Bear2 Loc: Southeast,, MI

I love mine, it is on my 7200 80+ % of the time. It is very sharp, and does not creep.
Duane

Boris77

I bought the original 18-200 with a new D200 long ago. Moved it on to a D300 and finally a D7100 where the focusing motor finally slowed almost to a halt. When that became obvious about 3 years ago I bought a refurb 18-200 with the 18mm lock. 50% of my DSLR pictures are shot with this lens.
This is my People Lens, nearly all candid photography. I have little interest in how sharp it is - it does get the pictures I aim at. I do not crop much.

The original 18-200 was a slider from day one. The new 18-200 is snug, the lock is unneeded.
It is good for 13x19" prints when used with a solid hand hold stance.
BUY ONE!
Boris

sloscheider Loc: Minnesota

Have you checked Craigslist? I see them for sale fairly regularly. I just did a search and there's one for $250 about 3 hours drive from me so their out there. Also look on Facebook Marketplace for one nearby.

klaus Loc: Guatemala City, Guatemala

I think (and this is my own personal opinion) that super-zooms like the 18-200 are really no longer needed on modern high megapixel DX cameras.

Modern DX cameras will brutally reveal the flaws of any lens and only show their full potential when used with good to excellent glass.

Most of my shots with my D7200 are done now with primes or short zoom lenses. My walkaround lens is a 17-50mm f/2.8 which works great for vacation shooting. I can count the times on one hand where I really missed or needed the range of a telephoto lens. Also, if bad comes to worse and I really need that extra range, with 24mp there is a lot of room to crop.

Yes, I have and use telephoto lenses but they are relegated to special type photography like portraiture or wildlife. Only then will I stick that tele on my camera and it comes off as soon as I am done.