Can I use an older lens on a nikon d800?

I have l lens from my nikon d200 I would like to purchase the Nikon d800 but the info I got says the lens is not compatible because it's a vr lens the lens is a Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S ED VR II Nikkor can I damage the camera with this lens? If the vr anti vibration does not work it won't bother me a bit

The D800 is a full frame camera, while the 18-200mm is a DX lens (1.5x cropped or APS-C). You won't damage the camera or lens but since it is a DX lens, the D800 will shift into DX mode (assuming you have enabled auto shifting between modes). This also changes the resolution from 36Megapixels down to 15Megapixels. So the lens is compatible, but you will not get the highest resolution possible out of the camera with this lens.

For that reason, I'd classify the 18-200mm as a temporary lens - until you can afford to replace it with the 28-300mm, which is more or less the FX version of the lens.

If you have a lot of DX lenses for your D200, you may want to buy a DX body rather than go to FX. A DX body (such as the D7100) will allow you to keep your lenses at full resolution.

On the other hand, you won't need 36Mp of resolution all the time, so if you keep your DX lenses, you get the equivalent of a 15Mp camera, and that is likely to be sufficient for many photographs.

The VR is not a problem. However, it is a DX lens. Combining Nikon FX bodies and DX lenses does not cause damage (Canon's have a problem with that), but the image will not cover the FX sensor, leaving dark corners in FX mode.

You can get an FX 28-300mm lens to get the same angular field as the 18-200mm gives on a DX sensor. However, expect to be disappointed with the corner sharpness. The hidden cost of FX is that not only are the FX lenses heavier and more expensive, it is harder to match the image quality in the corners without professional quality lenses with zoom ranges in smaller increments than DX.

You can use any Nikkor lens from the manual focus AI lenses to the current AF-S lenses

You have a misconception about DX lenses used on an FX camera.

ONLY Canon cameras can't use their equivalent DX lenses (EF-S) on full frame (Nikon DX) cameras

I use the same Nikkor lenses I use on my Nikon F4 and D200, D300 and D3 cameras

Your D800 automatically adjusts for the DX lenses you use on it.

Yes.

VR is just vibration reduction. It will make your pictures look sharper. Use the following guide to see what works and what won't.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/...s.htm#dslr