Opticallimits

Hello,



in 2008, I got me a D80 with a AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED

(special offer, would normally have exceeded my budget). As a DSLR newbie,

I've been quite impressed by its overall quality. I do appreciate the zoom range,

I saves me from changing lenses when on vacation and the like.

Unfortunately, it dropped on a stone floor during last vacation -- clearly the

mechanics inside is broken. I had a similar damage repaired by Nikon once, for

250 Euros. Not cheap, but there seems to be little on the market with a similar

focal length range. 18-200 VR simply exceeds my current budget. Any advice on this,

perhaps alternatives from Sigma or Tamron?



TIA, Boggle

250 dollars, that is too much for repair. The better, new Nikon 18-105mm VR (yes, includes VR) costs €190 new in my country The Netherlands).

I looked at B&H (assuming your are from the US) and saw that there the new 18-105mm VR costs $280 new.



The Sigma 18-125mm OS (image stabilized, like VR) costs 340 at B&H.

[quote name='Boggle' timestamp='1311096347' post='10157']

Hello,



in 2008, I got me a D80 with a AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED

(special offer, would normally have exceeded my budget). As a DSLR newbie,

I've been quite impressed by its overall quality. I do appreciate the zoom range,

I saves me from changing lenses when on vacation and the like.

Unfortunately, it dropped on a stone floor during last vacation -- clearly the

mechanics inside is broken. I had a similar damage repaired by Nikon once, for

250 Euros. Not cheap, but there seems to be little on the market with a similar

focal length range. 18-200 VR simply exceeds my current budget. Any advice on this,

perhaps alternatives from Sigma or Tamron?



TIA, Boggle

[/quote]



The 18-135mm got sort of replaced by the 18-105mm VR. In the process the range shrunk a bit, but the lens gained the VR.

[quote name='Brightcolours' timestamp='1311098524' post='10158']

250 dollars, that is too much for repair. The better, new Nikon 18-105mm VR (yes, includes VR) costs €190 new in my country The Netherlands).

I looked at B&H (assuming your are from the US) and saw that there the new 18-105mm VR costs $280 new.

The Sigma 18-125mm OS (image stabilized, like VR) costs 340 at B&H.

[/quote]



It was Euros, not Dollars (I'm in Germany) -- but still too expensive to repeat.

Meanwhile, the Sigma seems to be down to around 230 Euros as is the Nikkor 18-105mm VR.

http://www.amazon.de/product-reviews/B00153ZMY0 has some customers' reviews (in German)

stating that Sigma suffers from quality problems.



Anyway, the VR feature might well outweigh the missing telefoto range

in the new lens :-)



Thanks for all of your advice, Boggle

[quote name='Boggle' timestamp='1311350481' post='10205']

It was Euros, not Dollars (I'm in Germany) -- but still too expensive to repeat.

Meanwhile, the Sigma seems to be down to around 230 Euros as is the Nikkor 18-105mm VR.

http://www.amazon.de/product-reviews/B00153ZMY0 has some customers' reviews (in German)

stating that Sigma suffers from quality problems.



Anyway, the VR feature might well outweigh the missing telefoto range

in the new lens :-)



Thanks for all of your advice, Boggle

[/quote]

Strange that I read dollars <img src='http://forum.photozone.de/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/unsure.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':unsure:' />



Maybe it is an idea to order it from the netherlands, if postage is not high?

€189:

http://www.fotokonijnenberg.nl/product/1...dx-vr.html

http://www.kamera-express.nl/product/nik...-vr-ed-dx/

€179:

http://www.cameraland.nl/product/127/14756/