Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS - £295
This newer edition of Sigma's 18-200mm lens is much bigger and 205g heavier than its older sibling, and has a larger filter size of 72mm, as opposed to just 62mm. The biggest difference, however, is that this lens features an all-important Optical Stabilizer. Handheld shooting is therefore much easier at telephoto zoom settings, given the slow maximum aperture of f/6.3.
It's not all good news, however, because despite being the 'new' version, this lens is still over four years old, and was actually one of the very first Sigma lenses to feature a stabiliser. As such, it's the company's first-generation system, which only delivers a 3-stop advantage, whereas all the other stabilised lenses in our test group give a 4-stop benefit.
Build quality feels pretty solid, and the layout is very similar to the smaller and lighter Sigma 18-125mm f/3.8-5.6 DC OS HSM. Optical quality is good rather than great, very similar to the Canon 18-200mm.
There's no HSM autofocus and AF performance is quite slow, noisy and prone to hunting. Overall, it's better than the original Sigma 18-200mm, but not as good as the other two Sigma lenses in the group.
18mm sample image from the Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC OS
200mm sample image from the Sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC