Best Lenses for Nikon D3200

In this article, we have reviewed the 10 best lenses for Nikon D3200 of different types according to your photography needs along with a comparison table to help you choose the best lens possible. 

Nikon is one of the top camera manufacturers in the world. For decades they have been creating some of the best cameras the photographers have loved using. With millions of Nikon users around the globe, Nikon has already more than 50+ cameras in their lineup for all budgets.

It is for this reason that Nikon is so much popular among photographers. Their cameras and lenses come with the latest technology which enables you to click the most beautiful and gorgeous pictures every time. A very popular entry-level DSLR in their lineup is the D3200.

Ever since it was released it became an instant hit and now Nikon D3200 is one of the best budget-friendly cameras available in the market. It comes with a whopping 24.1-megapixel sensor which also has 1080 HD+ video capability.

Today, we will discuss with you the best lenses for Nikon D3200 that you can purchase. We have listed all categories of lenses starting from basic kit lenses to wide-angle and even a telephoto lens. Continue reading our article till the end because we will also pick our top lenses from the list which we think will go fantastically well it.

Best lenses for Nikon D3200 you can buy

The Nikon D3200, as we mentioned above, is one of the top entry-level DSLRs available in the market which offers some fantastic beginner-level experience to the users.

But if you want to take your images to a whole new level and improve the quality of your photography, then these 10 lenses are going to help you achieve the best.

1. Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 VR (Portrait Lens)

The Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 VR comes with the D3200 kit as well. It is the first product on our list which you can purchase along with the camera.

So why would you want to miss out on such a good lens?

The new Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 VR comes with Nikon’s brand new and enhanced Vibration Reduction stabilization system that helps to provide you with 4 stops of shake reduction.

You will be delighted to know that Nikon has integrated the Super Integrated Coating which helps to improve and bring much better balance in the color and saturation levels of the pictures and videos you click with this camera. It also helps to reduce glare and ghosting for much clear and sharper images.

The D3200’s seven-bladed aperture diaphragm gives a soothing background blur all the time. However, the 15-55mm II is not the perfect constant lens due to the decrease in aperture size when you increase the focal length.

This 18-55mm II lens provides enhanced sharpness in the pictures. The low lint picture quality is not the best but not extraordinary as well. If you are not very much concerned about a little bit of vignetting on the sides at a wider focal length, Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 VR can be a brilliant lens on the go.

It is the basic lens that can go very well with the Nikon D3200 but it also offers some amazing versatile features as well.

2. Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Macro OS (High Zoom Ratio Lens)

The Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Macro OS is one of the best lenses for the Nikon D3200 available in the market for a price of $440. This 18-250mm focal length lens is easily compatible with several DSLRs and the D3200 is one of them.

The lens comes with the excellent Micromotor-type AF motor which provides both automatic and full-time manual focusing.

The Image Stabilization integration in the lens allows the users to get more stable and clear pictures without too many hassles. If you are worried about the flaring and ghosting in the images, then the Super Multi-Layer Coating allows the lens to reduce the flare by significant margins.

So the brightness and contrast levels of the pictures are much more enhanced and balanced than ever. Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) provides a really quick auto-focusing performance which is fast and quiet.

Sigma has ensured that the 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Macro OS will serve your needs perfectly in the long run by including a brass-made bayonet applied to the surface of the DSLR for reinforcing the strength and long-term usage.

The Thermally Stable Composite (TSC) prevents the lens body to contract in varying temperatures. Due to the wide-angle capabilities of the 18mm to telephoto 250mm, using this lens on your Nikon D3200, you will be able to shoot different pictures in almost every environment.

Image distortion has been reduced to a significant extent and from now you will soothingly balanced images easily.

Therefore, if you are looking for an all-rounder lens for Nikon D3200, this can be one of the best options for you.

