Any ideas of upgrading my gear

[flyeminent]

Cool, very informative.
I guess I have to start play with MF on my 18-200mm lens before I feel confident to buy Tokina 116 lens.

erm, 'master' is a frightening word to use, but I think you can get used to it without too much of an issue.

Things that can help with getting good and fast focus with MF:

1) Big and bright viewfinder - helps you to see more clearly to judge whether subject is in focus or not.
2) Focusing aids - focusing screens installed in the camera, etc. Can Google for more info.
3) A lens that helps with MF:
......a) Well-spaced focus distances: i.e. lens doesn't jump from near limit to infinity in a short turn
......b) Smooth focus ring: Can turn smoothly for fine adjustments without jerking
......c) Focus distance scale on lens exterior
4) Focus confirmation indicator
5) etc etc.

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

Cool, very informative.
I guess I have to start play with MF on my 18-200mm lens before I feel confident to buy Tokina 116 lens.

From what I remember about 18-200VR, the focus ring is a little narrow and not very well-spaced. You turn it a bit and focus moves quite a lot. Might not be a good 'initiation' to manual focusing

You need to try out a lens like the Tokina 11-16 or 12-24 to have a feel for their implementation of MF
If you can lay your hands on an old Nikkor Ai or AiS (manual focus only) lens, I think you can appreciate the difference in design.