Nikon
55-200mm VR
© 2007
KenRockwell.com
Nikon 55-200mm VR. I'd get it here, here or here by itself. You also can get it as a kit with the D40x, but be careful: the kit listings I've seen don't specify the new VR version, but the photos and prices imply it probably is. It will take me a few days to clarify those. It helps me publish this site when you get yours from those links, too.
New: Compared to Nikon 18-200mm VR
Top Specs Performance Recommendations
I personally buy from Ritz, Adorama and Amazon. I can't vouch for any other ads.
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The Nikon 55-200mm VR is excellent and very inexpensive. It's the lens bargain of 2007 at about $230.
I now have one for a full review as of November 2007. Most of the below was written back in March. Now that I've finally gotten one but not had the time to write it up, let me say that sharpness and performance is extraordinary. A lens this inexpensive never used to have the right to be this embarrassingly good. VR works great; I can shoot at 1/30 at 200mm and get sharp shots without a tripod. Used on my new 12 MP D300 the shots are amazing!
This lens has VR, which makes it significantly better for hand-held use then most other tele lenses.
I'm addicted to Vibration Reduction (VR) because it's critical to getting sharp shots with telephoto lenses. VR eliminates camera shake, the biggest reason people get blurry shots with telephoto lenses.
Unlike most of the alphanumeric gibberish on lenses, VR is really, really important. VR can't stop your kids from moving, but it does a spectacular job of letting me shoot in the dim light I love without a tripod. See Why VR matters.
It zooms easily and precisely. The zoom range is well spaced, and VR works great. It focuses reasonably fast. It doesn't offer instant manual focus override: you have to move a switch, but hey, for the price, I'm not complaining.
Forget the old non-VR 55-200mm. This 55-200mm VR lens costs little more, and VR makes a huge difference with teles.
Compatibility: It's a DX lens, meaning it works best on Nikon's DX digital cameras. Considering its price, it's perfect for the D40, D40x and D80. D300 users might want something like the 18-200mm VR instead, although the optics of the 55-200mm VR are excellent regardless of price.
It will work fine on the D3 full-frame digital camera, but is out of character.
It appears to work at most focal lengths on film, although at 80mm all the corners are dark. At most other focal lengths the darkening isn't that bad, so long as you know you're not really supposed to use the 55-200mm VR on anything other than a DX digital camera.
See Nikon Lens Compatibility for more. This is a DX, an AF-S and a G lens.
Top Introduction Performance Recommendations
Name: Nikon calls this the Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G IF-ED AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor.
Focal Length: 55-200mm. Used on a digital Nikon it gives angles of view similar to what an 85 - 300mm lens would give on a 35mm film camera. See also Crop Factor.
Optics: 15 elements in 11 groups. One of them is made of ED glass.
Diaphragm: stops down to f/22 - 32
Close Focus: 3.6' (1.1m)
Filter Size: 52mm.
Construction: All plastic mount and barrel, glass optics.
Size: 2.9 around x 3.9" long (73 x 99.5mm)
Weight: 11.8 oz (335g)
Made In: China. It's very well made; see Quality Made in China. Actual shipping versions may be made someplace else, for instance, my 18-200mm is made in Japan and later ones have come from Thailand.
Price: $249.95 MSRP
Nikon Product Number: 2166, in catalog as of spring 2008.
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Nikon CL-0918 pouch and HB-37 hood.
Included Accessories: Caps, CL-0918 flexible lens pouch and HB-37 bayonet hood.
Announced: March 5th, 2007
Available Since: April, 2007
Top Introduction Specs Recommendations
Focus: the front ring rotates, but the filter mount doesn't. Focus is internal. It's reasonably fast but I didn't try to track motion.
Oddly, if I'm way out of focus at 200mm, my D300 may not be able to figure out which way to focus and simply may not focus! If this happens, all I have to do is zoom out to 55mm, let the D300 focus back to reality, zoom back in and refocus.
Zooming: Easy and uniform at several centimeters per octave. Thank goodness there is no congestion at either end of the focus range: nothing gets bunched up so it's always easy to set the exact composition you desire.
VR: Vibration Reduction (VR) will lead to substantially sharper images compared to ordinary lenses without VR. I hand held a prototype at 1/20 second; I'm unsure how much better the production model will work and what I'll see when viewed at 100% vs. what I saw with in-camera playback. See Why VR Matters.
Top Introduction Specs Performance
Get one! It's the best deal in telephotos today. Canon has nothing similar; their 70-300mm IS costs $550. I don't see anything similar with IS or VR from Tamron, Tokina or Sigma either in this price range.
Everything else without VR just went obsolete. Obsolete doesn't mean discontinued; obsolete means that other products just became irrelevant or uncompetitive.
If this 55-200mm VR isn't good enough for you, your next best choice gets much bigger and more expensive. You'd need the $500 70-300mm VR, the $1,500 80-400mm VR or the $1,600 70-200mm f/2.8 VR, and none of them focus as close. VR is that critical, for me anyway, so I'd not shoot with anything other than this 55-200mm VR, one of the others, or my 18-200mm VR.
I get my goodies at Ritz, Amazon and Adorama. It helps me publish this site when you get yours from those links, too.
PLUG
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Ken