3. Nikon 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 (Vibration Reduction Zoom Lens)

The Nikon 18-300mm f.3.5-6.3 VR follows the unique design of most other Nikkor lenses. The barrel is made of black polycarbonate and has gold accents on it. The lens is perfectly compatible with the Nikon D3200 and allows users to get a brilliant insight into the world of excellent Nikon image technology.

The lens is powered by Nikon’s ‘Silent Wave Motor’ for faster and smoother focusing which provides both full manual and automatic focus to the users. The lens is also integrated with Nikon’s ‘VR II’ optical image stabilization that provides more stable and well-balanced pictures.

Hence you won’t have to worry about blurry images anymore even when you are shooting with your hands. The quality of the images is excellent in good lighting conditions with a good amount of accuracy in colors and tones along with well-balanced saturation.

The camera shake has been reduced by significant margins.

The Nikon 18-300mm f.3.5-6.3 VR comes with a complex optical design that includes 19 lens elements that have been arranged in 14 groups. Three of these groups use the Extra-low Dispersion (ED) glass to minimize ghosting and aberrations.

The Nikon’s ‘Super Integrated Coating’ (SIC) prevents flaring and ghosting. The nine rounded blades provide excellent rendering to the blurred backgrounds. The Vibration Reduction system offers better stability to the photographers and the pictures come out blur-free.

If you are looking for a reliable and efficient lens that offers smooth and stable images, then Nikon 18-300mm f.3.5-6.3 VR can really be a fantastic choice.

4. Nikon Nkr 18-200mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II (Zoom Lens)

The DX Nkr 18-200mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II is one of the top category lenses that are available for the Nikon D3200. It provides much better performance than most other lenses in the market.

The Extra-Low Dispersion Glass is a brand new optical glass developed by Nikon, which provides much better quality to capture an optimum correction of the camera’s chromatic aberrations. The AS of the lens stands for the Aspherical lens elements. This element helps to eliminate the different chromatic aberrations which can distort the images.

This lens uses the non-spherical surfaces of the glass to do so. The Silent Wave Motor represents the advancement of lens technology that Nikon was able to achieve. It makes way for sharper and clear images every time you press that shutter. It takes virtually a fraction of second to change from fully automatic to full manual control of the lens.

Therefore we experienced hassle-free control of the camera without any issues.

We are delighted to see that Nikon has integrated the brand new Vibration Reduction Technology which helps to provide more stable images.

When we tested the lens on the Nikon D3200 we found pretty decent images in low lighting but when the conditions are right, the images came out to be very good with a nice balance between brightness and contrast levels with no edge blurring or vignetting which we saw in the Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 VR.

So if you are looking for a reliable and all-rounder lens for both close-up and zoom shots, this is one of the best lenses for the Nikon D3200.

5. Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 (Ultra Wide-Angle Lens)

Sigma is one of the top manufacturers of lenses for various other DSLR brands like Canon and Nikon. This is Sigma’s second entry into our list of the best lenses for Nikon D3200 and this product we are going to talk about is Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6.

This Sigma lens produces some of the most spectacular Wide Angle images which we have tested in recent times.

It is affordable and even beginners can choose to buy it if they want to improve their performance in clicking wide-angle images. This is one of the widest of the super-wide lenses available for the Nikon D3200. The lens has the standard “dirty black” finish which looks subtle to some.

The lens also has rubber ribbed areas for a more comfortable grip. Sigma has claimed that the lens elements include three SLDs and three other aspherical elements. The zoom control of this lens is pretty nice and we did not have much problem with constantly revolving the lens.

The focal lengths are lined up as 10mm, 12mm, 14mm, 17mm, and 20mm. Since there is pretty much enough room between the focal lengths you will be able to shoot images of different scenes using the same length comfortably.

We noticed that the Auto-Focusing system is quite hectic and you need to be really careful. The image produced by this lens is good but not extraordinary. The flaring is quite a problem to think about because at all focal lengths, too much flare is ghosting the subject and you will get some pretty rough shots. Lens bokeh is nice and pretty decent without any blurry edges.

