Photography Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professional, enthusiast and amateur photographers. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
I wanted to ask that once you have purchased a lens of say 18-200mm, then is it required to purchase other lenses — say 24-70mm, 24-105mm, 18-105mm, 28-135mm,etc.
Does 18-200mm lens satisfy all the needs of the above lenses? for example: Can it focus at 18-105mm or 28-135mm ranges effectively?
You are not required to purchase any lenses at all. It all depends on your photography needs and what you're willing to spend your money on.
Regarding range, the superzoom 18-200 mm covers the same range as the other four lenses you mentioned. All of the other lenses focal ranges are parts of the large range of the 18-200 mm lens. The 18-200 can surely acquire focus at all focal lengths in it's range (as far as I know there are no zooms that can't lock focus in certain parts of it's range).
There are other factors and characteristics of a lens that matters to some photographers, otherwise lenses such as primes that can be a lot more expensive than the not so expensive 18-200 mm wouldn't exist. Some of these factors are hard or even impossible to achieve in a superzoom and if it could be done, the lens would be prohibitively expensive.
Some characteristics that are important in lenses other than the focal length range are:
Also different lenses have different warranties and quality controls and even if this doesn't necessarily improve the lens as such it can be important to the photographer.
Together they can explain why some lenses are 10 times more expensive than others with seemingly close specifications. Since there are so many different aspects of a lens, every single one that you can buy in the stores are a result of the art of balance between different factors, with price usually being a highly limiting one.
This doesn't mean that you have to buy the other lenses. In fact I recommend that you don't until you know what your needs are and especially that your current gear is insufficient.
In a word: no. The 18-200mm will suffice. And a single lens is very convenient. However, there may be advantages (mainly in picture quality) in purchasing some other lenses. But remember more lenses can be cumbersome. What you need really depends on what sort of thing you do.
From experience I would offer this advice. Stick with your one zoom for now. After taking several hundred pictures, decide which shots you like best, or enjoyed taking the most. Then from these look to see which focal lengths you used. You may be surprised to find that almost all were taken at or around a certain focal length, 35mm for instance, in which case you may then look into buying a better quality zoom around that focal-length (24-70mm for example) or even a 35mm prime. Or you may find that you use the whole range of the zoom; in which case you'll know you already have the right lens for you.
When I did this many years ago, I found that I almost exclusively used the 28-35mm range of my zoom. I then concentrated on buying the best quality lenses I could afford in that narrow range. This approach has served me well.
In essence I suggest letting experience guide your future purchases (rather than trying to guess your needs, or basing them on what others recommend).
Some reasons to get lenses with overlapping focal ranges:
If you don't know what lenses you need and why, don't buy anything. That goes for any camera equipment. The variety of equipment available is immense, as is the range of what it can do and what it is suited for. When you are unhappy with your current equipment, then look into equipment that will solve your then-current issues.
I used an 18-200 until the image quality and speed issues were limitations, then I migrated to the more expensive shorter range and prime lenses.
There is no magic bullet to being a better photographer.
