The AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 55-200mm f/4-5.6G IF-ED is a compact, lightweight 3.6X zoom lens featuring a host of state-of-the-art optical technologies such as the Vibration Reduction (VR), Nikon ED glass element and SWM (Silent Wave Motor). The lens has been specifically designed to complement the D80, as well as the D40 and upcoming D40x cameras. And it delivers outstanding performance at a remarkably affordable price.
The compact zoom lens offers powerful zoom performance of 55-200mm (providing a picture angle equivalent to an 82.5-300mm lens in 35mm format) and is suitable for every type of photography from candid portraits to sports, nature and wildlife photography. The Nikon VR system enables users to take substantially sharper handheld pictures at slower shutter speeds.
Note:
* We do not recommend the use of DX Nikkors with 35mm (135) or IX240 format cameras.
If you are looking to add to your basic kit the obvious choice is to go for a lens that takes them a little further, which is precisely what Nikon's 55-200mm lens sets out to achieve.
This range readily covers both the 'ideal' focal length for portraits (roughly 85-100mm) and the 200-300mm focal lengths favored by sports and wildlife photographers. It also has a very useful minimum focus distance of 1.1m throughout the zoom range, and while this isn't a macro lens by any means, you can still get pretty close to your subject at the long end of the zoom. It isn't a particularly 'fast' lens though, with a maximum aperture of f/4 at the 55mm end of the zoom dropping to f/5.6 at the 200mm end.
With its DX designation, Nikon's 55-200mm lens is designed specifically for digital capture and will work on ANY of the company's DSLRs, including both the D40 and the D40x. The 3.6x zoom covers focal lengths from 55-200mm, but taking into account the magnification of Nikon's DX format sensor, this equates to 82.5-300mm in 35mm terms.
Thanks to the Internal Focusing, a polarising or graduated filter may be used, while the Silent Wave Motor ensures that focusing is both swift and quiet. The small manual focus ring will disappoint anyone wishing to focus manually. In keeping with many modern lenses it appears almost as an afterthought, with a mere 45o turn taking it from 1.1m to infinity, and at the wide end of the zoom it's almost impossible to reach with the lens hood attached. A pair of switches at the back left of the lens barrel will allow you to activate either the focus mode or VR.
The minimum aperture varies - from f/22 to f/32 respectively. The slightly slow maximum aperture isn't necessarily a problem though, with the VR stabilisation claiming to give a three-stop advantage over non-VR lenses. This means you can handhold the lens at a shutter speed three times slower than is normally recommended, so a speed of 1/40sec at the 200mm end of the zoom can be used instead of 1/320sec. This is especially useful when using long focal lengths. In terms of its construction, the 55-200mm optic uses 15 elements in 11 groups, including one ED (Extra-low Dispersion) element to ensure good image quality. It also comes with a lens hood and pouch, which isn't always so with other manufacturers who charge for these useful extras. Build and handling The 55-200mm AF-S lens is both compact and light, thanks to its all-plastic build, which extends to the lens mount.
Why should you care what I think?
My relationship with this item: I have borrowed a friends Where did you buy this item?: N/A When did you buy this item?: N/A
Conclusions at a glance
Would you recommend this Item: Yes Pros: VR, Price Cons: Non that I can think of any
Last updated: Tuesday, 27 November 2007
User Lens Reviews
Average user rating from: 199 user(s)
Overall rating (weighted)
4.4
Sharpness
4.4
Build Quality
4.4
AF Speed
4.4
Value for Money
4.4
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
so far so good, Wednesday, 03 December 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I just received my 55-200 VR lens. I shot some test photos of my lens Resolution charts. I can't tell the difference in sharpness or Contrast comparing the new nikon 55-200 with my 13-70 nikon lens and my 80-400 nikon VR. Its light yet feels good and solid. The vibration reduction works like a dream. I can't wait to try this baby in the field. I just might call in sick and work and head for the mountains.
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Right Ammo, Monday, 24 November 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
4.0
This is the right ammunition for amateurs. The VR is an enhancement to get the right picture whether you're still or mobile.
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Nikon 55-200 MM Lens, Monday, 24 November 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.5
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
4.0
This is a compact, light weight lens. The range is perfect for general photography. Love it. The VR feature is perfect.
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Great lens for the price, Monday, 10 November 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
4.0
THis lens is recommended for any amatuer photographer that is looking for a reliable, crisp fairly priced telephoto lens. You could get a cheaper one, but for a few bucks more, this Nikon is awesome!
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Very Pleased!, Friday, 31 October 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
This lens is a great addition to my 18-55 kit lens. It is very sharp and lightweight. I took many photos with it in the past month and it was a joy to use. I was able to handhold at very slow shutter speeds with no sign of camera movement, even at 200mm. The only thing it was unable to cope with was autofocusing in heavy fog over water. It was a great bargain and I would buy another if I lost this one.
