Nikon Superzoom Lens,18-135, moving on to...? Hi. I have a Nikkor 18-135, now replaced by the 18-140. I'm looking for more reach when I'm on holiday, and have been looking at the usual...

ToBoldlyGo Loc: London U.K.

Hi. I have a Nikkor 18-135, now replaced by the 18-140. I'm looking for more reach when I'm on holiday, and have been looking at the usual suspects, from the Nikkor 18-200 to the Tamron 18-400. I'd like to get into the 300-400 range, but I've been finding it hard finding comparisons between my current lens and the current superzooms. The 18-135 is known to be extremely sharp for all its faults, hence I don't know if I'd be happy with zooms with an extended range. It just isn't easy to find more than a couple of opinions online about a given lens which don't contradict each other. I'd be grateful for any opinions from people who've owned my lens, bearing in mind it's intended as a holiday/occasional use lens. I have other lenses for when I'm going out to take photos. And yes I'm quite happy with the way the 18-135 performs currently, I just don't want to be tempted to take my 200-500. It's too heavy to make a day out fun for me. Thanks in advance for any help.

mleuck

Why, why, why did you buy a 200-500 if it too heavy to use? I guess it is heavy enough to be used as a paper weight.

ToBoldlyGo Loc: London U.K.

mleuck wrote:

Why, why, why did you buy a 200-500 if it too heavy to use? I guess it is heavy enough to be used as a paper weight.

Whoa, calm down!! I'm taking about a holiday lens. Not about taking my 200-500 out for a day of shooting. I can't enjoy my holiday if I'm carting around several kilos of camera gear and changing lens all the time. I want to take a holiday superzoom, not my 200-500, plus 10-20 plus 18-35.

jccash Loc: Longwood, Florida

I have the 200-500 but for daily lens I use and like My Tamron 18-400.

ToBoldlyGo Loc: London U.K.

jccash wrote:

I have the 200-500 but for daily lens I use and like My Tamron 18-400.

Thank you. Have you owned an 18-135?

jccash Loc: Longwood, Florida

ToBoldlyGo wrote:

Thank you. Have you owned an 18-135?

No never have but that’s a nice choice as well. Simple zoom for trips to places like Disney World.

ToBoldlyGo Loc: London U.K.

jccash wrote:

No never have but that’s a nice choice as well. Simple zoom for trips to places like Disney World.

Thanks. It's surprisingly hard to find nice pics online. Many from this lens have been resized, and break down quickly with any cropping. Are you able to crop pics and still be happy with the results?

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

ToBoldlyGo wrote:

Hi. I have a Nikkor 18-135, now replaced by the 18... (show quote)

Forget about comparisons with your current lens. Look for reviews and comparisons of new lenses.

18-300mm
http://kenrockwell.com/nikon/comparisons/DX-super-zooms/
https://www.dpreview.com/articles/8781173348/nikon-debuts-lighter-18-300mm-f3-5-6-3-to-dx-lens-lineup
https://photographylife.com/the-question-of-18-300mm-lenses
https://digital-photography-school.com/sigma-18-300mm-f3-5-6-3-dc-macro-lens-review/
http://www.thephoblographer.com/2015/02/04/review-sigma-18-300mm-f3-5-6-3-dc-macro-os-hsm-contemporary-lens-canon-ef/
http://www.lenstip.com/427.1-Lens_review-Sigma_C_18-300_mm_f_3.5-6.3_DC_MACRO_OS_HSM_Introduction.html

Niukon 18-300mm
http://www.bythom.com/Nikkor18-300lensreview.htm
https://photographylife.com/reviews/nikon-18-300mm-vr
http://www.photographyblog.com/reviews/nikon_afs_dx_nikkor_18_300mm_f_35_63_g_ed_vr_review/
https://www.pcmag.com/review/352400/nikon-af-s-dx-nikkor-18-300mm-f-3-5-6-3g-ed-vr

Tamron 18-300mm
http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/reviews/lenses/tamron-18-400mm-f3-5-6-3-di-ii-vc-hld-review
https://www.ephotozine.com/article/tamron-18-400mm-f-3-5-6-3-di-ii-vc-hld-review-31259
https://dustinabbott.net/2017/07/tamron-18-400mm-f3-5-6-3-vc-hld-review/
https://www.dpreview.com/samples/9152094990/gallery-impressions-tamron-18-400-f3-5-6-3

Tamron 18-400mm
https://www.ephotozine.com/article/tamron-18-400mm-f-3-5-6-3-di-ii-vc-hld-review-31259
https://digital-photography-school.com/review-tamron-18-400mm-zoom-lens/
https://www.dpreview.com/samples/9152094990/gallery-impressions-tamron-18-400-f3-5-6-3
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tamron/18-400mm.htm

ToBoldlyGo Loc: London U.K.

jerryc41 wrote:

Forget about comparisons with your current lens. ... (show quote)

Thanks for the time you took to post this. But honestly, I've been reading these reviews over the last few months. I still don't know if I'm going to lose anything if I replace my lens with any of these. I keep reading reasons not to buy them, hence I'd like to find opinions from people who've made the switch. Saying that, I appear to be one of the few happy 18-135 owners around. It's just proving impossible for me to find another happy owner, much less one who is even happier after a switch. This hobby really does make one overthink!

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

I don't have the Nikkor 18-135 but I do have the Canon 18-135 and the Canon 18-200. My utility lens in both Canon and Nikon is the 28-300 although the Canon 28-300 is substantially larger, heavier and costlier than the Nikkor lens. I do have the Nikkor 200-500 but like you said, it's a fairly heavy lens. Something I do when I'm out and about taking photos is carry a DSLR with a big zoom like the Sigma 150-600 and a smaller, lighter zoom, like the 18-135 on my M50 Mirrorless. The M50 is much smaller and lighter than a DSLR making it much easier to carry 2 cameras.
I believe your best option without spending too much money is the Tamron 18-400. It may not be the sharpest lens but it is sharp enough.

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

For a walk around zoom the NIKKOR 18-200 is sharp, light and slow.

If you want speed the 80-200 or 70-200 2.8’s are shel, fast and heavy.

I have both and am considering a 70-200 4.0 to replace the 2.8.

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

For a walk around zoom the NIKKOR 18-200 is sharp, light and slow.

If you want speed the 80-200 or 70-200 2.8’s are shel, fast and heavy.

I have both and am considering a 70-200 4.0 to replace the 2.8.

SueScott Loc: Hammondsville, Ohio

I took three lenses on our recent trip to Scotland and used the Tamron 18-400 almost exclusively - it got quite a workout and performed very well even with night-time shots. I was also able to severely crop various images and still retain good detail. I'm including a couple examples.

(Download)

ToBoldlyGo Loc: London U.K.

SueScott wrote:

I took three lenses on our recent trip to Scotland and used the Tamron 18-400 almost exclusively - it got quite a workout and performed very well even with night-time shots. I was also able to severely crop various images and still retain good detail. I'm including a couple examples.

Thank you, these are great examples. Much appreciated.

SueScott Loc: Hammondsville, Ohio

ToBoldlyGo wrote:

Thank you, these are great examples. Much appreciated.