This lens is perfect for taking photographs with balanced lighting conditions but too much exposure can really provide you with some unpleasant pictures.

6. Nikon 35mm f/1.8 (Prime/Portrait Lens)

if you are looking for an affordable and budget-friendly lens for your everyday needs, then the Nikon 35mm f/1.8 is a great option.

Why?

Well, because it comes with tonnes of excellent features which makes the lens even more productive and intuitive. The Nikon Silent Wave Motor provides a faster and much better quality of autofocus without any distortion or shakes in the images.

When we tested the autofocus, it was quite decent which could focus on the subject in a fraction of a second.

The Extra-low Dispersion (ED) element makes way for unmatched sharpness in the images and provides a huge improvement in the field of color correction. It also minimizes the chromatic aberrations easily. That is why the images that come out are well-balanced between the level of brightness and light exposure.

It comes with 11 elements in 8 groups (including 1 ED lens element, and 1 aspherical lens element). An aspherical lens element has been integrated into the lens to eliminate any risk of coms and other kinds of ghosting. You can very easily change from the Manual to Autofocus mode effortlessly.

Many of you would ask, and before you do so, yes the Nikon Super Integrated Coating (SIC) is available which provides better enhancement of light transmission and efficiency. Due to the 7 diaphragm blades, the out-of-focus bokeh backgrounds will be much softer than before.

Even though the extra-low dispersion (ED) glass element helps to capture better night shots than other Nikon lenses, it can still improve. The Nikon 35mm f/1.8 is surprisingly lightweight and very handy which allows you to carry it without too much hassle.

If you want to get the best image quality from your entry-level Nikon D3200 DSLR, then this lens will surely help you to improve your performance.

7. Nikon AFS Nikkor 50mm F/1.8G (Telephoto Lens)

If you are looking for a reliable and accurate portrait lens that will help you to capture all the sharp details and edges of a portrait shot, then the Nikon AFS Nikkor 50mm F/1.8G is a brilliant option.

It is the ideal walk-around lens for the Nikon D3200 you can carry easily. The lens has really lightweight and comes with sturdy build quality. It is one of the best lenses for the Nikon D3200 if you want to capture a portrait shot. The performance level of this lens is outstanding.

It has been loaded with brand-new features that allow you to maximize and improve your overall performance without too many hassles. The lens has been integrated with a super-fast f/1.8 to 16 aperture that clicks stunning and sharp images all the time.

The images which are clicked with this lens provide a gorgeous background that has the perfect amount of bokeh and blur.

The lens is integrated with the Silent Wave Motor which provides smooth and precise autofocusing abilities to the users. The Nikon AFS Nikkor 50mm F/1.8G provides transcendental true-to-life color in most of the images you capture.

This is even more possible because of the brand’s Super Integrated coating that provides not only superior clarity, but the lens is also able to eliminate a significant amount of ghosting and flaring from the images you click. The seven-blade diaphragm and the 58mm lens are two of the most important reasons why the lens performs so well.

Coming to the low light performance of the lens, it produces some really amazing pictures in low light as well.

8. Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Macro (Macro Lens)

Another Sigma product on this list, the Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Macro is available at a decent price. The lens comes with some pretty well-worked-out features which enable you to capture the images at some stunning settings. The inexpensive price and extra-long zoom range are the USPs of this Sigma lens.

It is one of the best lenses for Nikon D3200 for macro photography available. The Sigma variant lenses have always been far superior in quality due to the use of more versatile and efficient lens quality.

The Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Macro comes with an APOchromatic design which allows the users to enjoy a huge advantage over others, reduction of ghosting and flaring without too much hassle. It is ideal for portraits, sports, and other types of photography.

