Which travel lens: 16-85 or 18-200 � please, advise!

[robert_hooper1]

Hi Vesselin,

 

In my 30+ years of traveling around the world with camera gear, it is my opinion that the most convenient Nikon lens for

travel made to date for the DX camera format is the AF-S DX VR Zoom- NIKKOR

18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED. The incredible 11x focal range will adequately cover just about every photo opportunity you

encounter. Furthermore, you will not have to worry about changing lenses in dusty or damp situations, potentially

exposing your CCD to the elements. Travel light, travel smart, travel with the AF-S DX VR Zoom- NIKKOR

18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED.

[dan_brown4]

One additional thought. Correcting issues in PS during post may be simple enough. But, in my opinion, it is a gient pain to

work through picture after picture taken during a vacation. My motto, "the less post processing, the better" ;~)

[rarmstrong]

Dave, interesting comment about the 18-200 being a funhouse lens. I think it depends completely on what your subject is....example...<div></div>

[liljuddakalilknyttphotogra]

First up - Congratulations on your wedding.

 

Secondly - - I've not ever been to Australia, but I've traveled extensively all over Europe, the US and a few countries in northern Africa. My style of photography would render the 16-85 useless. I would in no time be screaming in frustration over all the shots I could not get with the 16-85. It would not even make it at Disneyland for me. I tried the 24-120mm at Disneyland & knew it was not going to make it for my way of photographing. I bought the 18-200VR & I had fun on the next trip to Disneyland.

 

Now, if you could be talked into two lenses...... then I'd say - - get the 16-85 & the 70-300VR. But you've already said no to that suggestion - - one lens only.

 

So, I will here yet again offer up a few galleries I took with the 18-200VR over a week in April/May while a friend was visiting. This week was spent getting to know this lens - which I bought last year in September, but had really not ever worked with more than to test out for sharpness.

 

This whole folder of galleries are pretty much all of them the 18-200VR -

http://lilknytt.zenfolio.com/f200314254/ - only the bird shots of the Sanderlings shot in the Venice Beach gallery are shot with the 200-500mm Tamron.

 

I set my D300 to an f/8 at ISO 400 & forgot about the rest, past checking my histograms continuously. I can tell you this much - - If I could only travel with one lens - - that's the one I'd bring. The Graduated ND filters are a good suggestion, as would a polarizer be - - if you're traveling Australian Summer. After all - - they have winter going now.

 

This is just my honest opinion based upon years of traveling & my shooting style. A light weight small tripod would be a great addition. I presume you'll have your own suitcase. Do yourself a favor - - pack it. I'm a wife & I would not ever consider interfering with my husband's packing past seeing to it that he has enough underwear etc. He then packs by himself - - I just make sure all is wash so he can choose.

 

JMHO

 

Lil :)

[justin_ngo]

"Hi Vesselin,

 

You will likely get a 50/50 split from everyone answering this post! "

 

It's true!

 

:-)

[dirtlawyer]

I went on a once in a lifetime vacation with a D200 and two lenses that covered 17-200mm (sorry, I don't remember which ones). I managed to learn the answer to the question, Which lens do I need for this shot? Answer, the one in the bag!

 

I missed a huge number of shots just because I had the wrong lens on the camera.

 

I got rid of both lenses and went to the 18-200. Although I have several other lenses, this is the one that is usually on the camera.

[alffastar]

Hey Lil,

What a kind post, thank you :))) My wedding will be in October, so it is still ahead. I will sea about a tripod - it is entirely my decision :))

Cheers

[alffastar]

Lil,

 

Thanks for the link with your pictures - it is very helpful at this point! I will look at them in greater detail, but what I see I really like :)

[photo5]

I shoot a lot of buildings and content that needs lines to look straight. I guess if you're out shooting wildlife you can accept the 18-200mm. I couldn't and I sold it quickly. I grew up shooting primes and zooms were always compromises. They still are, but some are a lot better than others. From my experience, the 18-200mm was unacceptable for my work, and I'll leave it at that.

[Mary Doo]

Vesselin,

 

Are you confused enough yet? :)

 

I would suggest think honeymoon first, photography second. With that in mind, the more convenience the better. To me, if one lens is the way, the 18-200 is the natural choice.

 

Mary

[greytata a.nogueira]

Vesselin, in practical terms, no doubt that the 18-200 is much more versatile than the 16-85, but if you are like myself, where image quality it's a must and a decision factor...well, go for the 16-85. There are no miracles on zooms which covers focal lengths from 18 to 200 mm.

[alffastar]

OK, THANK YOU EVERYONE! Thank you James Symington, Omega NC, Artur, Lil and Robert Hooper!! But everyone else also - really!

 

Now, I am getting 18-200 - it really is the best for one lens solution for this trip!! I will try to learn it and get the best I can :))) I will post some pics then. I will get also Canon 500d close up lens! I will take with me the 35 mm 2.0 for some fast low light and when I want just something light during evenings!

 

Happy shooting to everyone!

[pankaj purohit]

Yes, its right, 18-200 was my dream lense when I started walking with my first SLR, but on that time the budget was problem, so I firstly I bought 70-300 (G) with the Nikon film SLR body and after couple of weeks I bought 28-80. THese fullfil my needs and still the best for me because I have these.

 

So whatever you can get, the best, because you can use, you don't only talk about that....

 

D300 is I DX (Small censor) camera, so you will need more widest to get wide usage, both will work nearly similar results at the wide end but 18-200 is better if you want walk with small bundle and don't want to interchange the lenses. Noone knows when he/she will see something interesting and how far or near that is, so with just one lense you could do, this is the reason, why the 18-200 is best suited for press/news journalism....

