[gokenin]

I have been toying with the idea of getting a superzoom now for a bit and was wondering if anyone has pictures or opinions about the tamron 28-300 lens? The decision is do I go with this lens and get the extra 50mm worth of zoom over the 18-250 and give up the 10 mm on the wide end? any opinions?

[qdoan]

Get the 18-250 Superzoom. Owned the 28-300 and sold it to get the 18-250, the 10mm on the wide end makes much more a difference over the 50mm you get at the long end.

The IQ on the 18-250 is also better than the 28-300 imo. There were times I missed shots or didnt get the framing I wanted because 28mm just isn't wide enough on the DSLR.

[Lowell Goudge]

I am curious about your decision for the super zoom at all.

You seem to have lenses that cover the entire range of the one you are getting, and I have never personally understood why people want the replication in focal lenghts.

In reality, your SLR becomes a big P&S, OK it has better performance at every ISO, and goes wider than the typical P&S, but for me, I would be looking to extend the range of my lenses so that I could do more, as opposed to adding a lens that does not add anything to my range either in width or length.

[gokenin]

to be honest the only reason that i am toying with the idea is to use it for vacations. I dont mind using multiple lenses when i am out and about but the idea of lugging lots of glass on vacation and either taking it with me every day or leaving it in the room can be a chore. I was thinking about this and maybe a prime or two as well as my vacation kit. The thing that is stopping me from doing it is the fact i have all the range covered with the lenses I have so its really just do i want to have multiple lenses on vacation or a few?

[qdoan]

The reason I had the superzoom was also purely for vacation purposes.

[Confused]

Hi gokenin

No question.....it's yet another vote for the Tamron. What more could you want, flexible 28 -375mm coverage
(in equivalent 35mm film terms) all wrapped up in a compact form factor which produces sharp images, plus 6-year US warranty. Game over !

Best regards
Richard

[Lowell Goudge]

to be honest the only reason that i am toying with the idea is to use it for vacations. I dont mind using multiple lenses when i am out and about but the idea of lugging lots of glass on vacation and either taking it with me every day or leaving it in the room can be a chore. I was thinking about this and maybe a prime or two as well as my vacation kit. The thing that is stopping me from doing it is the fact i have all the range covered with the lenses I have so its really just do i want to have multiple lenses on vacation or a few?

I understand and don't understand.

Part of most vacations is that you spend thousands of dollars going to a place you may only visit once. In that case, don't you want to have the best possible chances of getting your shot. I accept that you might leave some specialty lenses at home, clearly I don't take all 14 of mine, generally my pack out is K10D, sigma 10-20, Pentax 18-35, Tamron 28-75 2. and sigma 70-200f2.8, 1.4x and 2x TCs and AF540FGZ.

If I want back up body or if I am specifically going to take nature shots, I take the *istD, plus my 300mm F4 and 1.7x AF TC and AF500FTZ since it is a nice compact 500mm AF combo (especially for Birding)

All this fits in a photo back pack.

While I giv up stops compared to my fast manual focus primes, I usually don't need more. My fast primes are usually for special events

[qdoan]

I understand and don't understand.

Part of most vacations is that you spend thousands of dollars going to a place you may only visit once. In that case, don't you want to have the best possible chances of getting your shot. I accept that you might leave some specialty lenses at home, clearly I don't take all 14 of mine, generally my pack out is K10D, sigma 10-20, Pentax 18-35, Tamron 28-75 2. and sigma 70-200f2.8, 1.4x and 2x TCs and AF540FGZ.

If I want back up body or if I am specifically going to take nature shots, I take the *istD, plus my 300mm F4 and 1.7x AF TC and AF500FTZ since it is a nice compact 500mm AF combo (especially for Birding)

All this fits in a photo back pack.

While I giv up stops compared to my fast manual focus primes, I usually don't need more. My fast primes are usually for special events

I can see your logic here, but then again, do you really need f/2.8 for most of your daytime shots while on vacation? Why carry some $3K+ worth of gear when you do risk it getting stolen should you choose not to carry with it with you 24/7?

For me ideally in for past vacations, it was the k10, the pentax 12-24, the tamron 18-250, and a flash, and a waterproof P&S haha. You dont have to change lenses all that much and can still get 95%+ of yours shots.

[Lowell Goudge]

I can see your logic here, but then again, do you really need f/2.8 for most of your daytime shots while on vacation? Why carry some $3K+ worth of gear when you do risk it getting stolen should you choose not to carry with it with you 24/7?

For me ideally in for past vacations, it was the k10, the pentax 12-24, the tamron 18-250, and a flash, and a waterproof P&S haha. You dont have to change lenses all that much and can still get 95%+ of yours shots.

The only problem is that I generally wrap some nature photography into my vacations.

I suffer badly enough from focal length and maximum apature envy, with either my 70-200f2.8 or my 300 F4, and the TCs when I look around at all the CaNikon super lenses that I am surrounded by. In Florida last year, there was at least 100 K worth of equipment just at one spot on the road in a cluster of photographers. I am afraid I would be laughed at if I showed up with a 250 mm F6.3 super zoom, as well as disappointed.

I understand the security issue also, and I have been concerned about leaving equipment behind. Generally I use the Hotel / Room safe, or pack it with me.

[qdoan]

But in the end it's the eye behind the camera that counts not just the gear right? People with their $10K+ worth gear can scoff at you, but if they dont know how to use it... in the end you get the better result Not everyone with a CaNikon super lens knows that they're doing, I know plenty that have what they have just for bragging rights...