By Tati Taylor 2 days ago, Cameras & Lenses
The best lenses for nikon D3200 for both pros and newbies.
A lens is probably the most important accessory you can get for your camera to significantly enhance the quality of the photos you take. However, since various lenses are designed for different purposes, it’s vital to pick the correct lens for each situation.
In the article below, you’ll find an overview of the best lenses for Nikon D3200, so that you can easily choose the option that suits your needs the most.
Carefully read about all the 10 best lenses for Nikon D3200 covered below, weight their pros and cons, think about your own needs, and shooting style. With such a variety of options to pick from, you’re bound to find a lens to your taste.
Mount: F | Diaphragm blades: 7 | Autofocus: yes | Min focus distance: 22 cm | Max magnification: 0,17x | Filter thread: 72mm | Dimensions (WxL): 77 x 73 mm| Weight: 230 g
⊕ Lightweight and small
⊕ Impressive view angle coverage
⊕ Solid sharpness
⊕ Optical stabilization
⊖ Noticeable edge softness at 10mm
⊖ Some barrel distortion
⊖ Dimmed corners
⊖ Visible chromatic aberration
The Nikon 10-20 mm f/4.5-5.6G is a Nikon D3200 wide angle lens that offers such impressive features like an ultra-broad field of view, high optical sharpness, lightweight design, and reliable optical stabilization while being sold at a reasonable price. However, this lens has its fair share of weaknesses as well. It suffers from noticeable barrel distortion and AC at 10 mm, and the edge quality drops at the widest angle.
Add to that the dimmed corners when taking photos at wider than f/8, and you quickly see that you’ll have to work around several limitations. Thankfully, the camera’s built-in corrections and image editing software can help you sort out most of these problems, and it’s possible to improve edge sharpness at 10 mm by narrowing the aperture.
But that might be too much work for a beginner photographer that wants to take stunning photos without all that hassle. That said, if the extra bit of effort doesn’t scare you, this is a fantastic wallet-friendly lens.
Mount: EF| Diaphragm blades: 9 | Autofocus: yes | Min focus distance: 2.7m | Max magnification: 0.2x| Filter thread: 95 mm | Dimensions (WxL): 105.66 x 257.81 mm| Weight: 1.95 kg
⊕ Stays sharp on most of its range
⊕ Terrific stabilization
⊕ Fast autofocus
⊕ Zoom lock
⊖ Poor edge performance
⊖ Teleconverter issues
While there are a lot of aspects that make the Tamron 150-600mm F5-6.3 one of the best lenses for Nikon D3200, it still suffers from several shortcomings that are hard to ignore. Unless you substantially reduce the aperture, you’ll notice disappointing edge performance at both wide and telephoto ends, especially if you’ll use this lens with a full-frame camera.
Thankfully, the image quality is pleasantly high on all the other focal lengths between the two extremes. Other great features of this product include a rugged, weather-resistant design, a lightweight body, and efficient image stabilization.
The upsides of this Tamron lens far outweigh the downsides, making it a worthy purchase for any beginning photographer.
Mount: F | Diaphragm blades: 7 | Autofocus: yes | Min focus distance: 1.1m | Max magnification: 0.23x | Filter thread: 52mm | Dimensions (WxL): 73*100 | Weight: 335g
⊕ Image stabilization
⊕ Integrated AF system
⊕ Comes with a hood
⊕ Internal focusing
⊖ Slow aperture at the wide end
⊖ Adjustable aperture
⊖ Poor aperture speed at the tele end
Foldable lenses are extremely popular these days, and their compact size makes them a terrific choice for people that are looking for the best lenses for Nikon D3200 and want to enjoy ultimate portability without having to carry multiple lenses in their bag.
Quality-wise, this model offers decent performance on the level that you’d expect from a beginner-grade lens. The only real unexpected downside is the price tag, as this product costs $100 more than the non-foldable version, which is quite a steep increase considering most people who might buy such a lens are looking for a budget-friendly option.
Mount: F | Diaphragm blades: 9 | Autofocus: yes | Min focus distance: - | Max magnification: 0.12x | Filter thread: 82mm | Dimensions (WxL): 89 x 106 mm| Weight: 725 g
⊕ For both photos and video
⊕ Top-tier sharpness
⊕ Satisfyingly bright
⊕ Amazing picture quality
⊖ Lacks integrated IS
The Tokina 14-20mm f/2 is easily one of the best lenses for Nikon D3200 as it offers terrific brightness and such a high level of sharpness that it puts competing lenses to shame, especially at f/2.
The incredible brightness provided by this lens helps both receive a higher quality image and allows you to add beautiful bokeh to your shots, which can’t be achieved with wide-angle zooms with poorer characteristics.
Regardless of whether you need a lens for taking photos or recording videos, this safe choice won’t disappoint you and can become the best investment you make in your D3200 camera.