 

All-rounder

[chrisalmerini]

See for yourself- the 18-200 on a D300 last weekend. I do not think you will have any issues. The 16-18 wide is really not an issue. Now the 85 or 200 probably you will notice the lack of reach. It is Nikon's best selling lens for a reason.<div></div>

[liljuddakalilknyttphotogra]

Vesselin,

 

glad I could help. There are two camps for this lens - - people either like it or not.

 

Good luck

 

Lil :-)

[scott_b.4]

I personally would go for 18-200 for travel lens. you have the 18 for wide angle and the 200 for telephoto work.

[fishit]

Just my .02, on a trip to Hawaii last year I found the 18-200mm vr to be the best all around lens.

Worked well while hanging out of the side of a open Helicopter over Kauai's canyons and water falls.

Good lens for street work and landscapes as well. It would be my choice.

[jbm]

Bring a bottle of good white wine and an iPod with some Barry White, also portable speakers. Wait...this was a lens question?

 

I own the 16-85 and love it. It's incredibly sharp and was quite useful at a recent bike race to give great low, semi-wide angle shots of racers in a corner. I've used it for some commercial shooting and it really produces super sharp and nicely saturated images. Honestly at the same stops, it's as sharp as the 17-55 as well as I can tell. And I do find the wide end useful.

 

Now last year I went to South Africa, also on a honeymoon, and used my then Canon with an 18-200 tamron. This lens was a real piece of junk, not that sharp, lousy colors...and I appreciated every millimeter of the range. A HUGE number of my shots (wildlife) were at the tele end of the lens. Take a look at my wildlife folder, every single one shot with the lousy tamron and you will appreciate the variety of wide and tele shots I took...this would not have been possible with a more limited zoom range. The Nikon is a much better lens than the Tamron equivalent and the images will be great.

 

Sooooo...if the question is what to bring for the trip, go for the 18-200. If based on your style you anticipate shooting a lot with the 16-85 range, it's a better long term investment.

 

Enjoy the honeymoon. As my grandfather says, "Marriage is a wonderful institution. And I should know, I have been institutionalized for over 50 years!"

 

Cheers,

 

Jay

[alffastar]

Guys,

 

What a beginner I am if this just came to my mind! If I wll be using 16-85 and shoot something that is not zoomed enough due to the shorter focal length compared to 18-200, isn't quite a valid scenario to crop the photo at say 50% and still have quite an accaeptable quality? I mean, I have D300 so I guess it allows for 50% crops and I will still have an equivalent of around 6 mp, right? Do you think I can rely on 50% crops for these cases and still have quite good quality with my D300?

[pankaj purohit]

No, not always.. This is not a right way to get closeups of far subjects, If you have a digital camera, you have to utilize all pixels of the picture and you should, I don't know waht would be your purpose of photos taken, but I wouldn't do it, in any situation except some exceptions.

 

Let's assume :

 

If you have a picture of 10.8 megappixels (4000 X 2700 pxls) and you crop it 50% than you will get results in about 2.6 megapixels (2000 X 1350 pxls)

 

this is megapixels myth, so many people still don't understand that a picture of 4 megapixels is not the half of 8 Megapixels, it is 75% in the size of 8 MP.

 

Best would be to have lense acording to your use...

[alffastar]

Pankaj,

 

I see - you are right. Thanks! I should have made this calculations myself, being a programmer :)

[rauber]

A three week honeymoon? In Australia? If you can afford that, buy a second camera then you never have to change lens. If you don't see affording another D300 then a D80 will serve you well as 2nd camera. But it's better to have the same camera so you don't have to think about which camera does what. Surely you have a nice Lowepro back pack on wheels. Save a small hole in the pack for underwear in case your luggage gets lost.

 

Being a beginner be sure to carry a small cleaning brush and lens cloth. Clean everynight. This of course is after you retrieve the sillouette of your spouse in the sunsets and don't pack up like everyone else and leave before the twilight hours. October will be the perfect time for those shots. Take your shutter release cable and tripod. That bean bag will be a great idea for weight on the tripod during the windy times.

 

Tamrac has camera bags fairly inexpensive that will protect your cameras while touring unless you're renting a vehicle and free wheeling on your own. The bags might be cumbersome to pack but you can roll shirts and stuff them inside for space saving. The point is, think about protecting your cameras everyday during your travel. A lot of photographers damage something because they thought " well, it won't be far, I'll just set the camera down" The car stops suddenly and down goes the camera to the floor.

 

By the way, if you haven't bought battery backups, look into a battery pack but be sure to carry backup and charge them everynight.

 

The best way to enjoy your honeymoon is to go prepared. The last thing you need on a trip like this is regret. Unless of course you are fortunate enough to return to Australia, regularly.

 

Most of all, Enjoy your trip. Pam

[e.s._shiew]

I have many Nikon lens. 70-200mm, 12-24mm, 18-200mm, 200mm Micro, 24mm, 50mm, 105mm, 180mm ED. I alway

love the 18-200mm as travel lens. I always carry it too on my street and travel pics, so no doubt. 18-200mm. Who says its

not sharp?<div></div>

[pankaj purohit]

Vesselin Iossifov, I found one interesting new thing arrived in market and that is Nikon coolpix P-80, it is a complete camera for weekend and holidays shooters which provides you a 18x optical zoom (27mm-430mm aprox.), 10.1 megapixels, electronic viewfinder and SLR looking body.

 

You can discover this cheap flower on Nikon website....

[alffastar]

Hey Pam,

 

Whether I can afford the trip or not was not an issue, we just decided we wanted it so badly that we found a way. But cirtanly I cannopt afford second camera - with my new D300 and the future travel lens I exceeded my budget for a camera by far already :)))

 

As a camera bag I have Think Tank holster 20.

 

Thanks for the advice!