New "walkabout lens" for Nikon DSLR (D90)

[andy tims]

I’ve been thinking about upgrading my general use lens for a while. I’ve had my Nikon 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5 for several years & apart from the lack of reach it’s been a very good work horse, producing good, sharp images paired with my D90 (and before that a D40). I also have a Nikon 55-200mm f4.5-5.6 VR that I occasionally take with me, but I don’t make that much use of it.

So after a bit of research I’ve come to the conclusion that the Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 VR is what I should go for. I’d probably buy pre-owned and look to partially off-set the cost by selling both the 18-70 and the 55-200.

Most of the reviews I’ve read, are very good, so does anyone think I’d be making a mistake, or have overlooked a better option?

Thanks in advance.

 

[rjbell]

There is no better large zoom on the market. I wouldn't call it an upgrade though. IQ wise i wouldn't imagine there is much in it, they are just convenient, not needing to switch lenses. You're only going to save 165g in camera bag weight too.

 

[simonblue]

If you want an all round lens ,it has had very good reviews.

Their a mk-I and a mk-2 i dont feel their a lot of diffrent in PQ,but the mk-II does have a zoom lock,as this lens does creep a bit

 

[gad-westy]

I'd say you're going to lose a little sharpness against your current lenses (marginal though). You may also gain a bit of distortion and you'll have to put up with some zoom creep if you go for the 18-200 VR1 version.

I'm making this sound a little negative and truth be told I'm not a fan of superzooms, however the 18-200 is the best that I've used. I was very impressed with it indeed but you're potentially replacing two of Nikon's best consumer zooms so it's a tough call.