Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens
Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical IF Macro Zoom Lens for Canon DSLR Cameras
With the advent of the latest 15X zoom lens from Tamron, the pioneer of high power zoom lenses, the high power zoom lens has steadily evolved from a 7.1X to a 10.7X to a 13.9X and now to the world’s largest zoom ratio of 15X by combining advanced high power zoom design technologies accumulated by Tamron since 1992.
The Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Macro Zoom Lens covers an angle of view equivalent to that of a 28mm wideangle to a 419mm ultra telephoto with just one lens, letting the user capture once-in-the-lifetime images of panoramic landscape images or close-up pictures of children smiling, without having to get too close to the subject and without having to change lenses.
Camera shake can ruin your photos, particularly when taking telephoto shots or shooting in low light conditions. The Tamron 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 macro zoom lens, however, fights camera shake with its state-of-the-art vibration compensation (VC) mechanism, which delivers blur-free handheld images for incredible results. The proprietary VC mechanism employs a three-coil system that moves the VC lens electromagnetically based on signals originating from the movement of three steel balls. The lens element that compensates for vibration is held in place by the balls, so there is little friction and the movement is quite smooth. The end result is a technology that makes it possible to create exceptional images at slower shutter speeds under conditions where a tripod used to be necessary. You can also use subject movement to good effect with the lens, bringing out the contrast between motion and stillness, or shoot without a flash to evoke the genuine atmosphere of the scene.
The lens covers an extremely broad range of focal lengths, from an extra-wide 18mm length to a telephoto 270mm length (the 35mm equivalent of 28mm to 419mm). The resulting 15x zoom ratio is the world’s largest, representing a wide cross section of Tamron high-power zoom design technologies. Plus, the vibration compensation works throughout the entire zoom range, giving you the freedom to create a wide variety of images. The lens lets users capture once-in-a-lifetime panoramic landscape images or close-up pictures of children smiling, all without getting too close to the subject or changing lenses. Other details include a macro magnification range of 1:3.5, a minimum focusing distance of 19.3 inches, and a 72mm filter diameter. The lens, which measures 3.1 inches in diameter and 3.9 inches long, carries a six-year warranty.
Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Macro Zoom Lens Review
Tamron’s new lens offers a 15X zoom range, the most you will find for a DSLR. But do you have to give up too much image quality as a result? I was looking for a lens for travel and for casual shots that could replace my need for both wide angle through the telephoto range and hopefully replace several other lenses that I typically have to bring with me.
Overall, I’m very pleased with this new lens, it did better than I was expecting. The quality of the photos is almost on par as my Canon 70-300mm (but of course not my 70-200 f/2.8) with a much more usable range for an everyday lens. I also tend to have back problems, so the less weight I carry on vacations, the better!
A few negatives: the lens does not zoom smoothly through its whole range, particularly when zooming from wide to tele, and you only have f/6.3 when fully zoomed (common with superzooms). The zoom was nice and tight when I got the lens (as shown in the video) but after a few weeks of use, it creeps pretty badly. The lens hood is fairly small, may not work as well at the 150mm+ range (but nice that they include one at all!) Also a typical issue for super zooms, as the hood has to be designed to minimize vignetting at the wide end. No full-time manual focus, which I don’t use enough typically to be bothered about. The focus ring is located at the front of the lens and it’s pretty easy to switch back and forth and use it as needed, but this is definitely not a great lens for using manual focus on. Some distortion in images at both ends as you would expect for a super-zoom, the barrel distortion at the wide end in particular is fairly obvious, but correctable in most situations. CA and vignetting on my copy are reasonable for a lens in this price range, with CA most apparent at the upper end of the range. Macro feature is nice to have, but somewhat underwhelming performance and certainly no substitute for a true macro lens. The lens has a nice, solid feel to it, while still being fairly lightweight. I’ve used the Canon 70-300mm DO lens in the past which was comparable to this in size, but MUCH heavier. The focus is fairly quiet as well, not USM quiet, but considerably better than some other off-brand lenses I’ve used. As I usually find with off-brand lenses, the autofocus is not quite as fast and accurate as Canon lenses, but it seems considerably better than some other Tamron lenses I’ve used and not enough to be a problem for casual use.
I give the lens 5 stars, not because it takes the greatest photos you will ever see, but because it is the first super-zoom I have tried that performs good enough that I am willing to use it, as a best-in-its-class lens. It’s a perfect lens in particular for any new DSLR owner that can’t afford to invest thousands in really high quality and/or multiple lenses, or for someone like me that is often limited in the equipment they can carry at one time. The lack of smoothness in the zoom ring and the creep are the primary annoyances for me, but I’ve yet to use a long telephoto lens in this price range that doesn’t creep, so hard to be really tough on it for that. I wouldn’t use it as my primary sports lens (my f/2.8 will do that job far better) nor as an architectural wide angle lens but for a general all-purpose casual lens, it’s got a great feature set and well worth considering.
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