They say the jack of all trades is the master of none. The Nikkor 18-200mm VR gives that statement a run for its money. Sure, arguably there is probably a wide angle lens that's better then the 18-200mm at the wide end and a telephoto lens that trumps the 18-200mm in the long end. We're sure there is a great dedicated macro lens that outperforms the 18-200mm. Trouble is we can't really think of any right now. We're too enamoured of the 18-200m.

First glance
The first thing that's surprising about this lens is its compact size and weight. For a lens with such a big zoom range, it's not very imposing in size and weight. It only weighs about 560g and is about 10cm in length extending to about 16cm. As a Nikon lens, it works on pretty much any Nikon DX camera. That includes the Nikon D40 and D60 family.

Zoom range
The 18-200mm is about 28-300mm on a 35mm equivalent. That is a pretty neat focal length and focusing range. Many users will probably never need any other lens since that zoom range is a keeper. In just one petite little lens, you can take a wide landscape shot, get personal with a portrait shot, zoom into a bird on a tree and even get up close and maybe a little too personal with a butterfly. 50cm is pretty close right?

Build
In terms of build quality of course it doesn't disappoint. It's a Nikkor lens! It's a two ring design with the zoom ring out front and the focus ring behind it. The aperture on this is a little more impressive then it's Sigma or Tamron counterparts. f/3.5-5.6 isn't too bad on such a great zoom range. You have the option of turning off Autofocus and also turning off VR. The thing to mention is the Vibration Reduction. Nikon has included two modes, normal or Active. Normal mode is to compensate for general hand shakes or when panning. Active mode is apparently for when you're on, say a moving car or maybe the San Andreas Fault when it starts to shake.

Performance
After a day with this lens, we didn't know how we ever lived without it. The photos were sharp, focused instantly and gave us no hint of any distortion. The contrast was good, there was no hint of chromatic aberration in any focal length and neither was there any whisper of darkening on the edges. The 18-200mm comes with a HB-35 hood, which is there to prevent glares and flares. It was pretty good at keeping bright sunrays out. The only problem was when we weren't using it and we reversed it, it annoyingly covered the zoom ring.

They say the Vibration Reduction allows 4 stops more then what you can handle without VR. In the dark it wasn't all that helpful, you will need a tripod or you'll need to boost up the ISO. It was very helpful when shooting moving objects and with a boosted ISO, the VR is better then none. There wasn't really a noticeable difference between Normal VR and Active VR but then the images were always sharp and clear. There was no earthquake the test out that theory.

Last word
Only nitpickers will find anything wrong with this lens. It's the perfect all-round, good-for-any-day-of-the-week lens. If you could only choose one lens to use, this would make a very good choice. Photographs were sharp and clear on any focal length; there was no hint of ghosting, of vignetting or any problems in the photographs. Pretty much the only problem with this lens, is that it's back-ordered and you may have to wait before you can get one.