Using a Nikon 18-200mm zoom lens has many advantages. The broad range of this lens allows for wide angle shots at the 18mm setting and telephoto, narrow angle shots at the 200mm setting. The versatility of this lens means less time spent switching between lenses for the photographer. However, this lens is also quite bulky and, as it is a zoom lens, has variable aperture settings. Controlling and mastering this lens will allow a photographer a great range of artistic depth with a single lens.
Weight
One of the first things that the photographer will notice about this lens is the weight. It is not a light lens, at about 20 ounces, it can be a serious weight on an all-day shoot. This weight is due to the optics of the lens. As the lens is so heavy, Nikon offers this lens with a Vibration Reduction (VR) setting, which compensates for any camera shake as a result of the weight of the lens. Using a neck strap can help compensate for the weight, or use of a tripod can help eliminate this altogether.
VR versus Non-VR
Vibration Reduction (VR) can help to counter camera shake and Nikon offers this lens in both VR and non-VR setups. Vibrating glass elements in the lens work to counter any motion of the lens, resulting in a clearer, sharper photo. The advantage to a VR lens is the built-in compensation for motion. In a lens of this size and particularly with such a strong telephoto element, vibration can ruin an otherwise excellent photo. The VR setting on this lens can be set to Active, Normal, or turned off. This feature allows the photographer to hand-hold the camera at speeds which would normally require a tripod, but to also ignore this feature if necessary. VR is particularly useful when using this lens in low light situations and as a telephoto lens. When using this lens on a tripod, it is best to be sure the VR is set to "Off", or else the lens may attempt to compensate for non-existent camera shake.
Aperture
Since this is a zoom lens, the aperture settings are variable. They range from 3.5 at the 18mm end to 5.6 at the 200mm end. As the lens is extended into telephoto range, the maximum aperture decreases due to the optics of the lens. This is a difference of more than one full stop and can drastically alter the amount of light entering the lens, so the photographer must remember to compensate for this when changing from wide angle to telephoto settings.
Wide Angle versus Telephoto
Since the 18-200mm lens allows for wide-angle shots as well as telephoto images, the photographer can cover a range of subjects. Wide-angle shots at the 18mm end of the spectrum will cover more area, photographing a broader area of the scene. However, there can be some "barrel" distortion at the 18mm setting - this can be corrected in Photoshop, but is otherwise hard to avoid. Telephoto shots have a much narrower field of view; this setting is used to photograph distant subjects or details without the need for cropping during post-processing. It is at this setting that vibration reduction is very useful, as camera shake will be more pronounced.
Tags: this lens, camera shake, zoom lens, 18mm setting, angle shots, aperture settings, lens allows