Tamron AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD

Comments about Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical IF Macro Autofocus Lens for Canon Digital EOS:

Like most other reviewers, the thing I like the most is the incredible focal range this single lens is capable of. This is the lens I have on my Canon XS most often. The price is excellent as well. Drawbacks, all of which I've accepted before purchasing, include: lens creep, no Vibration Compensation, and the fact that it is relatively "slow" at the telephoto end.

Comments about Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical IF Macro Autofocus Lens for Canon Digital EOS:

This is a good lens for those who don't want to have to change lens. It takes good pictures up close and it has good range. Picture quality is very good even on zoom. The camera operates a bit more slowly as it focuses, but for the most part very pleased with this. Not only would I recommend this to others, but I did and my sister bought one.

Comments about Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical IF Macro Autofocus Lens for Canon Digital EOS:

I've only had time for a limited use of this lens, I used it to shoot a Xmas parade and in this limit use it performed quite well.

Comments about Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical IF Macro Autofocus Lens for Canon Digital EOS:

I just got this lens (Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD) for my Canon T2i and I'm very happy with it. I sure would recommend it to anyone!!!

Comments about Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical IF Macro Autofocus Lens for Canon Digital EOS:

Crisp images in all settings

Comments about Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical IF Macro Autofocus Lens for Canon Digital EOS:

I use this lens for everyday situations, it is great. The quality of the pictures is just amazing. Even though I would recomend a tripod for low light situations, the pictures without it are not that bad.

Comments about Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical IF Macro Autofocus Lens for Canon Digital EOS:

This is the 3rd Tamron lens I have purchased. I think they are Grreat for the money. They are light weight and work fine. I carried an 18~200 to Europe and got everything I was wanting. I have not found a downside yet.

Comments about Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical IF Macro Autofocus Lens for Canon Digital EOS:

This lens works great with my Canon 40d. Lightweight, quick focus and great images using both wide and telephoto shots. It is nice not having to change lenses all the time. Used it indoors for a birthday party with low light. No problems with the focus and images captured. I would have given this a 5 star, but the lens creep will take awhile to get used to.

Comments about Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical IF Macro Autofocus Lens for Canon Digital EOS:

Used on Rebel XT. Great single lens for wide variety of situations. Has metal mount, compact, lightweight, quick focus for both wide & tele shots. Enlargements have very good resolution. Indoor flash shots will vary with the quality of your flash unit. Great lens for the casual photog, good lens for the semi pro, good backup lens for the pro. Great value for all.

Comments about Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical IF Macro Autofocus Lens for Canon Digital EOS:

Some vingnetting is evident through the view finder. But this is a nice fast lens which works well over the focal range.

Comments about Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical IF Macro Autofocus Lens for Canon Digital EOS:

Just getting started with the lens. I really like the fact that i can use one lens for a wide variety of shots. The barrel is shorter than my other 250mm so steadying it is easier too.

Comments about Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical IF Macro Autofocus Lens for Canon Digital EOS:

I already had a lens to 85mm but wanted something a little longer so this lens fit the bill just to my liking. I was not concerned about IS for I had already made up my mind to use a tripod when using the new lens. I compared under controlled conditions the quality of some test photos with my other lens and I can not tell the difference so the quality is obviously built in.

Comments about Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical IF Macro Autofocus Lens for Canon Digital EOS:

The copy that I got is very sharp and the image quality is just great. I must say I am very happy with this lens. This lens is best paired with D90 to compensate the lack of VC. But of course, any lower model will also produce good results. At 250mm the image is quite soft but for me it is still usable. You will hardly notice this softness when you print it.

Comments about Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical IF Macro Autofocus Lens for Canon Digital EOS:

I love this lense, I was very skeptical about buying a brand that wasn't the same as my camera but I'm very very very pleased with this lense and it's capabilities!

Comments about Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical IF Macro Autofocus Lens for Canon Digital EOS:

I installed this lens on my EOS 50d.
Blurry at 70mm & up, especially just over the subject edge, don't see much sharpness.
Should have really steady hands to have an average picture. Crank up the ISO and the shutter speed & choose between blur or grain.
Thinking I've made a good deal but...
Don't expect to have the perfect image soon. Bad lens.

Comments about Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical IF Macro Autofocus Lens for Canon Digital EOS:

Had a Tamron 28-300mm for my first camera (EOS Elan 7 35mm film camera), and I loved the range. So it was a no-brainer to go with the 18-250mm when I bought my EOS 30D. As with my first Tamron, I absolutely love the range it offers. I knew going in the lens would be a little dark (and it is), so it's hard to gripe about that. Would definitely be nice to have a little faster lens, though. You definitely notice how slow it is when extended.

