Hi Lynx!


From 18 to 85mm the 15-85mm lens has superior image quality. But you can't ignore the versatility of the 18-200. It can do almost everything and although on paper it's IQ isn't as good, in real world use it's plenty good and IMO you shouldn't always judge a lens by lab results. To have the IQ of the 15-85 AND the versatility of the 18-200, my suggestion would be to buy the 15-85 and the 70-200 f/4L which will give you great telephoto performance and L build for around $600. Or, if you really like superzooms the 28-300L will do the same thing that the 18-200 does with better IQ.


hope this helps


brendan