More from the 55-200 VR

I'm really digging this lens! No, the slow-shutter-speed telephoto shots aren't totally sharp, but for on-screen viewing, they're "acceptible." Consider that it was so dark that I had to use the little LED "flash" on my cell phone camera as a flashlight to walk through the woods to get this image, well after the sun had set on the horizon:



1/8th @ 200mm ISO 800, a little sharpening and NeatImage.

It's not perfect, of course, but considering I was shooting in near-total darkness, literally catching the last light hitting this mountain, I think it's pretty cool that I was able to catch something hand-held...

Here are a few more images, some with VR needed, and some without:



1/90th @ 200mm ISO 200

Mmm. Huckleberry. Some of the softness is probably because I was a little too close. I actually wanted to slap the macro on, but since we were too busy picking huckleberries, I decided to leave the 55-200 VR on and step back beyond the 3-feet minimum. Here's where the 18-200 VR would've shined a little more, since its minimum focusing distance is only .5 m (compared with the 1.1m of the 55-200 VR). Again, pay a lot more, get a bit more...







The clarity of this lens, even when VR may not be needed, is still pretty amazing.

I can tell that the images I'm going to get in the 55-200mm focal length will be much better than what I've gotten out of my other lenses in that focal length. Nikon has produced yet another low-budget beauty (to accompany the 50mm f/1.8 AF).