Choosing 18-200 lens

[giannisna]

Hi everyone,
I have a Nikon D3100 and i 'd like to upgrade my lens from 18-55 to a 18-200. I did some research and and i found both the AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II and the SIGMA 18-200mm F3.5-6.3 DC OS. Could some one tell the difference between these two lenses and what would you suggest.
Thank you very much in advance!

[ptremb3043]

The biggest difference is the aperture size at full zoom. The Nikon is a f/5.6 and the sigma is a f/6.3. that's a 1/3f stop less light from the sigma and actually below the minimum required per Nikon for proper auto focus (they recommend no more than 5.6). Tha'ts not to say it won't work, It just won't auto focus good or possibly at all under less than bright light The other thing on the sigma is you don't list if it has HSM. This is the internal motor drive to for auto focus. If it is HSM than it will work as listed, if no HSM than it will only manual focus but will meter properly. If you were looking at one of the large sigma lenses (over 400mm) than I would say go for it and learn the short falls of the lens, however since this is a smaller zoom I would have to recommend you go for Nikon lens.

[OsmosisStudios]

Do yourself a favour: get the 55-300 VR instead and thank me later. Perhaps with the money you saved.

[giannisna]

Thanks a lot guys i appreciate your answers. To be honest the 55-300 VR was the first thing i thought and its a lot cheaper but the problem is i will have to change lenses when i need a wide angle which is inconvenient when you are making videos. The choice will depend on my next month's budget.
Thanks a lot again!

[Almond.Butterscotch]

Changing lenses > one superzoom.

Between the strange distortion on the 18-200 design and the slow aperture, it's really not worth it. Also, bear in mind that many serious videographers usually have a set of primes for their video cameras to get the shallows depth of fields.

[OsmosisStudios]

Several lenses covering shorter focal length ranges will give better image quality than a single superzoom. If ALL you're doing is video, then have at it with an 18-200.

[giannisna]

Thanks again!

[TheEagleSpirit]

a bit expensive but I use the nikor f2.8 70-200mm lens

[giannisna]

Thanks EagleSpirit! The 2.8 70-200 is ranked very high in all the reviews i read but it's price makes it untouchable for me at the moment.

[richardrash]

hmmm....Tamron 18-270 VC? Sigma 18-250mm OS?
If you are just doing video, you can grab a 18-200mm VR I for $450?