Lens AF-S NIKKOR 18-200MM 1 3.5-5.6 G ED

[lucien]

I bought this lens on the recommendation of Mr. Rockwell, Ken. I wanted an lens with a wide range. Mr. Rockwell raved about this lens on his review board. I have this lens and it's giving me a hard time. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. What is the sweet spot? ie f5.6-f9? When should I use active/normal? when should engage vr? It's larger cousin is perfectly fine AF-S NIKKOR 70-300MM 1:4.5-5.6. Should I imitate the setting I use for that lens when using this lens?

thanks in advance,

or direct me to a link with a different reviewer

 

[lucien]

This one shouldn't be that blurry? let's assume I had vibration reduction on.

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[AlwaysOnAuto]

Are you letting it auto focus?

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I had the same lens on my D80 & later D7000. When I first put it on the D80 I couldn't get a decent picture to save my life until I read up on how the auto focus worked on the camera. After that it was a piece of cake getting sharp pictures.

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

Take a picture of a black line printed on white paper and shoot it in both the landscape and portrait orientation focusing on the line. That should help you understand how the camera focuses.

 

[lucien]

yeah I use back button the AEL button. And single point, because technically it's a stationary subject. I'm not trying, to capture action. So it's me not the lens. It's a good lens? I will give it another shot. And how do have the lens set up. Aka sports/ stationary objects etc.


Thanks

 

[lucien]

lol a test chart? There is one on the side of fridge. Gracias

 

[lucien]

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Venus is off as well. Shutter shouldn't be a problem with vr. Maybe I should shoot it more? Because I like the range.

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

You could always look up fine tuning the focus of that lens to your D7500.

 

[lucien]

Fine tuning a zoom is a royal pain in the a..............

but thanks,

Are you suggesting I shoot a focus chart from 18mm all the way to 200mm let's say in 50mm increments? Then take it from there? Could do that. And if that's not the issue. Then user error. Got it.

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

No need to go to all that trouble. Just shoot the chart, landscape then portrait focusing on a well defined line horizontal then vertical. You'll find your camera is blind to one of the two orientations and thus can't focus properly.

 

[lucien]

Gracias Senor, I will give that a shot.

Thank you for the tip

 

[ac12]

I have the 18-140, which replaced the 18-200.

• I keep VR ON, ALL THE TIME.
• Check that your front and rear elements are CLEAN. Just like my glasses, I've seen some pretty dirty lenses, so I no longer ass-u-me that the photographer cleans their lens.
• VR only compensates for YOUR motion. It does NOTHING for subject motion.
• In the top pic, if VR was OFF, at 200mm, you should be shooting at 1/500 sec. Presuming decent shooting technique/
• I would check AF fine tune at the long end first, as DoF is shallowest at the long end.
• The 18-200 is an OLD lens. I remember reading about it around 2005. So, presuming that you bought it used, there could be usage damage that affects the focus. So you should check that it does focus well.

 

[lucien]

the chart is mounted.
vr will be on
shutter 1/500 @ 200mm
will need flash, indoors (flash synch caps at 1/250) problem
F8
I'll do 50mm and 200mm

**** There us another button on that lens. Active/Normal would that affect anything. Active must be for panning and sports

 

[Coksic]

Vr tends to break on these things, so, do check if it actually works. I think you should stop down this lens @200mm - even beyond f9, for it to be sharp. I wanted to buy a used one, and I could barely find a copy with a working VR!

 

[lucien]

Mladen, how will I know if the vr works. Drop shutter speeds? What is the limit handheld @200mm? Try like 1/100 ? If it's the vr the case would be solved. Elementary

 

[AlwaysOnAuto]

I've always considered sharp focusing and VR two different issues.

What you seem to lack is an understanding of HOW your camera/lens auto focuses. Once you understand that you should be able to get sharp pictures whether or not the VR is working.

Just MHO of the problem here.

 

[ac12]

the chart is mounted.
vr will be on
shutter 1/500 @ 200mm
will need flash, indoors (flash synch caps at 1/250) problem
F8
I'll do 50mm and 200mm

**** There us another button on that lens. Active/Normal would that affect anything. Active must be for panning and sports

Do a Google search on "Auto Focus fine tune."
There are some good articles and instructions on doing it. But there are some garbage that you have to sift through.

Do the AF fine tune with the camera on a tripod, and VR OFF.
If you don't have constant lights that you can put on the target, do the test OUTDOORS where you have plenty of sunlight. Don't confuse things with a flash.

 

[Coksic]

Mladen, how will I know if the vr works. Drop shutter speeds? What is the limit handheld @200mm? Try like 1/100 ? If it's the vr the case would be solved. Elementary

I guess, that would be one way. Set the lens at some longer focal length and use slower speeds interchangeably with VR on and off. You should have much more ''keepers'' with VR on (if it's working). The limit at 200mm is supposed to be at least 1/400 of a second (without VR) and with still subject.
I don't think the first image is badly focused. The problem is shutter shake, and/or bad image quality at a given aperture. Strong light and contrast don't help with aberrations. Second image might be front focused, if my eyes don't deceive me.

 

[John King]

Like the Olympus FTs 18-180 and mFTs 12-200, I would not recommend this lens to my worst enemy. Sorry, Lucien.

It has vastly different optical quality at different FLs and different apertures.

I also wouldn't take Ken Rockwell's word for anything ...