Most lens review sites don’t make enough effort to thoroughly test each lens out of the bunch and then select the winners.

For this reason, I wrote the best Nikon D3200 lens buying guide for 2023. It should help everyone to choose the perfect Nikon D3200 lens.

Here’s the thing:

You will be confident about which lens to choose if you read this guide. The lenses included in this guide will enormously increase your Nikon D3200 photo quality.

I covered 5 of the essential lens types:

• Macro lenses
• Wide-Angle lenses
• Prime lenses
• All-In-One lenses
• Telephoto lenses

Before I show you the best lenses, I need to, as always, say a few words about the D3200 camera itself.

Here’s the table of contents, in case you want to skip to the specific part.

Why is Nikon D3200 a Great Choice?

Nikon D3200 is a compact camera from the Nikon company, and it was released to the public in April 2012.

Although this is an older model, it’s still quite popular and offers decent performance for what you pay.

It is an excellent choice for beginners and people just starting with photography. If you combine it with a fantastic pair of lenses, it will satisfy even professionals.

It has a 24MP CMOS DX-format sensor that allows for four frames per second of continuous shooting, which, combined with 11 AF points and 3D tracking, offers clear photos with crisp details.

The ability to film full HD video also has decent processing speed thanks to the Expeed 3 processing sensor.

But here’s the problem:

Even tho this masterpiece offers excellent value; it still needs a quality lens; otherwise, you won’t get optimal performance, and the quality of your images will suffer.

I spent over two weeks researching and writing this guide, testing and comparing over 30 lenses to come up with a list of the top 9 best lenses for the Nikon D3200 camera.

I addressed special attention to the quality of the lens itself, build quality, and features. The price of each lens has also been taken into account. As lenses are expensive, you want to ensure you get the best value from your purchase.

Sit down, grab a drink, and keep reading this well-researched Nikon D3200 lens guide.

But before I show you the results, here’s the table of the best lenses for the Nikon D3200 included in this guide.

Best Prime Lenses for Portraits

Nikon 50mm f/1.8G is the prime budget lens for anyone looking for one of the best portrait lenses for the Nikon D3200.

It’s very sharp and works well in low-light conditions, providing a foundation for shooting portraits with precise details even at night.

The most important part?

This Nikon D3200 50mm lens is reasonably cheap, meaning it is an excellent solution if you are on a budget and don’t want to spend too much on a lens.

The body is compact, maintaining a small size while offering fast processing and many great features, such as autofocus, which is fast and quiet.

It will make shooting photos much easier while the compact body contributes to the light properties in the weight department.

The focal length is fixed at 50 mm, while the Minimum Focus Distance is around 1.48 ft allowing you for closer shots.

One of the features is the Exclusive Nikon Silent Wave Motor, which always comes in handy.

The great thing about this prime lens is that it’s optimized for edge-to-edge sharpness on both FX and DX-format D-SLR cameras.

Remember that Nikon 50mm f/1.8G is not zoomable and is made out of plastic, but the build quality is still excellent.

Listen:

It is undoubtedly one of the “must-own” Nikon D3200 prime lenses if you are serious about portrait photography.

The second great option on this list is Nikon 85mm f/1.8G, which I consider the best portrait lens for Nikon D3200.

The focal length is 85 mm, while the Minimum Focus distance is 0.8m.

You already know:

Since the Nikon company produces it, it is expected to have many great perks and features. One of the most useful ones is the Manual/Autofocus mode switch, which allows you to switch between manual and auto-focus at the press of a button.

As for real-world use, it produces sharp portraits with stunning details. Color and image rendition is top-notch, while a larger aperture provides decent low-light performance.

Bokeh is not as smooth as on more expensive models, but it still provides subtle blur effects and a warm user experience.

One of the drawbacks of this portrait lens is focus speed and focus itself. It won’t always be as precise as you may expect it, and the rate is not high. However, this is nothing that should worry you or discourage you from buying this piece of art.

