FiddleMaker Loc: Merrimac, MA

DW, you may want to consider one or two FX lenses just in case you want to "hop into" a full frame FX Nikon body at some future date. But this is only if you are considering adding an FX body to your camera gear.

Lloyd LeZotte Loc: Gainesville, Florida

Go for it !

Lloyd

joepeva Loc: TN

The 18-200 VR II has satisfied my general needs for some time, however may I suggest before you make your decision, rent whatever your choice to get the feel and see the results before you make your purchase. I have found this to be money well spent. Joe P

MtnMan Loc: ID

My wife uses hers exclusively on her D5300. She is happy with it and really likes never changing lenses.

IMHO the 18-55 is equivalent quality. I feel the 55-300 takes better quality images and it is significantly lighter.

I use a 17-50 f2.8 Sigma as my walkabout lens on my D5300. It produces significantly better quality images than the 18-55. But it is heavier and cost much more.

When I want telephoto I stick my Nikon 200-500 on it. There we are talking serious image quality handheld because of the amazing VR. But it is the size of a truck and weighs a ton.

avemal Loc: BALTIMORE

The Tamron 16-300 much lighter & in wonderful. Less $$$$ as well. Around 500.00. Check some of my captures which 95% are with this Walk Around Lens. 📷📷📷📷📷📷📷📷📷📷📷

willviv 59

I agree with mas24 I too have the D5500 and purchased the 18-140mm lens as a walk around wide angle telephoto lens and love the results. Bottom line depending on the type of pics you take you have a plethora of choices. Happy clicking

willviv 59

I agree with mas24 I too have the D5500 and purchased the 18-140mm lens as a walk around wide angle telephoto lens and love the results. Bottom line depending on the type of pics you take you have a plethora of choices. Happy clicking

Orca Loc: Little Egg Harbor, NJ USA

I just purchased the D5500 body only and added the Nikon 35mm f/1.8 and the Tamron 16-300mm lens. Great deals on these two now. Very pleased with both. Two of my friends shoot Nikon and both have the Tamron and love it. One is now getting my 35mm. She had purchased the kit lenses with her D3300 a few years ago. Good luck with whatever you choose.

Screamin Scott Loc: Marshfield Wi, Baltimore Md, now Dallas Ga

Just make sure that any lens you look at has a focus motor built into the lens, otherwise you will lose the ability of the camera to auto focus. When I was shopping for a new body, this was an issue for me as I have lots of older AF lenses that rely on a focus motor in the camera body. In the long run, my hobby costs less as the older lenses are still excellent quality but cost a lot less. I can still use even older manual focus lenses with my D 7100. Your D 5500 can capture great images though so it's not a knock against your camera. I am just pointing out a limitation that you need to be aware of while shopping for a new lens

Jaime Loc: Los Angeles

Rent it first, if you have questions. I happen to love the lens as well. And PLEASE don't complain about the weight! They can make this light as a feather using plastic lenses and parts... but they don't. Weight equals quality... plus it adds a modicum of stabilization. Rent it... if you like it... buy it.

Motorbones Loc: Fair Oaks, CA

Seems like the better stuff usually weighs more. I'm 63 and carried around a camera on a 7600 mile, 24 state rv trip this past summer. Carrying a camera with the strap around my neck was cumbersome and uncomfortable. I switched to a shoulder type strap where the camera hangs by my side and found it a lot better. I just keep the lens lock on when I'm not shooting and it seems to work great and I can comfortably carry it for long periods of time. I'll be upgrading my camera body within the next couple of months and that will add a bit more weight, but I'm sure the right strap will make it more doable. As for the lens itself, being a goal oriented individual, I'd say get the lens that will best do the job for you. If there's one thing I've heard the most from folks on this forum, it's get what will getter done for you. Once a picture opportunity passes, it's usually gone forever. I may have a few thousand photos on my hard drive, but I got a lot of potential lost opportunities on film as it were.... Also, I use the 18-200 VRII and have found it most satisfactory for general all around shooting....

Lagoonguy Loc: New Smyrna Beach, FL

I have the Nikon 18-200 & 18-300 3.5-5.6 lenses. I used a 18-200 with my D70 for seven years and then the VR went out so I purchased a new VRII model and used it with a D7000, both were great lenses and I still have them. I then purchased the 18-300 and a D7100 and I never used the new 18-200 again myself. My wife likes the lighter weight of the 18-200. We recently tested the two lenses by shooting them at the same scenes and when we compared them on her computer the 18-300 was much better. We also cropped the 18-200 to mimic the 18-300 distance and it did not compare with the 18-300. Keep in mind though she was using the D7000 and I was shooting with D7100 so it was not apples to apples. The 18-200 is a great weight for walk around and hiking, 10 ounces lighter than the 18-300, but I love the versatility of the longer lens and with a sling strap the weight is not really an issue and we have travelled much of Europe,South America & New Zealand/Australia in all types of terrain using the above setup. However when you are shooting in light challenged situations the 3.5-5.6 limitations will bother you, much less 6.3. If it is well lighted you will have no problems. I went to two D750s recently and used a Sigma 24-105 f/4 Art and Sigma 24-35 f/2 Art for our trip to Tuscany and although I missed the all purpose 18-300 it was obvious in the photos that the faster and higher quality lenses were better for the shadowed street scenes and of course the no flash cathedral and interior situations. If you are doing primarily landscape shots while hiking in good light then either of the 18-200,300 lenses will be fine, but carry a 35mm 1.8 with you in case you need more light. Even when I travel with two cameras I still have to make that choice of which lens to take that day, it usually works out but I do miss some shots I could have gotten with the 18-300 on my D7100 given the light was sufficient. I still use my 18-300 but I choose my spots for it. I did exclusively use the 18-200 & 18-300 for almost 9 years so I must have enjoyed them. Good luck with your choices and enjoy your photography.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

Both of the kit lenses you have have proven to be very good performers. It is very possible that the combination of those two lenses give you images of better quality than the 18-300 VR but this particular lens offer the advantage of covering a good span of focal lengths with the convenience that changing lenses is not necessary. In the middle of the zoom range and with apertures like f8 the 18-300 performs very well although you will not be able to tell the difference using other focal lengths if you do not make big enlargements.

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

My first DSLR was the Nikon D7000 with kit lenses 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 and 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6. They are both good lenses, and I used them for several years before starting to acquire better lenses. My thoughts were more in the direction of improved quality of images rather than convenience, so I purchased the 24-70mm f/2.8 and the 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 (to be replaced eventually with the 70-200mm f/2.8), as well as a Sigma 150mm f/2.8 macro lens.

Nikon makes an effort to produce good lenses of all types, so if you want convenience, the 18-300mm ought to give you images that are at least as good as what you are now getting. Some like having a long zoom such as this, but will also have other lenses for different purposes. So it is not always possible to avoid changing lenses all the time!

Remember that it is more difficult to produce zoom lenses that are sharp over all of their total focal length range if that range is very long. It is easier to produce a zoom lens with a shorter focal length range and have it sharp for a higher proportion of the range. Also, if you have experienced frustration with taking pictures in low light, you may want to look for lens or lenses with the capacity for a wider aperture.

mjmagic Loc: Naples / Cape (summer)

I have the 18~200 VRII on a D300s body all the time and a 28~300 on a D810 as well. Other choices in both formats are in the closet yet these lenses remain on the bodies more than 90% of the time. They travel well, are well balanced with the cameras and rarely have me wishing I'd mounted a different lens. Put a 18~300 on your camera and a 35mm f1.8 in your pocket for low light, non-flash situations and you'll be ready for anything.