Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.4 DC Macro Lens Review

Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM Handling and Features

Weighing only 430g, this optic is lighter and slightly more compact than equivalent superzoom lenses from other manufacturers, and it is almost as small as many standard 18-55mm kit lenses. The lens balances well on the Canon EOS 7D body used for testing, and should also feel right at home on more compact entry-level camera bodies too.

High quality plastics have been used for much of the lens' construction, with a smooth matt finish that doesn't mark easily and the lens mount is made of metal. A wide rubberised zoom ring fills much of the lens barrel and the zoom action feels very smooth indeed, having just enough resistance to prevent the zoom creeping through the range when pointed downwards, however the zoom mechanism does tighten up slightly at 135mm when being zoomed in. A locking switch is provided to hold the lens at 18mm during transport.

A silent HSM focusing motor powers the focusing mechanism, resulting in fairly quick focusing. Focusing is performed internally, so the 62mm filter thread does not rotate, making this lens ideal for use with polarising and graduated filters.

Full time manual focus adjustments are not supported as the focus ring is solidly engaged with the focusing motor. Manual focus adjustments can be tricky to apply, as the focus ring is very loose, and has a very short travel from infinity to close focusing. The close focusing distance of 39cm is quite close for a lens with a zoom range like this.

Thanks to the optical stabilisation, sharp hand-held images are possible around half the time at shutter speeds as low as 1/40sec at 200mm, which is roughly three stops slower than the usual rule of thumb would dictate is possible.

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