New Tamron 18-270mm Di II VC LD Aspherical (IF) MACRO
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eddiefoosn
Member
No, I have never displayed my photos publicly other than these few shots in Clubsnap. I am just trying to help members here to make a better decision before they commit their money when thinking of buying the Tamron 18-270mm lens.
When I shot the airplanes in Dubai under bright day condition, vignetting was evident when shooting at F8.0 (aperture priority) in long zoom range. Say, greater than 150mm. I had to use Photoshop to correct for most of the shots taken with F8.0, which I think is the "sweet spot" of the lens in terms of sharpness.
The photos will look sharp and crisp with shutter speeds greater than 1/1000 sec. I shot most of the photos I posted up here using single focusing mode (AF-S) and took one shot at a time with VC on, when the proper motion of the airplane across my viewfinder is slow.
When the airplane was crossing the viewfinder with a faster proper motion, I found that the VC is not of much use when shooting with continuous focusing mode (AF-C) and panning the camera at the same time, I turned the VC off and the result was better.
My verdict for this lens - when coupled with my Nikon D90, the Tamron 18-270mm lens satisfies 95% of my shooting needs, except macro and fast-moving object situations. The speed and sharpness of the lens is nowhere near my Nikkor 17-55mm/F2.8 lens, but the 15-time zoom range makes the Tamron lens my choiced lens when travelling abroad these days.
Tip - try to shoot in RAW mode and use Photoshop to enhance it. Nowadays, you can even shoot in FINE JPEG and using Photoshop CS4 to open the JPEG file using RAW mode for the editing, and the result is greatly enhanced!
When I shot the airplanes in Dubai under bright day condition, vignetting was evident when shooting at F8.0 (aperture priority) in long zoom range. Say, greater than 150mm. I had to use Photoshop to correct for most of the shots taken with F8.0, which I think is the "sweet spot" of the lens in terms of sharpness.
The photos will look sharp and crisp with shutter speeds greater than 1/1000 sec. I shot most of the photos I posted up here using single focusing mode (AF-S) and took one shot at a time with VC on, when the proper motion of the airplane across my viewfinder is slow.
When the airplane was crossing the viewfinder with a faster proper motion, I found that the VC is not of much use when shooting with continuous focusing mode (AF-C) and panning the camera at the same time, I turned the VC off and the result was better.
My verdict for this lens - when coupled with my Nikon D90, the Tamron 18-270mm lens satisfies 95% of my shooting needs, except macro and fast-moving object situations. The speed and sharpness of the lens is nowhere near my Nikkor 17-55mm/F2.8 lens, but the 15-time zoom range makes the Tamron lens my choiced lens when travelling abroad these days.
Tip - try to shoot in RAW mode and use Photoshop to enhance it. Nowadays, you can even shoot in FINE JPEG and using Photoshop CS4 to open the JPEG file using RAW mode for the editing, and the result is greatly enhanced!
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eddiefoosn
Member
Read the reviews below and decide for yourself;
http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/tamron_18-270_3p5-6p3_vc_n15/
http://www.popphoto.com/cameralenses/5697/tamron-18-270mm-f35-63-di-ii-vc-af.html
http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/412-tamron_18270_3563vc_canon
By the way, I bought my Nikkor 18-200mm (coupled to my D80) 3 years ago but sold it only after 3 months.
In my opinion, the optical quality of the Tamron is a tad better than the Nikkor. Tamron's autofocusing speed is slower though.
But Tamron's VC is far superior to Nikkor's VR. But it's unfair to comapre the two, the Tamron came out nearly 3 years after the Nikkor.
And that's a long time in digital photography. But the Tamron is at least S$300/- cheaper!
Tip: Keep the photos size small (1200x800) and the image quality of these lenses are still very good. Blow them up, and you will be disappointed.
You need high quality lenses for big-size photos. The "one-for-all" zoom lenses just can't do the job.