Mount: F| Diaphragm blades: 7 | Autofocus: yes| Min focus distance: 48cm | Max magnification: 0.32x | Filter thread: 67mm | Dimensions (WxL): 78.5 x 99 mm| Weight: 550 g
⊕ Impressive 16.7x zoom range
⊕ Optical stabilization
⊕ 1:3 macro magnification
⊕ Pleasantly lightweight and small
⊖ Minor distortion on the entire range
⊖ Poor edge and telephoto results
⊖ Doesn’t have a hood
This Nikon D3200 zoom lens offers one of the best zoom ranges on the market as well as fantastic optics quality. While you can easily deal with distortions either in-camera or in an image editor, there’s no way to fix a lack of detail, which is why the manufacturer focused on providing the latter.
Sadly, the Nikon 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G suffers from quite a bit of edge softness on the telephoto range, which is disappointing to see in a superzoom model, especially considering its rather high price.
If you’re not convinced by the characteristics of this lens, then consider adding an extra $300 to get the f/3.5-5.6G ED VR version for better performance. If you can’t afford it, then look into the more reasonably priced options like the ones offered by Sigma.
Mount: F| Diaphragm blades: 7 | Autofocus: yes| Min focus distance: 0,45m | Max magnification: 1x | Filter thread: 58mm | Dimensions (WxL): 3.4 x 3.5 x 3.3 inches | Weight: 203 g
⊕ Great price
⊕ Nice bokeh
⊖ Makes a lot of noise
⊖ Subpar sharpness
⊖ Disappointing focus precision
⊖ External design issues
Yongnuo is a Chinese brand that developed this Nikon D3200 50mm lens, which is a clone of Canon’s older 50mm f/1.8 model. However, it doesn’t live up to the quality level of the original, as the only upsides of this lens that are worth mentioning are the low price and beautiful bokeh effect.
Other than that, the picture quality is subpar and the focusing precision leaves much to be desired. Those drawbacks can be written down to the manufacturer’s inexperience and inability to produce consistently high-quality lenses. This means that the quality of each specific item may differ, so it’s up to you to decide whether it’s worth risking it.
Mount: F | Diaphragm blades: 9 | Autofocus: yes| Min focus distance: 2.2 m | Max magnification: 0.22x | Filter thread: 95 mm | Dimensions (WxL): 108 x 267.5 mm | Weight: 5.07 pounds
⊕ Good optics sharpness
⊕ Great telephoto reach
⊕ Fixed f/5.6 max aperture
⊕ Optical stabilization
⊖ Similar lenses offer better zoom
⊖ Edge softness at 200mm
⊖ Can’t be used with old DSLRs
This model is probably the biggest lens for Nikon D3200 that offers great versatility and is suitable for all sorts of photography genres. However, its max aperture of f/5.6 might be a bit off-putting for those involved in the sports genre.
Other than that, the reasonable price and top-tier vibration redaction make this lens a great option for anyone.
Mount: F | Diaphragm blades: 7 | Autofocus: yes| Min focus distance: 49 cm| Max magnification: 0.25x | Filter thread: 62mm | Dimensions (WxL): 75 x 94.1 mm| Weight: 400 g
⊕ Great central sharpness
⊕ Efficient and quiet autofocus
⊕ Nice VC system
⊕ Low central CA
⊖ Mediocre edge sharpness
⊖ Chromatic aberrations at edges
The Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 is definitely among the best lenses for Nikon D3200 in terms of performance. It provides terrific center sharpness, minimum chromatic aberrations and flaring while being offered at a very attractive price.
Obviously, a lens this cheap doesn’t come without flaws, but if you’re looking for a beginner model for traveling and learning photography basics, this VC lens is a great choice.
Mount: F | Diaphragm blades: | Autofocus: yes| Min focus distance: 1.1 m | Max magnification: 0,22x | Filter thread: 58mm | Dimensions (WxL): 72 x 125 mm| Weight: 415 g
⊕ Lightweight and small
⊕ Impressive telephoto reach
⊕ Highly useful image stabilization
⊖ Narrow aperture
⊖ Suboptimal manual focusing
⊖ Noticeable distortions when zoomed
If you can afford to spend a little bit more, then this telezoom camera lens for Nikon D3200 might be the best choice for you due to the reach it offers. This lightweight product is compatible with both cropped and full-frame sensors and has good image stabilization.
Unless you highly prioritize low-light shooting conditions, this lens is a better, more budget-friendly option compared to the expensive Sigma 50-100mm F1.8 DC HSM Art, which is also less versatile as it can only be used with cropped camera sensors.
Mount: EF | Diaphragm blades: 9 | Autofocus: yes| Min focus distance: 2.8 m | Max magnification: 0.2x | Filter thread: 95mm | Dimensions (WxL): 10.2 x 4.1 x 4.1 inches| Weight: 4.3 Pounds
⊕ Fantastic telephoto reach
⊕ Satisfyingly sharp
⊕ Has a tripod collar and a lens hood
⊖ Minor chromatic aberration
⊖ Noticeable pincushion distortion
This great Nikon D3200 telephoto lens provides amazing reach and picture quality, which is a level above its price range. It offers good sharpness on almost its entire frame at max aperture.
