I currently have the Canon EOS 550D with the 18-55mm IS kit lens. I am primarily looking for greater telephoto reach, as I have found the 55mm length to be quite limiting at times. So, I was considering the 18-200mm IS lens which would be a good general purpose replacement for the kit lens, versus the 55-250mm IS lens that would give slightly greater telephoto reach while complementing the kit lens.
What are the pros & cons of each like optical quality, effort in changing lenses etc, considering the fact that the 18-200mm lens is almost 3x as expensive as the 55-250mm one?
Note that it's highly unlikely that I'll be printing photographs larger than A4 size.
Answer
The 18-200 might be more expensive, but I don't think I've ever seen a lens getting worse reviews. (There are two reviews linked there, and they're two of the friendlier ones.)
The 55-250mm, on the other hand, gets rave optical reviews. The worst thing anyone has to say about it is that, well, it is mostly plastic. Really good, solid, well-built plastic, but plastic. And there's some vignetting wide-open that's down to "wont notice it in the real world" levels once you've stopped down one stop. It's sharp, there's only the tiniest amount of barrel distortion at the 55mm end, chromatic aberration is at the sub-pixel level, and once you've taken the aperture off of "full blast" the light distribution is very even.
Given a choice between the two, go for the 55-250mm, no question.
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