Tamron

Singinman · 04-17-2007, 11:45 AM

I saw an ad in Outdoor Photographer and went to Tamron.com to confirm that Tamron's newest lens in the Di II series (18-250mm) is available in a Pentax mount. This leads me to hope that future lenses in this series will also be available in K-mount versions. 500mm here we come, please.

FotoPete · 04-17-2007, 11:51 AM

Don't get the 18-250mm lol. Its gonna be very soft.

hamidlmt · 04-17-2007, 12:00 PM

Tamron has an upcoming 70-200mm 2.8 that looks promising. Their 28-75mm 2.8 is excellent!

I think the 18-250 would make a nifty outdoor travel lens. I've seen a few samples somewhere online and they were quite acceptable.

*NaClH2O* · 04-17-2007, 12:57 PM

Originally Posted by FotoPete

Don't get the 18-250mm lol. Its gonna be very soft.

Pete, are you talking from experience or is this hearsay?

NaCl("they" said my K 50mm 1.2 would be soft too...WRONG!)H2O

Duh_Vinci · 04-17-2007, 01:15 PM

If this new Tamron its anything like 18-200mm, it is indeed softer that Sigma 18-200 in my experience I've tried two copies before getting Sigma instead (old Canon gear)

Regards,
D

BrianK · 04-17-2007, 06:30 PM

I just picked up the Tamron 18-200 AF XR DiII lens today. It is not quite the same as the 18-250 but I like it more than the Sigma 28-200 that I have. The Sigma lens was never my favorite on the Ist*ds and was only a little better on the K10D. I went out this afternoon and shot a cople of quick tests with the Tamron.

I am happy with the results and the range the lens gives. It is a tradeoff of range for quality but for general shooting where you need some longer range I think it will be fine. I wanted a bit longer range that the Sigma 17-70 for trips where you might get into more rural shooting rather than city. I will still prefer the Sigma for general use and it is my replacement kit lens but the Tamron gives that little bit extra length.

The only thing I noticed with the Tamron is a little slower AutoFocus.

Two sample images at Roll 236
Click on the bottom half of the image for full size.

*Clem Nichols* · 04-17-2007, 07:49 PM

Popular Photography magazine has a lens test report on the 18-250 in the current (May) issue. Their conclusion: "An impressive optical achievement, the industry's first 13.9X digital-only zoom hits a trifecta by expanding zoom range, utility, and optical performance." Based on that and a couple of other test reports I've read, including one by Bob Atkins, the 18-250 is superior to the 18-200. It's still not available with a Pentax mount which is one of the factors that led me to choose the Sigma 17-70 lens and the Sigma 70-300 APO DG. (I nearly spoiled a trip to Hawaii that my wife and I took several years ago by changing lens on my old Minolta 35mm camera so often. Quality be damned. I love those zooms.)

FotoPete · 04-17-2007, 08:55 PM

Well, I've seen enough to know that zooms tend to dip at the long end. Especially long zooms. That 18-250 gotta have alotta lenses in it and their coatings aren't near the refractivity of SMC. Sharpness and contrast are both gonna drop.

FotoPete · 04-17-2007, 09:13 PM

Originally Posted by NaClH2O

Pete, are you talking from experience or is this hearsay?

NaCl("they" said my K 50mm 1.2 would be soft too...WRONG!)H2O

half experience and half hearsay

ok, I just read Bob Atkin's review on the Tamron 18-250. I wasn't too surprised at the samples. Decent but for $500.. I'd rather use two lenses at least to span that range.

1) Didn't like his last comment about how the Tamron + K100D would make a great "Point and Shoot" package. If anything its the Canikons that do it more. Everything on their end is automated. They got more AF sensors, well established sonic motor AF technology. Their lenses are designed primarily for autofocus. They got better burst rates. Spam the shutter button and then see whats good.

2) Surprised as I watched the 18-250 match and even trump the popular Canon 17-85 at the wide and standard tests.

The telephoto examples for the tamron showed alot of edge softness. but given that it is what it is...a one lens solution, its decent. But I'd probably stick with FA28-200 or the Sigma 18-200/18-125 instead.

rfortson · 04-18-2007, 12:56 PM

I'm taking a Tamron-sponsored photo class in early May. I asked the camera store personnel to tell the Tamron rep to bring Pentax mount equipment to try out, especially the 18-250. I have the 28-300 (non-DI) and think it's a great lens for what it is. There's a little softness if you view the images at 100% or print posters. Luckily, my monitor isn't 26" and my printer only prints 8x10, so I don't notice any of those tradeoffs. Instead, I've won a photo contest with an 8x10 print taken with this lens, and I figure it will be the one lens I travel with this summer since it can do so much. I may spring for the 18-250 if they make me a good deal, but I only paid $140 new for the 28-300 so it's going to be hard to top that.

If I get to try the 18-250 I'll compare it to the 28-300 and see how they stack up.

SupremeMoFo · 04-19-2007, 02:09 AM

Think about it guys. We've bought DSLRs - what's the point of buying a "handy" lens when the body fills both hands anyway? And you've also bought the DSLR because you want control and the best image quality...

trumpyman · 04-19-2007, 02:36 AM

HI. Just talkin about Tamron i use the AF80-210mm for 95% of my shots.All the shots in my gallery are with it and im pretty happy with the results.Id like to have the 18-250mm range but not if image quality suffers for it.I havent noticed anyone else here using the 80-210mm and starting to think why.Been thinkin of updating to a better range zoom 18-250 would be ideal for me but il wait till i see some samples no rush here. Tossing up over the sigma or tamron 18-20mm.Any opinions there ??

trumpyman · 04-19-2007, 02:39 AM

That was ment to be sigma or tamron 18-200mm

rfortson · 04-20-2007, 02:27 PM

Originally Posted by SupremeMoFo

Think about it guys. We've bought DSLRs - what's the point of buying a "handy" lens when the body fills both hands anyway? And you've also bought the DSLR because you want control and the best image quality...

Sometimes I like convenience (read "super P&S") and other times I like to play around with all the different lenses. They all have a place.

roscot · 04-21-2007, 06:00 AM

Just read the review of the 18-250 in Pop Photo. Basically they said it was heads and tails ahead of the 18-200. It is still a super zoom with all the inherent faults of one, but it is much sharper and has less distortions then it's predecessor. Actually a very acceptable performance.

The review is in the May issue.