Good picture quality but needs good light.

The images are sharp given enough light so that you don't shoot at the lower fstops or pushing the ISO up

the vibration reduction feature works great, and its capable of taking pretty good pictures as long as the light is good

the vibration reduction feature works great, and its capable of taking pretty good pictures as long as the light is good

In well lit conditions the is a great lens

just don't expect it to do well in poor light

The VR works like a charm in good light

Zooming in all the way, it is tricky to get sharp focus 100% of the time, as it would be for any zoom lens, but with VR (vibration reduction) turned on, this is helped and with enough lighting, vibration isn't an issue.

It's light yet feels fairly sturdy, but I do worry about it breaking since the mount is plastic.

I used it while doing some wedding shots this past weekend and having to shoot available light, this lens saved the day.

The focus speed is ok in good light

In less than optimal lighting, it wont rapid fire, but still takes nice quality photos - I just have to time it better.

The VR is excellent, you can really see the difference when it is on and it makes those low light shots much easier to get

As others have stated it searches a bit in bad light/overcast conditions

Plenty of good light for high shutter speeds (midday, 1/2500s at f/4), but by the time the lens was focused, the subject had moved so far the photo was blown

The autofocus works well most of the time and is reasonably quick, but even in excellent lighting it seems to occasionally (maybe 1 out of 50 pictures) have trouble finding the initial focus for fast moving or distant objects, and would spend about 2 seconds running the focus from stop to stop before finding the proper focus.

Like any lens, your best shots will be in good daylight or strong indoor lighting.

During the evening, and inside the banquet hall where the lighting was not so great, the lens had some trouble with moving subjects too far away to light up with the built in flash

Low lighting and shadows do limit some shots that include action or rapid movement.

It is pretty fast and I have had good photos in bright light as well as evening shots

With nice lighting, as in Natural light, this lens manages to zoom in pretty quickly

Sure, in bad light it struggles, but I just compensate with higher ISOs, which the D7000 handles with aplomb.

so if you're trying to take handheld 200mm action shots at night or dark lighting, you won't be impressed, but that's not what this lens if for.

Outside, in brighter light, there aren't any issues

Takes just as great pictures, not to heavy, HAS A RUBBER GRIP which is dead useful for holding the camera properly, so your hand wont slo[ and comes with a carrying case and lens hood, also useful to keep strong light out

The VR also uses some of your battery, but if you are using the lens as a normal 55-200 (meaning that you have enough light) you can turn it off

But the AF is always very accurate and plenty fast for non-sports shooting in good lighting.

Very sharp, beautiful background blur, light and small, nice to operate

Shooting futbol/soccer games are a joke with f/5.6 (although I tried this indoors...) but capturing things such as birds in flight, etc. with good light easily done.

A very basic zoom lens, gets the job dome for photos in very good light

With sufficient light and good technique, the 55-200 is capable of very good performance

For that, you'd need to shell out a few grand to buy a nice f/2.8 zoom lens that will do wonders, but for this price, you can't beat this quality in decent lighting

It's great as long as you don't expect crazy low light, fast behavior

Quality is good in good light, most of the time, and can be exceptional sometimes.

Very sharp, beautiful background blur, light and small, nice to operate

Very nice lens, light for this focal range

But on the bright side, with all else being equal, lighter is (almost always) better and convenient

The VR (Vibration Reduction) does seem to compensate for the lack of aperture when shooting portraits inside, but in good lighting only

You will still get great shots indoors so long as ample light exists or of course you use a flash

Works great in good lighting

The silent wave motor (SWM) focus system is not very silent; however, it achieves very sharp focus in good light.

When using the zoom at 200mm, the autofocus constantly clicks (like it's hunting for proper focus), and the pictures all come out blurred - more like double vision - in bright light.

It works well with sufficient light and is extremely useful for distant subjects

In dim light, the SWM struggles, and sometime does not achieve focus.

It's limited to use in good light as even VR can't change the laws of physics

Don't let the price of this lens fool you into thinking it can't compete with more expensive lenses - the VR system in this lens works beautifully allowing you to take fast and blur free shots in decent lighting - I highly suggest getting this lens if you're on the fence between this lens or the 70-300mm VR (more then twice the price) but not twice the reach - lighter and much easier to carry and handle - the ultimate walk around unit - I suggest getting a good external flash unit to complement your camera as well as the lens - as the build-in camera flash are limited for any serious application moving forward in your photographic journey - hope this helps you in your moment of desperations before "pulling the trigger" on this purchase.

It's great as long as you don't expect crazy low light, fast behavior

Believe it or not, in good lighting this lens makes really nice portraits

This lens produces really sharp pictures (when holding camera in hands) only when the light is very good

f/4.5-5.6G ED Vibration Reduction Zoom Lens with Auto Focus for Nikon DSLR Cameras which has more reach, while being larger, heavier and more expensive

f/3.5-5.6G Vibration Reduction Zoom Lens with Auto Focus for Nikon DSLR Cameras kit lens

There is also a newer version of this lens Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-200MM f/4-5.6G ED Vibration Reduction II Zoom Lens with Auto Focus for Nikon DSLR Cameras but all it adds is a more compact size, but to begin with the lens is already light and compact