Is it better to get the 18-200 mm lens instead of the standard 18-55? Nikon?

For nature/pet photography.

I'm trying to get closer pics of my pets as well as nature and it seems 18-55 mm isn't as sharp as i would like it to be.

My question is the 18-200 better all around? If so, do All nikon lens fit for all nikon DSLRs? I have a D3200. Also I'm not sure why the pricing range is so different. Ranging prices for 500-800$ new but different "f " which I'm not sure what it means yet.

An 18-200mm lens is generally NOT going to be as sharp as an 18-55mm.

The 18-200mm has nice versatility. It is sharp enough for a 12 MP D90, but I think the 24 MP D3200 is going to magnify its limitations. The 18-105mm or the 18-140mm are reputed to be pretty sharp. With the 18-140mm you pay a price in distortion.
With any lens, no matter how great, 24 MP is going to magnify focus error and camera shake. You may need a tripod. Turn off VR if you are using a tripod.

Firstly, you need to find out if the lack of sharpness you speak of is down to the lens, or your technique, or the post-processing, or a combination of all three. A lot of people say their lenses are not sharp while shooting at shutter speeds too low for their focal length, stabbing at the shutter button, not post-processing their images, etc. This is a recipe for unsharp pictures. However, if you are doing everything right and are still not happy with the results… Concerning the 18-200…(which will fit fine on your d3200 btw).

The wider a zoom range a lens has, the more potential it has for optical defects, including sharpness. The 18-200 is, I'm given to understand, not the sharpest lens out there. It is designed as an all in one, so it won't match lenses with more reasonable zoom ratios, let alone a good prime lens. I very much doubt it will produce sharper files than the 18-55.

If you want quality over convenience, then a decent midrange prime lens (say around 85mm f1.8) will almost certainly be sharper than all but the absolute best zooms, it will get you closer than the 18-55, too.

The AF-S 18-200 mm VR fits and can be used on all current Nikon dSLR's

It has the same wide angle view at 18 mm as the 18-55 mm lens, but reaches out further than a 55 mm lens.

"f" stands for f/stop. That is the fraction of the lenses aperture when compared to the focal length of the lens.

A sample would be if a 50 mm lens had a 25 mm aperture, the it would be called an f/2 lens, or 50/25 = 2

I really do not know what very one is talking about as far as sharpness.

Here are two photos shot using the 18-200 mm lens.

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The subject is in focus, but not the background. This is due to the depth of field at 200 mm and at f/8.html? Sort=6&o=28

This subject is also in focus, however there's more depth of field since the lens length was around 50 mm at f/8