Here’s the thing:

When all benefits and downsides of this prime lens are considered, this is undoubtedly one of the best Nikon D3200 lenses for portraits.

Best Wide-Angle Lenses for Landscapes

This is a wide-angle budget solution for photographers who are into landscape photography, yet, it offers the most bang for the buck.

It has built-in two aspheric lens elements, two Super-Low dispersion lens elements, and a Multi-Layer coating 77mm filter thread.

Here’s the catch:

Tokina is usually not considered a quality manufacturer, but they did a phenomenal job with 11-16mm f/2.8.

One thing that surprised us was sharpness.

Another great feature that can come in handy is infinity focus, which will provide you with stunning landscapes and beautiful nature shots.

Look:

If you are looking for Nikon D3200 wide-angle lens that will give you a fantastic landscape photography experience, Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 should be your first choice.

Nikon 10-24mm F/3.5-4.5G is an excellent choice for every photographer looking for a versatile wide-angle lens with functional capabilities.

Look at it this way:

It is definitely worth the purchase if you can afford the 10-24mm.

This is the best lens for landscape photography Nikon D3200 camera.

One of the best selling points is excellent-looking images that provide plenty of sharpness and a wide angle of view for beautiful landscape images.

Another good selling point this lens has is special attention to resetting and correcting the sharpness levels in each photo.

The two built-in ED glass elements will prevent chromatic aberration’s harmful effects, making your shots seem even better.

Three aspherical lenses minimize the adverse effects of lens aberration, which is always helpful, especially when shooting during bright sunlight.

A silent wave motor or SWM will make the shooting process vibration-free allowing you to concentrate primarily on the photographic experience.

Size is not considered the advantage of this wide-angle lens because there are more compact ones.

However:

Considering this lens’s features and abilities, it is not something I can genuinely resent, and this wide-angle lens for Nikon D3200 has excellent value.

One lens that is better than the previous “Tamron” option is Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G Lens.

We consider this a premium wide-angle zoom lens.

However, if you have money to spend, this might just be the best lens for you if you are into landscape photography.

It has two focus modes: Manual and autofocus with manual override.

Best All-in-one Lenses for Everyday photography

A versatile lens with many features intended for users who want one lens for everything.

The focal length is from 28mm to 300mm, allowing you for various shoots, from portraits to telephotos.

It has a powerful zoom built-in into this device, allowing you to get a close-up shot without physically getting closer.

Also, it has built-in Vibration Reduction II, which helps tremendously stabilize shots taken with the Nikon 28-300mm F/3.5-5.6G lens.

This is an all-in-one lens, meaning it is good at everything but won’t exceed any dedicated lenses for a particular type of photography.

Nevertheless:

This is undoubtedly the answer if you want one lens to do all your tasks!

It’s an extraordinary camera lens for Nikon D3200, offering exceptional quality and superb performance.

A little bit less versatile all-in-one lens, especially in the telephoto department, yet with a performance that will satisfy you in every way.

It’s one of the best all-in-one lenses, so I included it in this Nikon D3200 lens buying guide for 2023.

It comes with two extra-low dispersion elements, which significantly help when it comes to chromatic aberration, and three aspherical lens elements.

Build quality is excellent, maintaining the compact body and lightweight while providing users with plenty of features.

One of the features that I love is autofocus, which is fast and precise, allowing for a better photographic experience.

Our conclusion:

The only real drawback is that not everybody has a budget for it. But if you can afford it, you will be blown away by the quality and versatility of this all-in-one lens.

Best Telephoto Lenses for Wildlife

Nikon 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G is the first telephoto option on our list for a reason.

It is a budget solution for photographers that need powerful zoom and the ability to close up a shoot without getting too close itself, such as in wildlife or action photography.

It is one of the best zoom lenses for the Nikon D3200 in 2023!

As expected, it has built-in VR, offering steady shots even at the end of the zoom spectrum. Speaking of zoom, it works great with 5.5 times power.

This zoom lens loses sharpness after 250mm, but it is not that noticeable, yet it can be fixed in post-processing.

