Budget lens

Hi I am new to photography and have bought a Nikon D3200 with the 18-55 kit lens. I'm think of buying a secondhand lens and am looking at Nikon 55-200vr, Sigma 70-300 either the standard one or the macro one or maybe the Tamron 70-300. Any advice on which to go for?

Welcome to the forum,if its the latest Tamron your considering then my money would be on that,if not the 55-200,what do you want it for.

Well my thinking behind the Sigma macro was that it would cover me for macro and distance work. Otherwise they would be used for distance only I think

You cant consider them as macro only close up,when you say distance do you mean birds as even 300mm will be short for that.

The Sigma is a lot of lens for the price, but it is pretty soft above 200mm, and without VR, you'll be married to a tripod for most usage.

As for macro, it is only 1:2 at 300mm. Did you know your 18-55 is capable of 1:3 at 55mm, and it is sharper with more depth of field.

As for telephoto, the Nikon 55-200 is sharper, and the VR means you'll actually be able to use it hand held. It is a very good budget lens, especially if you go with the VR II version.

Unfortunately I have no experience with the tamron (never really liked them, but hear the newer ones are much better).

I would recommend the tamron 70-300 vc. Great lens for the price, should do some of what you want to do. The big thing though is it is not a true macro lens. However handheld shots should get you through most of those occassions when you do not have a tripod or monopod available.