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Not bad, but not enough for pro photographers, Wednesday, 29 October 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
2.8
Sharpness
3.0
Build Quality
2.0
AF Speed
3.0
Value for Money
3.0
For the price, this lens is sharper than you would think. Since this is a DX lens, you get decent telephoto ranges on most Nikon digital SLRs. However, you don't want to use this on a D3 or a D700 as those cameras would be limited to a mere 5.1 MP. All in all, not a bad deal for beginners, amateurs or occasional photographers.
However, this lens has some problems for pros and semi-pros. It's slow. It's not good for sports or event photography and you're going to want lots of light when shooting with this lens.
If you need a cheap telephoto for a camera with a DX sensor, this isn't bad. I just prefer Nikon's prime lenses.
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18-55VR lens is very versatile, Friday, 24 October 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
This is a great all-around lens and a perfect complement to the D60. The D60 flash completely covers the frame at the lens' widest setting for well-lit indoor photos that can encompass an entire room. It captures great detail and accurate color when used outdoors. I especially like the way it captures front-to-back detail in wide-angle shots such as this one taken at 18mm http://www.PhotoShare.co.nz/PhotoShareGallery1/100495/104734/BrickStreet852_M.jpg and for comparison, this one was taken at 55mm, the other extreme of the lens http://www.PhotoShare.co.nz/PhotoShareGallery1/100495/104734/WoodedSidewalk5707_M.jpg taken at the same time.
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kind of cheap, Thursday, 23 October 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
3.0
Sharpness
3.0
Build Quality
2.0
AF Speed
3.0
Value for Money
4.0
A little more plastic and cheap feeling than I expected. Pictures are nice and brilliant. I haven't noticed too much difference with the VR.
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
Very nice consumer glass, Thursday, 16 October 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
3.8
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
3.0
Value for Money
4.0
This certainly is not the 70-200 f/2.8. Another poster commented that you should go for that instead. If you have a couple grand to spare and are using this professionally, he's absolutely right. In fact with $500 I would go for the (also consumer) 70-300 f/4-5.6 VR which has VR-2 and a decent focus motor (though I haven't tested one so I can't comment on anything else about it). For a mere $200, though, this is a fantastic piece of glass.
The focus motor is so slow they would have been better off using a normal AF mount and having the camera do the focus work, but then they couldn't sell this for use with the D40/60. It has acceptable sharpness in all focal lengths at most apertures. It has slight Vignetting at all lengths, but not enough to be noticeable unless you like shooting plain walls. Also it has slight barrelling at 55 and cushion at 200, but not enough to be a problem unless you're using it for architectural shots (why would you want a telephoto for that?)
The biggest plus on the lens is the VR. Despite some negative comments about it having cheapo VR, it preformed beautifully for me. I tested it shooting 8, 4, and 2 pixel separated lines at 12 feet and 200mm and I could tell no noticeable movement distortion with VR on in about two thirds of the shots down to 1/8s. At 1/6s I got no usable shots, but without VR I'd get maybe 10% at 1/30s so this is a 2.5ish EV gain on no VR. If you're going to use the lens at all without a tripod I would highly recommend springing the extra $50 to get this lens instead of the VR-less version.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Great Lens for the Dollars, Wednesday, 08 October 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.0
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
3.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
4.0
This is a great lens for the average photographer who is looking to get some up close shots and not have to spend a lot of money. I definately recommend going with the VR. I primarily use it outdoors and for sports/athletics. Good picture quality but needs good light. I haven't taken many pictures indoors but don't expect it to provide as good of pictures as outdoors.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Nice!, Wednesday, 01 October 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.3
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
4.0
Value for Money
4.0
Very sharp lens, smooth zoom, light, a great lens that goes with nikon's d40, d40x, and d60 :)
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
Slow, but considering the price it's not bad at al, Wednesday, 17 September 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
3.0
Sharpness
2.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
3.0
Value for Money
3.0
I was quite disappointed with the auto-focus of this lens coz it's slow, but considering that it's cheap, it's not bad at all.
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Totally love it!, Friday, 29 August 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
4.0
There are so many good reviews already, I just wanted to say again what a great lens this is! I take pictures of my baby with it all the time, and can't believe how well this lens performs.
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No Brainer, Thursday, 28 August 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
This lens is a no brainer. The value for your dollar spent is very high. This is not the sharpest tele lens on the market, but to get a significant improvement one would need to spend nearly 10 times the amount I paid direct from Amazon. Even at full retail price this lens is a great buy. Getting it at a very nice discount is icing on the cake.
I'm more of a wide angle shooter so a tele lens is just something extra to have available for specific events. It's not my walk around lens, but I have taken nice shots of the kids at the 55 mark. If you have no intention of getting Nikon's 18-200 then this is the one.
As a side note...make sure you buy from an authorized dealer (Amazon is authorized) or you may not get the 5 year warranty coverage. Amazon doesn't always broker merchandise through authorized dealers so make sure you know who you are buying from before you hit that last button. Amazon really did a nice job on this order. Arrived NEXT DAY even though I only paid for 2 day shipping.
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Nikon 55-200mm VR, Thursday, 28 August 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.5
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
4.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
4.0
No complaints, I use it in addition to the 18-55 that came with my d40x.
