Nikon 18-200 VR vs. Sigma 18-200 OS Lens

[Roger_Martin]

I got one of the first DX 18-200 AFS-VR lense. It was made for the D200. As a compact travel lense, it cannot be beat. Also the glass is amazingly good.

The price is to cheap and they had to compromise build quality to make up for it. The lense is very fragile.

At the second shoot we had more than the normal barrell creep. The lense came apart with the front section falling in the dirt.
I sent it back to Epperson Photo who promised to replace it. They should have done what they said and sent it to the manufacture, giving me the next new one. Instead they made the misstake of sending the lense to the El Sugundo repair facility. They claimed their usuall "impact damage" and wanted to charge me for a defective lense. It took a lot of hassle and almost two months to get the lense back without paying for it twice. Epperson lost one of their best customers.

Finally back, and dedicated to the D200 once again. The lense perfomed flawlessly 18-200 for almost one year of professional use. Then we got the D300. The lense soon did not work as well and then failed to autofocus from 80-200. I tried it on a D2X with similar results and it is now in New York were Nikon service (always exemplanary there) has promised to fix it free.

I still like the glass and if a Pro Build FX f/2.8 version comes out , I will gladly pay twice the price as it would soon be dedicated to one of our D3s.

[DickOLeary]

Charles,
I have been using the Nikon 18-200 since it first came out and have been extremely pleased with the performance. The attached photo is one from a series of Osprey pics that were taken hand held using Nikon D200 and 18-200 mm lens.
f 8, 1/1250, aperture priority, ISO 400, focal length 170, Pattern Metering.
I would recommend this lens to anybody looking for a sharp, light, lens for outdoor photos.

[Charles_Hubbard]

Beautiful photo! What VR setting do you normally use, Normal or Active?

[DickOLeary]

Hi Charles, sorry I haven't replied earlier. I keep the VR on Normal.

[MikeOJohnson]

See here: 18-200mm AF-S DX VR Lens Review by Thom Hogan

Mike

[MikeOJohnson]

Here is a review of the Nikon: Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S VR DX Lens Review: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review

Mike

[captionsoflife]

Hello,
I have the Nikon 55-200mm VR lens ($249.95) and I absolutely love it. The only time I really use it - is sports and low lighting situations. (which, btw, is great.. I did a portrait session with two children under three in low lighting - exposure was 1/25 a second and the lens made my subjects perfectly clear) when I tried the same thing with the 55-200 NON vr lens, almost every image is out of focus.

Anyway, it sounds like the 18-135 Nikon Dx lens you had bought was defective as is... if your worried about something going wrong, then I would suggest buying your lens from Ritz Camera and purchasing their ESP. They extended service policies cover everything except fire and theft. (Yes, even damage you intentionally caused) If they can't fix the problem, they replace it. IE: I had the D70s - fell at the river and completely destroyed it with water damage. I brought the camera in with my esp and they replaced it with the D80. Can't complain about that one! lol...

Anyway, I hope that helped in your decision of what to do - even though I refrenced the 55-200 and not the 18-200. =)

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