Nikon 18-200/3.5-5.6G AF-S VR II lens

The lens barrel is constructed from high quality plastics with a metal lens mount, similar to other consumer level lenses. It has a slightly textured finish, which doesn’t show marks easily. To address an issue found on the older Nikon 18-200mm lens, a switch to lock the lens at 18mm is provided to prevent the lens extending during transport, or when it is drawn from a camera bag. At maximum telephoto the lens is almost double its original length. The zoom mechanism extends in two sections smoothly and unfortunately creeps forward when pointed towards the ground when zoomed past 35mm, which may pose issues when used on a tripod. It balances extremely well on the Nikon D300 body used for testing and isn't a backbreaking weight at 565g.

As focusing is performed internally the 72mm filter thread does not rotate during use, making this lens ideal for use with polarising and neutral density graduated filters. Focus speeds are pretty quick for a super-zoom lens and the thin manual focus ring offers a decent amount of resistance, which makes applying fine adjustments fairly straightforward.

The minimum focus distance of 50cm allows frame filling close-ups to be taken at maximum zoom.

Nikon's Vibration Reduction II system promises to allow hand-held shots to be taken at shutter speeds up to four times slower than would be possible without the technology. So long as the system is given time to kick in properly and images are shot with care, handheld shots at 1/20sec are quite possible at 200mm, which is over four stops slower than the usual rule of thumb would normally recommend.