All in One Lens

Rev PJ · 2025-10-06T12:10:08-0400

I have a Nikon D5600. Other than a 35mm prime lens I pick up, my other lenses are the Nikkor 18-55mm and the Nikkor 70-300mm kit lens. I have been looking at a Tamron 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC All-in-One Lens. Partly though it would be good when travelling and with family. Many reviews talk about it not necessarily providing sharp images. Does anyone know how the image sharpness/quality would compare to the kit lens that came with the camera?

Thanks in advance!

nikonbill · 2025-10-06T14:18:37-0400

This is very subjective to the photographer and what "you" wish to see in your images. I cannot comment on the 18-200, however my nice has a D5600 and a Tamron 16-300 (its the DX version) she is very happy and gets some very good images.

I am still using my 18-300 DX Nikon lens as I like the "all in one" not worrying about lens changing plan. I am OK with the trade offs.

So the trade offs are - it is technically not possible to get as good of an image from a wide range zoom as a more narrower "prime" (high quality faster) lens. However if you can't tell in the details for what you shoot, and how you display your images. It is for these shooters the all in ones are designed.

This brings us to - Will it look good to you, only you can determine this. You are doing the correct thing in asking, my recommendation to you is look at the technical details from lens testing. If the points are of concern it should help you decide whats best for you. Be sure to use a meta data app and see what others are shooting for reference. F mount lenses are great buys right now and DX (if full frame is not in your future) is lighter and less money as well.

You will likely hear about much more expensive options, (are they better, yes of course they are) what keeps you shooting is much better than a better camera or lens that stretches your budget more than you want.

For me to your original question I have the two kit lenses you do, the only time I "think" I can tell is @300mm and this is sometimes depending on light and other shooting factors. To me they are the same

All the best in deciding, I am hopeful this helps you - Bill

Clovishound · 2025-10-06T14:41:52-0400

My daughter has the D5600. She had the 18-55 Nikon, a full frame 70-300 VR and a Sigma 105 macro. For her birthday last year, I got her a Niklon 18-200 as a lens she could use on certain types of outings without having to change lenses. She used it a few times and it has been gathering dust every since.

Given that you enjoy landscape photography, I would suggest that you get something to fill the wide angle range first. I got my daughter the Nikon 18-20 DX, and she loves it. Those can be had for a tad over $200 used. Of course, everyone has different shooting styles, like and dislikes.

It's nice not to have to change lenses. It's even nicer to bring home sharp images. It's difficult for the manufacturers to produce lenses with a high zoom ratio that perform well. Also, I wouldn't invest too much money in lenses until you are entrenched enough in photography to know whether you are likely to stick with a crop frame camera, and also if you possibly might move to mirrorless in the foreseeable future. Yes, you can adapt F mount lenses to a mirrorless camera, but I can tell you from experience that you will want the native Z mount lenses after a while. Likewise, you can use a crop frame lens on a full frame camera, but you give up using half the sensor when you do.

Woodyg3 · 2025-10-06T14:55:53-0400

Once upon a time I had a Nikon 18-300. It cost a lot of money. It was not a good lens from the sharpness standpoint, and focus was slow and occasionally inaccurate. I have heard similar issues with the Tamron 18-200. The Nikon 18-140, on the other hand, is a fairly sharp lens that I would recommend. I know it's shorter than the 18-200 you are considering, so maybe it wouldn't appeal to you. Just throwing the idea out there.

BF Hammer · 2025-10-06T17:05:54-0400

Just consider what your intended purpose is for the lens and don't make it do things it is not good at.

An all-in-one is going to include several compromises in design, with the goal of getting good-enough photos if not great. So do not buy the lens with the idea of replacing 2 or 3 lens. You will be supplementing those.

Long ago I had the Nikon 18-135mm kit lens that was included with a D80 I started out with for DSLR. I quickly was disappointed in the optical performance at telephoto. I replaced with a Tamron 18-270mm VC PZD and I liked the photos better with that lens. I had ideas it could also replace my Nikon 70-300mm lens, but that never was an option after I put the Tamron through shakedown. Tamron had bad focus-creep and only approached 270mm at infinity focus. Closer in it was more like 230mm. But I did happily use it with the D80 and D7000 after that.