Looking for a super-zoom for travel and holidays, Part 2: 18-200mm DxOMark reviews

Friday, June 10, 2011

Lens Review

After the Tamron 18-270mm and Sigma 18-250mm reviews, the DxOmark team offers you a series of short reviews for the 18-200mm lenses tested on our website:

For summer 2011, DxOMark delivers its super-zoom, all-in-one selection for Canon and Nikon.

18-200 mm: general presentation

What are the interesting features of these lenses?

  • Inexpensive and light: if you care about price and weight, these lenses are for you
  • Stabilized: these models feature stabilizers which are especially useful on large focals
  • Performance: their performance is not too bad as ‘everyday’ zooms

What are their limitations?

  • Speed: these lenses are a tad slow: the wider aperture of 3.5 at the minimum focal (18mm), and an even slower 6.3 at 200mm (except the Canon 18-200 and Nikon 18-200 which feature 5.6 at 200mm). This means that these lenses are best when used on good lighting conditions. If you are on a darker place you will have to increase the ISO or the exposure time.
  • Image quality: these super zooms do not rank in the same class as primes or heavier (and more expensive) lenses.

Once you are aware of these limitations, you’ll be able to find a good compromise and maybe you will agree with us that "you get you pay for."

18-200 mm lenses: results overview

DxOMark score:

As explained before, these lenses are not designed to provide the best results in low lighting conditions, so do not be surprised if you find their scores to be low.

The DxOMark scores for these seven lenses are very close and range from 5 (Sony DT 18-200mm mounted on the Sony A350 to 13 for the Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS Canon mounted on the Canon EOS 7D.
We want to point out that the Sigma 18-200mm OS score is a pretty good one for this kind of lens.

Resolution:

On resolution metrics, their results are very close as well. The Sony DT 18-200mm is the least sharp (37 lp.mm) of all. The others, such as the Nikon AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED achieve results close to 41 lp/mm.
 
All the results correspond to the lenses being mounted on the cameras with the best resolution available at this time on the DxOMark database:

  • The Canon EOS 7D for Canon lenses
  • The Nikon D7000 for Nikon lenses
  • The Sony A350 for Sony lenses

Vignetting and Chromatic aberration:

Vignetting remains very well controlled on every lens, which is no great feat, as all the available apertures are small.
 All Chromatic Aberration measurements show similar results except for the Sony 18-200mm at 200mm and the Sigma 18-200mm OS Nikon mount.

Distortion:

All lenses in this review present very close results on distortion: strong distortion at 18 mm and pretty well controlled for the focal superior to 50mm.

The DxOMark team selection: Which super-zoom for my Canon APS-C camera?

  • Tamron 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD: The latest Tamron 18-270mm PZD is reviewed here. Mounted on Canon cameras, this lens provides very good results at a very interesting price.
  • Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS: This lens has good results at 18 and keeps them up to 200.
  • Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM Canon: This lens provides similar results as for the Sigma 18-200mm.
  • Canon EF-S 18-200mm_f/3.5-5.6 IS: It is worth noting that this Canon lens has a very homogenous resolution on the whole focal range. It is the only lens that provides the same resolution at the center from 18 mm to 200mm.

If you would like more choices, here are some interesting comparisons for super-zoom lenses on Canon APS-C cameras:

The DxOMark team selection: Which super zoom for my Nikon APS-C camera?

  • Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS
  • Tamron AF 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical [IF] Macro Nikon
  • Tamron 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Nikon
  • Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM Nikon
  • Nikon AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED

Surprisingly, we have a tie here: the DxOMark score ranges only from 8 to 9 for all 5 lenses, so they all should provide satisfactory images. Their features are also pretty similar (same aperture and stabilization for every model).

Note that the previous version of the Tamron 18 -270 achieves a better resolution metric: 44 lp.mm.
The best choice might be either the inexpensive Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM Nikon or the light Tamron 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Nikon.

For further information, here are some interesting comparisons for super-zoom lenses on Nikon APS-C cameras:

Further readings for the Looking for a super-zoom for travel and holidays, Part 2: 18-200mm DxOMark reviews

To provide photographers with a broader perspective about mobiles, lenses and cameras, here are links to articles, reviews, and analyses of photographic equipment produced by DxOMark, renown websites, magazines or blogs.

Lens Review  |  February 23, 2012
Sigma 18-200 mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM II

Sigma announced its 18-200 mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS HSM II lens at the beginning of October 2011. While there’s not much new in terms of its specs compared to the previous version (the Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS —see 18-200mm DxOMark reviews), the publication of its measurement results gives us the chance to take stock of all the Sigma offerings for this lens type.
Lens Review  |  February 10, 2012
Micro Four Thirds logo

Not too long ago, people assumed that choosing a micro 4/3 camera was the same thing as choosing a more versatile compact camera. Then the happy owners would start thinking about getting a zoom lens for this small camera and discover that… the zooms were nowhere near as compact as their camera. What they ended up with was not as pocketable as they hoped, but unfortunately, there are scientific optical laws that can’t be changed. The lenses tested here are good examples of just how compact lenses with large focal ranges can be.
Lens Review  |  May 24, 2011
Looking for a super zoom for travel and holidays? Consider the Tamron 18-270 (Canon and Nikon) part 1

With the release of the new test results for the Tamron 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD for both the Canon mount and the Nikon mount, this could be a good opportunity to explore the DxOMark rankings to help you choose the best super-zoom for your APS-C camera.

We hear you and we’ve been there: when you’re on the market for a super-zoom, the list can be long and confusing. Worry not, we’ve got you covered—a comprehensive list of tested lenses by the main manufacturers in combination with different camera bodies is available on DxOMark.com.

We’ve tested and ranked the latest Tamron 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD, along with the previous model Tamron AF 18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro Canon and its counterpart with a Nikon mount. Also, don’t miss the latest test results on the Tamron AF 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical [IF] Macro on both a Canon and a Nikon mount.

Tests and reviews for Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC Nikon


Tests and reviews for Tamron 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 Di II VC PZD Canon


Tests and reviews for Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS Nikon


Tests and reviews for Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC Canon


Tests and reviews for Canon EF-S 18-200mm_f/3.5-5.6 IS


Tests and reviews for Sony DT 18-200mm F3.5-6.3


Tests and reviews for Nikon AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED


Tests and reviews for Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS Canon