landscape shooting, I can safely say this is indeed the best "all rounder". It performs very well and takes very sharp pictures 80% of the time. There is an issue with low light situations such as wedding dinner. You have two choices, get a prime such as 35mm f/1.8 or a good flash such as SB-700. With a little post processing in Adobe, you can achieve result very close to the pro level. For example, I can underexpose 2 full stops and fix it in Adobe later, that equivalent to f/1.8 from f/3.5, the lowest aperture of this lens. One more thing, I have spent awful lot of time to research and review the various lens (Nikon, Sigma & Tamron) in the past few months to figure out what if other lens I should get. I believe a lot of people are just too obsessed about the technical details and forgotten the other aspect of photography, composition, in my opinion carries a higher impact in the overall picture. By the way, if you were to compare simply the picture quality of this with wide, prime and zoom lens, that is not an apple to apple comparison. Prime lens tends to provide better quality within their own turf, with the trade off buying, carrying and changing lens all the time, not to mention the chance to miss the shot when you have to change lens.

I have been a photography enthusiast for many years, and a user of Canon and Nikon equipment since the days of the Nikon F. My comments are based on nearly 60 years of picture-taking, not lab tests. Though I have used a few lenses that may have done some particular thing better than the 18-200 VRII, this is by far the best all-around lens I have ever used. Presently my wife and I are using a D-60 and a D-90. About six months ago I bought the first 18-200 to use on the D-90, and my wife was using the D-60 with a Nikon 18-105 VR that was originally part of the D-90 kit. I feel that the 18-105 is a fine lens in terms of IQ, and is a compact design for it's range, but my wife was instantly coveting my 18-200VR. The extra reach makes a world of difference, and I believe the VR is more effective than that in the 18-105. We had a great opportunity to compare the VR capability on the violent Jungle Safari ride at Disney's Animal Kingdom. I was afraid the lurching, jouncing, swaying safari vehicle would make photography impossible, but we pressed on regardless. We were amazed that a majority of the shots were sharp and focused! Not always with the subject we had in mind, but we were also trying not to fall out of the truck! We examined these pictures carefully, and have the opinion that the "active" mode of VR on the 18-200 may have made a difference, though not by a huge amount. The higher performance of the D-90 relative to noise vs ISO may have also been a factor compared to the 18-105 on the D-60. Very impressive performance by both setups. Now you can go on vacation and take one lens.Needless to say, this "capability gap" could not continue, and I have since purchased a second 18-200 VRII for my wife's camera. If I had to be picky about anything, it would be the zoom creep. Both the 18-105 and my first 18-200 would creep if not retracted to 18mm. Yes, there is a zoom lock on the 18-200 VRII, but I rarely use it, as setting the lens to 18mm while walking around solves the problem. The second 18-200 does not creep at all, but may loosen up with time. We'll see. To me, this is in no way a deal breaker, but I felt I should mention it, since so many others have been critical of the creep. All I can say is, retract to 18mm and it will stay there. It's just not something you have to worry about. Image quality is so close to that of even my prime lenses as to be amazing for all that moving glass and machinery! Most distortions and CA's are taken care of in software, so are pretty much a non-issue. I use Photoshop, and Nikon Capture NX2, the latter being my preference in the ease-of-use department, and it understands the characteristics of the lens and camera. I even do a certain amount of pixel-peeping, and have never felt that the 18-200VR was lacking in any way. When I have a bad picture, it is the fault of the photographer, not the equipment.The pros:Focus is fast and accurate, even in poor light.Zoom range covers everything most folks will ever need.Image quality is fine throughout the zoom range.Compact for it's range.Is an absolute delight to use.The cons:Your sample may or may not creep, but so what?Though it's compact for this type of lens, it is still a lot to hang on the front of a D-40 or D-60. I asked my wife if she'd prefer a lighter lens. Not a chance!Conclusion:Would I buy another one? I already did!