Images taken with a 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6G are crisp with precise details, and build quality is on the spot.

Bottom line:

If you are looking for a budget Nikon D3200 telephoto lens, you won’t make a mistake if you choose this one!

This is a high-quality zooming lens for Nikon D3200 for wildlife and action photography. It does offer some great perks and fantastic performance.

I can honestly say it is the best telephoto lens for Nikon D3200 from the lenses I tested.

Internal focus help in achieving fast autofocus, which has two focus modes – manual with auto and manual mode. It’s worth noting that autofocus mode won’t always perform correctly, so sometimes you need to change it to manual mode for the best results.

It is also very versatile since the minimum focusing distance is only 4.9ft, providing you with a vast spectrum of capabilities, from close-up photography to telephoto.

One drawback of this zoom lens is its telescoping body. Still, it feels comfortable when held in hand, and the build quality is excellent, making it up for this.

It’s worth saying that the lens is not as heavy as some may expect, but I do advise you to use a tripod when shooting.

Look:

I can, without a doubt, say that 70-300mm F/4.5-5.6G is one of the best telephoto lenses in 2023. Also, it is undoubtedly one of the giant lenses for the Nikon d3200 on our list.

Best Macro Lenses for Macro Photography

Nikon 105mm F/2.8G is a Nikon D3200 macro lens designed for people who are into macro or close-up photography and need a quality D3200 macro lens.

It is exceptionally sharp, producing photos with crisp details and vibrant colors.

Since it has a fixed focal length of 105mm, it is relatively versatile for most kinds of photography shooting with a focus on macro photography.

It has a very short focus distance of 1ft, which is always appreciated in this situation.

The lens is compact and reasonably lightweight, with excellent build quality. On the other hand, the Nano-Crystal coat and ED glass elements will reduce flare in photos and improve your photo quality by far.

Since this lens is produced by Nikon company, it comes with many features as standard, one of them being VR, which, combined with your camera, will work correctly.

What’s the bottom line?

If you are looking for a fast and quality macro lens, then Nikon 105mm F/2.8G may just be one of the best macro lenses for the Nikon D3200.

What lenses are compatible with Nikon D3200?

Most full-frame Nikon lenses (FX) are compatible with a Nikon D3200 camera. But this might not be the most effective solution because the area of the lens goes over the crop-frame sensor.

This means that this part of the image will be removed from the photo. So, since you won’t be able to use all of the crop frames, we suggest you stick to DX lenses for maximum compatibility.

Another essential thing to mention regarding compatible lenses for Nikon D3200 is autofocus. Even though both AF-S and AF can be used with Nikon D3200, if you want to have the ability to use autofocus, you should choose the AF-S type of lens.

What is the best Lens for Nikon D3200 Camera?

Finally, we came to the end of this ultimate Nikon D3200 lens guide.

I hope you can now make a clear and informative decision on which lens to buy for your favorite camera.

But listen:

If you are still unsure what is the right lens for you, I recommend you check out this option. It is a premium all-around lens from Nikon, which offers excellent performance and high versatility.

One more thing to consider:

Even though I didn’t choose any lenses from third-party manufacturers, such as Tamron or Sigma lenses for Nikon D3200, I suggest you go for them. They are often cheaper as those companies cut corners to compete with leading brands such as Nikon.

If you can find a good deal on Tamron, Sigma, or Tokina lenses, feel free to get those. Remember that build quality will often not be on the same level as Nikon lenses; however, performance is top-notch. 

What is your favorite lens for Nikon D3200?

I want to hear from you; what is your favorite lens for Nikon D3200, and is there a lens that you think doesn’t deserve to be on this list? Post the answer in a comment section, and I reply to every comment.

Also, I want to hear your thoughts on the best Nikon D3200 lens for 2023. Which ones offer the best value, and which ones would you not choose?

You can also read other tutorials (such as the Nikon D5200 lenses or Nikon D5000 lenses guide) on this website to learn some interesting tips about photography. We also have many valuable tips and tricks that will improve your skills and the quality of your photos.