Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 66
 Never ceases to amaze June 28, 2006
mcenut (Tooele, UT)
49 out of 50 found this review helpful
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.
Good Lens for the General Photographer June 26, 2007
Blee1 (San Francisco, CA USA)
18 out of 19 found this review helpful
The Tamron 18-200 lens is able to perform at a level exptected for this make and model of lens. The all plastic construction is firm, grip is good, well damped and light in weight. The lock button to prevent zoom creep is a nice feature but not really necessary. The hood is adequate.
Pros: Light in weight. Fast auto-focus in daylight. A good consumer all-in-one lens that can do almost anything. Macro works well in bright light.
Cons: Auto-focus hesitation in macro mode. At 200mm, satisfactory sharpness at f6.3, excellent sharpness at f 11 and beyond. Does not hold up against dust (keep it covered, in a case, or under a jacket when walking around. Dust gets into the internal barrel of the lens). Lens can get out of alignment if the lens gets banged around, and not made for abusive photographic conditions. Using the built in camera flash at 18mm (without the hood attached) will darken the lower portion of the picture.
Tips: When you get the lens, immediately put on a 62mm UV filter to protect the front lens element. Finger prints not removed carefully can damage the coating. Get a case that will fit the camera with lens attached to minimize shock when walking or hiking. DO NOT switch lenses if you don't have to. This will minimize the dust that may enter the camera chamber. Use the lens hood.
This is a good all in one lens for the non-professional. Good for family shots as well as "soccer moms" wanting to capture the action. Tamron has a good warranty and has good customer support. I'd suggest that after a year or so of use (or within warranty), have the lens checked by Tamron to realign and make necessary adjustments. I had the older Tamron for over 10 years with the film Canon and it has held up very well. It was sent to Tamron for alighment during the warranty period and worked better than new.
This is an excellent lens for the Canon Digital Rebel. It compliments the camera by having a light weight all-in-one lens that will cover most photographers. If you are a serious or professional photographer (or own a Canon D20, D30, etc.) and if your budget allows, you might want to consider the Canon L lenses which has more exacting tolerances, seals against dust, and can handle the abuse.
Tamron makes a good lens. Shop for the best price.
Love It July 3, 2007
Sterno (Little Rock, AR)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
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!
Great All Around Traveler February 28, 2006
TV Tech Director (Metro NY)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
I purchased this lens to reduce the amount of lens changes in the field while traveling. The 18mm to 200mm range gave me the one lens I could travel and shoot with great results. I am totally satisfied with my purchase choice, and my first results of a recent vacation trip were rewarding.
Great all round lens June 19, 2006
Andrew Bott (Sydney Australia)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
I recently updated my camera gear and bought the Canon 350D. I have used Tamron lens for the past 20 years, always opting for a multifunctional lens in preference to carrying 3-4 lens around, particularly when travelling the world. The 18-200mm XR Di II does it all for me, it is a fantastic all round lens.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 66
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