nikon 18-200vr ????

[petpoor]

Well I finally broke the bank and got me a D70s but now I am wanting some new glass. Is the nikon 18-200vr just a myth ????lol I cant' find one anywhere it seems. I am also considering the nikon 105 macro lens just can't make up my mind about the macro lens though, are tamron or sigma macro lens in the same playing field as the nikon quality wise ??? I am sure either one of those will be more than my ability will allow right now but I do not want to decide in a year or two that I should of got the nikon lens if they are truly that much better. Any words of wisdom anyone ????


Thanks,
Tom

 

[gregr]

I see that the B&H website says the lens is not in stock and they don't know when they'll get more in
Then I looked it up at www.photodo.com to see how it does in their lens tests and it wasn't listed... but the 28-200 was and it appears to be one of the lowest scoring Nikon lenses. It covers such a long range it's not going to be very sharp at the extreme ends, plus there will likely be significant barrel distortion at the wide end, but as long as you understand what you're getting all is well. It will be a great all-round lens for those times when you never know what focal length you'll need.
As for the 105 micro lens- it's always been the standard of close-up excellence. The Sigma and Tamron macro lenses are also excellent, in fact- they score higher than the Nikon in the photodo lens tests (big surprise to me!). The build quality may not be as solid (not for sure-- I've not inspected all three side by side) with the Sigma and Tamron but optically they appear to be at least equal if not better.