[boggle]

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

[Brightcolours]

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.

[joachim]

[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.

[boggle]

[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

[Brightcolours]

[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/1367083/nikkor-af-s-18-105mm-f35-56-g-ed-dx-vr.html

http://www.kamera-express.nl/product/nikon-af-s-18-105mm-f-3-5-5-6g-vr-ed-dx/

€179:

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