Canon EF-S 18-200mm / Sigma 18-200mm DC, any one used either?

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James

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I wanted to buy a telephoto as I have the kit 18-55mm and the 50mm prime and I have run into these 2. They seem like pretty good all rounders and means I can get rid of the 18-55mm kit lens. Also seems a really nice lens to have on a holiday too. Has anyone used either and can offer any advise on them?

Canon is a 18-200mm F3.5-5.6 and the Sigma is 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 (Sigma is also half the price)
 
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koffiejunkie

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I had the Canon 18-200mm IS. It's a fine lens, and as far as I can tell one of the better ones in that category. I travelled quite a bit with it - you can see lots of pics from it in my flickr stream. Here's a slideshow of the lot.

The Sigma you're referring to, at half the price, is most likely the old, non stabilised one. I would not recommend getting this. For a little more you can get the stabilised one, and for about the same price as the Canon you can get the one with HSM motor (same thing as Canon's USM, someting I missed on the 18-200mm IS).

Be aware that designing a compact lens with such a range requires compromises, and you'll likely see areas where your 18-55mm outperforms the 18-200mm. But it is a pretty good range for travel, and easy enough to carry around.
 
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GTi

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The photographs are awesome koffiejunkie. Thanx for sharing.
@James u can't go wrong with a 18 - 200mm range but koffiejunkie is correct in saying, get the Sigma with OS HSM a newer and more stable lens.
Good luck.
 
hilton

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Isn't the better option to keep the 18-55 and rather get the highly rated EF-S 55-250 instead?

Or if you need slightly more range than 200mm then perhaps think about either the 17-85 or the 18-85 together with the 70-300mm.

A lot more of course but maybe worth considering and then saving for?

YMMV



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GTi

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Hilton you missing the point, don't think he wants to lug around with so many lenses, thats the beauty of the 18 - 200mm.
 
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koffiejunkie

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GTi said:
...but koffiejunkie is correct in saying, get the Sigma with OS HSM a newer and more stable lens.
Click to expand...

I wasn't suggesting anything to that effect. I was just saying the Sigma has HSM as an option, the Canon does not. I like the HSM/USM motors, and I missed it on the 18-200mm.

I wasn't even thinking about this, but looking at the photozone.de reviews (Canon, Sigma), the Sigma does appear to be a better lens all round, except in the bokeh department.
 
hilton

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GTi said:
Hilton you missing the point, don't think he wants to lug around with so many lenses, thats the beauty of the 18 - 200mm.
Click to expand...

You are 100% correct of course. However I've made too many mistakes in life where I went for the lower quality, more quantity approach and then regretted it later. That 18-200 range doesn't come free optically.

Here's a thought, before I got into photography I saw this guy at the Vic Falls carrying around two cameras with hectic lenses. At the time I thought he was crazy and the method completely overkill but now I see the madness.

Anyway, the 18-200 has good reviews though.
 
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James

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hilton said:
Isn't the better option to keep the 18-55 and rather get the highly rated EF-S 55-250 instead?
Click to expand...
I was actually looking at the 55-250mm as the one site I went to had 600 odds reviews with an average of 9.1/10; lowest review was an 7 or 8. Then I stumbled onto this little guy and thought... hmmm, my bag is pretty small (Slingshot 102) and I don't really have space for too many lenses, especially when travelling an so this really caught my attention. Only issues I see and have read is that at full zoom it is a little slow and you get some dodgy results on both ends of the scale.

hilton said:
A lot more of course but maybe worth considering and then saving for?
Click to expand...
Me save... I am the most compulsive buyer, there is no such thing as wait :D

koffiejunkie said:
I had the Canon 18-200mm IS. It's a fine lens, and as far as I can tell one of the better ones in that category. I travelled quite a bit with it - you can see lots of pics from it in my flickr stream. Here's a slideshow of the lot.

The Sigma you're referring to, at half the price, is most likely the old, non stabilised one. I would not recommend getting this. For a little more you can get the stabilised one, and for about the same price as the Canon you can get the one with HSM motor (same thing as Canon's USM, someting I missed on the 18-200mm IS).

Be aware that designing a compact lens with such a range requires compromises, and you'll likely see areas where your 18-55mm outperforms the 18-200mm. But it is a pretty good range for travel, and easy enough to carry around.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that and the pics, looks pretty good to my padawan eye. I don't know too much about the Sigma lenses (not that I know much about the Canon lenses) but on dpreviews, both lenses get a recommended and both have their pitfalls I guess. I will also read those reviews and see if they throw me either way.

Thanks all
 
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James

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Aaaarg, I think I am my own worst enemy, the more I read the more people suggest other lenses and now I am looking at the Tamron 18-250mm (f/3.5-6.3 Di II LD Aspherical [IF] macro) as this seems to kick the pants off both of the other lenses, especially in the review on photozone.de. Back to the drawing board!
 
hilton

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I was going to point that out but then noticed that his location is some dorpie in the UK.
 
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James

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Hmmm, the 18-270mm has an image stabiliser / vibration correction, is that a big enough selling point and does it warrant the price difference?
 
hilton

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Those prices are absolute madness. The 18-270 sells for $479 with a mail-in rebate.
 
bwana

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James said:
Hmmm, the 18-270mm has an image stabiliser / vibration correction, is that a big enough selling point and does it warrant the price difference?
Click to expand...
At a max aperture of f/6.3 at the long end you'll probably want IS.
 
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koffiejunkie

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James, just so you know, the 18-55, 50mm f/1.8, 55-250 and a xxxD body can all fit in a LowePro TLZ2 bag. I have the bag and a friend tried it out for precisely that combination. That might solve the travel issue - it's still pretty compact - and cost you much less.
 
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