Nikon Nikkor AF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G IF-ED VR II DX

I bought this 11x zoom as an 'Everyday Use - All Round' lens for my Nikon D300 D-SLR camera body. This is a DX lens which means Digital Format and is compatible with digital cropped cameras such as the D90, D300s etc and today's prices put it at around £519.

However, as I do not own a Nikon D700 nor D3 D-SLR camera which are built to utilise both the FX (film size lens type) and DX (Digital Sensor size lens type) I cannot verify if this particular lens can be mounted & used on either of these Nikon professional camera bodies. These cameras do automatically switch to the DX format when a DX lens is mounted on them but I cannot find any evidence in any Google search if this lens/pro body is useable.

I do however, know that it's incompatible and therefore unusable on Nikon 35mm film SLR's such as the F5.

This 11 times zoom ratio lens is constructed with 16 elements in 12 groups. It's aperture is made up with 7 blades but as it does not have a user adjustable aperture ring, instead the camera sets the aperture for you.

The lens takes 72mm filters and thankfully the barrel does not rotate during focusing so polarising filters can be used without needing to be readjusted each time it focuses. The VR which stands for Vibration Reduction is equivalent to up to 4 stops of speed according to Nikon. It uses two gyros to sense movement and compensates for it. However, when VR is used, I find that the rechargeable battery in my D300 quickly runs down. A good reason to buy and carry extra fully charged batteries with you. Like most, if not all Nikon lenses, a lens hood comes with this lens. Canon charge many extra £'s for their hoods, such a rip off.

This lens will reduce the amount of extra lenses that you may need to carry with you but it is a compromise all the same. This can be seen in just how fast this lens is, f/3.5 - 5.6 aperture at maximum/minimum aperture depending what zoom length you're using. Also there's a certain amount of distortion in the images but that is subjective. Professional photographers may see it whereas the hobbyist may not!

If one is after photographic perfection, then stick to prime lenses is what I say!