Tamron Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical IF Macro Autofocus Lens for Sony Alpha & Minolta Digital SLR

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

This lens is a geeat all around choice. Along with the companion Tamron 10-24mm, no other lenses are needed for all purpose photography.

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

I use this as an all-in-one lens. Photos are sharp at all focal lengths. Vignetting at 18 mm/F3.5 disappear at 25 mm/F3.5 or at 18 mm/F5. Autofocus is occasionally slightly off at long focal lengths, but easily corrected with manual focus. Focus is somewhat noisy and slow, minor shortcomings easily overcome by focusing manually. A lens pouch would be a useful accessory to include.

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

I use the Tamron 18-250mm lens on my Sony/Minolta A100 digital camera as a "walk about" lens. It takes very sharp and detailed photos. (It captured a butterfly with its tongue out drinking nectar from my lilac bush - I WAS impressed!)

The ONLY negative that I might even state is that it is just a tad heavy at times. I would NOT let this fact influence my choice of whether to buy it or not - it's well worth the money!

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

Sony 18X250 lens easy to use
I use it to produce excellent landscape photos
I have no bad things to say about it

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

I bought the Tamron 18-250mm lens for my new Sony Alpha A-100 DSLR. My first impression was that it was a good all around lens. That was until I found it will not focus correctly at infinity. I only noticed this when I went up to the moutains. The mountain was far in the distance and so the lens focus was at the infinity mark, but no matter if the lens was auto focused or manual focused it will not focus at objects at infinity, the mountain was blurry in the viewfinder. I also took test photos with the same results, the photos of the mountain taken with the Tamron18-250mm were clearly out of focus and blurry. I know it is not the camera as I tried my older Tamron 28-300mm lens and it focused correctly at infinity and it was easy to see the difference in the viewfinder between the 2 lenses. The test photos when downloaded onto my computer confirmed that the new Tamron 18-250mm lens is blurry when focused at infinity. The test photos with my older Tamron 28-300mm made in focus photos that were sharp. This is not the lens for anyone who cares what their photos look like.

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

Based on the reviews and articles on this lens it seemed to be the answer to a multi-year search for an ideal travel lens. It appeared to be one travel lens, of acceptable weight and size, that would do it all with acceptable sharpness! With great anticipation I ordered the lens. It arrived and I loved the size, weight, and zoom range. Alas, my enthusiasm was destroyed when I reviewed my first images. I am not difficult to please ... but this lens didn't even come close! The images were actually fuzzy when viewed on anything past the camera LCD. Even my wife noticed the softness! I know this review is completely counter to the other two already posted, however, I am confident that this is not the lens for those of us who will accept even marginally acceptable sharpness in our printed digital images!

Expertise: Long-time serious amateur photographer.

Problems Encountered: Images seriously too soft!

Previous Equivalent Item Owned: Various Canon zoom lens including the 28-300 mm lens.

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

I bought this lens for a recent trip to Europe. I wanted topack light and have a single lens that could provide a widefield of view for landscape shots, plus some reach fordistant objects. The Tamron AF 18-250 performed marvelously.At Salisbury Cathedral in England, I was able to capture theentire building, then zoom in on gargoyles perched high onthe roof. All of the images were sharp. Focusing was fast inbright lighting conditions.While the lens does very well with available light, I didhave some problems when I tried to mate it with a Canon550EX flash on a 20D. I would not use the lens for studioportraits.Canon shooters will need some time to adjust to the zoomfeature. The movement is the opposite of a Canon lens. At18mm, the lens is about the same size of the 18-5mm kitlens. At 250mm, the lens extends almost 6. Since there is no IS on this lens, it would be better if itwas mounted to a camera like the Sony Alpha. For all thatthe lens does do, it is an excellent buy.

Expertise: Pro

Problems Encountered: Photos using a Canon 500EX flash were over exposed.

Previous Equivalent Item Owned: Canon 17-40 L

Items I Recommend: Sony Alpha or camera with anti-shake technology

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

I have the kit 18-70 and the 70-300 lens but something was missing....I bought this lens and it is a great all-around lens. The optical quality not even including the focal length is superior to the other two lens. The macro ability is very useful whereas on the 70-300 was useless. This lens paired with the CZ 16-80 for indoor flash use is a great combination. This is a great landscape/macro combination lens.

Expertise: Advanced amateur