While you’ll notice a bit of softness around the edges and some color fringing at the max telephoto end, as well as minor pincushion distortion on the zoom range, these drawbacks can be easily forgiven considering how affordable, small, and light this lens is. If you want to up the ante even higher, check out the Sports edition of this Sigma lens.
Overall, this product offers everything you need from a beginner-level lens: terrific telephoto reach, efficient focusing, and image stabilization, all while being extremely budget-friendly.
| Image | Name | Features | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Nikon 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G
Our Choice |
CHECK PRICE→ | |
 |
Tamron 150-600mm F5-6.3
Professional |
CHECK PRICE → | |
 |
Nikon 55-200mm f/4-5.6G
Budget |
CHECK PRICE → |
The first thing you have to do is pick a D3200 kit. The options you have include the 18-55 mm kit, which includes the older VR lens, and a dual-lens non-VR kit (that has 18-55mm and 50-200mm lenses). While the latter option may seem appealing due to its lower price, it has some significant drawbacks. Both lenses offer subpar speed and the lack of vibrant reduction is also quite noticeable. Vibrant Reduction is particularly relevant for telephoto photography when handheld pictures are hard to take properly. There’s a reason why these non-VR lenses aren’t sold anywhere outside of cheap kits, so it’s recommended to avoid them in favor of a VR lens.
If you examine the list above, you’ll see that most of Nikon D3200 compatible lenses are zoom models, as they were chosen due to the value they bring when it comes to focal length range. Prime lenses are fantastic options too. They offer faster and sharper performance but don’t come anywhere close in terms of versatility. The majority of photographers that buy a D3200 have no previous experience with DSLRs and usually can’t afford multiple prime lenses. While lenses are the most worthwhile investment for enthusiast-grade and full-frame cameras, when picking components for a D3200 all you should think about is mastering the basics of photography. After all, you can always buy a prime later once you have a better idea of what you’re doing.
The focal length of a lens is followed by the f-stop figure, which is determined by the aperture. The aperture represents the size of the lens's opening that is used for receiving light. The smaller the f-stop, the bigger the opening will be so that more light can be transmitted. When choosing between the best lenses for Nikon D3200, give preference to options with smaller aperture numbers. If a lens’ aperture has two values – f/3.5-5.6, for instance, the first figure is the max aperture and the second stands for the long end.
The majority of zoom lenses for the D3200 are f/3.5-5.6, which is a decent aperture range, but it doesn’t perform well in low light conditions. That said, the vibration reduction feature can help dear with that drawback and allows such a lens to offer decent performance even in poor lighting. If a lens has an aperture of f/2.8 or faster, you’re likely looking at a professional model that can help you take fantastic photos in low light conditions and add a creamy bokeh effect to the background of your portraits. Some of the fastest prime lenses can have apertures of f/1.8 or even f/1.4, but they come with a hefty price tag. However, while the aperture is certainly an important aspect, it’s not something you have to spend a lot of time worrying about if you’re still a beginner photographer.
When you’re putting your D3200 camera gear together and purchasing new lenses, it’s wise to consider what you’d like to do if you’ll upgrade the camera body in the future. Any DX-format lens you get will be compatible with all Nikon crop-sensor cameras. If you’ll move on to the enthusiast-grade Nikon D7200 or something better, all of the lenses you have will still be useful.
The majority of Nikon’s full-frame lenses can be paired with cropped sensor cameras like the D3200, but frankly, they cost too much for a camera of this level. Moreover, the part of the lens that is larger than the cropped sensor isn’t used for taking photos, meaning you won’t be using the lens to its full potential. If you already have a full-frame lens, feel free to pair it with the D3200, but it’s not recommended to get a new one for such a camera.
This Nikon camera is supplied with an AF-S DX Zoom-NIKKOR 18-55mm lens that is a rather flexible option with image stabilization and decent performance. However, once you decide to expand your photography range and enhance the picture quality, you’ll have to look into other lenses for this camera.
This model boasts several advantages over its predecessor. It offers a high-res 24.2MP DX CMOS sensor, is capable of recording footage in Full-HD, and the camera's body is pleasantly lightweight, making it a terrific choice for photographers that are looking for a functional DSLR for enthusiasts.
It’s a beginner-level DSLR, so it doesn't have any features that might entice a professional photographer who is serious about their craft. It provides the basic features you expect to find in a DSLR and adequate image and video quality, but it won’t be on par with photos you’ll see taken by master photographers.
This model has officially entered the market back in April 2012. It was aimed at beginners and enthusiasts and managed to gather a lot of positive feedback from photographers around the world, remaining a relevant option even to this day.