Eddie
http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/tamron_18-270_3p5-6p3_vc_n15/
http://www.popphoto.com/cameralenses/5697/tamron-18-270mm-f35-63-di-ii-vc-af.html
http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/412-tamron_18270_3563vc_canon
By the way, I bought my Nikkor 18-200mm (coupled to my D80) 3 years ago but sold it only after 3 months.
In my opinion, the optical quality of the Tamron is a tad better than the Nikkor. Tamron's autofocusing speed is slower though.
But Tamron's VC is far superior to Nikkor's VR. But it's unfair to comapre the two, the Tamron came out nearly 3 years after the Nikkor.
And that's a long time in digital photography. But the Tamron is at least S$300/- cheaper!
Tip: Keep the photos size small (1200x800) and the image quality of these lenses are still very good. Blow them up, and you will be disappointed.
You need high quality lenses for big-size photos. The "one-for-all" zoom lenses just can't do the job.
Eddie
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anyone uses this lens with D60?
when shooting using the in build flash do u get a black shadow below the photo?
I got this problem when using Nikkor 18-200 lens
Is your len hood on when you shoot with flash?
anyone uses this lens with D60?
when shooting using the in build flash do u get a black shadow below the photo?
I got this problem when using Nikkor 18-200 lens
If you at the short end (18mm) and no hood, there will not be any shadow.
eddiefoosn
Member
Reply to Canon450D;
I shoot RAW or Fine Jpeg using my D90 + Tamron 18-270mm. I like sharp photos, I get good-enough sharpness using F8.0 and with shutter speed above 1/250 sec. I usually like to shoot stationary, inert objects. I think the Tamron cannot handle fast moving objects that well, unless you crank up the ISO (Perhaps ISO 800 or higher) in order to give you a shutter speed of 1/250 sec or faster when using F8.0 in less than ideal lighting conditions. But then again, the auto-focus speed of this Tamron, like any other superzoom lens, sucks!
By the way, I realised that PhotoShop CS4 can open JPEG files using RAW mode, and that's cool! You can tweak a lot more using RAW mode first. I have photos blown up to 1920x1200x72 and they are still very sharp. See Bird's Nest below (Sorry, I think Flicker only allows me to display 1024x640 size photo maximum);
Reply to Nikon users attempting to shoot using LV video mode;
The D90 does not autofocus when shooting with LV video mode - you have to manually focus the lens, any lens. Autofocus is dead in LV video mode. I hardly use the LV video mode these days. It's just a novelty really.
Reply to ctm1968 and other D40 or D60 users;
I am not sure whether this Tamron lens will work with cameras without a built-in motor to drive the lens. D60 and D40 do not have built-in motor to drive lenses, D40 and D60 users should check out lenses with built-in drive such as Nikkor lenses equipped with SWM (silent wave motor) or equivalent, like the hypersonic motor (HSM) of the Sigma lenses. I never bothered to check the Tamron lens as both my cameras can drive motorless lenses. Sorry.
Eddie
I shoot RAW or Fine Jpeg using my D90 + Tamron 18-270mm. I like sharp photos, I get good-enough sharpness using F8.0 and with shutter speed above 1/250 sec. I usually like to shoot stationary, inert objects. I think the Tamron cannot handle fast moving objects that well, unless you crank up the ISO (Perhaps ISO 800 or higher) in order to give you a shutter speed of 1/250 sec or faster when using F8.0 in less than ideal lighting conditions. But then again, the auto-focus speed of this Tamron, like any other superzoom lens, sucks!
By the way, I realised that PhotoShop CS4 can open JPEG files using RAW mode, and that's cool! You can tweak a lot more using RAW mode first. I have photos blown up to 1920x1200x72 and they are still very sharp. See Bird's Nest below (Sorry, I think Flicker only allows me to display 1024x640 size photo maximum);
Reply to Nikon users attempting to shoot using LV video mode;
The D90 does not autofocus when shooting with LV video mode - you have to manually focus the lens, any lens. Autofocus is dead in LV video mode. I hardly use the LV video mode these days. It's just a novelty really.
