Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras by Tamron
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Digital camera reviews of Tamron AF 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 XR Di II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras
Digital camera Review: Just what I wanted and needed!
Summary: 4 Stars
I recently upgraded my Canon Rebel T1i to a T2i. I purchased the new one as a body only, then realized when I sold the old one to a friend I wasn't going to have a wide angle lens! I looked at many and finally decided on the Tamron, in part due to a HUGE refund offer. So far I have shot about 400 photos in spite of lousy weather since I received the lens. I mainly shoot dogs at play in a big field. So far, with pretty dark, cloudy conditions, this lens is EXACTLY what I was looking for. I did find a bit of soft focus when zoomed out fully, but I may have caused that with the dark conditions and being a bit shaky while shooting. I have a long lens so will not be using this one at maximum zoom often. This lens follows moving dogs perfectly! I mainly shoot with the camera set on sport and pretty much fire away. By taking hundreds of photos I normally end up with 10 or twelve that I really want and save.
I did notice severe auto focus issues when shooting inside. I was aware of this issue having read previous reviews, but decided to go with this lens in spite of it. Not a major problem...I just switch to manual focus and the camera still beeps when focus is achieved. Outside auto focus is right on and as quick as I can press the shutter.
The lens is EXACTLY the range I needed, seems to be well made and sturdy, and the photos are crystal clear and crisp! AND, the price was certainly right for a hobbyist photographer like myself.
Digital camera Review: Love It
Summary: 5 Stars
Face it, you're not going to get an "L" lens for this price. As long as you accept this fact I think you'll love this lens. This is one of the two lenses I bought for my first DSLR camera - a Rebel XT. For less than $1,200 I got the camera body, this lens, the Canon 50mm f/1.8, a tripod, a 4GB Ultra-card, and a Samsonite carrying case. I think I did pretty good! Back to the Tamron lens: I wanted one lens to carry around and to learn the ins and outs of shooting with an SLR. This lens fits the bill perfectly.
I can take nice group and landscape shots with the lens at 18mm and can get nice and close to far away things by zooming in. The AF is quick and quiet in my experience. If you're shooting sky or big areas of low contrast (like walls) it's best to switch to manual focusing, which works just fine.
I screwed a UV filter on right away to protect the lens and the threads were well-machined. In fact, the entire lens just feels like much more expensive glass. It's solid.
Naturally, when setting this lens at 50mm and comparing the shots with the Canon 50mm f/1.8, the Canon will give slightly sharper results and will work better indoors without flash. But that's why I bought the Canon f/1.8 in the first place ... to supplement the Tamron. With these two lenses I think I can spend the next year or so learning SLR photography. Then, I can start investing in better glass. But for under $1,200 I would recommend this set-up for both beginners and experienced photographers.
And before I forget; using the macro function at 200mm results in very sharp images. I was quite surprised and pleased at how sharp they were.
Zoom ... telephoto ... wide-angle ... macro. All in one lens. Can't beat it!
Digital camera Review: Love the range!
Summary: 4 Stars
I really like the flexibility of this lens. I also have the 18-55 that came with the camera, and a 70-300, but I found myself changing lenses about every 2-3 shots sometimes, because I take a lot of wide-angle shots, as well as full zoom. I can't afford the L-series 18-300, and this lens is a good compromise until I can. It is not quite as reliable with my Kenko 1.4 teleconverter, especially on the auto-focus function. However, overall, I'm very satisfied.Digital camera Review: Low light or low contrast auto focus problems
Summary: 4 Stars
I like this lens very much for 85% of all shooting situations. But low light or low contrast situations require manual focusing. Makes one wish for the old split prism focusing aid.Digital camera Review: Never ceases to amaze
Summary: 5 Stars
I have owned this lens for over a year now and it never ceases to amaze me when I see the photos it produces. Over this last year I have come to learn a thing or two about how to use this lens.
1) If you are going to shoot indoors, or in low light, with a long focal length (like 200mm) use a tripod or plenty of ambient light. This lens doesn't have a built in image stabilizer so you are going to steady the lens with the tripod or use a real fast shutter speed to minimize your hand jitter.
2) Use a smaller aperture. I have found that my best photos come from an aperture of 8.0 thru 16. These apertures aren't great for bokeh (background blur) but they sure do allow you to take razor sharp pictures.
Praise.
Focal range. With one lens you are able to take nice wide-angle shots (18mm) and with the twist of zoom ring you have a nice telephoto lens (200mm) Definitely a good walk around lens for the day at the botanical gardens, museum or amusement park.
Build quality. This lens gives you a nice solid feel in your hands. Give it a shake and it doesn't make a sound. The zoom and focus rings move smoothly without being sloppy. With a lens this well built you would expect it to be heavy. Not so with this lens, it's quite light (which is something you really appreciate after a long day of carrying it around.)
Minimal chromatic aberrations. The lens' three hybrid aspherical elements and two low dispersion glass elements correct for almost all lateral and on-axis aberrations making most of your images optically clear.
Size. At it's lowest focal length (18mm) the lens is small enough to fit into a mid size top loading camera bag while still attached to the camera body.
Complaint?
Well yes, I do have one minor complaint about the lens. Auto focus is slow. How slow? Well let's just say you won't want to try and photograph a two year old on the move. I have found that I can keep fast moving objects in better focus by switching to manual.