[Papou]

Good chance this question has been raised in the past but wouldnt know where to dig it up so if all dont mind i'll ask it again..
How good a lens is this for the K10D bothfor quallity and usage..
Looking for the right Lens set to go with the K10D..
Cheers

[Bob Wallace]

The Tamron 18-250 has received some very good reviews. It's better than their 18-200 and better than the highly regarded Nikon 18-200 VR.

Good technical review on Popular Photography's site.

[Alvin]

Lens Test: Tamron 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II Macro - - PopPhotoMay 2007

[eurostar]

I strongly believe that spending so much for a camera capable of high quality images, and then pairing it with superzoom of questionable quality is a non-sense.

Better to aquire some superzoom bridge camera, whose lenses, having to cover a smaller circle, are of better quality.

[xxlyyk]

For convenience sake it is very good, I bought it for my holiday. The zoom travels when pointed downwards, but there is a lock for locking at 18 mm. Quality is pretty good (for my taste anyway). There are some shots that I've taken of my daughter that are even a bit too sharp (dead center in the middle) for my taste. Autofocus is ok, bit noisy, of course there will be hunting at the longer end. Not much worse than my fa 1.4 50mm (could also depend on my specimen of the 50mm I guess).

[Avantphoto]

I have this lens and find it to be very good, especially for the range. I posted some shot here in another thread. Again it's a little slow and noisy to focus but nothing that bothers me, it seems to take accurcey over speed in focus which is a good thing. It's quite compact and very light, just a little slow on the long end.

Here are the pics.

[Bob Wallace]

Avant -

I assume you own the kit lens. How about the Pentax 50-200?

If so, have you taken any 'side by side' comparison shots that you could post?

And that 'slow to focus on the long end' thing. My 50-200 has problems at times in low contrast situations. It helps to give it a start with the focusing ring. Same for the T 18-250?

[Bob Wallace]

I strongly believe that spending so much for a camera capable of high quality images, and then pairing it with superzoom of questionable quality is a non-sense.

Better to aquire some superzoom bridge camera, whose lenses, having to cover a smaller circle, are of better quality.

First, you might want to read this...Zooms vs. Primes

Then you might want to read the Tamron 18-250 reviews.

Perhaps you'll come away with a new set of beliefs....

[wildherre]

"At an introductory price of close to $500, the Tamron 18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 isn't cheap, but it does include a lens hood and a standard 6-year warranty. For those who value convenience more than absolute optical quality and for those who simply don't like changing lenses, the Tamron 18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 isn't a bad choice."

Tamron 18-250 Review: Tamron 18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 AF Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro

[PeterAM]

I just bought this lens for travel, trading off the convenience of using one lens against the higher level of quality that could potentially be obtained by carrying several better lenses and changing them. That said, the few test shots (and some work posted on this forum) indicate that this lens is pretty good for what it is. All zooms are compromises; some better than others.

[rfortson]

I posted my finding in this thread https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/7281-shots-tamron-18-250-a.html. I like it on my K100D and will be taking it to Machu Picchu next week as my only lens.

Bottom line, it depends on your use. If you want to print or view posters, you'll probably see some weaknesses in the lens. If you only view full screen or print ~8x10 or 11x14 without extensive cropping, you'll probably be fine with it. If you look at my Flickr site, you can see full sized images taken with this lens, as well as full sized images taken with the (to me) comparable 28-300 lens.

Good luck in your decision!

[Papou]

Had i a pocket full of $$ i would most definetly look into top class Lenses ..But i'm thinking i may just splash out and get these 18-250's as a one only walk around Lens..
More i hang back and wait the more confused i get lol..
From a lot of the shots ive seen so far they sem ta do a good job and could i ask where their sweet spot lies??..
Cheers and heaps of thanks for the replies..

[Bob Wallace]

Had i a pocket full of $$ i would most definetly look into top class Lenses ..But i'm thinking i may just splash out and get these 18-250's as a one only walk around Lens..
More i hang back and wait the more confused i get lol..
From a lot of the shots ive seen so far they sem ta do a good job and could i ask where their sweet spot lies??..
Cheers and heaps of thanks for the replies..

You can easily see the sweet spots by reading the Popular Photography review.

Look for where the lens earns a 'red box'.

You'll see that it drops to its lowest performance levels at the 250mm when printed larger than 11"x 14" and fully stopped down or totally wide open.

If you print at 11" x 14" or smaller you're basically going to be shooting a lens that earns an A+ or A grade at most settings except at 250mm. There is earns some Bs and B+s at 11" x 14".