Product Reviews:

   
Great general purpose lens, January 1, 2006
Reviewer: M. J. Redd

After I bought the D50--my first DSLR--I went on the hunt for a good all-around lens. I was upgrading from a fixed lens system with 10X optical zoom, so I would settle for nothing less than a lens with 10X zoom equivalent. Luckily, with the D50 having a 1.5x crop factor, a 200mm lens would fit the bill fine. I found this lens on Amazon, and things fell into place. The online reviews were usually very good, and doing a search on pbase.com for shots taken with this lens revealed some pretty impressive results. And best of all, the price didn't break the bank. I've since taken over a hundred shots with this lens at all focal lengths, and overall, I'm quite impressed. These are my finds.

As others have stated, the focus motor isn't exactly silent or quick. Thankfully, though, it isn't obnoxiously loud or slow, either. The motor noise is easily tolerable--unless you're spoiled by silent wave motors--and the focus speed only becomes an issue when it has trouble judging the subjet's distance. Then, of course, you wish the lens was a silent wave motor type, but the speed isn't unbearably slow. I haven't missed any shots yet because of it. When in doubt, set the focus switch to "Limit" to prevent it from scanning the entire focal range when you're using the long telephoto, or just switch over to manual focus if your hand is faster. Once it gets a good lock on your subject, the lens will very quickly compensate for recomposition if the change isn't drastic. Nine times in ten, the autofocus is sharp and right on the money. There is a slight falloff in image sharpness at 200mm, but it's nothing to pout about.

The ED elements result in shots that are virtually free of chromatic aberration. I say virtually because there is still minute color fringe on contrasting elements in the shot, in the right light conditions. Hey, no lens is absolutely free of it, and it's a drastic improvement over the aberration on many fixed lens systems.

Though the lens isn't macro rated, it might as well be. With a minimum focusing distance of just over a foot at full telephoto, who needs a macro lens?

My only real beef with this lens has been flare. I've gotten what I call "rainbow flare" when I compose the shot with brightly reflecting metal surfaces or when shooting in the sun's direction, but it's a non issue in all other situations. Again, it's impossible to find a lens that's completely free of it. Use the included lens hood to cut down on stray light rays. I surmise a polarizer filter would also help substantially with this problem.
Being a nature photographer, my true test for this lens will be shooting through the glass in zoo enclosures with a polarizer. It generally isn't a light hungry lens, but I haven't tried it with a polarizer yet. With any luck, I'll still be able to nail blur-free shots at maximum telephoto.
All in all, I am very happy with this lens. It provides all the reach I need, is easily portable (it's a wee bit heavy, but at least it's not a telephone pole on my camera body), and the optics are great. If only Nikon had built image stabilization into it, this lens would be darn near perfect.
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A good fit for your D70, December 7, 2005
Reviewer: Kaifu Wu

I was looking for a do-it-all lens after I bought my D70 and took a chance on this lens. At $300 it's a great bargain. Yes, the focus is rather slow -- and noisy -- but photographic quality is still good. For anyone starting out from scratch with a DSLR with a limited budget, I highly recommend this lens. Then you can use the money saved for an ultrawide lens like the nikkor 12-24G, Tokina 12-24, or Sigma 10-20.
Note, however, that if you can afford a $700+ lens, you may wish to wait for the upcoming Nikkor 18-200G VR.
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near-perfect everyday lens, May 18, 2005
Reviewer: Jessica Nauright

This lens gets along very well with my N75. I wanted a versatile lens that could go from wide-angle to telephoto, and that is exactly what this lens does. It is also extremely lightweight, extremely sturdy, and produces that classic Nikon background blur. (A pro or a con, depending on what you like.) The macro shots I've taken haven't disappointed me at all, they look very sharp to me---but I am a pretty casual photographer, and haven't played with many Nikon lenses. As a pretty casual photographer I can say that this is an ideal lens for long trips, especially backpacking---actually it's ideal for anyone who doesn't walk around armed with a tripod and/or multiple lenses. I tried the Tamron 28-300mm lens for Nikon, which does take very fine pictures, but even at 200mm I had a difficult time obtaining a really sharp image without a tripod.

This lens doesn't have silent focusing or vibration reduction. But it is 300 dollars.
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A very good "walk around" lens!, May 8, 2005
Reviewer: Capt RB - See all my reviews
I bought 28-200 G today to compliment the 50mm and 18-70 kit lens. I had some hope that the lens would be "good enough" and I'm very surprised at just how good this small lens is. I also tested the 24-120 VR. Call me crazy, but it seemed soft to me. When I got home I looked at the tests and the results from the VR lens were actually fine, so I think it was just the viewfinder. What really killed it for me was that 120 was just not enough reach (for me) for a really versatile walk-around lens. I took the 28-200 home and did some tests. This is a very nice lens. I found images very close in sharpness to the kit lens wide open. The near instant focus wasn't there of course (and missed!), but otherwise this is a lens that does a lot of things well. Focus was spot on and I tried some test macro shots fully zoomed in, also very nice. It's small and light and feels quite sturdy. At under 300 dollars it's a bargain that gives you all the reach you need in most cases. I couldn't see the point in waiting for the 55-200. It's simply starts too high for a walk-around all-in-one lens. I did more tests and shot a detailed object with the 28-200, 18-70 and the 50mm 1.8 all at 50mm at F6. The 28-200 was sharper than the kit lens! Samples may vary of course, but there's little doubt that the little 28-200 is nicely designed item that will also handle some macro work. Nikon also has a new 55-200mm on the way, but on a DSLR it'll be poor for a walk-around. I plan to add the 80-400 VR soon.
As others have said, the 28-200 may be a lens to live on the camera most days. If you're looking for a very nice all-in-one for that vacation or casual use, this lens delivers. Now if they make this lens a VR with the S motor we'd really be cooking!
Capt Robert B
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