Lens upgrade for Nikon D3000?

I'm looking for my next lens for my D3000. I like to shoot landscape and macro, I know I won't get a lens that can do everything but something I can use as an upgrade for my 18-55mm kit lens.

I also have a baby on the way so something that I could use to get good shots of him/her would be good too.

I have been looking at the Nikon 55-200mm VR AF-S f/4-5.6G ED. Any feedback on this lens would be good, it looks a good price for what it is.

The 55-300 mm or 55-200 mm would be good possible additions to your 18-55 mm and provide extra reach.

An upgrade would be to replace your 18-55 mm with a 18-200 mm VR and sell your old 18-55 mm lens.

You are looking at different costs for each lens, so which you choose will depend upon your bedget.

55-200 = $200
55-300 = $300
18-200 = $840

All three are AF-S lenses

http://www.nikonusa.com/...index.page

Good portrait lens and a good macro to boot is the Sigma 50mm f2.8 macro. You'll need to manually focus with it.

Here's a macro shot with it;

and a portrait;

A good wide angle landscape lens is the Sigma 10-20mm.

I agree with DeepBlue2's recommendation of the Sigma 50mm macro.

The 55-200mm isn't really such a versatile lens, it gives you more reach, but isn't particularly good in restricted light. It's also not a macro lens, and only of limited use to landscape. The 50mm macro is far more versatile a lens.

I would suggest you to invest on fast glass like 35mm 1.8 will be a decent lens at low cost or Sigma 50mm f1.4 EX DG. Prime lenses are very good in low light and excellent for portraits because you can separate the background(bokeh) and make your subject pop. If you want a telephoto lens which is great for portraits save money and get a 70-200 2.8 you won't regret it and would be one of your primary lenses. The cheapest is the Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 its an excellent lens for the price. Don't waste your money on cheap/limiting zoom lenses like the 55-200.

You can consider Nikon 55-200MM F/4-5.6 AF-S VR DX Black Lens

High-performance 3.6x zoom lens designed specifically for use with Nikon digital SLR sensors
Vibration Reduction (VR) stabilization system enables more flexible hand-held shooting
Nikon's exclusive SWM (Silent Wave Motor) for fast, precise, and super-quiet autofocus
ED glass and aspherical lens elements minimize chromatic aberration, astigmatism, and other forms of distortion