Nikon 18-200mm VR - Max Aperture

[john_lai3]

Hi,

 

Does anyone know the maximum aperture at each focal length with the Nikon

18-200mm VR DX (f/3.5-5.6) Lens?

 

Focal length --> 18, 24, 35, 50, 70, 90, 105, 135, 200mm...

 

Thanks

 

J

[Matt Laur]

Well, I just happen to have the lens mounted right in front me. Let's see...

<br>

<br>18mm: f/3.5

<br>24mm: f/3.8

<br>30mm: f/4

<br>35mm: f/4.2

<br>42mm: f/4.5

<br>50mm: f/4.8

<br>70mm: f/5

<br>100mm: f/5.3

<br>135-200mm: f/5.6

<br><br>

Thanks for asking. I'd never checked that before.

[nickwhite]

I don't have that lens, but I suspect the aperture will also vary as you focus closer.

[Matt Laur]

Nick: I just tried that again, at the same focal lengths, but with focus changing from roughly 18 inches, through 10 feet, out to the horizon. The camera body/metering reports no change in the aperture at a given focal length. Now, whether it just can't know that effective aperture at two feet away is really less, or whether the lens is actually compensating... I don't know. But there's no apparent change.

 

Just as a sanity check, I mounted my 60mm/2.8 Micro, which I know stops down when working close. Sure enough, the camera displayed a narrowing aperture on the display as I altered distance.

[alex_lofquist]

With an internal focussing lens subject distance should have little or no effect on relative aperture.

[Peter_in_PA]

I've checked it, too. The aperture definitely does not change with focus distance.

[john_lai3]

I have a question.. How good is VR? Does it save me at shutter speed of 1/15 (don't care about moving objects)? Is 18-200mm VR lens a good lens for walking around the city and taking night shots or I better off getting a faster lens like 17-55mm f/2.8?

 

I don't really care about the 200 mm focal length since I have a 70-210mm non-dx lens already which I use on my D200 (so I get 210mm x 1.5 crop factor = 315mm)

[Matt Laur]

John: Here, in a slightly creepy, stalker-ish way, is an example. I just too a shot of this screen, while sitting in a dim room while looking at a laptop display without its backlight cranked way up. So, 18-200VR, VR engaged in "normal" mode, ISO100, 1/15th second, f/4.8. In the 100% crop area, you can see the so-so quality of the laptop's display, but you can get a sense of the edge sharpness I preserved while doing a casual hand-held shot at a fifteenth of a second.<div></div>

[john_lai3]

Thanks Matt! One favor (Pretty Pleeeeas!) Can you repeat the same shot at f1/8? :) :)

[Matt Laur]

John: Ok, here's a compilation. The wider shot was done at 1/8th, f/4.5, ISO 320. I wanted you to see the cup of double-shot espresso I was drinking while I did this - the acid test of hand held use of VR. But it also gives you a sense of how clearly I'm catching that cup's detail at an eigth of a second, no tripod.

<br><br>

The inset image was from me focusing again on the laptop's display. This is actually a BETTER shot than my first example, even with the shutter open for twice as long. That one's at 1/8th, f/13, ISO 320. You can actually see the "screen door" pattern of the display's LCD grid. It's not how you'd use this lens in real life, but it does show that even an overly caffeinated cave man can hand-hold that lens and body for a reasonably stable shot in marginal light.

<br>

<img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/7029002-lg.jpg">

[john_lai3]

Thanks very much Matt!!! The VR does work very well.

 

I assume you have experienced the infamous "lens creeping" syndrome on the 18-200mm lens? If so, how bad is it? Does the lens creep when you have it facing straight down?

[Matt Laur]

If you have the lens parked at 18mm, it doesn't do it at all. But yes, if you have it a moderate FL (say, 30-100mm), and point it nose-down, it can happen fairly easily. But I don't find it bothers me at all.

 

Here's why: it's not a macro lens. You don't usually have it on a tripod, pointing down at flowers, etc. It's meant to be a walk-around lens, and it excels in that role. Whenever I'm using it in the field, I've pretty much always got my left hand under the barrel of the lens, supporting it... and my hand naturally goes right to the zoom ring... which prevents it from moving anyway. If you HAVE to use it in a way that presents this unusual problem in a way that matters, you can solve it with a rubber band. Not pretty, but it works. But more to the point, it just never seems to actually matter in real life. If I'm being that fussy over a shot, I'm very likely using a different lens anyway. This one stays on the camera for grab-and-go mode. I have several others for when I'm being picky about a particular issue. But when you're walking around with it, with the lens retracted the way it normally would be, it stays nice and tidy.

 

Whether it's the best place to put your money depends on your situation.

[john_lai3]

Thanks Matt.