DG (Digital) designation refers to a far more improved coating that has been optimized for brand-new digital sensors. The optical sensor is comprised of 14 elements in 10 and the size of the lens is also decently compact. The 9-blade diaphragm makes way for much more improved bokeh which is quite impressive than the normal lenses.

You will be surprised to know that Sigma has integrated a dedicated Macro Mode which gives a brilliant magnification of 1:2.9 to 1:2. The zoom mechanism is pretty stiff which can be irritating at times but you will get used to it as time goes on.

We tested the Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Macro and observed that the 70mm and 200mm focal length performance is nice and sharp with true tones and colors. But at 300mm the image quality degrades a bit and in low conditions, it is worse.

There can be a little border vignetting problem in some frames but that is absolutely manageable in most cases.

9. Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-85mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR (All-purpose Lens)

The Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-85mm is one of those lenses developed by Nikon that you simply cannot miss. It is a product that has been made out of the combination of letters technology and unique Nikon features which makes it a brilliant addition to your camera kit.

This lens will surely help you to capture some stunning shots in different focal lengths up to 85mm. If you are interested in capturing different entities around you and exploring various aspects of photography, then the amazing 5.3x zoom will help you a lot.

No matter which scene you are currently looking at, it will help you capture some excellent quality shots with perfection.

This wide-angle to medium telephoto zoom is what you will need for your next trip because it helps to capture frames that are crisp and vibrant. It is best for interiors and landscapes to portraits.

The Vibration Reduction (VR) image stabilization efficiently minimizes the camera shake which ensures blur-free and effortless image capturing abilities. We were surprised to see that the Extra-low Dispersion (ED) glass elements offer a really high level of color accuracy and detailed sharpness in every picture we clicked.

Three aspherical lens elements allow the lens to eliminate different kinds of aberrations. The Silent Wave Motor is also present with this lens and it ensures fast and efficient autofocus abilities for the photographers.

However, photographers might experience soft edges in some of the images which are caused often by 85mm zoom and low lighting conditions.

The aperture, on the other hand, is also quite slow which might be a turn-off for some users.

10. Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 Pro DX II (Portrait and Macro Lens)

If you have read the article till this point, then we congratulate you because you have made it to the last product of our list of the best lenses for Nikon D3200. In the end, we are going to talk about the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 Pro DX II which can be a fantastic addition to your camera shelf if you want to capture some sharp and realistic images with exquisite balance in colors.

Using this lens you will have the F/2.8 as the largest aperture. The Limbs are able to produce a fantastic Shallow depth of field. This gives the images and videos a phenomenal makeover. The ergonomics are quite comfortable and the lens is not very heavy which allows you to grip it easily.

However, there is no quick switch to change from Auto to Manual mode focus or vice versa. The lens suffers a small amount of chromatic aberration which can go away when you zoom. We were surprised at the level of sharpness that the lens was able to capture.

This lens is perfect for landscapes and general photography.

Even though some of the pictures had a negligible amount of softness at the sides, the focus center could not be more detailed and sharp. The availability of the Internal silent focusing motor and waterproof build quality makes it even more valuable.

After testing the product for a few days, we could say that it really can generate some amazing pictures but the lack of modern amenities in the lens can deduct a few points. The Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 Pro DX II is surely a lens that both beginners and experts would love to use in their Nikon D3200.

So here are the best lenses for Nikon D3200 that you can choose to buy. All these top 10 lenses have been tried and tested by several photographers and experts around the world which provides reliable information about them.

The lenses come with their own set of pros and cons. Hence, make sure to read the details we have mentioned and then choose which lens will suit your needs and budget the best.

Final Words – as mentioned at the beginning of this article that at the end we will be discussing our topic picks from the list, so here they are – Nikon 18-300mm f.3.5-6.3 and the Sigma 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Macro OS.

Both these two lenses are some of the best lenses for the Nikon D3200 which comes with excellent features and sophisticated abilities that provide you with excellent support in photography. Make sure to check these two lenses and decide if they are going to be a game-changer for you.