Lens that makes photography a little easier (Sigma 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 DC Lens)

Member Name: annallon

Product:	Sigma 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 DC Lens
Date:	28/06/09 (31 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, good build, good quality photos, large focal range, no front element rotation

Disadvantages: A bit soft at 200mm,

I bought this lens after a massive amount of research, I wanted to find a lens that compromised of two possible lens into one big lens so it would be easier to carry around. I also was feeling very limited by the current lens I had which was Canon 18-55mm basic kit lens.

Most important thing I focussed on was the focal length; 18-200mm. It has an optical zoom of 11 times. This lens has a maximum aperture of F/3.5-6.3. One of the main issue with this lens is that when at 18mm, it has a maximum aperture of F/3.5 but move to 200mm, the max aperture increases to F/6.3. This is annoying as you have to control the lightning even more than you would have to. Also, at 200mm the picture quality tends to deteriorate whatever you're taking a picture of, the sharpness declines. This can be fixed in photoshop/ Lightroom, which is acceptable for an intermediate user but a bit unsuitable for a complete novice.

With the focal length this lens has, a person may get mistaken and think this is a suitable lens to do macro photography. It isn't. Because the lens has not been adapted to do close photography; the minimum focal distance is 0.45m. However, from my experiences so far, the optical quality of the lens has been very good, there is a lot of detail in my photos and I am able to focus on anything I want, making sure it's further away from 0.45m. At its lowest aperture, the lens performs wonderfully as it produces great 'bokeh' photos'; where the background is very blurry, making the focus of the picture stand out even more.

One of the main things about this lens is the quality of the build; even though it has rubber rings and such, it feels really solidly made and quite heavy; which has increased my confidence in using this lens. But however, it is not that heavy that you can't just travel with the lens; it is a travel lens.

I quite like the lock button where you can just lock the lens so the zoom doesn't change, sometimes when you're taking photos, the zoom may slide and mess up the overall focus of the photo. Sigma has found a way to prevent that.

I am a massive filter user where I just clip on the filters in the front. Previous lens I had, the front element would rotate and mess up the filter's angle, I would have to go back and do it again. The front element of this lens doesn't so it's a massive plus for those who love to use filters!

Even with the cons I may have presented here; I think it is worth the price I paid for it which was £220. I think it is a fantastic product for the price!

Summary: Good overall lens for the price, focal range and aperture.

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