wow, this is quite a thread. I had no idea I had ventured into a digital photography course. Nice job - Bob from Boston! while I didn't have the time to read all of your offerings and subjects, you sure provided an incredible amount of 1 on 1 instruction. where were you when I made the leap from film to digital?
at the risk of hijacking the thread (and discussing Canon's EF-S 18-200mm lens), I'll introduce myself as a fairly recent (couple of years) migrant from the ancient land of film photography where for a generation or more, I was a loyal minion of the dark side and one who frequently messed around with my v-series hassies.
photography has been an avocation for me, and not an occupation. to some extent, I blame my current evolvement on my sherpa, CFO, wife, better-half, etc. - for from her mouth came those fatal words - "why don't you..." - followed by the unforced and non-recoverable error - "...purchase a DSLR?" the rest as they say, is history. and believe me, many dead presidents have passed through our accounts from this "error."
Anyhow, Canon at that time was about to launch the EOS 70D - so the 60D kits were available at a substantial discount. To briefly digress, I consider "gear" to be tantamount to a carpenter's tools. As a carpenter cannot build much without his/her tools, likewise for a photographer's images. And to take this a step further, except for ergonomics, I am much more focused (pardon da pun) on IQ (image quality) than the logos and numbers on my gear. IOW, if I am to impress anybody, please let it be from my images and not my gear. Besides, I love a good bargain - (ala, the EF 28-135mm - which, big secret, is oft' to be found "used" for circa $150). So at my entry point to DSLRs, the 60D was a great value/$.
I impulsively added the ef-s 18-200mm kit lens - for compositional flexibility while I deciphered some of the mysteries of this newfangled "magic" box. A couple of years and 50,000 or so images later, that 60D went off to college with my goddaughter and it has been superceeded by the 70D, 5D, 5D2, 1D3, X100s (fuji) and G12 - not in that order.
Oh - and that 18-200mm lens? it went nowhere, as it pretty much stays mounted to the 70D - and yes, my lens list now includes a total of 24 lenses - of which this lowly 18-200mm was the first obtained.
Statistically, and this isn't even close, the 18-200mm is by far my most frequently used lens. One word: convenience. yeah the barrel droops, yeah other glass is sharper, yeah it's slow as cold molassis, yeah its build quality sucks, and yeah the barrel lock is painful to use, and the worst fault - no red ring!. So all it does is take good pictures - at **bleep** near any focal length. drat. it seems safe to assume that adding this to my gear list will impress NOBODY on this or any other photo forum or message board. ah, but there ARE those pesky images...
I recently crossed paths with the following comments and obervation from a big name photographer - and while usually I advise forming one's own opinions - in fairness, Mr. Kelby does bring significant credibility to this discussion:
"I have one of these 18–200mm lenses and, honestly, I love mine dearly. Now, you will see some photographers in forums online saying that these lenses are basically beneath them, because they’re not as sharp as they could be, or they’re not as rugged as the more expensive lenses, etc. Don’t let that throw you. I don’t know a single photographer that actually has one of these that doesn’t love it, mostly because when it’s on your camera, you’re never going to say, “Oh, I missed that shot because I didn’t have the right lens,” because it does it all in one lens. As for quality, I have a 30x40" print of a photo I took with that lens while on vacation, framed, and hanging in my home. Everybody loves it, and it looks perfectly sharp and crisp all the way through." - - - Scott Kelby, Digital Photography 3
Speaking only for myself, many if not most of my photographic excursions take me to places where I haven't a clue what I'll encounter. Combine such uncertainty with my inability to venture forth lugging a bag full of primes and red-ringed lenses. My sherpa would not be pleased or amused. And let me tell ya, when my sherpa's unhappy - - let's not go there.
As example, earlier this year we made reservations for a mid-week venture to the cherry blossoms in wash dc. Sadly, all this global warming froze the **bleep** trees - resulting in our missing any blooms by 12-14 days (so much for effective planning)... but the trip happened regardless - and I roamed the capitol with my trusted 70D w/18-200 & my 5D2 w/17-40 f4L and the totally manual (focus and appertue) UWA samyang 14mm f2.8, a fun lens. The numbers? images were ~ 75% vs 25% in favor of the 18-200mm.
As far as IQ, until I need to produce wall-sized prints for public display, I remain confident in my work and IQ with this lens.
It works for me.
Avoid at all costs. Not yet ready for prime time.
