[nostatic]

no worries. It is actually good for me as well. Sunday I was having lunch with the artist g/f and I didn't care for the photos on the wall. She asked me to explain why, so I had to tell her (she keeps me honest). It wasn't to be mean (though sometimes criticism is just that), but rather if I can't explain why I don't like someone else's work, then I probably don't really understand my own work.

Actually I wouldn't depend on the lens to improve the pics. Most of the issues I see are exposure and composition related. It depends on the room though as you're often pretty limited in position. I personally hated the 18-200 lens when I had my Nikon, but I'm somewhat in the minority. A zoom is useful for a situation like a wedding but I prefer primes. That said I've gotten some great shots with zooms and with my p&s. Just depends on the light.

Do you have the exposure data? And is that the 18-55 or 18-70 kit lens? I would think you'd probably be shooting wide open and be getting as narrow a DOF as the lens will give you but maybe the flash stops it down? Or if you are a long ways away you'll lose the nice bokeh as well. That is where a bit longer lens helps. For "portraits" I shoot a 77mm prime that just kills. *But*, indoors I can often run out of room and need a wider lens. If you're going for fly on the wall and trying to stay out of the action, then zooms are pretty much required. With my setup, I'd probably swap between 16-45 and 50-135.