Railfan Technology > NIkon 18-200 or 18-300

I'm thinking about getting either a Nikon 18-200 or 18-300 lens. I'm shooting a D7000. Anyone have any railfan experience with these lenses?

Bradley Linda
Waco, TX

I also shoot with a D7000. My "standard lens" is the Nikon 18-105mm which I like very much. The best lens that I have purchased for the D7000 is the 70-300mm AF-S Nikkor f4.5-5.6 G ED VR. It's actually a full frame lens and sells for as little as $450. It's remarkably sharp and produces brilliant photos. Most of the Nikon shooters in my circle of friends have bought this lens and love it.

Two of my friends had the 18-200 DX VR zoom that you asked about. I say "had" because both of them had their lenses fail. They could not be repaired.

I recently bought the new Nikkor 18-140mm DX zoom that comes as the kit lens with the D7100. I usually sells for around $600 but I manged to find one on sale for $450. It too is sharp and produces good colour. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get a level photo with it. I gone back to using my 18-105 that I am more comfortable with.

Re: the 18-300mm. I would be suspicious of any lens that tries to cover such a wide range of focal lengths. There must be either compromises in its design that produce serious distortion or a lack of sharpness at some focal lengths.

Have you looked at the lens reviews at www.kenrockwell.com or www.dxomark.com/lenses?

KG

I love my 18-200 Nikon VRII lens also on my D7000. It is the only lens I have ever used on the camera.

Sneebly

I have used the 18-200mm lens on a Nikon D90 for about 18 months and am extremely happy with it. On a DX body, it is the equivalent of 27-300mm and is sharp at all focal lengths. I have no experience with the 18-300mm lens but have read reports that sharpness falls off toward 300mm.

I will second the Nikon 70-300 lens. I absolutely love it and it is very sharp even at 300. Worked great on my D90 and now my D600. It is a draw back that it does not go below 70, but that is the lens I use most of the time. I have the 24-80 lens for close in use.

Gary

Posted from iPhone

I have the 18-105 on my D7000 now, and also have the 55-200VR. There are times where I quickly need more punch than the 105 can give, but don't have time to swap lenses in the field. The local camera/electronics shop is dropping their cameras, I'm hoping to get a decent deal on an 18-200. Appreciate the info.

I have used both. The 18-200 VR was replaced with the 18-300 VR when it would no longer focus at any length beyond 135 mm. From what I can find on the net this is a common issue with the 18-200 VR. The 18-300 works as designed and I haven't noticed any issues with softness at the longer focal lengths. Some examples http://www.flickr.com/photos/37012815@N06/13231925324/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/37012815@N06/13173796474/

Just my 0.02, but if you are looking for an all-in-one for convenience, don't rule out the Tamron 18-270. I am very pleased with mine.

Keep in mind that any "super zoom" will have compromises somewhere in its' performance, Nikon or otherwise.

If you watch for rebates, you can pick up the Tamron 10-24 and 18-270 for the price of the Nikon 18-300 - or less I have both of the Tamrons, and have nothing bad to say about them.

All that said, if I am doing "serious" shooting, out comes the Sigma 70-200 f2.8 EX and it's companion 2X.