Reply to ctm1968 and other D40 or D60 users;
I am not sure whether this Tamron lens will work with cameras without a built-in motor to drive the lens. D60 and D40 do not have built-in motor to drive lenses, D40 and D60 users should check out lenses with built-in drive such as Nikkor lenses equipped with SWM (silent wave motor) or equivalent, like the hypersonic motor (HSM) of the Sigma lenses. I never bothered to check the Tamron lens as both my cameras can drive motorless lenses. Sorry.
Eddie
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eddiefoosn
Member
ctm1968;
Some lenses are just too bulky when mounted on cameras and shooting using the built-in flash, even without a lens hood and a shadow will be cast when shooting at close range.
The Tamron 18-270mm and the Nikkor 17-55mm are big lenses. Because most of the built-in flash do not elevate high enough and these lenses will block the flash light at the bottom of the photo when shooting at close-in objects.
To avoid the shadow forming below, either shoot from a further distance and then zoom in, or use a dedicated flash light such as the SB800 mounted on the flash hot shoe. Flash light mounted on hotshoe will have no such shadow-casting problem.
Eddie
Some lenses are just too bulky when mounted on cameras and shooting using the built-in flash, even without a lens hood and a shadow will be cast when shooting at close range.
The Tamron 18-270mm and the Nikkor 17-55mm are big lenses. Because most of the built-in flash do not elevate high enough and these lenses will block the flash light at the bottom of the photo when shooting at close-in objects.
To avoid the shadow forming below, either shoot from a further distance and then zoom in, or use a dedicated flash light such as the SB800 mounted on the flash hot shoe. Flash light mounted on hotshoe will have no such shadow-casting problem.
Eddie
Thanks!! I already figure this out when I was using the 18-200 Nikkor len.....
look like I have to invest one of those external flash liao lah
wildsoyabean
New Member
i just got this lens...
this vs nikon i get tammy!
i got my tammy 2nd hand with 3 years warrenty @ 800.!!
nikon used still sell @ 800 and u get a chance of the vr failing.
cons of tammy- this joker sometimes dun focus at all in low light. they hunt for infinte period of time that i would give up and use MF.
anyway...its a good buy for lazy ppl
15x zoom!...all i bring these days is this...and sometimes my 50mm.
this vs nikon i get tammy!
i got my tammy 2nd hand with 3 years warrenty @ 800.!!
nikon used still sell @ 800 and u get a chance of the vr failing.
cons of tammy- this joker sometimes dun focus at all in low light. they hunt for infinte period of time that i would give up and use MF.
anyway...its a good buy for lazy ppl
15x zoom!...all i bring these days is this...and sometimes my 50mm.
williamchew85
Member
how much for a brand new 1?
You can get it at Orient Photo for $900/-
I tested 3 tamron 18-270s and 5 canon 18-200s in the shops w/resolution chart & 'shooting the display window'
. Result : Some tammys sharper at certain focal lengths, and some Canons are sharper at others. One thing to note tho is the sample variation among the lenses i tested. One Tamron was super sharp from 50mm and higher but very soft at 18mm. Another Tammy was sharp at 18mm but poor at longer focal lengths. Sample variation is high so try before you buy! For the most part the Canons were more consistent (smaller variation) and generally a tad sharper from the copies i tried. So i got the Canon! My intension is not to sway those who want to get the Tammy as examples here show its a great lens cos I myself had my heart set on it already after reading reviews, etc but changed my mind after my own testing. Conclusion, test for yourself and compare before buying. Dont take anybody's word for it. I knew it may not always be possible but try ur best and satisfy yourself. There are sample variations in every lens, including Canon.
I am going to HK soon, thinking to get this lens too. I was quoted for HKD 4150 too.
Did u get international warrenty? How many years?
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