SIGMA 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 II DC OS HSM

Review and Photo example of the Sigma 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 II DC OS HSM.

Gallery

The example photo was taken using a SIGMA SD14.

Review

The 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 II DC OS HSM is Sigma’s second generation high-power zoom lens for APS-C sensors. It is compatible with APS-C size sensors and, as the lens name suggests, covers a focal length of 18mm to 200mm.
The focal length in 35mm format is as shown in the table below, as there are slight differences between APS-C size sensors.

Conversion factor	Actual focal length (mm)	Manufacturer employed
1.5	27〜300	Nikon, Ricoh Pentax, Sony (Minolta), Sigma (SD1, SD1 Merrill, SD quattro)
1.6	28.8〜320	CANON
1.7	30.6〜340	Sigma (SD9, SD10, SD14, SD15)

This lens retails for around 90,000 yen, but the current second-hand price is less than 10,000 yen, so I bought it thinking it would be a good standard lens for the SD14.

Since it is a high-magnification zoom, there is some distortion at any focal length, but the image editing software AFFINITY Photo2 that I usually use has a distortion correction lens profile specifically for this lens, which corrects the distortion appropriately.

The zoom ring extends and retracts in two steps, but rotates smoothly with no resistance, and the focus ring uses a switch to switch between autofocus (hereinafter referred to as AF) and manual focus (hereinafter referred to as MF). When AF is selected, the focus ring is fixed. If you select MF, you can operate the focus ring, but the rotation angle of the focus ring is small, there is almost no resistance from the ring, and MF operation feels a little difficult due to the sparse response characteristic of AF lenses.

Although the lens motor is HSM and was made in 2012, it worked a little faster than the AF speed of the 24mm SUPER WIDE II made in 1986. I feel that this area has evolved over the past 25 years.

It is equipped with optical image stabilization (OS), but the OS is over 10 years old and has a nominal correction amount of 4 stops. Still, the OS functions well in scenes with slow shutter speeds, and provides sharp, blur-free photos at shutter speeds of around 0.5 seconds.

The first lens with the same specifications was released in 2007, the second generation was released in 2012, and the third generation was released in 2015. Each generation has a different lens design, with the second generation being more compact and the third generation being even more compact, with the minimum focusing distance shortened to 0.39m across the entire range, increasing the versatility of the lens.

Seeing the demand for high-power zoom for APS-C size sensors, Tamron released a lens with similar specifications in 2015. The product’s lens barrel is made of high-rigidity plastic (Tamron calls it engineering plastic), which helps with weight. The lens weighs a very light 400g, and the list price is 36,000 yen, which is not far off from the actual price. The minimum shooting distance is 0.5m, which is not a lens that allows you to get very close. Tamron does not add a short minimum focusing distance to its high-power zoom, and this seems to be the company’s design policy.

AFFINITY Photo2 Distortion correction selection list

Comparison of distortion correction execution results of AFFINITY Photo2

Specification

Items	18-200	18-200-II	18-200C	Tamron Model B018
Focal length(mm)	18-200	←	←	←
Max aperture	3.5-6.3	←	←	←
Min aperture	22	←	←	←
Leaf blade	7	←	←	←
Lens Construction	18 elements in 13 groups	18 elements in 14 groups	16 elements in 13 groups	16 elements in 14 groups
Min distance(m)	0.45	←	0.39	0.5
Lens length(mm)	79	75.3	70.7	96
Max diameter(mm)	100	87.7	86	75
Filter Size(mm)	72	62	62	62
Weight(g)	610	490	430	400
Lens hood	Flower type hood	LH680-01	LH676-01	Flower type hood
Release date	2007.6	2011.10	2014.2	2015.8
Lens mount	CANON EF NIKON-F SIGMA-SA PENTAX-K SONY-A	←	←	CANON EF NIKON-F SONY-A
Price(Yen/No-tax)	79,000-	80,000-	80,000- (SIGMA Online)	36,000