After nearly 9,400 actuations with this setup, I've come to understand the lens performs best if you over-zoom to AF, then pull pack to shoot. Even then, though, it seems to give me consistently "soft" images (i.e. focus is not up to what I'd like). Every now and then I get a "wow" shot, but they are few and far between. I'm on the edge of going with better glass (Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 IS and/or the 70-200mm f/4 L IS).

For the Tamron, though, I think it's a respectable compromise of build quality, image quality, focal length range, and price. If you do get it, plan on cranking your ISO and/or using a flash when inside. And plan on getting a lot of blur when shooting action in marginal/low light. It definitely performs best in good light, and it likes a tripod for the longer focal lengths.

Being a slower lens, it's no surprise the AF doesn't work well in low light. It's not lightning fast, so tracking fast-action is difficult. Pretty easy to miss your focus, even in AI Servo. What's more frustrating, though, is the manual focus ring. It's quite sensitive (a small movement = a large focus adjustment), making manual focus even more problematic in low light. It would be wonderful if you could manual focus while in AF mode (like some of the nicer Canon lenses). Again, though, it's livable.

The zoom function is a little rough, but it works well enough for me. I suppose it could be smoother, but it's not worth griping about. I always use the zoom lock to prevent the lens slamming out to 250 while carrying, which is really no trouble at all (quite glad it's there). Would be nice to have a way to lock it at different focal lengths, though. Can't use it at angles on a tripod unless it's locked at 17mm or fully extended to 250mm. Was like that right out of the box.

The lens hood does a respectable job as well, although it gets in the road of the on-camera flash, especially when extended past about 55mm focal length. Lens shadow is actually a problem even without the lens hood when extended. If you have an auxillary flash, plan on using it.

All that being said, it's a wonderful lens for cutting your teeth on. It allows the opportunity to play with composition where other lenses can't. And to be fair, my lens may not be completely at fault for my results. Aside from the obvious likelihood that my technical ability may play a part, it's also possible the 30D could be partly to blame. After all, if both the lens and the 30D are within tolerances (which they probably are), but they're at opposite ends from each other, the images will suffer. The same could be true with any lens/camera combo.

Comments about Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical IF Macro Autofocus Lens for Canon Digital EOS:

So I ordered the Tamron after yet another set of photos I took with my two Canon lenses came out dark, blurry and virtually unusable. I've just downloaded pictures shot with the Tamron and my Canon Rebel XTi on a visit to a Georgia college and the aquarium in Atlanta. The results are nothing short of spectacular. Even at max telephoto distance details are sharp and clear, and that's without a tripod. I'm not a pro by any means, so I was pretty well convinced that the underwhelming results I got from my Canon 28-80 kit lens and inexpensive 75-300 zoom were my fault. My wife did, too, and she wasn't happy that I'd invested in the Tamron 18-250. She is now! I don't like that I have to lock the lens to keep it from extending when slung around my neck, but I can live with it. The other reviewers were right: This one's a keeper.

Comments about Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical IF Macro Autofocus Lens for Canon Digital EOS:

Light compact and easy to carry when travelling. Good for sports, travel, people/family photos as well as wildlife photography when carrying a heavy lens and tripod are not possible.
A bit fragile when fully extended but haven't had any problems. You need to be careful not to bang it when out to 250.
Images are super sharp.

Comments about Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical IF Macro Autofocus Lens for Canon Digital EOS:

The is my most often used lense; I bought it when first released due to its range and it has performed very well in constant daily use since. It is light weight and very easy to carry and I get shots I would otherwise miss - this has become my standard walk around lense on one of my 40D's replacing my Canon lenses. Compared to Canon lenses it seems a bit slower to focus particularly in very dim light. The lack of image stabilization while missed has not been as big an issue as some might expect as I can easily compensate with higher ISO's - yet if I were buying today I would probably opt for the 18-270 VC Tamron or perhaps the Canon 18-200 IS. With the reduced price now on this lense it remains a super value and unlike Canon lenses it comes with a hood! Don't believe you can beat this lense as an all around performer for the price, it is an exceptional value!

Due to the wide angle, stacking filters will yield vignetting. I installed a rather expensive combination UV / CPL filter that is very thin that circumvented this problem. If you don't stack filters you will probably never note this problem.

As a general comment I have been very pleased with Tamron lenses and have several - they are equal in my view to Canon general purpose lenses though not in the league of the "L's"

Comments about Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical IF Macro Autofocus Lens for Canon Digital EOS:

I bought this for a trip to Europe as I didn't want to carry 3 lenses. It performed beautifully and am glad I have it now I had no problem with the lens sliding, as I have rd on this website, and did not find myself stymied without IS (or VR). Only downside may be that it wont be compatible with the new Canon 5D Mark II (full frame) when it ships in November. I absolutely recommend this camera. I used it with my 30D and tend to carry it around town with me, even though I have many of the Canon Series "L" lenses.