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Gary Cohen
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Registered: Aug 5, 2007
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Aug 5, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $362.50
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharp, Fast AF, Compact, Light, and FUN.
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Cons:
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Doesn't do the laundry.
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I work at a camera store and Tamron's always been my favorite brand. Build-wise their lenses are usually below main brand, but any lens in their SP series is guaranteed as sharp as other brand equivalents or your money back.
I was a little averse to getting this lens, as I work with a Canon 70-200 2.8 IS and other fast lenses for music and stage work, but I thought, hey. I get a nice store discount and I don't have any really FUN lenses. So I picked one up.
It stays on my camera now. If I'm going to shoot pictures for pleasure I leave my bag at home and carry along a little holster bag with this lens, my 430EX, and cleaning cloth/batteries. That plus my TrekPod and remote lets me do just about anything I want in a lightweight and convenient package. What's more, this lens focuses extremely quickly, and quicker than expected at f/6.3. The mag ratio is nice, and lets me get relatively close when I don't want to lug around my 180 macro.
Don't expect this lens to give you pro quality results, but once you buy this you might just find yourself bringing your camera to a whole lot more places.
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 Aug 5, 2007
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Gerald Crum
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Registered: Jun 6, 2007
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Jun 6, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Very sharp at all focal lengths. Light, compact, nice feel. All metal mount. 62 mm threads (for me, a good thing). Great range. Sharp in closest focus. Quick AF on my Canon XTi.
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Cons:
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slow at the long end.
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I bought this lens based on a few user reviews and one or two formal reviews, especially Pop Photo. The reviews were so uniformly good, that I took a chance, although I have been burned on rave reviewed products before. The results so far have been excellent. I have run the lens through a number of quick tests and found excellent sharpness at all focal lengths and distances. AF on the XTi body is quick and very accurate. Close ups were sharp and detailed. My standard of comparison here is the Canon 50 f/1.8 II.
You do have to be careful about zooming out as the lens goes so long (about 386 mm equivalent) that you quickly get to where you need a tripod or a steady rest. A body with a clean high ISO is a must if you're going to use the longer focal lengths.
Feel is quite good and the build quality sems better than the Sigma 18-125 and Tamron 18-200 lenses I had previously. The optical quality is miles better and the color and contrast are pure Tamron XR.
This is a great one lens solution for travel or for a starting point for a system. You really should have some faster glass for low light, but for everything else, it's all you need.
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Jun 6, 2007
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mjo421
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Registered: Aug 14, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 794
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Review Date: May 24, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $499.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Compact, good feel, great range, acceptable quality at all focal lengths.
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Cons:
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None yet
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I waited to get this lens in Pentax mount and have only had it for a day or two. I have not done any real life shooting with it, but testing it shooting a still target while the camera was on a tripod and handheld with a Pentax K10D, I was very surprised with the quality of the images at every aperture setting and focal length. Normally these super zoom lenses are fairly useless at 18mm, but this lens is very usable, even good, at 18mm, even wide open. I ran the tests against a Sigma 18-200 (new) and it was not even close. The Tamron was so much better in every respect. I don't think you can compare it against the Pentax primes in most cases, but if you want to travel or go on walkabout with just one lens, this is a great choice. I would recommend it to anyone with the need.
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May 24, 2007
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Mike Ziray
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Registered: Oct 10, 2006
Location: Hungary
Posts: 7
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Review Date: May 23, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $499.99
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Great range
Reasonable price
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Cons:
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Filters are harder to find in 62mm
Zoom ring is a little stiff
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If you're shooting events where you need range, this is a fantastic lens. It's not for studio work or the like, but if you only want one lens, are shooting fast-paced dynamic events and don't want to worry about switching out lenses, or you want a utility lens that can do it all, this is the lens. It might not satisfy the top pro who spend $3,000 for a lens, but for the majority it will more than satisfy.
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May 23, 2007
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dgeesaman
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Registered: Aug 12, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 219
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Review Date: Apr 29, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $500.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Useful all the way from 18 to 250mm, compact package, good optics
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Cons:
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Extension during zoom looks like a dust collector, max aperture can be constraining.
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I picked this lens up last week to and shot a horse show with it. For the first time I was able to use this lens for shots all the way across the ring and close-up candid shots outside the ring. It's really a fun lens to shoot with since focal length is nearly a non-issue and you get good shots the whole way through the range.
