Looking for

a lens to compliment the lenses I have. I would like a walk around lens with zoom as my legs don't zoom as well as when I was younger, I'd prefer a non AF-S lens and would like to buy it for $600 or less, I would like a little longer reach than what a 50mm lens would provide. Any help appreciated. Paul

What is wrong with the 70-300 you have? Or are you wanting something to fit in the gap between your 35mm and the 70-300mm?

The 18-140 is quite popular on here. I don't have any experience with it, but here is a thread discussing it and the 18-200. 18-140mm or 18-200mm

Grizz; that is what I'm using right now and it fills the bill. I would like a lighter, less cumbersome lens to walk around with. Good question tho- Paul

tea2085 said:

a lens to compliment the lenses I have. I would like a walk around lens with zoom as my legs don't zoom as well as when I was younger, I'd prefer a non AF-S lens and would like to buy it for $600 or less, I would like a little longer reach than what a 50mm lens would provide. Any help appreciated. Paul

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Soooo... More than 50mm but less than 70mm?

I'd tell you to enlarge and crop but if you really want to change lenses for that, maybe a 60mm f/2.8D AF Micro? Pretty sure that's a ~$500 lens, give or take.

18-140 a good all round walk about lens...........

I would just go for something like Tamron 18-270 or Nikon 18-300 that way it fills your gap with using only 1 lens. Now do keep in mind that there are sacrifices to be made by going to an ultrazoom, however removing the need to use your feet to zoom, a small degradation in IQ and swapping out lenses to get the shot can sometimes be that small trade off.

Can't find the 18-140 in anything but AF-S. Am I wrong in assuming that putting a silent auto-focus motor in the lens has to increase the price of the lens? Wouldn't a lens w/o the motor be for sale with a reduced price? Though, I have been researching lens and do not find a lot of them with IF-Why? Paul

I would look for a good used first generation (made in Japan) 18-200. And from everything I can determine, just as sharp as the 18-140. Coupled with my Tokina 12-24 it is my walk-around choice.

I really enjoyed by 18-140 but did not see any in the Refurbished line right now but I did see the 18-200 at Cameta

Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II DX ED AF-S Nikkor-Zoom Lens - Factory Refurbished includes Full 1 Year Warranty

My wife shoots with it on her D7100 and gets great results $469.00 fits in your price point

Don Kuykendall said:

I really enjoyed by 18-140 but did not see any in the Refurbished line right now but I did see the 18-200 at Cameta

Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II DX ED AF-S Nikkor-Zoom Lens - Factory Refurbished includes Full 1 Year Warranty

My wife shoots with it on her D7100 and gets great results $469.00 fits in your price point

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Note that this is NOT the first generation Japanese made 18-200. You can tell because on 1st generation lenses the VR logo is red, plus on the back side of the lens (not shown in pictures) is the "Made in Japan" message.

Here is a sample from this lens on a d7200. As you can see, it is pretty darn sharp.

Bikerbrent, the 18-200 lens is tempting but finding one made in Japan is quite a chore, I will probably go for the 18-140. Paul

Ordered a refurbished 18-140 today from Adorama. I'll let you know how I like it! Paul

tea2085 said:

Ordered a refurbished 18-140 today from Adorama. I'll let you know how I like it! Paul

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Congrats, I am sure you will enjoy it. I was considering this lens for a while until my research indicated it was not really much, if any, sharper than my first gen 18-200.

Since the OP vetoed AF-S lenses, I suggest the 105 f2.8 Micro AF-D

It's light
I paid $350 for mine.
It's awesome as a macro lens
It can also work like a regular prime lens. I really like it as my " walk the dog" lens.
I think it gets more use as a "walk the dog" lens then any of my other lenses.

The 105 and the 35mm f1.8 lens the OP owns would be a nice lightweight combo for bumming around.

Zeke; What is the OP? Did you notice that I purchased a lens? Paul

tea2085 said:

Zeke; What is the OP? Did you notice that I purchased a lens? Paul

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Sorry. Reading is fundamental. I should have more coffee before posting.

I decided to cancel my 18-140 due to it's size and weight- should have researched even more. I am looking at the 16-85 now and think it will compliment what I already have and be a smaller lens for walk abouts. Any comments much appreciated -Paul

You might also want to think about a used Nikon 18-70 lens. It is small (3x3", light (0.86 lbs), sharp and can be had for less than $100. It will nicely fill the gap between your 12-28 and 70-300.