Sigma 18-200 mm f/3.5-6.3 II DC OS HSM review - Introduction

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Sigma 18-200 mm f/3.5-6.3 II DC OS HSM

25 January 2012

Arkadiusz Olech

1. Introduction

Some years ago megazooms, so lenses with a focal length multiple amounting to more than 10, belonged to this kind of equipment which would be difficult to recommend. Older full frame 28-300 mm devices and the first 18-200 mm instruments for smaller detectors had one main advantage – their versatility. However, they also had a lot of disadvantages.

That situation has changed lately though because several well-done lenses of this type have been launched. It’s enough to mention here the Nikkor 18-200 mm VR or the Sigma 18-200 mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS which, in the 18-55 mm range, fared definitely better than any 18-55 mm kit devices, still performing decently at longer focal lengths.

The Sigma 18-200 mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS, mentioned above, was not a flawless instrument, though. Its performance on the edge of the frame was far from perfect, in the middle of the focal range there was pronounced astigmatism; distortion and vignetting results were high and the stabilization didn’t belong to these most efficient ones either. As you see there was plenty of room for improvement. Apparently Sigma reached the same conclusion because they decided to launch a second version of that lens, and, what’s interesting, a bit smaller when it comes to physical dimensions than its predecessor.

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As lenses of this type are very popular among amateur photographers we decided to check the possibilities of the new Sigma. It was made possible courtesy of the Sigma ProCentrum company which sent us the lens for testing purposes without any delay – thank you very much!

You are also invited to get acquainted with our test procedure, described in the article "How do we test lenses?" If you feel it’s still not enough, please go to our FAQ section where you can find some further explanation.