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I will be upgrading to the D300 in the future. I currently shoot a D40 with a 70-300 VR. Is there anyone out there who shoots with the 18-200? Does it do the trick for aviation? I am looking to expand my photographic areas but reduce equipment.
Also, can the 18-200 be used with a teleconverter?
No, the 18-200 can't be used with a teleconverter, the rear of the lens extends so far that the two pieces of glass would touch. This is not exactly a happy thing. Regarding the 18-200, some people love it. You have to trade sharpness for convenience, but I know there are some who disagree and will be here sooner or later to say why. Between the two lenses, I'd say the 70-300 is a lot better.
The 18-200 is a typical carry around lens. It is quite soft at 200mm (compared to your current 70-300) and shows some distortion, purple fringing etc. all over the zoom range. If yxou do lots of ramp work with a constant need for different zomm ranges, but mostly not above 135mm, then the lens is good for your needs.
If you want it for planes on approach and would use the 200mm a lot, then it is better to keep the 70-300 and add a 18-135 or 18-70.
Nikon 70-300 VR is much better lens for plane spotting. I was shooting planes also with Nikon 18-200 VR. It was ok but I think 200 mm on many airports isn`t enough.If want to see my pictures taken with 18-200 Vr lens look at my pictures from Dublin from year 2007.
The 18-200 is a good utility lens if it is used correctly. I use it for tarmac and close up work. However if i was going to spend a lot of the time out at 150mm to 200mm then you need a different type of lens. I use the 70-200 f2.8 (with the occasional TC), and the 300mm f4. Here are some examples from the 18-200.
I own the 18-200 and use it with the D300 for aviation photography.
What can I say about it? It's a very, very convenient lens. You can use it for wing shots, terminal shots, it's perfect for night shots, gate shots and side-ons with the sun in your back. It is also a very handy lens for your average sun vacation beach shots. I use it almost all the time.
However, when the going gets tough it shows flaws like minor colour fringing and it is not extremely sharp at 200mm but still very acceptable when stopped down.
It once broke down on me on a spotting trip far away from home and I had to "repair" it in my hotel room by throwing it on my bed out of frustration after which the lens started working again miraculously. But maybe that is exemplary
Out of 10 I would give this lens a 7.5 for optical quality and a 9.5 for convenience.
Billsville: Those pictures are disgustingly good...nice work.
Thanks. As I said, treat it okay and you'll get the shots, push it and you will get bitten. Any lens with that larger zoom range isn't going to do anything fantastically well.
But with the D300 and the VR in the lens it surely is a good all around combo.
What do you guys think about the D90? I'm doing some research and it sounds like it shares a lot of the same qualities as the D300. Does anyone have any experiance with it?
I recently upgraded from my D80 to a D300, and have both the 18-200 VR and 70-300 VR lenses. As already said by Stefan, the 18-200 is soft above about 150 mm (although in my lense only at the left side). So I use this one when I am at the panoramma terrace at AMS and take ramp shots. When I go out to the runway, I take the 70-300.
Some examples
18-200: [photoid=6454610]
70-300:[photoid=6450814]
[photoid=6455191]
I am very pleased with them, this suits my needs. A guy I know uses the d300 with the fixed Nikkor 300 mm and that lens is better. But I prefer the zoom
What do you guys think about the D90? I'm doing some research and it sounds like it shares a lot of the same qualities as the D300. Does anyone have any experiance with it?
You get the senor and image processing system from the D300 and the AF from the D200. And you get the movie mode which might be handy. If my D200 would fail today, I would replace it with a D90.
You get the senor and image processing system from the D300 and the AF from the D200. And you get the movie mode which might be handy. If my D200 would fail today, I would replace it with a D90.
The d90 you get the same AF like the D80!!!!! No AF C with sharpnes prio! The D200 have that!
To topic The D300 works very well with the Nikon 18-200VR i use it by my self to get shots from statik display or night shots or parking plans.
For the rest I take my Nikon 80-400VR the AF is not so fast than AF-S bur fast enough.
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