Others have commented on the image quality, and honestly I'm not the best person to ask about it since my 300D is a few steps behind what most others are shooting with. But it's certainly among the best of the non-L zooms.
The build quality is very good - all metal casing with nice tactile rubber grips. The zoom control is smooth, although I feel a slight change in resistance when I zoom through 200mm. The build is certainly among the best for any zoom at this price range. The autofocus is snappy fast and pretty quiet. After post-processing my weekend's shots I've found a very high keeper rate, which is very reassuring since my 300D is not known for having a sharp AF system.
Of course, the downer with this lens is max aperture - you don't get the light collection of shorter zooms. Plus you should stop down a bit to maximize the sharpness.
Here's the rundown:
18-28mm: f/3.5
28-42mm: f/4.0
42-55mm: f/4.5
55-100mm: f/5.0
100-200mm: f/5.6
200-250mm: f/6.3
So bokeh is kind of a non-issue and shooting action at dusk or under the lights is out of the question.
Overall, this lens is the perfect solution for someone who wants to upgrade the kits lens on their XT, XTi, 20D, or 30D but doesn't want to collect lenses or carry around a bunch of gear. I don't mean this in a scoffish way - I categorize myself as a well-informed prosumer and I think this lens is perfect for many of my needs because I can shoot in just about any situation without carrying a bag of other lenses or a second camera body.
Don't overlook it.
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Apr 29, 2007
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ggw2000
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Registered: Oct 27, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 55
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Review Date: Apr 17, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $479.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Size, Weight, Versatility, Range
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Cons:
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As mentioned, not a low light lens but that's not what it's made to handle.
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I bought the Tamron 18-250 as an "all around" lens for my 30D. On receiving it I was really surprised at the size and weight of it for a superzoom lens. In testing I found my copy to have excellent center sharpness across the whole focal length. Edge sharpness at 250mm is somewhat lacking if you "pixel peep" at 100%. Distortion at 18mm is well controlled and I have seen worse for sure.
To date there is one review on the net and I pretty much agree with most of his evaluation. Just "google" for reviews on it.
I also recently picked up a Pentax K10D and to be honest have been checking daily on the availability of the 18-250 for it. That should sum up my thoughts on the lens  . Gerry
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Apr 17, 2007
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Steve Spangler
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Registered: Mar 20, 2007
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Mar 20, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $499.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Zoom range, size, price
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Cons:
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Low light autofocus, slightly soft at 250mm, not a low light lens
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This is a neat lens! Great for walk-about, casual-shooting, and travel. Build quality is on par with other Tammy's I have owned. I like Tamron's build quality better than the non-L Canons. The double-telescoping zoom extension is a little unnerving as it comes out so far, and looks a little fragile, so one must definitely must use the zoom lock when walking about.
The 18-250mm has very good image quality at 18mm. I was worried about vignetting, but was really not evident at all when I tested it on the daytime sky. As expected with such a wide zoom range, it's seems a trite soft at maximum magnification compared to my 70-200L, although nothing a little unsharp mask can't take care of. Plus, one has to remember remember that on an APS-sized chip, you're shooting at 400mm. High shutter speeds or a tripod are in order!
The autofocus can hunt in low light and is not the fastest even in good light.
Overall, a pleasant surprise. If you need a compact walk-about, hiking, or casual shooting lens, this is the one. I great third or fourth lens for the experienced shooter, or a versatile starter lens for the beginner who will be shooting in mostly in daylight.
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Mar 20, 2007
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rd4tile
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Registered: Mar 22, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 2411
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Review Date: Mar 9, 2007
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $499.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Range, size, price
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Cons:
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A little soft on the long end, efs only, no IS
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After having a good experience with Tamron's 24-135 I thought I'd see if this could be the ultimate walk around lens for my XTi. What I found was very good IQ especially stopped down. 18mm is very good with minimal distortion and the lens stays sharp to around 180mm. 250mm is soft even stopped down although that may due somewhat to my handholding skills.
AF is fast and accurate in reasonably good light, much better the the lower end Sigmas I've tried on Canon bodies.
I love it's compact size and weight, it's just perfect for a do everything lens on the XTi. Build is solid and zoom is reasonably smooth. I tried the Tamron 28-300 last year and I think this lens is head and shoulders above it.
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Mar 9, 2007
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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24
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178599
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Feb 10, 2011
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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92% of reviewers
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$453.56
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Build Quality Rating
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Price Rating
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Overall Rating
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8.29
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8.25
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8.0
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